New ideas can feel threatening. They force us to reconsider old ways of thinking and spark anxiety about what might change. Therefore, you must break down resistance and build trust in managing organizational change. You should also understand your nonprofit team’s perspective and articulate why this new way is better.
Sure, it’s a delicate balance. Inevitably, it involves the reality you have to become a better listener. You have to encourage people to think differently while respecting their ideas. Moreover, you have to know when not to push further so as not to alienate critical stakeholders.
Still, your organization has to drive innovation to grow your nonprofit. In the digital world, it’s not just about raising brand awareness and marketing technology. It’s also about old-school people management to evolve, change and grow. So, let’s explore some tips on managing organizational change within your nonprofit—especially in an industry resistant to change.
Help people see why the change is a good thing
If people don’t understand the benefits of a new approach, they won’t get motivated to adopt it. So, ensure your team understands why this new way of doing things is inherently better than the old way—not just in theory but in practice. Doing so helps them see the nonprofit change as something worth pursuing.
There are three ways to help people know why the change is a good thing:
- Clarify the nonprofit problem. You can’t solve a problem if you can’t identify it. Make sure your team members understand the issue you’re trying to solve.
- Explain the new solution. Next, you want to explain your proposed solution. What are you planning to do differently? What needs to change to solve the problem? Use examples where possible to make it visual.
- Discuss the nonprofit benefits of the new solution. Finally, talk about how the solution will benefit everyone. How will this new solution make their jobs easier? What will it enable them to achieve that they couldn’t before the change?
Set realistic expectations
When introducing a new initiative or policy, ensure your team clearly knows its role in the change. While you want people excited about the change, you also want to manage their expectations. In short, it’s essential to manage their expectations. When managing organizational change, if they don’t understand the scope of their participation, they might feel like the change is too big or they have to do too much.
Again, it’s a delicate balance, so keep in mind some vital tips:
- Clarify the scope of the change. When you introduce the change, make sure people understand the parameters. What exactly is the change? To what does it apply?
- Set nonprofit expectations for how people will participate. Once people understand the scope, set expectations for how they’ll participate. Will they be expected to make a specific change in their behavior, or will they need to shift how they do their job entirely?
- Set expectations for the change’s timeline. Finally, set realistic expectations for when the change will happen and how long it might take. How soon can people expect to start seeing these nonprofit changes? How much change can they expect at once?
Provide context and educate
When managing organizational change, ensure everyone understands the background of the new idea or initiative. Start by framing the change. Make sure people know why it’s happening and what the goal is for your organization. While you want to set realistic expectations, you also want to provide context, so people don’t feel like they’re in the dark.
Next, explain the reasoning behind the change. Why is this change happening? What problem is it trying to solve? What benefits do you hope it will have? Finally, use data and examples to support your reasoning. How can you show this is a better way of doing things? What examples from your organization or the field can you bring to make it more relatable?
Make it easy to try the new thing
Once you explain the new initiative, provide the tools and resources people need to start with it. People will feel more comfortable trying something if it’s a low commitment and doesn’t require a massive leap of faith. So, you want to make it easy for people to try out your new initiative to start seeing the benefits for themselves. How do you do it for your nonprofit? First, set clear expectations for what people are supposed to do. Ensure they understand the expected investment level and when they’re supposed to start.
Next, offer support for people as they start trying it out. If people have questions about how to do things or if they’re struggling to make it work, be available to help. Then, celebrate small wins. When people start moving to the new, and it’s working for them, acknowledge their progress. That helps people feel more comfortable with the latest efforts, builds trust in the initiative, and ultimately enables you to drive more change.
Give people a voice in the change
If some people are resisting the change, give them a voice in the process. You want to ensure that people feel heard and their concerns get considered. That can help get more buy-in from the team. So, ask people what they think and share their thoughts. How do they think this new initiative affects them? What concerns do they have?
Always be transparent about the change. Again, let people know why the change is happening, how it benefits the nonprofit, and how they can help shape it. Finally, ensure you include everyone in the process. Make sure people from all backgrounds and levels of the organization can contribute to the change.
If they don’t change, go around them
If the change is necessary and the people still refuse to adapt, go around them. Sometimes, a select few people in an organization can hold the entire team back from progressing. While it’s unfortunate, it does happen. At that point, you’ll have to consider what you’re going to do, including counseling them out of your nonprofit.
However, depending on the degree of the change, you might determine that you could go around the resister—at least for a time. Remember that to some, change is scary. To others, it’s exciting. Eventually, even the resister has to get on board. Understanding people’s perspectives, setting expectations, making it easy, and giving people a voice in managing organizational change is possible within your nonprofit.
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