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First draft of an article on intermediating change

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Jeremy Wall 2020-05-23 08:27:52 -05:00
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title = "Intermediating during change"
draft = true
date = 2020-05-23
[taxonomies]
tags = [
"management",
"mediation",
"empathy",
"change",
"learning",
]
+++
# Intermediating during change
> intermediate:
> verb (used without object)
> 1. to act as an intermediary; intervene; mediate. [Dictionary.com](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/intermediator)
A significant portion of my job these days is to act as an intermediator. I
stand between upper management and the teams that report to me. I mediate the
interaction between them. My role is one of translator, shield, and
understander in chief. I am the primary way that my direct reports understand
the goals, needs, and requirements of the company they work for. I'm also the
way that the company understands the mood, needs, and capabilities of the
people they have employed. This is, to say the least, the most exhausting and yet
in some ways most fulfilling part of my job.
If you work somewhere for long enough eventually you'll see a negative
narrative start to form. A policy change will strike people the wrong way. A
technology choice will be made that others disagree with. The triggering event
could be anything. But the effect will be somewhat predictable. Confusion,
feelings of neglect, anger, resignation, all might start manifesting in your
team. If you let them stay there then they'll fester and before long you'll
have a revolt on your hands. As a manager you can be reactive to these events
and find yourself playing catch up continually or you can be proactive and
manage the impact that these decisions will have on your team.
## Planned Change
Your ideal situation is to be proactive. If a change is coming to my team and
I've been made aware of it I need to take some steps to ensure the health of my
team as the change is happening. My first task is to understand the change and
what is motivating it. What is behind the change? Why does the company find it
necessary. What will be the impact on my team of this change. I need to be
empathetic to both the company and my team. Most change is motivated by
something but those motivations aren't always clearly communicated. My job is
to understand those motivations so that I can clearly explain them to the team.
No one likes change for no clear gain. But most people can get behind a change
with clear reasons behind them.
My next task is to understand the impact this will have on my team. What
questions are they likely to have? Will there be undesirable impacts that
management may be unaware of? If you can anticipate those questions or
potential setbacks you will go a long way to easing everyones minds. It's
crucial that management knows you understand the impacts these changes will
have on the team and can communicate them back to them. It's also crucial that
your team knows you are already proactively managing that impact on them. If
the change is going to slow them down and you've already let management know to
expect that then your team is going be less anxious about that change affecting
their standing at the company.
Once I understand the change that is coming, it's motivation, and it's impacts
then I can communicate it to my team. My goals are to help the team understand
the change and prepare for it mentally and emotionally. To do this I'm upfront
about the costs the change will incur. I make sure that they know I've already
communicated those costs to the people and if possible I detail how I've
negotiated ways to mitigate or handle those costs. I also make sure I listen.
Just because I've done my homework first and tried to anticipate all the
impacts doesn't mean there isn't something I missed or was unaware of. If I
learn anything new from the team then I commit to communicate it to leadership.
Both the team and the company leadership needs to know that I am an effective
translator and they can trust me to accurately represent them to each other.
## Sudden change
Sometimes change comes suddenly. Sometimes the environment for the company
changes so fast no one sees it coming until it's right on top of them.
Sometimes communication lines break down in a place outside of my control.
Sometimes I just drop the ball. When that happens first I have to accept it and
then I need to follow the same playbook but on an accelerated timeline. I might
have to tell the team that I'm working to understand the change same as them
and then commit to follow up with them when I learn more. If I've done my job
before this then I'll have earned enough trust for myself and the company that
they'll wait for that feedback and withold judgement. The company will be able
to trust me to manage the teams response to unexpected change as well which
reduces stress for everyone involved.
## Change is necessary
Change is a necessary part of growth at a company. It doesn't have to be
negative but if the change isn't properly managed and communicated then by
default that change will tend to produce negative attitudes. As an
intermediator being empathetic and understanding how that change will impact
both sides will go a long way toward change producing positive outcomes instead
of bad ones.