Last week, the BBC's Business page reported a story about a pair of innovative shop owners in Philadelphia who have set up a 'mobile' shop to take their products to the customer, rather than waiting for the customers to come to them.  This highly innovative approach is a perfect example of how businesses today must constantly evolve if they are to survive.  Those organisations whose people are more resilient to change, who are 'change-ready' and who actively seek change are the ones who will thrive and prosper.  But when the natural human reaction to change is one of fear, uncertainty and resistance, how do we go about building teams that are 'change-ready'? 

Exceptional Leadership - It should go without saying that for a team to be outstanding, they require outstanding leadership.  However, across the country, and indeed the world, businesses continue to place enormous demands on their teams, without giving them the leadership they need to achieve the desired results.  Creating teams that are adaptable and change-ready requires exceptional leadership, as we will see... 

Build Trust and Accountability - A change-ready team are robust and resilient, they are one unit, as opposed to a collection of individuals, operating independently.  They are highly effective communicators, are highly inter-dependent and recognise that team success comes from team effort.  However, a team can only operate in this way when they have absolute trust and accountability.  The leader must lead by example; doing what they say they will, holding the team and them self to account and being open and honest with their communication and feedback.  Suspicion is a very common reaction to change, and one that very quickly leads to disengagement within teams.  But leaders who have the trust of their team are far less likely to experience the negative impact of this.   (For more, read Trust and Leadership - The 7 Steps to Building Trust.)

Create a Culture of Innovation and Creativity - Teams that operate within an environment that encourages new ideas and ways of thinking are better equipped for dealing with change and are therefore more change-ready.  Innovation and creativity, by their very nature and definition are all about change.  Teams that make regular changes are more experienced in and prepared for challenges and failure and, as such are much quicker to adapt.  They recognise that occasional failure is part of the change process and that there are valuable lessons that can be learnt from it.  In their first few days of opening, the innovative Philadelphia pair mentioned above suffered power failure and were subsequently mobbed, but they've learnt from the experience and got straight back to business.

In order to promote such a culture within a team, leaders need to actively seek and  encourage new ways of thinking and operating.  They should ensure the team are able to, (and feel comfortable in), challenging existing norms and procedures, and not just in designated brain-storming sessions.  The team should feel able to raise challenges and present new ideas all of the time and leaders need to be ready to listen.

Learn and Develop - As with innovation and creativity, a team whose members are continually seeking to improve and develop their own capabilities will be more change-ready, simply because change is a continual presence for them.  For a leader to create a culture of learning and development they must start with them selves.  Leaders must actively work towards developing their own leadership capabilities as well as those of their team.  This might involve training courses, coaching, project work, capabilities matrices, setting up a central team information centre, etc.  Whatever the medium, leaders must promote and encourage self-development.  Not only will it make your team more change-ready, but it will also make them significantly more effective.

Be Clear on Vision and Goals - It is not unusual for a proposed change to alter the goals of an organisation and therefore also of it's teams.  However, all too often, these goals are not re-defined and, even more often, they are not communicated.  A leader can help their team to be change-ready by ensuring they are always crystal clear on what the team goals are and how they fit with the goals of the wider organisation.  Without this clarity, it would be like sending off a cargo ship, fully loaded, with no idea of their final destination or route of how to get there.  If organisational or team changes affect the goals, adjust the goals accordingly and make sure you communicate these changes.

Empower your People - Empowered people are more used to making decisions and thinking for them selves.  They are more able to react in an effective manner and, as such, are less fearful in new situations.  Not only does empowering your teams make them more change-ready, but it also frees leaders up to work "on the business", rather than in it; to focus more on strategy and the future.  It gives team members a greater sense of self-worth and value, whilst continuing to further drive engagement.  (For more, read Why Empowering your People is Key to Unlocking their Potential) 

The Will to Win - Motivation is critical to change.  Put simply, people will only change if there is something in it for them.  But in business, change can often seem initially unappealing and so creating this motivation can be difficult.  For leaders, it's about making sure their change-ready team also have a will to win.  In order to implement change effectively, you have to enable people to see 'the bigger picture' and communicate clearly the benefits of the proposed change.  Teams who want to succeed and reach individual and team potential will be more focused on longer-term goals and therefore more adept at envisioning this 'bigger picture'.  For these teams, the motivation to change lies in their will to keep improving, developing and winning.

In conclusion, building change-ready teams goes hand-in-hand with building highly effective teams.  Each of the points outlined above will make your team more change-ready and will also make them more effective, but none of them can happen without exceptional Leadership.  It is leaders who must work to build the internal strength of their team, whilst developing a culture in which team members are continually exposed to new and challenging situations and opportunities.