Managing people through the middle of change can be profoundly challenging. As noted in “How Do I Maintain Forward Progress?” things are not as they were and not yet as they will be – a fitting description of the neutral zone. Depending on the nature and scope of the change, reference points that people counted on as familiar may be gone. People can be disoriented to the point of feeling unbalanced. The question “Is this worth it?” becomes top of mind for many.
At no point in the change effort is your ability to manage people through this unsettling circumstance more important than now. Being visible, keeping people involved, helping to remove obstacles, recognizing all forms of forward progress, among others, are all effective, beneficial actions you can take.
However, additionally, there is a simple but powerful reference tool that you can use to inform and guide your management actions at this stage. It derives from William Bridges’ work on managing transitions and it’s called the 4 Ps. The 4 Ps, as expanded here, are instrumental to helping you define actions you as a manager can take to help people in the middle of change.
- Purpose – translate and convey the reason for the change in terms that are understandable to the people who report to you. Even if you did this at the beginning of the change, it is necessary to keep the purpose of the change front and center and stay on message.
- Picture – portray the end in mind as concretely as possible. The end in mind, not uncommonly, may evolve some as the change progresses, but your job is to help everyone keep their eye on the end state. You do this by describing to the best of your ability what the end state will look like overall but particularly for your unit.
- Plan – steps, pre-conditions, schedule, milestones, etc. This is not the grand project plan, but the person-oriented plan at the level of your unit. What steps and relevant actions related to the change will be affecting your people? When will they happen? How will people be involved? What can they expect? Your job is to advise your team of schedule, next steps, and how they will be involved so they don’t have to keep track of it themselves.
- Part to Play – this P has two parts.
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- Part one is to help people see their place in the outcome of the change. One of the deepest fears people may have is that there will be no place for them in the new environment. Help them overcome that fear by helping them see where they will be and what they will be doing.
- Part two of Part to Play is a role in the transition. Elsewhere and everywhere in The Change Kit is the message that meaningful engagement is the best change management tool at your disposal. Think of ways small and large but always meaningful that people can make a material contribution to moving the change forward.