Big Surprise, Change is Hard

 

Try something new today. Whenever you type an email, try capitalizing the last word in a sentence instead of the first. 

Tough, right?

I know this example is silly (not to mention a bad idea) but it illustrates the most basic aspect of change. Change, even small, relatively insignificant change, is hard. You’re battling years, sometimes decades, of old habits and memories.

Now think about how change happens on teams and in organizations. It’s not small, it’s not insignificant, and often it’s not alone. Word in the street, and in most industries, is that “change is the new normal.” It’s just something we all have to get used to and deal with.

OK, so you try to get used to it and deal. Great.

But wait. You’re not only responsible for yourself. You’re a project manager, which means now you have to deal with your change process (which as we already know is hard enough), but now you also have to help a project team deal with it. Maybe multiple teams.

And every single person on every single team deals with every single change differently. Including you.

As PMs, we can’t resolve it all. But we can help our teams adjust.

• When change hits, show your support. Talk about the upsides, and be candid about your concerns. When you have concerns, follow the right channels to make your feedback known. Encourage your project teams to do the same.
• Listen to your teams. This isn’t just the role of a PM, it’s the role of any leader or peer in a time of change. Whether or not we manage functional teams, PMs are leaders, and part of that role is to be there for our people when times are tough.
• Keep as much stability as possible. If there is a lot of change in your organization, physical location, org structure, corporate policies, etc… maybe that’s not the right time to test out massive PMO process changes as well.

Change is hard. Some people hate change, some love it, but that still doesn’t make it easy. To help your teams stay motivated and on track, be supportive of them as they adjust, be patient, and mostly just be there.