Alternative Thinking Counts - 5 Leadership Steps to Conquering FEAR of Change

We all FEAR things; whether it's public speaking, snakes or death. But FEAR can mean there's hope. Hope for you and your organization to change for the better. Businesses must be flexible to change in order to survive. Many leaders and organizations fear change. In this age of "do more with less," friction builds within the organization. This typically leads to a lack of cooperation between business units, increasing customer complaints, sagging morale and increased costs.

If you or any portion of your organization is in fear, it is paralyzed. This paralysis diminishes development, and becomes problematic to the organization. Now, fear can be good; this is where alternative thinking counts. Look at fear as an acronym, Finding Exceptional Alternative Responses. This is how real growth and productivity will occur during a change process. The alternative is behavior that cripples the organization's success.

The business landscape is full of uncertainty; however you can take measures to minimize the level and amount of disruptive change in the organization.

1. Recognize the problem. As a leader, the first step is to recognize there is a problem.

2. Second, bring in an organizational expert like me to survey the landscape. This professional will gather information from your organization using a variety of tools to validate your assumption.

3. The collection of data is then presented to the management team and a joint diagnosis of the problem is facilitated.

4. Once the problem is confirmed, an intervention strategy is developed and agreed upon by the management team and the organizational consultant.

5. The effects of the intervention are measured, evaluated, and then discussed with the management team.

This is not a single event. This can be a cyclical process. So don't think in terms of a one shot cure. This needs to be thought of as a treatment process.

One tool that is often overlooked in order to minimize resistance to change is training. It is typically the first budget item to be deleted in touch times, when it should be increased. Training employees and management to understand, implement and manage change is a challenging task, but the acquisition and application of pragmatic skills builds confidence.

It's all about finding exceptional alternative responses!

Wesley Ford is known as That Value Guy. He is a speaker and consultant. He helps businesses and organizations grow and develop leaders and retain employees of value using The Soldier's Method™; Values, Valor and Value. Come join one of his teleseminars by visiting www.thatvalueguy.com to learn more.

Article Source: http://www.leadershiparticles.net

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