Lead people through change – and keep the balance within

When was the last time you caught yourself saying or thinking something similar to: „Back when I was working in this and that position everything was so different.“ And: yes, it probably was. Because the way we work today is profoundly different from “back then” and it’s still constantly changing. It’s no wonder change has become a key phrase in leadership and management discussions. How do you deal with change yourself and how do you lead your team through it?

Changes in the work environment automatically lead to changes in how to deal with certain issues and topics at the C-level as well as among managers and specialists. This includes very vital issues and topics like conflict and communication abilities, resilience and general attitude towards the change. All of these topics need a closer look.

The good side of conflict

Let’s take the trip back in time from the beginning and remember what used to be essential in conflict. It used to be all about confrontation of the parties, colliding views and – most of all – standing tall and persisting on your point of view. Showing strength – whether you were right or not. This paints the picture a bit black and white but you get my drift. Now leading through a changing work world is much more about constructive discussions and allocation. Conflict doesn’t need to be a bad thing. You can actually learn from it and develop. And your team can. You can award people competence and solve problems together. Because alone you’re pretty much lost.

Always communicate

There are different ways to communicate – obviously. But apart from a simply more comprehensive repertoire of communication skills, communication also serves different purposes today. Instead of commanding people what to do; today you need to make them a part. You are only as good a leader as you communicate it. Take your team with you by explaining, try to understand them and articulate smart.

Balance change on the inside

Resilience used to be a lot about general life crises e.g. sickness, the loss of loved ones, etc. to survive without "breaking". But consider that resilience also means to constantly face new extreme job requirements and deal with that. Sounds very familiar in these times of change right? But here is the really difficult part. Only when you manage to incorporate this into your work attitude and leadership you will manage to stay on top. Keeping the inner balance and constantly adjusting to change positively is more important than ever.

There are different means to get to this balance. Coaching is - depending on the personality - an adequate approach and can be effective. In my experience as a coach in this area, coaching proves to be very efficient in terms of systemic-constructivist views. This approach ensures that the entire system is able to protect and protect itself.