5 things you must do in the 'change of regime' situation

Adjust Mental Eyes To See The Change

As we live in the professional world, change of boss, leader, regime (or whatever we call it) is the business as usual thing. Commonly found and happen all around the world. It is the part of life that calls it as "there is nothing can resist the change, except the change itself". Change of leadership is something we have to see it in an utmost positive way of thinking and attitude, that we need to see it as bunch of opportunity instead of something that kills our comfort zone.

Let me take you back a while : isn't it quite clear that the management decides to change somebody in order to shift everything into better state ? So this change is intended for a better way to run a business, why we should afraid of it and becomes reluctant to accept it ? Are we somewhat the type of individual who doesn't want to get better and left behind ? Surely NOT.

What we need to do now is to find the best position for us, whether we are as an employee or we are as a new-coming leader. What it takes to get the maximum benefit from the opportunity opened by this change ? Check this out first !


5 things you must do if you're an employee

1) Ask for an audience and ask SCOPE (supportive-constructive-optimistic-productive-enthusiasm) questions.

Frankly speaks, it is quite tricky and may be difficult also. But, getting somebody new in the higher position comes in and rule the unit, the best way to familiarize both parties to each others is by doing the change of views healthily thru the comfortable audition (can be either formal or informal) where the new ideas and views are shared along with current achievements and capabilities. The work processes are started here by exchanging useful information and pave them into the solid ground to move and work together.

All with one condition : do it with SCOPE attitude. Any question raised and ideas proposed must sound the air of supportive attitude, aim for constructive result, build an optimistic feelings, boost the productivity and develop enthusiasm. You will be standing tall if you could lead the team to apply this golden rule. Try it !

2) Learn his/her plan and logic.

Whatever you call him/her and however you judge him/her, he or she is the boss. He or she supposes to lead. He or she is expected to safeguard the action plan. So be clear on what the boss thinks, what the boss plans and what the boss is afraid of. Acknowledge his/her comfort zone as well as his/her discomfort zone. Also learn and understand his/her view of work standard, quality of work, disciplinary rules, work ethos and ethics, and most important thing is how he/she plans to take the team move to the destined direction.

Simple example is, when the new boss comes, I and my colleagues quickly do the assessments and learning and we end up to have this story : the new boss is someone that is seeing the success as the collective achievement and should leave no man behind. With the past experience in the sales environment, spiced by his paramilitary training once he was young, he is a deadly discipline person with a strong work ethos and ethics. No room for democracy but no room for intervention and disruption. All are expected to move in rhyme accordingly. The strong helps the weak, the old teaches the young, and the high leads the low. His common logic is the strength of the team lies in the weakest team member, once the weakest one is already exceed the minimum requirement then the team is already exceeds expectation at once, and his duty is to ensure that the team works comfortably and focus to the objective and share the broad range of individual potentials to achieve common goals.

3) Show your worthiness and current achievements as solid base ground for collective works

Every individual is unique, and worth a respect both as individual and for the uniqueness. Also the team as a collective unit. Both for the collectivity and for the potentials gathered. I call this as a 'worthiness'. And our job is to show our worthiness honestly and transparently. Show what we have and what we can, don't bring what we can not do and what we don't have. Show what are achieved easily, bring what are achieved with pain and blood, and also list up the things that nearly miss out the expectations as well as what are far away missing out the expectation.

He/she would think instantly, "ooh I have A things to start as they already good in it, I need to improve B things as this is the area the team missed out last year, and I need to overhaul the C things as they seem don't have an adequate capability to deliver it, indeed I need to explore what more to bring from D things that are becoming a trade mark for this team".

Showing your worthiness would prevent any wild thing to happen such as major overhaul, drastic change of work culture, and enforcing the brand new approach of work. The new boss would carefully consider what are good already and what are needing improvements, and seeing the team and its members as a worthy resources, he or she  will be carefully explore the hidden potentials instead of doing an overhaul.

4) Seek for mutual commitment with a professional spirit

This is always difficult when we involve the world commitment. People tends to do one or both followed things : to avoid commitment and to be overly committed. Both are catastrophe for all involved parties. With a clear and fair view on the team worthiness and capabilities, combined with the shared plans, ideas and approaches, there should be the big big room for set up a mutual professional commitment on three things. Those things should be followed items : (1) What we would get, we would bring, we would give and we would take from this work ? ; (2) How we would manage the team and its member to be challenging the target labelled to the team ? ; and (3) When we would do specified items to do ? The questions of How, What and When are the magic questions to be answered by mutual professional commitments between the team and the new leader.

5) Show your interest to be partnered with the new leader

It is all about partnership. Work life is no longer about the boss and the rats anymore. Not also about the ruler and the ruled people. It is about professional partnership. Break the mental and cultural barrier to offer the hand and the goodwill first. Don't get yourself late, be the first to offer the hand and the goodwill to provide helps, commitments, and "partnership proposal".