People Connection and Organizational Change

Photo by Tim van Rugge

Years ago, I was brought into an organization that had been going through high amounts of change. Teams had been shuffled, people’s roles modified with additional responsibilities, and new ways of working introduced. It seemed like everything had changed all at once. The organization struggled to digest the changes.

When I came in, I observed. I asked questions and shared my thoughts on what I was seeing and hearing. One of the most important things I did, though, was listen. Listening first built trust.

“Trust is a way of managing uncertainty. It’s a way of finding security in saying, ‘Perhaps all of this is uncertain, but I trust you.’ Or, ‘I trust this.’ And there’s a lot of uncertainty in the world at the moment, so it becomes harder to trust, I suppose.” --Tom Hiddleston in a NYT interview

So much energy was being spent “doing” change that people were feeling confused, disconnected, and unhappy. Those feelings lingered under the surface in meetings and daily work. A victim mentality propagated with the lack of a forum to voice concerns and feelings.

During organizational change, we must pay attention to creating a sense of connection. People needed to hear what was not changing to feel less fearful. Coaching conversations and retrospectives allowed people to process their experiences with the changes and make choices. Growing connections with and between people can reduce the fear and “resistance” that come up in change.

Spending a few minutes to chat with people about their weekends can be impactful. Holding one-on-one meetings sacred and focusing on the person rather than their work can be impactful. Spending time as a team reflecting on our interactions and how we want to behave with one another can be impactful. And as silly as it sounds, sharing cookies in a meeting can be impactful.