Every company I’ve worked with has been going through a period of transformation. Some have been going through growth at a breathtaking pace, while others were rebranding, product redesign, or even a complete redefinition of identity to stay competitive in a volatile landscape. In each case, these companies were depending on their team to navigate the shift with ease.

Transformation and change aren’t unique to specific companies. Most organizations have to navigate changing tides consistently. How those organizations navigate that change; however, can vary greatly...and let's be honest, some do it better than others.

Many companies approach change management with the expectation of simply returning to a state of equilibrium. But the great companies? They look at change as an opportunity to advance, learn, and outpace their competitors.

So how do they do this? A big part of it is attributed to keeping their team in a state of flow. A state of flow can be achieved and maintained by intentionally walking through the change alongside your team, removing resistance, and engaging them to accept the challenge with you.

A few ways to keep your team in a state of flow during times of change

Take time to tell the story

This is the biggest miss I’ve seen most leaders make. They immediately dive into “next steps” without bringing them up to speed. To gain real buy-in and maintain a state of flow, invest time in ensuring your team understands where you've been, where you are now, where you're heading, and why you believe that's the right direction. Without this context, your team can't creatively support the journey and will keep asking when the next stop is.

Focus on one problem at a time

One of my favorite leaders would always catch me getting over my skis ⛷️ by saying “That’s a tomorrow Marnie problem” I loved how simple this statement was to course-correct when I got too far ahead of myself.

It’s easy for a feeling to go from “flow” to “drowning” in times of rapid change. Keeping your team focused on the current prioritized task at hand keeps them moving forward, which leads to discovery and growth.

Set clear goals

So the story has changed. This means your goals have probably changed too. That’s okay. To keep everyone in a productive forward motion, set clear goals, and be timely with feedback to allow for course correction (and less whiplash).

Empower them

There’s no better way to increase your team's problem-solving muscle, accountability, engagement, and confidence, than empowering your team to contribute to navigating change.

Check in with them

In order to navigate change, leaders need to be prepared to check in with their teams on a regular basis. Pulse interviews (or stay interviews, whatever you prefer) are particularly important in times of change because they can help identify the factors that may be causing uncertainty or dissatisfaction among the team.

A few questions you could ask in a pulse interview:

How are you doing? (yeah I know it’s obvious…but is it?)
What would be the one thing we can do to make work life easier for you?
Have you been satisfied with the level of transparency/clarity from leadership over the past several days/months/quarters?
Do you feel you have clarity on what you should focus on right now?
What are you most/least excited about looking forward to the next several months?
What concerns or worries do you have? (Don’t provide specifics here, just see what bubbles up to the surface.)
Does your current work align with your career goals? Are you having those conversations with your manager?
What is a word or phrase you would use to describe the vibe at this company today? 🎧

In a world that’s constantly changing, some companies seek stability, but exceptional companies view change as an opportunity. Any company has the chance to guide its team through a state of flow. Sometimes they may fall out of this state..and that’s okay. It's our responsibility to help them back into it, together. It’s these leaders and companies are the ones who will shape our future.

Flowy vibes,

Marnie

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💖🎧🎵 I help companies with culture and people operations without stepping on their vibe.

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Flow: Keeping your team in flow state during times of change