Managing change in a business can be overwhelming. A barrier to change is trying to do too much at one time. Changing the direction of an entire organization takes focus and consistency. If you’re telling your employees to focus on three things today and then telling them to focus on something different tomorrow, then they will end up confused and frustrated. You must limit yourself to 2 key initiatives to focus on at any given time.

The Problem with Trying to do Too Much

Remember, people are busy. If you try to focus on accomplishing too much at any given time, instead of doing more, you will achieve less. You’re employees work hard and have a full day already with their primary job.

If you add 3+ goals to their regular workload, then they will get overwhelmed. As a result, they will focus on their day to day responsibilities and push these new initiatives to the side. Employees might also become irritated with management for putting more onto their plate without taking anything off of it. If that happens, then not only will these initiatives fail, but team members will meet future efforts with increasing resistance.

Managing Change by Prioritizing Goals

The key questions to ask when prioritizing goals are:

  • How big of an impact will this have on the company?
  • How hard will it be to implement?
  • Does this help make our employees’ jobs better?

You want to prioritize goals that will have the most significant impact and are the easiest to implement. But the effect the changes can have on an employee’s job is an essential part of this process. If the change makes their job more comfortable or more enjoyable, then it should be prioritized. It helps them engage more in these changes and gets buy-in for these and future initiatives.

Having an employee-first focus can also multiply the impact you initially estimated for the initiative. When employees know that you consider how your decisions implement them and see the results of your initiatives, then they become more engaged in their work. When they are more engaged, they perform better in all areas of their work, not just the focus area of the change effort.

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