How a human approach can help leaders navigate organisational change

Employee expectations have changed. Over 60% of today’s workforce expect better personal wellbeing from their job—up from 53% in 2015. And that’s not all.

Employees are also looking for a better work-life balance, a supportive environment for learning and growth, and a focus on inclusivity and celebrating different perspectives.

If businesses do not adopt a human-centred approach by considering the needs of the individual, they are more likely to experience decreased motivation amongst their employees, lower productivity, increased staff turnover rates, and a negative impact on overall company culture—which can impact our ability to navigate change.

As a psychotherapist and the founder of Self Space, a fast-scaling contemporary mental health service, I believe that by prioritising the wellbeing of employees, you can build resilience within your team to not only survive but thrive during periods of change.

What exactly is organisational change?

Organisational change is when a company or business alters a significant component, such as its culture, the underlying technologies or infrastructure it uses to operate, its internal processes, or the people who work there.

During periods of change, employees may evaluate their safety and commitment to the business. It can be unsettling and destabilising—and people may consider leaving as a result.

That’s why how you approach change is so important

With so much at stake, it’s no wonder our experience of processing (the steps we take internally to make sense of and understand, acclimatise, and realign with the new) can feel messy and complicated—and be exhausting to lead a company through.

What can you do to ease people through the transition?

Keep humans at the forefront. Yes—operationally, these things can feel huge. But lose sight of the humanness of people in the bigger operations, and we risk losing the glue that holds everything together. So how, as a leader, can you take a more human approach to change?

1. Create space for managers to tap into the emotional needs of employees
   Long gone are the days when we left our vulnerabilities at the door. 96% of employees believe showing empathy is an important way to build stronger teams and advance employee retention.
   
   Find out what feelings people have about the change. Are there any contradicting thoughts or emotions? How is this showing up in the everyday? What impact is it having on the work environment in general?
   
   Remember, this doesn’t mean it’s your job to solve all of the problems for your people or be entirely responsible for their mental wellbeing. But having a 360° view of them will help, and will be appreciated by your employees.
   
2. Stay with and accept these feelings
   
   When we try to avoid, banish, or pretend the real and difficult but important feelings around change are happening, we exercise them into the shadows making change more toxic and less productive.
   
   Instead, encourage open communication to allow valuable insights to surface. Research shows that when employees feel their voice is heard, they are 4.6 times more likely to feel empowered to perform their best work.
   
   You could encourage open communication by holding town hall meetings or open forums where employees can share their feelings and ask questions. This open dialogue will help you gain a deeper understanding of employees’ concerns, anxieties and perspectives. By actively listening and responding with empathy, you can create a sense of psychological safety, making employees more willing to speak up and contribute their ideas.
   
   Celebrating diverse perspectives and experiences can also reinforce a culture of acceptance. You could showcase success stories that highlight how employees from different backgrounds or teams collaborated to overcome challenges during the change process.
   
3. Face change head-on—even if it’s hard
   
   As a leader, this step can be particularly challenging, but it’s vital for successful transitions.
   
   Initiate honest conversations with your team members and don’t hesitate to ask direct questions about the change at hand. Take the time to understand their emotions and allow them to express feelings of vulnerability, fear, anger or nervousness.
   
   Encourage them to share the impact of these emotions on their wellbeing and performance using a scale of 1 to 10. Explore coping mechanisms to help them navigate these emotions, such as mindful breathing, journaling, or taking a walk.
   
   By genuinely enquiring about how your team members feel about the change, you can provide the necessary support they need during this period of transition.
   

It’s good to talk

When you make changes in your business, regardless of how well you navigate it or how necessary the changes are, it will destabilise people—that’s the nature of change. The best thing you can do is be a steady, reliable and consistent force during the transition.

We are all human. So the goal here isn’t to be perfect. The goal is to lead with compassion, empathy and understanding. When you feel your way through change, you will be in a much better position to support others through it too.