Being a smart Change Consultant is not only about knowing what to recommend or how to coach certain practices or frameworks. In my opinion, it’s more about understanding the difference between what we think employees know, how much time they need to adapt, and what actually works for the business. This is where intelligence comes into play to help understand people’s capabilities and abilities. And that is crucial if you don’t want to undermine employees’ psychological safety.
I’ve been working with several companies that have implemented many new technologies and processes. They use them to improve their performance and efficiency, but they don’t know how to match those with an adequate speed of change. Many times, it feels like some organizations are giving a Ferrari to their employees when they are struggling to drive a Fiat 600.
Human beings and collective teams have their own speed of change, and if you push them to go faster, they might be able to travel a few kilometers and feel the soft breeze in their face, but sooner or later, the engine will burn and they will just have the option to walk.
Don’t forget that human beings are not prepared for the exponential speed of change and understanding the right techniques to balance learnings and change is crucial.
Thanks for listening,
Erich.
