'Recognising the individual' key to change management success

‘Communicating in a way that refers to the individual’ is core to an effective change management pathway, advises Dr Pietro Micheli, Associate Professor of Organisational Performance at Warwick Business School.

In ‘Putting Yourself in Their Shoes’, the second of a series of ‘Talking Heads’ vlogs for Crown Workforce Management Systems aimed at assisting leaders in the change management process, Pietro highlights the importance of empathy when undertaking change.

According to the expert in organisational performance: “It’s about understanding the fact that change is not something that means the same to everybody. It is very much about connecting to individuals - everyone will make sense of change in their own ways, depending on where they are in the organisation, what their role is and so on.”

He goes on to emphasise the importance of empathy and the need to understand individual perspectives to achieve positive outcomes. When proposing change, irrespective of scale, Pietro recommends: “Explaining not just what the change is but how to go about it - it’s very much about establishing that individual connection that makes a great difference.”