Managing Change Fatigue

Change fatigue happens when companies attempt to force significant change that is poorly managed on an unsuspecting workforce, leading, naturally, to resistance. Further compounded by a lack of empathy and people skills; ineffective leadership, this resistance – instead of being turned into acceptance and desire – turns instead to apathy and fatigue.

The insidious killer

This fatigue can literally be a killer to business success and has found to be one of the top two challenges that business leaders face. It can also be that change initiatives fail when the companies lack the skills to cement what has been initially desired and accepted transformations into place as per Lewin’s change management model; unfreeze, change and freeze methodology.

Collateral damage

The cost of change therefore; even positive change can be huge and so it can be helpful to embrace the view that a business is in a process of continual evolution where change becomes “the norm” instead of “one off” events that happen in isolation and are something to be feared and got through as quickly as possible.

Building resilience

This is the key to preventing change fatigue. Change management certification can help you how to roll with the punches to get with the program of continual evolution, and these are the message that businesses will be able to instil from top level down; into their teams:-

How to:

• Prioritize change efforts
• Employ empathy when embracing new best practices
• Teach stress busting techniques
• Build a culture of psychological safety

Hit reset

There is also a need to recalibrate people’s expectations. Especially with the recent pandemic of COVID-19 – there will be no getting back to what we previously held as “normal”. The world is changing; often faster than we would like, but in order to keep up we need to learn new skills. This is true even if this means hitting the “reset” button time and time again. It is in this way however that we can retain a constant sense of inner stability whilst still being able to move forward.

As a business; this means navigating the constant changing dynamics of the global marketplace whilst managing employees expectations, personal preferences and skill-sets in order to meet company goals and this is where a change management specialist can help.

Turn change fatigue into change energy

Business change always begins with baby steps and that is true even for personal change. If you want to lose weight then it is counter-intuitive to go on a starvation diet for just one week. What you need is gradual, sustainable change so that any underlying beliefs that previously may have held you back or even sabotaged you in some way can be gradually transformed and replaced by healthier ones.

Get into shape

What companies need to do therefore is to literally get into shape (perhaps through methods such as empathy mapping and ADKAR) in order to embrace the business opportunities that are to be found amongst the chaotic, fast-paced world outside the office door.