Large-scale organizational change often sparks fear. There can be comfort in doing things the way they’ve always been done, even when it becomes apparent that change is a strategic business imperative that’s supported by data and coming whether we like it or not. To address the fear of change, it’s important to give every team member ownership in creating it.
Creating change is not just the responsibility of those in senior leadership roles. Creating real change is everyone’s responsibility. In fact, important initiatives such as driving diversity and inclusion, transforming corporate culture or advancing women’s leadership cannot be successful unless the initiative is operationalized and understood at every level of the company.
Fear of change, and resistance to it, is reduced if everyone sees themselves as leaders and agents of change in their spheres of influence. They are empowered to take steps in their daily jobs to implement change.
While it’s true not every employee has the ability to influence board decisions, hiring decisions or pay equity policies, everyone can be a leader in his or her sphere of influence. No matter what the role or title, anyone can take action on a daily basis to create organizational change and rally others to do the same.
Below are four tips to leading change in your sphere of influence. These actions are best executed in a sequential manner to drive truly meaningful change. The will to change is the single most daunting task for organizations, and the one most organizations are unprepared to do.