Women in Financial Services
Leading through change with emotional intelligence
Katie.Dix / 24 Sep 2019
Kat is leading an E2W event on the 14th November 2019 on 'Leading through change with emotional intelligence.' In this event we’ll give you the opportunity to experiment with some coaching tools that will come in handy whatever your level of experience. This event is kindly hosted by our friends at IHS Markit. Please register here for the event.
People will remember your leadership in this moment.
Change is here to stay.
I bet your business is changing something right now. Organisations are being forced to react and become more agile. They need to innovate to keep up with industry trends of digitisation and automation.
So this means that you are going to be on the receiving end of new processes, job descriptions, priorities, divisions, structures, challenges, opportunities etc. NEW NEW NEW.
A lot of people find this level of change unnerving.
It makes us question our continued relevance in the organisation. It can cause frustration as new changes bed in, or outright annoyance when they don't work or slow people down.
As a leader, you will (hopefully) often know about upcoming changes before they happen, allowing you to prep the communication with emotional intelligence and empathy.
So what can you do to support your team and maintain your own well being during periods of intense change in your business?
1) Clear communication
When you come to communicate the new change to your team, you must remember that they are at point zero. What you say could be a small or significant surprise. Leaders regularly fail on this point. They're so far ahead on the change curve, that they struggle to take a step back and explain what led to the decision.
So get someone you trust to sense check your comms plan. And ensure you cover WHY the change is happening.
2) Tailor your support
People have different coping mechanisms for dealing with change. Some people will want to be given time to reflect while others have immediate questions. Some will be excited about what's coming and others will resist.
Knowing your team will help you to tailor your approach.
3) Engage the team
Ask the team to raise challenges and improvement ideas so you can create feedback loop for continuous improvement. As well as demonstrating your teams ability to adapt and flex, getting input from the team creates emotional buy in. It also gives you the opportunity to deal with objections early.
You’re aiming for empathy here, not sympathy.
Today I’ve just picked out just 3 ideas. We’ll be talking about leveraging your emotional intelligence to provide quality leadership at our event on 14 November.
As well as debating these points, we’ll also cover:
- the 3 emotional needs that drive us all
- the steps that help you guide your team through the change curve
- how to leverage your emotional intelligence and lead authentically
- practical tips to update your vision, goals and plans to land your messaging
- ways to reframe and remove blockers to successful change
I’d love to hear your views in November – please sign up to join the event here.
Kat Hutchings is a Leadership & Career Coach working with individuals like you to enhance personal & professional success and find perfect-fit next career moves. Her background in Financial Services leadership roles means she can identify with the challenges and opportunities you face. To enquire about Kat’s coaching programmes, please contact Katie for more information.
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