Small or big, change is unavoidable in the workplace.  Regardless of why a change is taking place and the benefits of the change, change is a leading cause of turbulence in the workplace.   Contrary to popular belief it’s not change itself that’s objectionable, it’s how it is managed.  When change is not managed well it’s easy to fall back on assumptions that people are resistant to change. 

Change is always accompanied by some disturbance no matter how well managed because it signifies the loss of something and there is a natural grieving process that cannot be avoided no matter how much the change may be wanted.  It’s up to the leadership team to manage change in a way that causes the least disruption.  One way to minimize the interruption to the day to day business is to become proficient at anticipation.

Anticipation is the key to connecting the dots between the big picture of why the change is needed and the real-time impact that the change has on the people affected.  Anticipation is pre-active.  It is the practice of thinking a decision all the way through to the end and preparing in advance for the outcome.

Change comes with a cost.  If not money, then time.  Change is not done on a whim or without reason.  Change is typically the result of trying to achieve a strategic initiative or in response to market conditions.

When change happens without anticipating the reaction of the people impacted it results in worry, confusion, stress, complaints, ‘grapevine’ conversations, fear, and speculation.  Not one of these reactions is productive.  In fact, failure to anticipate is decidedly counter-productive.

To fully utilize the skill of anticipation requires the ability to empathize.  To empathize is to think through how someone on the receiving end of the change might feel about it and to realize that everyone responds to change differently and each has their own time frame for processing and accepting change.

Leaders who lack anticipation skills may find themselves labeling their employees as resistant, difficult, or too rigid when the change they have been working so hard to bring about isn’t readily accepted.  Anticipation bridges the gaps that create miscommunications that can leave employees feeling unimportant and leaders feeling unsupported.

Anticipation is one of three vital factors of successfully leading change that fall under the umbrella of communication skills.  The more skilled a leader is at communication the more successful they are going to be.  Change is not going away and will only become more crucial to manage effectively in the future.

To learn more about the other two key factors of successfully leading change register for our complimentary virtual lunch ‘n learn webinar Leading Change When Change Is Hard at www.coachandmentor.net/events.