Three ways you can help your team be more open to talk about change

Jul 30, 2021
Change can feel like a taboo subject and one that many leaders dance around in conversation. Whatever the motivation for avoiding the issue, it avoids being honest and open about change and doesn't allow team members to get fully involved.
 
Here are three ways you can help your team be more open to talking about change:
 
1. Start with the positives
 
It is difficult to talk about change long term. Most people are only thinking in the short term: will it affect me? Will it disrupt how I do things now? Why can't we just leave things alone? etc. You can overcome this by starting a conversation with the positives of change and how they will make team members better or more effective. This positive approach will help get everyone thinking in action terms, rather than focusing on what might be lost if they start having the conversation about change.
 
2. Get their perspective on change.
 
We are more comfortable talking about what we know. The same is true for the people who work for us. Ask your teams to talk about change from their point of view, and you will quickly find out if the changes you are implementing will actually help them in the long run or not. You won't be asking them to do something foreign to them – they will be talking about change in a way they already know and understand. This approach will be far easier for them than having to learn new ways of doing things, which helps get everyone on board with your ideas more easily.
 
3. Ask them to help you change.
 
Asking your team to help you change means that they are actively involved in the conversations instead of being talked at about what is happening. You can achieve this by asking them how they would change something, asking their opinion on how to make a change, and asking them for their ideas and suggestions. This hack allows everyone to understand where the changes are coming from and allows the whole team to get involved in implementing change rather than waiting for others to do it for them. It also means staff feel more a part of what is happening, which is rarely a bad thing when it comes to being more open with your teams.

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