Addressing people in change correctly: Feelings decide

Perhaps you know this situation all too well from your own company: when you talk to people from different departments, they often wave their heads tiredly when you talk about change in times of advancing digitalization. Because if many companies are currently turning their digital cogs, the focus should not actually be on fear, but on the willingness to change. And, mind you, an active change, not just an enduring one.

But that doesn't seem to be the case. People are putting up with the propagated change - but actively shaping it? Rather not! Various empirical studies confirm this attitude, although there is often no lack of investment. Companies allocate sufficient budget for change projects simply out of concern for their future viability. One indicator of this is the booming job market for change managers and consultants.

It is therefore much more important to look for this fear of change in other places and actively counter it: With the employees themselves, who should be actively supported in navigating through change. As change triggers anxiety in people, rational messages often don't help - only appreciation and empathy can help people in such processes.

A look back in history can help us to grasp today's dimension: In the century before last, Karl Marx described industrialization, which was only just beginning at the time, as a "crashing and stinking process" that would put an end to feudal structures and usher in a new era. The situation is very similar in the present day, if we are to believe the daily reports in the media: Digitalization is flattening everything that sounds like analogue. Digitalization first - a brave new world is emerging. It is understandable that such reports are not greeted with such euphoria by employees. For managers, too, this creates New challenges through digitalization. All of this makes it clear that such historic upheavals - and the changes they entail - can also lead to anxiety.

(Source: humanresourcesmanager.de)