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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.
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