There are wild variances in how much involvement organisations are brave enough to offer their people in change. From those organisations where they just tell (sometimes by text message even!), to the most enlightened extreme, where they enable wholesale contribution to the change process.

Such organisations actually create the time and space to involve as many people as possible, in the issues surrounding the need for change.

This organism of change, where the organisation fully respects (an important word in this context), the ability of individuals to contribute, not in a patronising way, but more in a synergistic and fully contributory way, enables two significant and positive steps.

Firstly, involvement in the creation of change solutions, empowers people in what can be a very disempowering situation. They begin to have a role in their own and their organisations future.

This leads to a second significant point. The ownership of the solution shifts, so that individuals get really bought into the need for change and that they can contribute, sometimes much more than can be expected. Their empowerment values them as never before.

This can, with acute awareness on the part of senior managements, move the organisation from fire-fighting when things go wrong, to an ongoing search for quality, review and questioning of assumptions. This becomes as Ricardo Semler found in his wonderful book, Maverick, rewarding holistically, for the organisation, the employees and also the locality as a whole.

A marvellous example of embracing change, freeing a business owner and exemplar leader, and his team to realise their true potential.

An exercise to consider...

1. Think about changes where you have been involved.

2. How were the changes launched to you?

3. What were your feelings at the time?

4. What are your feelings now, in retrospect?

5. What might have made the experience better, in light of the information above?

6. How might you have done it differently?

7. In your own organisations, what opportunities do you have for involving your people in change?

8. How could you explore this further?

9. What could you do in the next month?

10. What will you do?

Change is an opportunity which can grab you any way you choose - or you can take the lead and choose your own path...

Martin Haworth

Thanks for taking a look at me! I work with people to help them realise their potential and make the most of their life. I also help managers to get the very best from their people, to make their businesses, teams, departments, whatever, to be successful.

Usually this is through my 'Coaching Managers to Coach' workshops, delivered worldwide, which includes experiential and hot-seat coaching for all participants - a great, fun learning experience. Click the big green link panel on any of the website pages!

There are over 1000 hints and tips, and that doesn't include the blog, which is updated pretty well daily, if not more often!

With a background in team management of groups from 6-300 and a great ICF coaching accreditation, I reckon I'm almost unique in my experience and training to make this work for you.

So take a look, checkout my other articles and maybe even set the blog page as a favourite:-) And, you know, if you want to get in touch, give me a call. I'll talk about almost anything, but I love helping people make the best of their workplace. Or e-mail me through the contact page on the site.

Ooops, I nearly forgot, I do manager soft-skills analysis with a programme called 'Intercept' and if you just want some one-to-one business coaching, I do that too. There's also a button on the navigation bar on the website pages for that too.

Fees, well, let me see, can I say that we can work something out? That's the way I work.

Thanks for happening by!

Martin