There is no doubt that change can cause ripples or a sense of choppy waters and waves when announced. And this week we are seeing this in real time with the events of this week and results of the election causing waves globally. So what do you do when the emotions run high and the emotional response to a change is overwhelming for those who are impacted?

1) Allow the dust to settle:  When there is a surge of emotion it is best not to engage in the noise. Observe it, sure, acknowledging that there may be unhappiness and celebration potentially as part of the change is the best approach. What NOT to do is ignore the emotions and pretend that everyone is on board. This is inauthentic and starts degrading any trust that may have been built leading up to the change. It is ok to acknowledge that not everyone may be happy, and to provide options for individuals to provide feedback.

2) Have a leadership presence, adequate support and check in's available: The most effective change...

When introducing a change you need to assess the impacts to be able to respond with the appropriate change approach to be able to support all impacted stakeholders in an effective way.

Some project teams and managers will down play the impacts that a change has on a team. When asked 'so is this a big change' the response may be 'it isn't much of a change' and then as you unpack the impact you realise that the change is bigger than most thought. The driver often to down playing the change is the perceived inconvenience or the amount of perceived effort there will be in managing the change, however what is undermined by downplaying the effect of the change is the project or program's ability to effectively manage the change for optimal results.

The top 5 to ask

So my initial questioning is really to get an idea of the impacts of the change. And here are my top 5:

1) Who is impacted by this change?

2) What products or processes need to be modified as a result of this change?

3) What...