A change manager is an essential employee in times of transition. The right change manager can make things go smoothly and allow all the changes implemented to actually support the business. However, a lousy change manager can make things even more difficult during a critical time.
A great change manager anticipates problems before they happen, handles criticism effectively, and is transparent whenever possible. They actively listen to employees’ concerns and change their communication style if needed. Also, they build rapport with teams to ensure changes are taken in stride.
Having a great change manager makes all the difference. Below, we’ll list the thirteen qualities you should look for in a change manager (or build if you’re looking for a position in change management). First, let’s discuss the role of a change manager.
Who Is a Change Manager?
A change manager is a person who helps others adapt to change.
This isn’t always easy; while some people might welcome changes with open arms and embrace new opportunities, others might be resistant out of sheer habituation (or fear).
Furthermore, even if everyone is excited about the prospect of change at first glance, all new things take time to learn and adapt to.
Many organizations may need additional support during transition periods, and their change managers must be creative about problem-solving. This could mean:
- Hiring new staff
- Implementing new systems or standard operating procedures
- Getting the team on board with the changes
Business environments evolve constantly, driven by market conditions, technology, people, culture, or new ideas. Changes are happening all around you. The best change managers embrace this reality and use it to their advantage.
A great change manager understands that change is an opportunity for growth and development rather than something to fear. When a company undergoes a transformation process, a change manager takes on new responsibilities and learns how to become more effective in their current role. The key is being open-minded and ready to meet these changes head-on when they occur.
Let us now discuss the qualities that make a great change manager.
1. Anticipates Problems Before They Happen
The change manager’s role is to help employees and customers understand and adapt to new ways of doing things. Change can be challenging, even in the best of companies.
This person needs to be able to accurately predict how people will react, anticipate issues, and have a plan for dealing with them—before they happen. A great change manager isn’t just about tactics or getting buy-in; he needs to understand people’s emotions and personalities to ensure the company doesn’t lose momentum during change.
An excellent change manager is psychic, in a way, predicting where there may be roadblocks or where problems may arise. This way, the team will be prepared for issues and take steps to figure out solutions before they even happen.
2. Ability To Handle Criticism
Change managers need to be able to take on feedback from others to improve themselves as leaders. However, they should also know when criticism isn’t constructive or helpful so they can ignore it without damaging relationships.
Sometimes change happens in response to feedback from customers or employees. In such cases, the organization may have been doing something wrong while trying to make a correction. Other times, change is planned; the organization wants to do something different from what they’ve done before, even if there isn’t any particular problem with the current method.
Change could also be crisis-motivated; at times, people get fired up about making improvements when faced with an urgent situation (like losing customers).
Regardless, tensions may be high when a change manager comes in. It’s up to the change manager to handle personal or more widespread criticism. The change manager should learn:
- Not to take things too personally
- To accept feedback that makes customers and employees feel heard
- To take what they’ve learned with an open mind
If someone cannot handle criticism, they may need to consider a different management position.
3. Is Transparent Whenever Possible
A great change manager knows the difference between information that needs to be shared and information that’s on a need-to-know basis.
Whenever possible, it’s vital for your employees to feel they have access to all the information necessary (even if you’re hesitant about sharing it). This is because transparency builds trust among teams plus they can use this information during times of uncertainty (like significant transitions).
Change is hard for everyone, and it can be even more complicated when you are trying to change how your company works. When there’s a new leader in charge or when significant changes need to be made to stay competitive, employees are bound to have questions. Sometimes these questions result from them feeling like the new changes are an attack on their work ethic or worth as human beings.
The best change managers know how important it is to listen and answer these concerns with honesty, compassion, and confidence. They help people understand that:
- Yes—this will take some getting used to and
- No—you won’t be asked to do anything that goes against everything you stand for or believe in as an employee.
A great change manager will know how crucial being transparent about this stuff is for morale and motivation at all levels of the organization. Besides, if people feel like they’re being misled or left out, things start going downhill quickly.
4. Great Communication Skills
Communication is essential because it’s not a one size fits all kind of thing. Even within the same company, different employees will need different levels of support and communication to thrive.
A great change manager can:
- Help ease transitions
- Answer questions
- Work with those having a more challenging time dealing with the changes
- Help employees adapt to new ways of doing things by providing the resources needed for the transition.
- Become an advocate for those who have had their roles changed or been let go due to the restructuring of the organization’s workforce
5. Encourages Others To Ask Questions
People often feel uncomfortable asking questions and want reassurance that their ideas are good. A change manager who encourages others to ask questions and be curious about new ideas is more likely to build trust among his or her team.
Encouraging others to ask for help when needed also shows that you care about your employees’ success, encouraging them to go the extra mile for you in return.
Everyone is going to have questions during a change. Still, the company’s culture dictates how many questions will be asked in public and how to ask in private. A good change manager will help everyone ask questions during meetings, go by the no stupid questions policy, and ensure everyone feels comfortable requesting the information they need.
This is particularly crucial at the beginning of a change. Employees may not even know which questions to ask. For this reason, a change manager should be able to anticipate questions and answer them in case everyone is too afraid to ask.
6. Ability To Build Rapport and Trust
Building rapport and trust is the most essential quality in a change manager. This requires you to be patient, empathetic, and knowledgeable. It makes employees feel comfortable enough with you that they can openly express their thoughts on your work changes.
Suppose they don’t feel safe talking openly with others because they think they will get fired or yelled at for speaking up or disagreeing with someone else’s ideas/plans. In that case, there won’t be any progress toward successfully implementing change.
People like to be heard—which can help you build rapport quickly. They can refer back to what they said in previous conversations or emails to keep the conversation flowing smoothly. A great change manager can build rapport by showing interest in others and asking questions about their lives, their families, and what they do for fun outside work.
Doing this shows that they’re listening closely and making coworkers feel valued and appreciated—two critical components of building trust between people.
7. Active Listening Skills
Active listening is not just about hearing what the other person is saying. It also involves understanding what they are saying and what they are not saying. Active listening focuses on asking questions that will help you understand the other person’s point of view, which will, in turn, help you determine how best to develop solutions for them.
Active listeners have the following qualities:
- They maintain eye contact with their conversation partner when talking or listening. This shows that they are paying attention and showing interest in what’s being said and/or done by their conversation partner(s).
- They use open body language (i.e., arms uncrossed, legs uncrossed) to show openness and trustworthiness. This encourages people being spoken with or listened to feel comfortable enough around active listeners to feel safe expressing themselves freely.
Active listeners can hear the motivations behind what people are saying and know the right course to take to help them feel heard.
8. Manages Their Emotions
Emotional intelligence is a critical element of change management. This is the ability to manage your emotions in the face of resistance and setbacks.
As you can imagine, being a change agent means being able to do what’s right for your organization. It also entails having the ability to deal with all kinds of pushback as you try to implement changes within your company.
Staying firm in your decision-making, recognizing when someone else is upset or frustrated about a decision, and helping them work through these emotions are critical skills for successful change management.
A great change manager can manage their emotions:
- They are calm in stressful situations and will not let their feelings show through.
- They are assertive without being aggressive; in other words, they won’t yell at you when something goes wrong.
- They will professionally express their feelings with confidence and respect for the situation.
9. Negotiates Effectively
Ultimately, being a great change manager is about influencing and negotiating effectively and not about having a formal position of authority. It’s also about building relationships with the people around you, who might have more or less power than you do.
You’ll influence and negotiate with them throughout your career as a change manager, so it’s vital to develop these skills.
10. Sets Boundaries for The Team
As a change manager, it is your job to set the tone for your team. Setting boundaries for yourself and your team is crucial in ensuring you can keep track of the goals you want to achieve. It also helps everyone on your team understand their role in achieving those goals.
11. Impressive Adaptability Skills
Adaptability is one of the most important qualities you can have. It’s the ability to:
- Change course when faced with a new situation
- Change approach when faced with a new problem, or even
- Change perspective when faced with a new idea
You need to be able to quickly adapt so that you don’t become outdated in your field or unable to adapt as necessary for different projects or teams.
Great change managers also know what changes are needed and when they need to take place. They can look at where things stand currently and evaluate whether it’s time for improvement or if the current state of affairs is sufficient for now with no changes required.
The best way to gather this kind of information is through insight from others who may have been involved in similar projects before. You can rely on their experience for guidance instead of going off into uncharted territory blindly without any knowledge about how other companies handled similar situations.
12. Creativity in Problem Solving
Creativity is the ability to be innovative and develop new ideas and solutions. Change isn’t something that happens overnight; it takes time and patience to build a culture that supports change initiatives. A great change manager can adapt quickly to ensure everyone follows through on their commitments.
They can see things from a different perspective, think outside the box, and use their imagination to develop new ways of doing things.
13. Excellent Project Management Skills
To be the best change manager, you must have excellent project management skills. This includes:
- Managing multiple projects and stakeholders
- Managing multiple priorities
- Managing multiple timeframes
- Managing multiple dependencies and risks associated with each project (e.g., dependencies on other departments or teams).
- Being able to manage a team of resources (people, money, machines) effectively to complete your project’s tasks on time while staying within budget or scope constraints set by senior management. You need to do this while dealing with unexpected obstacles like external factors that may hinder progress toward completion of your goals.
And this comes with all of the qualities above, mainly touching on how a change manager interacts with others.
Sources
- Change Strategists: The Fear of Change: Why Is It So Hard For People And Companies To Accept Change?
- Change Strategists: 15 Most Common Challenges In Change Management
- Sage Pub: Anticipation and Organization: Seeing, knowing and governing futures – Mikkel Flyverbom, Christina Garsten, 2021
- NCBI: Emotional intelligence and organizational effectiveness – PMC
- Harvard Business Review: 5 Techniques to Build Rapport with Your Colleagues
- International Education Journal: Creativity in problem-solving: Uncovering the origin of new ideas
- Harvard Business Review: Adaptability: The New Competitive Advantage
