Change is difficult for all of us, which is why agile thinking in the workplace requires good leadership
A Change Is Gonna Come – A new beginning is rarely entirely clear
Starting my own business has been a tangible reminder to me of what change feels like. When you start something new, it brings with it excitement, expectations and opportunities. At the same time, questions swirl round in your mind: can I do this, where should I start, and what don’t I even know to ask yet? This is why one key skill is essential: agile thinking.
Although change Even if it is your own choice, that doesn’t automatically make it easy. Setting out in a new direction often means breaking away from old habits, putting up with uncertainty and building a new kind of everyday life.
In the world of work, the situation is often even more complex. You may not have chosen the change yourself, and its purpose or impact on your own work is not always immediately clear. That is why change is not just a plan, a process or a new operating model. Above all, it is a journey that people undertake towards something new.
Under Pressure – Uncertainty is part and parcel of change
When starting something new, there are moments when the next step isn’t obvious. You can’t plan everything in advance, and you won’t find an answer to every question straight away. As an entrepreneur, you realise this quickly: sometimes you have to make a decision based on the information available and learn as you go along.
The same applies to organisational change. In the midst of change, people may reflect on their own skills, the future of their jobs, or how familiar ways of working are changing. Uncertainty does not necessarily mean resistance to change. It may well be a perfectly natural reaction to a situation where the old way no longer applies but the new one is not yet familiar.
Good leadership does not eliminate all uncertainty. It helps to make it manageable. It means having open discussions, allowing space for questions, and being honest even when we do not yet have all the answers.
Lean on Me – You don’t have to go through this change on your own
Starting my own business has also taught me that I don’t have to know everything or sort everything out on my own. Support, discussions and other people’s perspectives are needed to help clarify my own thoughts and identify the next steps.
In the workplace This is emphasised even further. Adaptability is not merely a characteristic of an individual employee, but a shared ability to cope with uncertainty, to learn and to act in changing situations.
It is the manager’s role to create the right conditions for this. People need to understand why the change is being made, to have a say in how it is implemented, and to feel that they are not left to face the challenges alone. Simply providing information is not enough if people do not have the space to ask questions, discuss matters and address the impact of the change on their own work.
When people feel that they are being listened to and receiving support, it is easier for them to get involved in bringing about change.
The Climb – Agile thinking develops as you go along
Few people learn a new way of doing things straight away. Even as an entrepreneur, you have to experiment, evaluate and change direction. It is only by doing that you can see what works in practice and what still needs to be developed.
This calls for agile thinking and agilely (which is familiar to many in the software industry): the willingness to proceed one step at a time, gather feedback and learn from experience. It is not a question of abandoning plans, but rather of not treating a plan as set in stone, even when reality reveals something new.
It is also worth making change sufficiently concrete within the workplace. What shall we try next? How will we know if the new approach works? What have we learnt, and what should we do differently?
Good gliding It helps to keep the direction clear whilst leaving room for learning. It makes it acceptable to leave things unfinished and helps to gradually turn individual experiments into more permanent ways of working.
Here Comes the Sun – Small successes build confidence
The ability to adapt to change does not arise from everyone always being enthusiastic about change, or from uncertainty disappearing. It arises from the working community learning to face even difficult situations together.
My own start in entrepreneurship reminds me that building something new requires both courage and patience. You don’t need to know everything right from the start. What’s more important is to dare to take the next step, learn from experience and ask for help when needed.
It’s worth bearing this same idea in mind in the workplace. Good leadership does not mean that a manager always knows the answers. It means setting the direction, listening and creating the right conditions for people to succeed together.
What if, at the start of the next change, we didn’t just ask what needs to be changed, but also what people need in order to succeed in this change together?
