I was having recent discussions with a group of leaders at a client in the middle of a major restructuring exercise.
Our conversations had been ranging over the challenges of supporting staff through such changes, while also managing their own feelings about the potential impact on their roles.
A lot of the feedback they were hearing was about the uncertainty of what the change might mean, and the desire for more certainty.
They shared a lot about the range of emotions being reported- ranging from quite excited, through disappointment, frustration and anger, to quite fearful.
There was also a recognition that staff were reacting in various ways to the thrust and detail of the changes.
The difference in responses also surprised them, ranging from quite prepared to move on quickly to working differently, through to some staff quite resolute that nothing would need to change for them.
This generated quite a discussion in the group as to how to manage such widely varying reactions and expectations, while at the same time supporting staff the best way possible.
While the group’s inherent desire was to help “fix” the situation, there was a growing recognition that allowing people to “sit in the fire” was probably more appropriate- allowing them to take their own time and actions for appropriate pathways to emerge.
The tension for this group of leaders was the desire to “do something” to help (ie my role as a leader), while recognising that doing less may be as useful.
This felt a bit uncomfortable, weighing on the group members as it challenged their desire to know and be on top of what was happening.
But they also reflected that such new behaviour was probably a more appropriate response when facing such a significant and challenging change.
One of the group crystallised their learning quite nicely when they said “I’m getting more comfortable with the discomfort”, and reported that was also informing their actions in working with staff.