Change Manager: Definition, background, tips – How to lead change successfully
How you manage change
Do you have the task of supporting a change in your company – as a change manager, project manager or dedicated employee? Are you wondering what you should pay attention to? How you can get your colleagues on board? How to ensure that the change process runs as smoothly and easily as possible? Then you’ve come to the right place: this article will give you tips on how to successfully manage your transformation or change process as a change manager.
Change is everywhere – our VUCA world
Change management is needed in one way or another in all areas of life. Because life is change! There is simply no escape. Even if we often try desperately to keep things stable, we won’t succeed in the long run. Whether we like it or not, change is everywhere: our children are growing up, our city is changing, our environment is changing over time. We can’t prevent that; we have to be able to deal with it. And since corona, the war in Ukraine and Donald Trump’s second term in office, the pace of change seems to have increased even further. Who can say today what will happen in the coming months?
This development is particularly relevant in a business context: How quickly do circumstances such as technology, market requirements, the economic situation or the competitive situation change today? Companies must be able to react to this – and quickly! Because if you can’t keep up, you may end up like the former market leaders Nokia and Kodak. They had ignored decisive change and are now out of the picture…
Permanent change
However, you won’t just have to deal with one or two changes; you can expect to have to deal with change on a permanent basis. Because the world is constantly changing and it is doing so at an ever faster pace. There is even a term for this phenomenon: VUCA . The acronym VUCA means: Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous. In summary, VUCA means that everything is constantly changing and it is impossible to predict what will happen next.
Read our detailed article VUCA: Change management in our VUCA world – the success factors
This means that you and your company will be faced with more and more changes.
The ability to act as a change manager, i.e. to lead and accompany change, is therefore one of the fundamental requirements for almost every manager and almost every employee.
Definition of Change Manager – What are the tasks of a Change Manager?
Change managers are first and foremost the people who actively deal with the upcoming change in the company: They have the task of planning, accompanying, monitoring and permanently optimizing the transformation processes. They advise executives and top management on change and organizational development.
Change managers have an overview of the entire change process, can also assess complex situations and know how to reach people in the company, from top management to employees. They shape communication in the change process so that important information is communicated at the right time and in the best possible way. It is important that they succeed in encouraging all those involved to change.
You have various change management methods at your disposal, such as Kurt Lewin’s 3-phase model or John P. Kotter‘s 8-phase model.
Change managers intervene in conflicts or crises during a change and are able to communicate and act in an emphatic, clear and solution-oriented manner. They are also able to withstand strong pressure and emotionally charged situations.
Change management can be carried out by an internal or external consultant, and managers are often also entrusted with change management.
The term change manager is not protected, so when choosing a change manager it is worth checking their professional experience.
Why do we need change management?
We know: Change is existentially important for companies. But companies are made up of people. And unfortunately, people don’t usually like change very much.
The tried and tested, the familiar is very popular. Who can know what the new will bring? And what’s more, you would have to get moving for something new… The cobbler prefers to stick to his last.
So what good is a well-thought-out change if the people who ultimately have to implement it don’t go along with it?
What is needed here is change management – in other words, management that does not simply create new circumstances that its employees then have to deal with for better or worse, but that also supports its employees mentally and psychologically. If employees are left alone by management, there is a high probability that lasting resistance will arise and the change will not take place as intended.
What do we mean by change?
Changes in companies have many faces: A change of the smaller kind could be the introduction of a new program or the decision to outsource certain activities in the future. The introduction of a new process or an agile method such as Scrum will change your employees’ everyday lives considerably more.
A major change in the company is particularly challenging – this can be a digital transformation, a restructuring of the entire organization or even a takeover by another company where everything changes fundamentally: the logo, the name, the teams, the managers.
And the more things change, the more things can go wrong…
So what can you do to support a change in your team or company and make it easier for your employees?
Change planned? Book a free initial consultation here
Video Change Management: How do I get employees excited about change?
In 4 minutes, Susanne Grätsch from berliner team explains how you can inspire your team and take them on a journey towards change.
The 8 practical tips for change managers
Here we provide you with tips to make change easier.
These tips are a combination of background knowledge, various theoretical models that you can find in textbooks – and, above all, experience from our many years as change managers, during which we have observed what works well and what makes things quicker and easier.
Change manager tip 1: Communicate the change crystal clear – and as early as possible!
Do not withhold information!
Over the years, we have come across many people who have held back information for a long time during change processes. This has never had a positive effect on the change process. But why do people do it then?
The reasons are obvious: there is a high probability that the announcement of a change will cause unrest and problems, that those affected will not like what they hear and that conflicts will arise as a result. Conflicts are to be expected in the event of changes, but withholding information does not protect against unrest. On the contrary: concealment and procrastination worsen the situation. At some point, the cat has to come out of the bag anyway.
One example is the customer advisor who withholds from his customer for a long time that his bill is increasing. Of course, enthusiasm on the part of the customer is hardly to be expected – but it would be better for everyone involved to communicate this fact in good time, because the later the customer learns of his good fortune, the more displeased he will probably be… And rightly so.
Sometimes information is also withheld because you don’t yet know exactly how the change will happen. People are worried about telling the wrong story. But be sure, people can sense that something is up. And it is more damaging to pretend that nothing is wrong instead of openly admitting that you do not yet have complete clarity.
Don’t communicate in bits and pieces!
It is important that you ensure transparency. If you only provide partial information, this is extremely fertile ground for rumors.
Here is another example: an entrepreneur is considering selling and outsourcing a department. The deals are in the bag so far. However, the entrepreneur fears the reactions of employees and customers. To avoid conflict, he closes his eyes to reality and prefers to communicate in bits and pieces. Employees and customers are left in the dark about the fact that the change is already just around the corner. Although they know that “something is going on”, no one knows exactly what phase it is. The hope that things will stay the same after all persists. Rumors and conjecture are booming. People are unsettled.
Communicate clearly where the change stands at the moment!
We already mentioned it at the beginning: people don’t like change.
Initially, they often even tend to simply ignore changes. The moment there is even the slightest hint of a chance that things might stay the same, people tend to stick with them – and believe that there will be no change. Typical statements are then: “Oh, that won’t happen” or “That won’t affect me” or “I can’t believe it, it can’t be.”
Of course, this attitude is not what drives a change process. Rather, it is an excellent basis for a phase of creeping uncertainty. Once such a situation has arisen, those affected are hungry for information. What information is missing is creatively added and rumors spread. This delays the work; nobody is motivated to work anymore. Employees spend a lot of energy on rumors and conjecture. In a phase of uncertainty, people usually work together much less efficiently. Tensions arise, conflicts emerge.
Therefore: Give people security and communicate the current status of the change process!
All or nothing: Don’t communicate things by halves!
Of course, there are also situations in which the change is not certain or the changes – for legal reasons, for example – cannot yet be announced. In this case, it is extremely important that no rumors get out and that you shield the information as well as possible. After all, communication always spreads unrest and if it doesn’t happen at all or you simply can’t say any more, employees will rack their brains over nothing and unpleasant rumors will start.
And what if it does?
However, if rumors do get out, explain to your employees and communicate openly what you can say, but also what you can’t say. If you try to cover up what everyone knows anyway, you will only trigger negative feelings among your employees, you will become untrustworthy and trust will be lost.
It is perfectly legitimate to say that nothing can be said at the moment. If you can give your employees a date when information can be communicated, then do so. This helps people to get through the uncertain waiting time.
Change manager tip 2: Change consistently and cut out old habits!
That’s the way we humans are: when we have the opportunity to choose between the familiar and the new, we choose the more comfortable way: our routines. We just love our comfort zone. When we have the opportunity to move out of our comfort zone, we do so. In other words, we prefer to use the computer program and communication channels we are familiar with, we prefer to stick to the old rules and let the old things live on. But the new has no chance this way!
It also took us in the berlin team a long time to accept our new Sharepoint. We held on to the old filing system until the last minute. It was only when the old repository was deleted and switched off that we started to get to grips with the new Sharepoint. And with gritted teeth. We’ve all been there, most of us would probably feel the same way. Only after a while did the advantages become apparent to us and we were able to accept the tool.
That’s why it’s important that when you make a change, you consistently ensure that you make the old impossible!
- If you need a transition phase for operational reasons, keep it short and sweet.
- Create facts and cut off the old braid as quickly as possible!
- As soon as you have communicated the change, it’s all about making the old impossible as quickly as possible!
Change Manager Tip 3: Actively plan your communication!
Don’t underestimate the communication effort! If you don’t communicate enough during phases of change, you will trigger the phase of uncertainty mentioned above. Remember: rumors and uncertainty always go hand in hand with negative emotions. And these in turn paralyze the productivity of your team or company, because they make people dissatisfied or even inefficient – and can even lead to a change of direction.
Therefore: plan exactly what kind of communication is needed in your team or company.
How can you address all the issues at hand, dispel uncertainties and accompany the change well?
Top down communication
Inform your employees about the progress that the change is making. Both the successes and issues where there are still open questions should be included in this top-down communication. The manner of this communication is very important:
Your manner of address should be positive and affirming and at the same time clear, unambiguous and above all honest, authentic and credible.
Neither should you leave room for imaginative interpretations, nor should employees get the idea that you are being dishonest with them and hiding the negative aspects of the change. Your employees will only feel taken seriously if you communicate transparently!
If it didn’t work as well as you had originally intended in some places – feel free to admit it!
It’s much better to say: “Unfortunately, we have to part ways with employees at this point” than to try to sugarcoat it or sweep it under the carpet. Your employees will talk about it anyway. It is better for communication to remain open and transparent than for people to have to talk in secret and for resentment to fester invisibly but noticeably within the company. If people talk openly, it may be unpleasant or emotional in some situations. But then you can deal with it and react to what is being said.
And what methods should be used for communication? For positive messages, it is also okay to communicate electronically. The more sensitive the messages are, the more important it is to choose a personal approach, as the tone of voice and body language make it easier to interpret the statements correctly. Some of our customers regularly communicate with the entire company via video conference town hall meetings or record a video message that they post on the intranet. The town hall meeting in person is also the medium of choice for many when it comes to announcing important changes and bringing people together. Companies with several locations sometimes opt for a roadshow: those responsible travel from location to location and provide information directly and personally, leaving room for questions and discussion and thus showing that people are important to them.
Dialog
The second type of communication, dialog, is at least as important.
Engage in dialog with your employees!
This gives them the opportunity to express their concerns, wishes and issues. Such dialogs can take place in the context of workshops and meetings, for example. The intranet is also a suitable platform. However, something like a complaint box – whether analog or digital – is not enough! You need the opportunity for dialog, i.e. questions and answers. The more personal the communication, the better.
Every change and every company needs its own forms of dialog. To name a few possible forms:
For example, there is a dialog between all managers and their employees. This can be supported with the help of a moderation guide for managers to ensure that communication is coordinated. Or you can use workshop formats, for example, in which people can initially express their concerns, issues and questions in small “marble groups” so that the head of the company can respond to them.
The choice of the optimal form of communication always depends on the size of the company and the size of the department affected by the change.
Incidentally, all of these formats also work extremely well virtually if they are well moderated and tools such as interactive whiteboards and breakout sessions are used.
The special role of managers
It is very important that the managers concerned take ownership of the change and clearly signal that they are always open and approachable for the concerns of the employees, so that the employees can also initiate a dialog. That is why we always develop change concepts together with a company’s managers.
Change manager tip 4: Accept resistance and learn to deal with it constructively!
Resistance is a normal part of the change process
We say it very clearly: there will be resistance. Definitely.
There’s simply no getting around it. Change is always accompanied by resistance because people simply don’t like change.
When change is imminent, people like to glorify the old situation: “Gosh, everything was so much better before”. That is completely normal.
Please say goodbye to the idea that you can somehow circumvent or outsmart your employees’ resistance to change! You also don’t need to hope that your change management simply has to be incredibly good and that resistance won’t arise as a result. No matter how you approach it, there will be resistance.
Listen to your employees!
We have experienced many managers who became angry as soon as resistance arose. They denied their team any intellectual ability and worse.
However, you guessed it, this is not a constructive and therefore not a really smart attitude during a change process.
Accept that there is resistance!
Listen to your team! Only when people feel that they are being taken seriously can they let go of their resistance and develop curiosity for what is to come.
“What should go must be allowed to stay” is a saying that comes from the systemic consulting approach and contains a great deal of wisdom.
And sometimes it is also important to listen to people’s concerns. They know their area of work best and know what is needed. If the change means that important aspects of the task or customer care are no longer available, solutions can be sought by addressing the issues at an early stage.
The ball is in your court: approach your employees and listen seriously to their concerns!
Provide platforms for dialog!
In the change process, find the platform that is the most suitable in the context of the company and for your employees. For example, one of our customers held a “vomit workshop” at the start of a new development of an end-to-end process, in which employees were able to get rid of both the annoying aspects of the old process and their concerns about restructuring. Resistance was not only allowed but encouraged. The result was an open, constructive attitude towards the change and valuable tips for the change manager.
Your employees’ resistance may therefore contain valuable information for you!
Of course, there are also many concerns in a change process that are simply due to an unwillingness to change, to resistance. However, it would be foolish to dismiss your team’s concerns out of hand, as employees often have valuable information that should be incorporated into a change. So seriously examine the merits of their concerns. There may be arguments that you should definitely pay attention to in your change process.
Therefore, take resistance seriously: listen to your employees’ ideas and suggestions!
Change Manager Tip 5: Reward the people who participate!
When a change process is imminent, the workforce quickly divides into three different camps:
1. the enthusiasts
10 – 20 % of employees and managers are immediately on fire. They take a positive view of change and see the opportunities it offers.
They are curious about change and are also able to embrace something new and implement it.
2. the blockers
Diametrically opposed to the enthusiasts are 10 – 20 % of employees and managers who immediately and vehemently resist and generally reject change. No matter what you come up with, these incorrigible blockers will see problems in everything, disagree and garnish the whole thing with a grumpy mood.
3. the wait-and-see
The remaining 60 – 80 % are waiting to see how things go. They are called fence sit ters. These are people who sit on the fence between two parties, so to speak, and observe what happens, what behavior is worthwhile, how one party and the other will fare, just like in a tennis match. The motto: first take a look, weigh up what is worthwhile – and then join in.
Show those on the fence that it’s worth embracing change by rewarding those who do.
Video Mastering digitalization: You can’t do it without change management!
Oliver and Susanne Grätsch from berliner team will tell you how you can take the digitalization of your company into your own hands, because they know that a successful journey towards change and digitalization can only succeed with your employees!
Too much to think about? Get in touch…
Because if you focus your efforts exclusively on the resisters and keep inviting them to workshops and talks in fancy hotels, then the 60-80% of fence sitters will get the impression that it’s worth being in the resistance and may be more likely to tilt in the negative direction.
But if the opposite is the case and the enthusiasts get attention, successes become visible and it seems to be fun, then the 60-80% will tend to orient themselves towards change.
What you can do
-
Give those who go ahead exciting projects and tasks that are fun and rewarding!
-
Praise and recognize their achievements publicly, communicate their successes enthusiastically! Show your motivation!
Of course, as already described, you should certainly listen to resistance, but do not focus your attention primarily on the resistance, but on those who contribute constructively to change. Show that this behavior is worthwhile!
Change manager tip 6: Give people time to digest the change!
We supported the change management of a company that wanted to outsource an IT department from a large corporation. The manager had known about the change for nine months before the employees found out. As expected, people had concerns, worries and separation pains. The manager had also gone through these phases, but nine months earlier. At that point, she had already accepted the new situation and wanted to get started. She became impatient with the employees and communicated in a derogatory manner towards those who had reservations. This did not contribute positively to the change process.
We often observe that managers approaching a change have forgotten that they themselves have been dealing with the upcoming change for a long time. This gave them time to digest resistance, get used to the new, come to terms with it and accept it. This process takes time. And your employees will need them too.
You should also give your employees this time. It takes time for them to digest the message, accept the unpleasant aspects of change and realize that change is inevitable.
Therefore: Be patient with people!
However, being patient does not mean retreating; deal consistently and clearly with your employees’ emotions!
Change Manager Tip 7: Live a constructive error culture!
Sooner or later in the change process, the time comes when your employees start to try out the new things. For example, they try out the new program, find new ways of communicating, live the new processes or get involved in the new organization.
Learning means making mistakes
Of course, when you start something new, you have to try it out first – and you are slow and naturally make mistakes. As the saying goes: no master has ever fallen from the sky. It takes time and, above all, many failed attempts before you find a good way of dealing with the new.
This will also be the case in a change process: there will be mistakes and setbacks, new difficulties will arise, your employees will take detours. This is normal and takes time. It is important for you as a manager to remain constructive even in the face of such setbacks and difficulties!
So never react critically or even with resentment to mistakes, don’t look for someone to blame! If you nag and bully your employees for trying out new things and not yet being able to handle them perfectly, they will very soon lose interest in the new things. That can’t be in your interest.
Therefore: Talk calmly and constructively about the mistakes that have been made, how the situation can be improved and what steps can be taken in the future. Praise people for daring to try something new and encourage them to keep at it.
Welcome trial and error!
Establish a process of regular constructive reflection!
One example is the introduction of Scrum.
Switching to the agile process and project management Scrum is a major change for a department or organization.
You can safely assume that such a process will not run smoothly straight away. The Scrum method considers it a given that errors and obstacles will occur; reflection and improvement of the process is planned as an integral part of the process. In a Scrum process, reflection meetings are held after each work stage (sprint) to evaluate progress. On the one hand, the team takes a look at the results, i.e. what the team has achieved (sprint review); on the other hand, there is a sprint retrospective meeting in which the process and the collaboration are evaluated.
This is where the questions are asked:
-
How did we experience the process?
-
What worked well?
-
What didn’t work?
- What ideas do we have for improvement?
At this point, employees can talk openly and constructively about the process or the change.
They then look together at what they can improve in the next stage of their work.
Don’t demonize mistakes, but analyze them and find better solutions together!
TIP: Such a retrospective is excellent for any type of project and any type of collaboration in order to learn from each other and improve. Even if you don’t live Scrum!
Change Manager Tip 8: Celebrate successes!
Brain researcher Dr. Christian Hoppe puts it in a nutshell:
“Motivation is a well-founded expectation of success.”
It is therefore important to give successes time and attention.
Recognize successes, make them visible – and celebrate them!
If something has worked well, communicate this! Appreciate those who have been successful and don’t be afraid to publicize their success! Everyone should know that. Also communicate what exactly led to the success. This will encourage your employees and show that you are committed to the change. After all, we want everyone to see that the change was worth it!
External change managers (change management consultants)
A change process therefore needs to be well planned if it is to be successful. The most important thing is to take people with you. If you have little time to devote the necessary attention to this process, or if you are unsure, get professional support. We at the berlin team will be happy to help you take the right steps to make your change process a success.
