If you were totally depressed by Part III, I'm glad you came back for Part IV.  There is light at the end of the change tunnel, and with any luck, it won't be an oncoming train! 

The third step in the cycle of change is called Exploration.  During this phase, your employees will begin to accept that change is necessary.  They may begin to ask questions and show more enthusiasm for the plan.  Their underlying need at this point is to understand the intricacies of the goal that has been set before them.

As a leader, your job is to address any residual negativity and show your heartfelt appreciation for the progress that has been made.  Continue celebrating incremental successes, as we discussed in Part III of this series. 

It's important at this stage not to lose focus.  Set clear expectations for your staff and make sure to speak their language.  For example, it probably doesn't matter to most of your employees that making a certain change will improve your stock price.  If you want to keep them focused on the goal, tell them about it in terms of what it does for them.  If the change will make their jobs more secure, tell them.  If the change will reduce the injury rate in your facility, tell them.  If it will reduce the amount of asbestos they are taking home on their clothing for their children to inhale, it's important that they know that.

This type of conversation, the "what's in it for me" talk, should be taking place all through the cycle of change, but it is especially important now.  During Exploration, your employees actually want to cooperate with you, so it's vital that you communicate well enough that they will know what is most helpful.

The final phase in the cycle of change is called Commitment.  This is when employees become truly engaged in the new processes and are interested in learning how to contribute to the goal.  Their underlying need at this stage is to be given the opportunity to voice their ideas. 

As a leader, it would be suicidal to ignore your employees' suggestions.  Not only do they know their jobs better than anyone else, they also may have some great creativity that will only further your company's progress.  Even if not every idea is feasible to implement, your employees need to see that you are giving serious consideration to their ideas and suggestions.  Allow them to get involved - perhaps by forming a team of employees to consider submitted suggestions.  This keeps you from being the "bad guy" who only looks at why their ideas won't work.  Instead, it allows a group of peers to evaluate each suggestion and bring the best ones to you for a final cost/benefit analysis.

Follow through with the employees whose suggestions don't make the cut, offering coaching and feedback as to why the idea wasn't feasible and how it might possibly be modified and reconsidered.  Provide your employees with the tools they need, not only to accomplish their newly revised tasks, but also to discover even better ways to contribute to the overall goal.

In the chart below, you will see how productivity varies as time elapses during one cycle of change.  As you can see, employees progress through the cycle of change, with productivity dropping off, then picking up as they exit the cycle.  It is important to remember that each employee will progress through the steps of the cycle in a fairly predictable way, but at a very unpredictable rate.  You must allow your employees to work through their uncertainties at their own rate, providing support and encouragement at every turn.