Three Behaviours of Leaders Who Are Embracing Change In 2020

It’s the beginning of a new year and, for the vast majority of us, it’s a time when we’re feeling more open and receptive to change; we evaluate our past successes, what worked and what didn’t, and spend time making plans for the coming year.

Changes can apply to any and all aspects of your business; perhaps you’re looking to improve your hiring strategy, make adaptations to your policies, change up company structures internally or even implement new systems and technology into the day-to-day. Here at Certus we live by the ethos that if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got – change is inevitable, and truly a good thing for the most part.

This year we’re embracing it. It’s not always easy and the road to business improvement isn’t always a smooth one, but it’s necessary; so, here are our top behaviours of business leaders who are embracing change for their organisation in 2020:

Seeking out what isn’t working, as well as what is.

Embracing change can also mean facing some home truths and becoming more self-aware. This year, business leaders should be truly seeking out the things that could be improved from external sources, rather than just going off of what you know – or think you know.

In today’s corporate world of 5-star reviews and testimonials, harnessing customer feedback is key to bringing about positive change. Instead of just asking for another testimonial to display on your company website, survey customers and question what you could be doing better as a business – whether it be your product or service offering specifically, improving communication, and so on and so forth.

Knowing what’s going well and what you need to continue doing is important – but where there’s room for change, there’s room for improvement.

Understanding the why – and then the when.

It’s important that when implementing something new you’re able to articulate the reasoning behind it to your workforce. As a business leader you should be able to explain the benefits of what’s taking place, always demonstrating strong belief in why: nothing turns people off more than change for the sake of change.

And, on the other hand, know when to sit back and let things progress naturally – it’s all about knowing your business, knowing your employees and knowing how to handle things. Change can be timely or not, but as captain of this ship it’s your job to ensure that there’s always a solid ‘why’ behind it.

Promoting your business’ goals and vision consistently, despite the change happening.

Arguably the most important behaviour to exhibit whilst leading your business through change is ensuring that the company ethos is still as relevant and visible as ever.

Exuding your company values and providing reassurance to employees is key; it’s incredibly important that they too embrace change as you’re doing.

Change can, rightly or wrongly, cause frustration or confusion, and feelings of unease amongst staff; so it’s important that the things they know and love about their employer stand strong and true. It’s your job to lead the business through any period of change large and small, all the while keeping the brand and culture consistent throughout – assuming that isn’t what’s changing!

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As humans, we instinctively shy away from change; as business leaders, we have to overcome this very part of our being to drive our company forward. Even embracing change when it comes to simple tasks, like agreeing on the profile you’re looking to hire currently and thinking ‘outside the box’ to generate new talent, can be tricky to do

– but, as we’ve said before, change is all but inevitable and can truly bring about huge benefits.

What do you plan to do this year to drive your business forward? What other behaviours do you see as integral to embracing change across your business?