One of the most common misconceptions when asking how to manage change is that is that organisational change management is a new concept, a fad which is akin to the latest management buzz word. In fact, how to manage change as a business strategy is as old as business itself. Perhaps the greatest certainty in business is that there will be a need for change.

When change is managed effectively, the results on an organisation and its people can be astounding. But when led by a change leader who doesn?t know how to manage change, results can be disastrous.

Five change management strategies that answer the question of how to manage change

Of all the change management strategies I?ve seen employed by organisations undergoing change, these five are the most critically employed by change leaders.

1. Understand that change is inevitable

The world is changing at a pace never before seen. At the forefront of this change is technology, and it is the change leader?s role to accept that change is inevitable. More than this, though, is the need to communicate the need for change down the line. Never allow expectations of slowing change to take root: change today is continuous and constant.

In my last post I wrote about how Cisco has adapted its organisational change management strategies and change leader program to cope with continuous change successfully. Now its employees not only accept continuous change as a part of their daily lives, but thrive on it.

2. Be open and honest for effective change management

Change impacts staff, and so the positive impact of openness should not be neglected. Establishing trust with open-door policies, open team meetings, forums, intranet tools, and the like, will engender a positive attitude toward change. Be willing to listen to people?s concerns and discuss them openly. Change leaders hear plenty of criticism, and it is how they react to it that marks them as a manager who knows how to manage change.

3. Good change leaders request feedback

Ask from feedback from your people. Some will be valid, some will be loaded with self-interests, and some will be deliberately destructive. All must be dealt with. When you ask for feedback and take notice of it, people begin to understand that they have influence in the change. There may be a little gem of an idea from your people which could completely transform your change initiative. Unless you request feedback, you will never give yourself the opportunity to find out.

4. Provide support when leading change

Once you have instigated a change initiative, your people will require support and training to overcome problems and embed into new processes and practices. You will, of course, have much of this prepared ahead of time. Be eclectic in your approach, utilising different learning methods so all employees are catered for. Make training appropriate to job and grade.

5. Change leaders accept failures and learn from them

Good change leaders recognise that not all change is successful. There will be failures along the way to the ultimate goals. Accept these and learn from them. Discuss them with your team and discover better ways to redefine the required change. Once again you will be involving the stakeholders of change, further empowering them and promoting a positive attitude toward the change.

Celebrate successes along the way, and recognise exceptional performance.

The key to successful change management

Change can be stressful on your employees, and with greater likelihood of continual change, understanding how to manage change is crucial. Your employees may be required to work extra hours, undertake alien tasks, and learn new ways of working. All the time, as a change leader you will need to keep motivation levels high and the change program on course. I?ve highlighted five change management strategies that have been proven to work everywhere I have been consulted. These five strategies have a common thread running through them: communication.

Communication is the key when faced with the question of how to manage change.