Navigating Change in the Workplace: A Leader’s Guide
Dealing with change is tough, for managers and team members alike. Much like any other large-scale international organization, PQE Group also experiences constant change, either due to internal reorganizations and partnerships or caused by external economic and political factors. I would like to share some of my experiences with you hoping that they will serve as a guide or indication that we all face similar challenges. Here is a reminder to all leaders who are navigating change, especially in these unprecedented times: there is no storm that a company can’t weather with the right leadership, a carefully structured team, and a relationship founded on trust and open communication.
The pandemic was an exceptionally challenging time for life sciences companies like PQE Group. We had to handle many unforeseen changes and uncertainties. Due to the sudden spike in demand for vaccines, many of our clients encountered shortages in supplies and disruptions to their supply chains, causing industry-wide delays in manufacturing. As a company in a very dynamic industry, we have grown accustomed to dealing with such problems and handling economic uncertainties, political crises, or client requests that demand us to take action and change our processes on the spot. By nature of being a consulting firm, we deal with issues on both ends, at the client side and internally at PQE Group.
Frequent exposure to crises – in an industry where it’s our responsibility to solve problems – eventually allows you to build resilience. Once you build resilience, you come to see any challenge as an opportunity. Leaders and employees should embody the same growth mindset in order to do well and be satisfied in a company like PQE Group.
Having like the flexibility to change what we do and how we do things is what makes us successful in our industry. Our company is always under transformation to the point that change is the only constant. As such, adaptability and openness to change are attributes that we look for in our team members. Departments interact and collaborate with one another or new departments are formed based on needs.
On the other hand, flexibility is not just a skill that we ask of our employees. As leaders, we also acknowledge that our departments (and each one of our subsidiaries) may require different leaders, with various leadership styles, to handle each crisis.
Imagine PQE Group as a ship sailing all around the world. It would be unfair to ask one captain to navigate all the uncharted waters by himself. Thankfully, PQE Group has lots of incredibly skilled captains, each skilled in their own field. For instance, I personally enjoy kicking off new projects and getting my teams excited about new opportunities, but I may need assistance following along on the updates in later stages.
In my experience, the only way a company can be successful in responding quickly to change is by empowering employees. We have lots of highly-skilled people at PQE Group. By giving them a chance to take the lead on decisions, and allowing them to state and implement their ideas we are able to take prompt actions. In a sense, it requires taking a leap of faith on both sides. Employees need to trust that through the guidance of their leaders, any uncertainty and issues will be resolved. Those members of the team who are risk-averse and resistant to change may need some extra encouragement. Make sure to invite them to the conversation by creating a safe space, where all opinions are welcome and mistakes are tolerated.
Leaders should be able to see their employees’ strengths and delegate work accordingly, giving them the responsibility to work on a task that they would like to work on. After all, it’s all a collaborative effort. Especially when dealing with change, I have found that an entrepreneurial approach works better and yields faster results. Empowering employees has surprising benefits on employee motivation and retention as well.
In today’s world, change is inevitable. Economic pressures force us to innovate and change, presenting new problems each day. There is no issue or change that a company cannot manage with an ambitious team, the right mindset, and the guidance of a leader. A trust-based relationship between leaders and employees benefits any team, especially during challenging times. Different challenges may call for different leaders and where leaders fall short, we may need to work with our employees, giving them opportunities to shine.
