Your people aren’t going to be happy with the changes. They’re not going to like it. You’re right to be aware of their concern.

Change is difficult for your people. Some of them are happy with things exactly as they are now. You get it. You already know how hard it’ll be to get them on board, and you worry about their reaction. In fact, your concern about their resistance causes you to hesitate when it comes to making change.

They are slowing you down.

Your worry about their reaction is causing you to slow your progress. That’s a problem.

Of course, you’re right to worry about them and their reaction. I’ve seen their reaction up close and personal.

They freaked out when:

• we moved to a different office space,
• we ran TV ads,
• we ditched individual offices for lawyers,
• we got rid of desk phones,
• we eliminated paper,
• we hired a public relations person,
• we let attrition eliminate most or our paralegals,
• we switched to flat fees,
• we outsourced our bookkeeping and IT services,
• we moved to the cloud,
• we hired remote workers in other countries,
• we placed some lawyers in sales positions, and
• we outsourced our HR function.

The list of freakouts, meltdowns, and upsets is endless. All change comes with a people cost.

You’re right to worry. Some of your people are going to freak out when you make a change. Some of them are going to suffer from massive stress. Some of them are going to fight you. Some of them are going to quit.

Their resistance to change wears you down. It makes you tired. Because you anticipate the reaction of your team, you find yourself moving slowly. You find yourself second-guessing. You find yourself being slow to adapt to changing market conditions, new technology, and better options for marketing and management.

It’s a challenging situation. You can’t just leap forward and lose the bulk of your people. You’ve still got work that needs to be done even as you move the business forward. You’ve got existing clients that need servicing. If key people walk out of the door, then the changes will go unmade, and you’ll be busy patching up the holes created by the departures.

But you’ve got to make changes. You can’t grow without change. If you’re going to move forward, then change is required. If you’re going to implement your bold vision, then things are going to have to be different. If you’re going to achieve your dreams, then change is essential.

4 Steps to Implementing Change

How do you move forward and still have a team that will follow?

1. Formulate a vivid vision.

It all starts with your vision. Where are you going? What is it going to look like? What are you building? If you can’t yet see it, then this is where you need to start. Until the vision is so vivid that it feels to you like it has already happened, then you’re not ready to start making changes.

2. Articulate it.

Are you able to articulate your vision for your team? Can you say it? Can you explain it? Do they hear it? Are you willing to say it over and over again for years? Don’t expect others to see what’s in your dreams. You’ve got to be able to explain it.

3. Have a good reason.

Change for the sake of change is a hard sell. There has to be a reason to make change. If you expect your team members to endure their discomfort, then you’ve got to provide a good explanation for making the change. What difference will achieving this vision make for them? For you? For your clients and community?

4. Stick to it.

You’ve got to stick to the change. You can’t redefine the mission every six months. Create the vision and start moving toward it step by step. Imagine heading out on a road trip and changing your mind about the destination at each intersection. That’s not going to work if you expect people to follow you and believe in your leadership. Once you visualize the objective, you need to stick to it.

Change will, even when done right, be difficult. You’ll lose people along the way. Some won’t arrive at the destination with you, and they’ll have gone their own way during the journey. That’s to be expected, and it’ll be fine. The people who can’t handle the change likely wouldn’t have enjoyed the new situation.

As the leader of the change, the key for you is to anticipate the upset and the resistance. Acknowledge that change is difficult and continue to push forward. Bring those who are willing to come, and do your best to comfort those who find the adjustment stressful. But, no matter how hard it gets and no matter how much resistance you encounter, keep moving.

You can’t get there without change. It’s the way to where you want to be.