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Change is difficult for many people, especially in IT where change often means breaking established systems and processes and frustrating users who don’t understand why things weren’t left well enough alone. But change in IT is a constant, whether it’s security changes trying to at least keep up with the bad guys, or applying automation to previously manual processes to save time and money. As the new year gets started, many IT groups are already knee deep in new projects.

The Center for Creative Leadership says that leading transition is two-fold: the structural side of change, and the more squishy side of the human dynamic in the transition. The latter requires guiding people through a process of grieving, letting go, building hope and learning.

You might not feel like IT staff goes through these stages when deploying new technology, but think about reactions when a project hits its first speed bump: “The old way didn’t have these problems. Why do we have to change this? Who chose this solution after all?”

Casey Coleman spent years as a CIO and in IT leadership roles. In a recent article, she offers some suggestions for implementing a successful rollout of new technology projects:

• Run a “campaign” for change. Don’t assume that people are on board – actively seek their support and convert neutral “voters” into advocates by addressing their concerns.
• Understand what motivates people. It’s often more than money or advancement. Autonomy, mastery and purpose are key motivators and critical to getting buy-in on a new project.
• Listen and learn. It seems like management 101, but give people permission to disagree and you’ll get better outcomes and higher commitment to final decisions.
• Over-communicate. Simple and urgent messages delivered by multiple leaders over multiple channels goes a long way to avoiding someone thinking that a technology change just sprung up overnight without consideration.

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