3 Skills You Need for Managing Organizational Change.

Are you facing changes in your workplace that make you feel uncertain about how to navigate your career? You are not alone. Organizational restructuring and management turnover are happening at rates not seen since the last recession, creating heightened uncertainty in the workplace. As companies seek to keep up with AI advancements, rising costs, and tightening capital markets, more pressure is being put on employees to deliver higher results without incurring incremental costs.

Three skills you need to master

If you are in a situation where your role is changing significantly, there are three skills you need to master to position yourself for success.

Clarifying Expectations

Leveraging Your Network

Securing Resources

Clarifying Expectations

Everyone must be on the same page regarding expectations when roles and responsibilities change at work. Sit down with your leader, and ensure you understand what they want you to accomplish. Getting clarity on desired outcomes and operating parameters can help you to understand what is important and the actions you are empowered to take to deliver against expectations.

If you are taking on an expanded role, understand if any tasks will be deprioritized or completely divested. As a rule, if you are currently working at capacity, you can only take on additional work if some of your previous work is removed.

When collaborating with clients, I frequently use a full teacup as a metaphor for capacity. If a teacup is full to the brim, and you add a tea bag, the cup will overflow and make a mess.

To make tea without creating a mess, leave some room for the teabag. By sitting down with your leader, discussing your current duties, and aligning with them on what tasks will be removed, you create the capacity to accomplish your goals without making a mess.

Leverage Your Network

The second skill you want to leverage is accessing your support network. Take a 360-degree look at those around you. Who might have skills, knowledge, or insights to help you navigate your new environment successfully?

Employees frequently struggle with change because they are unwilling to communicate to those around them that they need help. Part of the benefit of working within an organization is collaborating with people with a shared mission. Connect with others within your organization, share your challenges, and request assistance.

By casting a wide net and taking in feedback from multiple sources, you can gain clarity on the actions you need to take to thrive within your organization. You can also establish strategic partnerships that will allow you to exchange value with your co-workers for mutual benefit.

Secure Resources

The third skill you want to use is securing resources. You can do this by starting with the end in mind. Define the ideal end state, and craft a plan to take you from where you are today to where you want to be. Then devise a strategy for gaining what you need to accomplish your goals.

When change occurs, it is vital to determine resource needs. For example, if you were planning a road trip to the beach, you would take the time to decide how you would get there, along with what items you

would need to bring to have a safe trip. You would take time to plan the trip to ensure you have enough gas, drink, food, sunblock, and other niceties necessary to make it to your destination and enjoy yourself once you get there.

Similarly, pausing to determine what resources you will need to navigate organizational change will help you reduce stress and find success. A few resources you may need are

• more frequent meetings with your leader to align on priorities

• additional training so you can effectively take on new tasks

• extra budget so that you can deliver against raised expectations

• more autonomy to make decisions without having to talk with leadership

The better you can articulate what you need to succeed and advocate for those resources, the better positioned you will be for success.

Summary

One constant thing in business is change—your ability to flow like water when your organization changes will position you for success. One of the things that makes water so unique is its ability to take on the shape of whatever it is in. Employees who can metaphorize themselves to fit into whatever environment their organization puts them in position themselves for long and successful careers.

Peter Drunker once said, "One can not manage change. One can only be ahead of it." The best way to stay ahead of the changes in your organization is to clarify what your leadership expects from you, leverage your network, and get the resources you need to succeed. This will allow you to stay ahead of the curve and be prepared for what is coming next.

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Thank you for reading this blog

Dorian Cunion is an Executive Coach and Business Consultant with Your Path Coaching and Consulting. He is a former retail executive with over 20 years of experience in the retail industry. He is a Co-Active coach who focuses on helping professionals and small business owners overcome insecurities, knowledge gaps, and lack of direction. He does this by assisting clients to tap into their values, recognize their strengths, and develop actionable strategies for growth.

Have you been trying to improve your career or business on your own but are not seeing success as fast as you desire?

Book a free discovery call to discuss your goals and how I can help you accelerate.

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How to Take a Stress-Free Vacation.

What would happen if you had to be away from your business for a month? This is a question that every business leader should ask themselves. As a business consultant, I use this question to help business owners understand the quality of processes, procedures, and infrastructure that they have in place. When there are gaps in their infrastructure, I work with them on

Establish redundancy in key tasks.

Ensure processes and procedures are written.

Delegate before your need to.

Reinforce a culture of accountability.

The importance of infrastructure

When an organization relies heavily on its leader to drive day-to-day activity, any interruption in the leader’s ability to work and provide direction has the potential to derail execution. I remember working with a business owner that resisted developing employees until he was in a car accident that left him unable to walk for 3 months.

Fortunately for the business owner, he was part of a franchise system. The Franchisor provided him with additional support to keep his business running until employees in the store could be trained sufficiently to run the store. I always remember thinking that this business owner would have likely lost everything had he not been part of a system that was able to support him in his time of need.

Most independent business owners do not have the luxury of having external business partners that can help them during times of need. For this reason, it is immensely important for small business owners to build enough infrastructure within their businesses to continue running, with or without them.

Establish redundancy in key tasks.

The first step to improving the infrastructure of your business is to ensure that each task within your organization has more than one person that can complete the task. By training more than one person to do tasks like payroll, ordering items, making deposits, and other mission-critical tasks, the business can continue to prosper if the manager or owner is on vacation.

Ensure processes and procedures are written.

The second step is to define the processes and procedures essential for your business's effective operation.

When employees are trained properly and understand why and when tasks need to be completed, they are more likely to complete tasks unprompted. The time you take to define how and when tasks are to be completed will help to establish habits and routines that will keep your organization moving like clockwork even when you are not present.

Delegate before your need to.

Step three is to develop the competency of your team through delegation and feedback. In anticipation of the need for your to have time off, it is imperative that you give your employees the opportunity to develop new skills. People learn best by doing, and you can build the competency of your team by allowing them to take on increasingly complex tasks and providing them with feedback to help them grow.

Reinforce a culture of accountability.

Step four requires you to invest time in ensuring you have the right people on the team and that they are bought into your mission. When your employees work inside your business as if they owned it, they are more likely to step up when needed. This starts with hiring people based on character and potential, investing in their development, making them feel valued, and holding them to high standards. When you can influence your employees to hold themselves accountable, it reduces the need for supervision and management.

Summary

You work hard so that you can enjoy the fruits of your labor. Prioritizing infrastructure development opens up the opportunity for your to take time off of work without having to worry if the important tasks are being completed. Investing time in

• Establishing task redundancy

• Ensuring processes are written

• Delegating before your need to

• Reinforcing a culture of accountability

allows you to take time off without having to stress about your business. It also provides an extra layer of protection against the uncertainty that life brings us all.

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Thank you for reading this blog

Dorian Cunion is an Executive Coach and Business Consultant with Your Path Coaching and Consulting. He is a former retail executive with over 20 years of experience in the retail industry. He is a Co-Active coach who focuses on helping professionals, and small business owners overcome insecurities, knowledge gaps, and lack of direction. He does this by assisting clients to tap into their values, recognize their strengths, and develop actionable strategies for growth.

Have you been trying to improve your career or business on your own but are not seeing success as fast as you desire?

Book a free discovery call to discuss your goals and how I can help you accelerate.

Talk with Dorian

Have Feedback Send me a note at

Email: dcunion@yourpathexecutivesolutions.com

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Investing in Employees: Why and How to do it.

How often do you say, “I am the only person that can do this.”? It is a common thought of many small business owners and managers. I hear a bit of pain and exasperation whenever leaders say those words. You know your business would be better served with more infrastructure and better-trained employees. Still, the gravitational pull of day-to-day activities prevents you from dedicating the time needed to train your employees properly.

Why are you not investing in your employees?

It is important to acknowledge why you need to make time to train employees properly. You may believe it is better to do things yourself or that you do not have enough time in your schedule to train employees. This is short-term thinking and limits your growth. It is critical to assess how you are currently spending your time and identify tasks that you can defer or eliminate to allocate time for training and developing your employees.

Benefits of investing in your employees

Carla A. Harris’s book Lead to Win cites that taking the time to understand your team’s developmental needs and designing opportunities and projects that allow them to learn and develop expertise is vital to driving employee engagement and motivation. You want highly productive and loyal employees. To get this, you must invest in their development.

• Better performance: Properly training employees will equip them with the skills and knowledge they need to do their jobs well. This leads to higher productivity, quality, and customer satisfaction.

• Happier employees: Investing in your employees shows them you care about their growth and development. This boosts their morale, motivation, and loyalty. They also feel more valued and respected, which reduces stress and conflict.

• Improved comfort delegating: The more confidence you have in your employees’ abilities, the easier it will be for you to delegate tasks to them. This will free up your time and energy so you can be more strategic and focus on the things you do best. You also empower them to take more ownership and responsibility for their work.

• Better employee retention: When your employees know that you care about their development and provide them with growth opportunities, you are more likely to be loyal to your organization. All employees want to be valued, and there are few better ways to show someone you value them than helping them pursue their professional goals.

How to train your employees

Now that you know why investing in your employees is important, let's consider how to do it effectively. In Morey Stettner’s book Skills for New Managers, he highlights the importance of delegating assignments to employees in the right way. He emphasizes that it is essential for managers to outline tasks, communicate why they are important, provide room for employees to ask questions, and provide ongoing support.

Here are some steps to ensure you are putting in sufficient pre-work before delegating takes to employees.

• Tell them what you want to be done: Before you start training your employees, make sure they understand what the goal of the training is, what the expected outcomes are, and how they will be evaluated. This will help them focus on the right things and avoid confusion or frustration.

• Show them how to do it: Once you have explained what you want done, demonstrate how to do it yourself or use an expert or a peer. Use clear instructions, examples, and feedback to guide them. Ensure they can see and understand the critical aspects of completing the task.

• Let them do it: After showing them how to do it, give them a chance to practice independently or with a partner. Observe them closely and provide constructive feedback and encouragement. Correct any mistakes or misunderstandings as soon as possible.

• Have them teach others: The final step of training your employees is to have them teach others what they have learned. This will help them reinforce their learning, identify gaps or errors, and boost their confidence and communication skills.

Supporting Employees During Learning Process

You will find that some people you work with need to gain skills in taking instruction and retaining information provided during training. As the teacher, you can increase the likelihood of your lessons being retained by influencing your employees to:

• Take notes: Taking notes can help your employees remember what they have learned better and refer to it later. Please encourage them to write down the training session's key points, steps, tips, and questions. If you still need training material on the topic you are coaching on, give the employee the responsibility of creating a training document to train future employees.

• Brief back what they have learned at each step: Briefing back is a technique where you ask your employees to summarize or repeat what they have learned. This will help you check their understanding, clarify questions or misconceptions, and reinforce their retention.

• Encourage them to ask questions along the way: Asking questions is a sign of curiosity and engagement. Encourage your employees to ask questions whenever they are unsure or confused about something during the training session. This will help them learn more effectively and avoid mistakes or misunderstandings later.

• Commitment to executing tasks at a high level: At the end of the training session, ask your employees what commitments they are willing to make around the task. The act of giving their word can reinforce the importance of the tasks they are being assigned.

Summary

Developing people can be one of the most rewarding parts of your work. You benefit from watching someone build new skills, gain confidence, and establish new competency. You free up your time, energy, and mindshare to complete other tasks. And you build value for your organization by generating a better return on everyone’s time. Prioritizing people’s development can be challenging but worth the effort. I challenge you to identify one task you can delegate to an employee this week. Identify an employee that has potential, allocate time to train them, and see what happens. My guess is that you will enjoy the benefits of seeing your employees grow while also creating space for yourself to lead at a higher level.

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Thank you for reading this blog

Dorian Cunion is an Executive Coach and Business Consultant with Your Path Coaching and Consulting. He is a former retail executive with over 20 years of experience in the retail industry. He is a Co-Active coach who focuses on helping professionals, and small business owners overcome insecurities, knowledge gaps, and lack of direction. He does this by assisting clients to tap into their values, recognize their strengths, and develop actionable strategies for growth.

Have you been trying to improve your career or business on your own but are not seeing success as fast as you desire?

Book a free discovery call to discuss your goals and how I can help you accelerate.

Talk with Dorian

Have Feedback Send me a note at

Email: dcunion@yourpathexecutivesolutions.com

For daily tips on leadership and professional development, follow me:

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