The Change Manager

Part 1 - The Change Manager 

The pandemic has shown that leaders at all levels need to be masters of change management. In health care, change management takes on a whole new twist in which leaders are typically physicians, executives, directors, and managers. In these cases, change management training is imperative, but rarely standard. Change leaders make change happen while managing the process in such a way as to benefit all involved - necessitating skills not always inherent to a leader. While leaders are often focused on outcomes and tangible results, they should pay attention to the underlying emotions and concerns of their team in order to make the change successful and sustainable. 

“Being skilled at change management is something all leaders and organizations need to take seriously and prioritize. With regular mergers, acquisitions, and other organizational changes, it is a standard part of the business world. The more prepared your leaders are to lead through change, the better the experiences your employees, customers, and patients will have.” - Nicole Braley 

Leaders can also take steps to facilitate change management such as recognizing the changes you are experiencing and acknowledging them on a team level, communicating clearly with your team about the changes, and leading with self-awareness. In our current environment leadership needs to be less visionary and more connective to encourage positive change.  

With the constant change that is disrupting most businesses, being in a place of ambiguity is commonplace. Add difficulty communicating strategies from the top layers down and moments of imperfect clarity occur. Lack of strategy leads to investment avoidance, decision deferments, frozen resources, and personal agendas fueled by fear, uncertainty, and doubt, none of which benefits a hospital, health system, company, or bottom line. 

When strategy isn’t quick or forthcoming, great leaders can still lead with steady, realistic direction and an eye for excellence and productivity despite the ambiguity. In addition, managers can take three steps during times of uncertainty as they seek to continue growing their team: take pragmatic actions, cultivate emotional steadiness in themselves and within their teams, and utilize others’ expertise.

Leaders can take pragmatic action by encouraging feelings of value. Go back to the basics and take measures to ensure your team delivers excellence until clarity is brought to the change. All the facts are never known in advance. Leaders can take intelligent risks while waiting for clarity and embrace short-term strategies in the interim. Companies cultivate emotional steadiness. Feeling unsettled during change ambiguity or unclear strategies is normal, however, leaders can proactively learn about the situation to ensure action based on fact and not a rumor, anticipate questions and focus on uncovering insight from internal networks. Communication is key, as is honesty.

Successful change leaders utilize others’ expertise, especially from leaders who have faced similar challenges. Engaging other leaders permits discovery of different points of view and change management strategies. In today’s digital world leaders can reach out to global thought leaders to expand their options as well.

A lack of clarity shouldn’t cloud a leader’s lack of ability, instead it can fuel performance and mastery of new skills. Leaders can create strategies that consider everyone’s  understanding of the reason for change, what is changing and how all of this impacts their individual roles. Focus remains on ensuring the change is sustainable, regardless of the intended duration of the change. 

Crucial elements for leaders to be trained in and practice on during change may include:

• Ensuring every manager is aligned and is resourced and supported to lead their team given the specific nuances each team may bring.

• Being sure your board and upper leadership are also aligned.

• Supporting your managers during the change so they can keep their teams motivated, engaged, and inspired. Train managers on policies and protocols that may be needed during this time.

• Communicating clearly and with more than a single email to your employees at large. Information and acknowledgment go a long way in keeping a calm culture and relieving company stress and anxiety.

Traditional leadership ways do not work when navigating the raw emotion, individual experiences, and life context that are ingrained in conflict, which in turn creates uncertainty and frustration. A balance can be struck between cooperation and conflict wherein growth and development are found. In leading relationally, change occurs in negotiating and dialoguing through these differences. Through everyday interactions leaders can take the conflict temperature during times of change and mitigate early conflict through not just cooperation, but negotiation, arriving at a better platform for change management.

Some believe training leaders in reflexive skills allows them to encourage employees and develop teams through which organizational change occurs. The reflexive framework is conducted through four tenets:

• Conflicts arise from the diversity of people and are common and to be expected, however, when handled well, they are opportunities for individual and organizational growth.

• Instead of insisting organizational change should occur through cooperation and putting differences aside, leaders should consider exploring differences to orchestrate change and growth.

• Individuals' experiences of conflict and change should be addressed in a framework of reflexive behavior where leadership emphasizes the experiences of employees and teams and pays attention to everyday interactions.

• Use storytelling to aid conflict resolution and explore differences. 

 Successful change management happens with a self-aware leader, connected and responsive to a well-chosen team acting at the right time. Regardless of which theory one prescribes, psychologists conclude that individuals do not react the same to a change nor do they react the same given a similar change more than once. Thus the need for relational leadership during the current environment produces change. This often requires training and re-training of leaders’ skill sets in the context of an ever-changing work environment.