Welcome to the Intersection of Change and Emotion

Change fatigue is real and likely being experienced by many within your team or organization and perhaps even yourself. So as a leader and Project Management professional, how can you help your teams overcome change fatigue? I’ve got six effective and easily accessible tips to help.

In this blog, you’re going to first develop a better understanding of the dynamics at play which cause and sustain change fatigue. Then I’m going to guide you through three major ways you can help those in your workforce overcome change fatigue with helpful, action-oriented tips along the way. Given the rapid pace at which our world is changing, this is perhaps one of the most important and meaningful pieces I’ve shared yet.

Understanding the Cost of Change on the Individual

Leading and executing change in the workplace is imperative today. Not only are there costs to the business when doing so (consultants, technology integration, equipment/robotics, hiring new resources, etc.) but there are also costs to every individual in the workforce having to bring the change to life: their physical, mental, and emotional energy. The greater these costs climb, the greater the risk of change fatigue.

You can overcome change fatigue for yourself and your people in three major ways: (1) reduce the costs, (2) offset the costs, and (3) mitigate the impact of spent costs.  Let's walk through each as well as a few practical tips to bring it all to life.

Strategies and Tips to Overcome Change Fatigue

Reduce the Costs – By this, I mean, lead the business in a way that balances internal and external pressures for growth with the costs required of every individual in the organization to successfully manage change.

• Practical Tip #1:  Streamline priorities to minimize the waves of change experienced by the workforce. Would you rather your workforce execute your top three change imperatives with excellence and rigor or your top ten with mediocrity and marginal success?

• Practical Tip #2:  Strategically execute change based on workforce capability and readiness. Your strategy can also include segmenting the workforce being affected by a given change initiative.  Give the highest change cost to that segment of the workforce with the highest capability and readiness rating.

Offset the Costs – In practice, this looks like offsetting the costs of executing change with clearly established and communicated gains for the individuals responsible for making it happen.

• Practical Tip #3:  Drive change with purpose, clearly communicating the 'why' and 'why now' behind the change.  The gain or offset for the individual is knowing that their work, their effort, the costs they're expending are being used to move a purpose or mission forward that they truly believe in.

• Practical Tip #4:  Create healthy incentives.  The gain or offset here could be monetary, influence, or personal development-related.  This helps create the 'what's in it for me' narrative.

Mitigate the Impact of Spent Costs – This is where your mind might have gone at the start thinking about helping others overcome change fatigue. They are the efforts you can lead to help mitigate or reduce the impact felt by individuals spending the costs associated with making change happen.

• Practical Tip #5:   Ensure robust well-being programs.  What are the outlets established for individuals in the organization to leverage when going through waves of change? Whether that be mental health training, external experts in place for coaching or guidance, or programs that allow individuals to take breaks from the daily grind.

• Practical Tip #6:  Prioritize people over profit.  Develop muscle memory within the workforce through training programs and increased opportunity to learn from low-stakes failure. Put budget in place to support these efforts. And even when stakes are high in the throes of change efforts, if an individual in your organization is being overwhelmed by change fatigue, work with them to understand what support looks like and provide it.

Change is inevitable, but change fatigue doesn’t have to be. By understanding the cost of change, reducing these costs, offsetting them with clear gains, and mitigating their impact, we can navigate our teams through the tumultuous seas of change with resilience and enthusiasm. Let's embrace these strategies, not just to survive but to thrive in the ever-evolving landscape of our industries.