Why do most change efforts fail or only partially achieve their full potential?
The primary reason is not paying adequate attention to the reality that all change is an emotional event. Moving away from a current state (known) to a desired future state (unknown) can create chaos! Good Emotional Intelligence (EQ) accelerates change.
A successful change strategy addresses both the technical and human elements. The GE Change Acceleration Process (CAP) model, developed in the early 1990s under former CEO Jack Welch, is used worldwide to account for both aspects of change.
The Effectiveness of any initiative (E) is equal to the Quality of the technical solution (Q) and the Acceptance (A) by those whose support is needed to implement it.
In other words, paying attention to the people side of the equation is as important to success as the technical side!
While self-awareness and self-management are important steps in developing Emotional Intelligence (EQ), social awareness and relationship skills are critical to successful change management. Build your social awareness skills to get a sense of the level of acceptance of your change initiative
Try This:
- Put yourself in the other person’s shoes and try to see the world from his or her point of view,
- Try to understand the pressures, responsibilities, expectations, and demands placed on the other person,
- Say “I’d like to know more about that”.
Asking people questions about how they feel will give them comfort as well as give you information about how to encourage their acceptance of the changes.
Your ability to accurately pick up others’ emotions and understand how they are being affected by change prepares you to interact constructively and create acceptance.