What do you do if you want to empower employees during a culture change?

Sharing the "why" with the employees is so crucial for making this successful. And then invite them to work with you to co-create and implement initiatives across the organisation. If they are a part of the change process, they can positively influence colleagues/teams to help drive and sustain the change efforts.

The first thing to do in my mind is to actively listen to employees as to their values and beliefs before espousing your vision and goals. Taking the time to understand their interest perceptions will provide the insights as to the odds of success in aligning the vision and expectations of the organization. Subsequently, your description of the organizations' vision, goals and expectations can be presented and discussions around such can ensue. Your assessment of the alignment will require open dialogue and the ability to build trust in the relationship will be critical to the process.

Help employees connect to the global vision and charter. Have a change management plan for the team. Schedule employee and leadership connect sessions where the team can learn more. Planning on a change management transition particularly open workshops and regular change communications helps in bringing a sustained, strategic and effective change.

Foster a culture of trust by clearly explaining the "why" behind the change. Empower employees by delegating tasks & decisions, and providing resources & training. Celebrate successes & encourage open communication to build ownership & excitement for the new direction

A temática de mudança cultural é muito sensível e requer um cuidado grande nas etapas e principalmente no plano de comunicação junto as pessoas da organização. Por isso, o primeiro passo é que a mudança esteja muito clara junto aos C-level e muito bem conectado e amarrado com a estratégia do negócio. Após essa primeira etapa, começa a construção do plano de comunicação, como será o desdobramento, qual ferramenta/via usar, estruturando um storytelling onde contenha elementos dos principais motivadores e o que todos em conjunto ganharão com essa mudança.

If we really want to dwell into culture change them no lip service or lofty words will do There is an urgency to open a dialogue with the stakeholders to understand their concerns and issue and communicate the changes proposed with reason. It is when we engage the stakeholders and have their buy in our proposed changes will have any impact . While a top down commitment is necessary it only has an impact when all stakeholders join together to make it happen

As I've grown older, I've realized that many management lessons stem from experiences at home, school, or college. For e.g., my father's job required frequent moves, prompting my brother & me to ask questions & express our dissatisfaction with the change. To deal with this, our parents engaged us in decision-making and made us feel excited about each move by letting us contribute ideas, like choosing our new house. This inclusive approach fostered anticipation for each move and we eagerly anticipated the next destination. In essence, creating a safe environment where people can freely express themselves and contribute ideas fosters a sense of value and connection. Taking action on these suggestions enhances motivation and strengthens bonds.

Change = Chance - if you do it right. People want to know "why" change happens: no bullshit-bingo, no shishi, but honest treatment. That includes openness: listening & watching carefully. Freedom to create, where possible. Strict guidelines, where needed. First, change can be a mental threat, but when people experience it as a shared journey, positive energy can be set free. Therefore, change is a leadership issue and it should be set up professionally, not by accident.

More than opening a dialogue, we need to evaluate what changes we need to start. When we propose a reflection on how we are and how we should be, it opens a window showing that change has already arrived, it is not something of the future. Furthermore, they must realize the gains that this change will bring. It is attitudes like this that inspire cultural changes

Understand and discuss 5 building blocks must be achieved (in order) to achieve future state successfully: Awareness of the need for change, of the nature of the change (i.e. the business case); Desire to support the change, to participate and engage. This is all about choice and opinion; Knowledge of how to change, such as the skills and training needed to know how to support the change. How to implement new skills and behaviors; Ability to implement the change and demonstrate skills and behaviors;Reinforcement to make the change stick, to build a culture and competence around change.

Do the following : 1. Clear the requirement of change 2. Show the vision to employees properly 3.Guide them 4.Provide training 5.Show future growth of employees matching organisation goals and impact of change

From my experience, while driving culture change to encourage data-driven culture within an organization, it's equally important to provide training and coaching both for analytics & insights team members and business stakeholders. For the data teams, I usually focus on how to build a holistic view of the team's action plan and how to ensure strong collaboration with stakeholders. For this, I developed a training course on how to build and execute a research learning agenda. For business stakeholders, I focus on encouraging their thinking around understanding the 'Why?' behind the 'What?', as talking only about metrics and KPIs on a scorecard won't bring any strategic value and any actionable insight.

To make a consistent cultural change it is important to recognize the fundamental principles, which must be based on the potential that this team has and which must be strengthened and the behaviors and knowledge that need to be developed. This must be done with total transparency so that everyone knows and , with this, they can contribute effectively.

If I want to empower employees during a culture change, I prioritize comprehensive training and development. For instance, we might utilize tools like Personality Profiling (DISC or MBTI) to help individuals better understand their strengths and communication styles. Additionally, we might employ Design Thinking workshops to encourage innovative problem-solving and collaboration. It's crucial that training isn't just for the sake of it but is meaningful and impactful. Employees should be equipped with the necessary tools and skills to navigate the changes effectively. By investing in their development, I empower them to embrace the new culture with confidence and competence, driving positive change throughout the organization.

In my perspective, when undergoing a culture change, it is crucial to recognize the need for new skills or adjustments to existing ones, as mentioned. However, it is equally important to provide comprehensive training and support to empower employees in embracing these changes. By offering the necessary resources and guidance, we enable our team members to not only adapt but also develop the competence and confidence needed to excel in the new environment.

For this, create a cross functional dedicated "Culture Team", composed of people from every department and functions/ countries, that will take the lead of the topic of culture change. They will act as culture ambassadors, they will help other embrace the change. During collaborative workshops involving other employees, they will be the one suggesting new rituals, new communication actions, new processes... Give them the driver's seat and they will get your company to your new cultural destination.

Delegating authority to make decisions towards the person or role that is as close as possible to the place of execution of the decision is a hallmark of highly effective cultures. Check your own decision-making culture: do you get a lot of upward delegation? Reflect how you can create more trust so that decisions are being taken in the decision-execution zone. Say "I trust you with taking that decision" more often.

Decision-making is probably one of the aspects that has the most impact on people's motivation and sense of empowerment. I would say rather than delegating authority - distribute it. Delegation implies control comes from one direction and that authority might also be removed. Distributing authority on the other hand asks us to figure out who is best qualified to make a decision - together - and to stand by that distribution. Letting people maintain ownership even when they fail is a great way of truly empowering people and convey trust.

One thing I’ve found extremely helpful is giving employees more autonomy and decision-making power within their roles. This fosters a sense of ownership and responsibility, which can boost morale and productivity.

If I want to empower employees during a culture change, I emphasize the importance of recognizing efforts, both individual and collective, even if it results in a mistake. It's crucial to acknowledge the contributions of each team member, while also highlighting the collaborative effort. When it comes to individual recognition, it's essential to be mindful of how it may be perceived by others. Envy can arise if praise is perceived as unequal, so it's vital to ensure fairness and inclusivity in recognition efforts. By celebrating both individual and group achievements, we foster a culture of appreciation and unity, driving positive change within the organization.

Recognizing and empowering a team is when we bring more challenges and show our confidence, providing support for the most critical moments and valuing the results. Even if there are individual recognitions, we must focus on valuing the team and its complementarities.

Sustaining momentum plays a crucial role in empowering people during a time of cultural change (in fact any change) by helping them stay motivated, engaged and committed to the transformation. When people see progress being made towards the cultural shift, they are more likely to feel a sense of accomplishment and purpose, which can energise their motivation to continue embracing the change. In addition, sustaining momentum provides people with a sense of stability and assurance that the changes are here to stay allowing people to focus on adapting to the new culture and developing new skills and behaviours without worrying about reversals. As a seasoned change professional, I have experienced the rework needed when momentum is lost.

Maintaining momentum during culture change is hard. People are trying to get their work done, achieve KPI's, managing their lives and then we have the added emotional load of a culture change. Successful change of nay kind, helps the people involved know exactly what's in it for them. Creating communications, answering questions, reinforcing new behaviours that continue to press home the message that this is why and how this change benefits you goes a long way to helping people stay the course. And please, for the love of all things community ( and what is a workplace is if it not a community) accept that everything always takes longer than we expect it will. Be prepared for the " will this ever end" question.

It's crucial that the momentum comes from the employees themselves, as this fosters ownership and involvement. I ensure they have the right tools to maintain this momentum effectively. By empowering them to drive the change forward, we create a culture of accountability and initiative, ensuring that everyone remains committed and engaged throughout the transformation process.

The team needs to understand that change is a constant and that we have to follow it to measure the results, but it is essential that each one also evaluates how much they are learning and have become more mature. This gain they will take with them wherever they go. This is what will bring to them the great value of all that is being done.

Talk to them. Ask them for their ideas and input. Be transparent and open about plans, timelines, doubts etc. When a company is going through a culture change, your people are going through it too and will have doubts, questions, reservations - make communication your top priority!

What many employees/leaders tend to forget is that people MAKE culture. A culture isn’t something that happens to you - YOU have the power to help shift it in such a powerful and positive way. You have votes all along the way that many employees/leaders don’t even fully realize or leverage. You can use your voice and give feedback, you can control how you show up and demonstrate the company’s values even when it’s difficult or lonely to do so, you can influence others to be part of the positive change, you can hold your teams and leaders accountable, and you can inspire the masses! Positive culture change is all intentional transformation. It’s the people actively choosing better and actively choosing to work better together through it.

Empowerment during culture change starts with inclusivity. Involve employees in creating the project plan to foster ownership. Provide clear roles, accountability, and necessary tools. Communication is vital—establish open channels for suggestions and concerns, ensuring all voices are heard. Recognize contributions to sustain momentum and morale. Finally, ensure a psychologically safe environment, where employees feel secure to express ideas and take initiative. This collaborative and supportive approach is essential for a successful and sustainable culture change.

The questions LinkedIn poses on these "collaborative culture articles" are wild. Employees aren't empowered unless executives listen and respect their voices. Culture is set by executives. Everyone models leadership behaviors. That's the long and short of it. There are very few exceptions.

Culture change is not a top-down approach, or from the bottom-up, rather it's a process that's inside-out. True workplace culture change occurs when employees realize they themselves need to make changes. Since everyone "brings themselves to work" the current culture is a summation of everyone's character flaws and character attributes. Empowerment can come from a personal win (or at least the assumption that one CAN win in an area of their life), so when employees begin to work on their own known flaws and make improvements in their character, they will then bring their real "best self" to the table, empower others, and the culture will improve. 😉 I suggest leaders be the model. Be the culture change you want to see. Peace