Whether an attempt to shift company culture, an effort to re-brand, or simply a change in processes, many company-wide change efforts are met with apathy or resistance.

When employees are hesitant to accept new ways of working, feel uninvolved, or lack a sense of voice or autonomy, change initiatives can be sabotaged before they even get off the ground. So how do you achieve this employee outcome, while still driving the business results you seek?

Ineffective change

Before we dig into what makes organizations thrive through change, it’s important to first take a deeper look at what doesn’t work.

Company change efforts are often born in boardrooms and corner offices. There’s no surprise there: Higher ranking company leaders have their fingers on the pulse of their company’s most pressing issues and make changes accordingly. Employers then often rely on top-down change methods to deliver change to their employees –– yet, the more they rely on top-down methods, the worse the results.

That result is often manifested as resistance and apathy among employees. It’s an understandable phenomenon, considering that it’s natural for most people to feel defensive when told how to behave. Of course, resistance is not necessarily limited to tenure; and all resistance isn’t bad. But when it comes to making lasting change, the process is best suited by listening to your employees’ voices and offering a degree of autonomy, elevating empowerment.

Our research and experience show that, by involving employees in the change-making process, you don’t have to choose between pursuing purpose or profit. In fact, you are best served by pursuing them together.

Moving from top-down to bottom-up

Change looks different at every company, but has a common thread: Effective change is enacted by the entire team. Your employees are the lifeblood of your organization –– if they’re not on board, your change effort will die before it ever gets started. When change effort grows from within the organization and is influenced by employees’ stories of lived experiences and lessons related to the problem at hand, that’s when you get positive change.

Carefully executed positive change methods can embed change efforts from within an organization’s core. Employees gain a greater voice, empowerment, and autonomy across collaborative teams, which creates a greater sense of commitment to the solution.

So what does positive change mean in the context of your unique business?

When executed using proven positive practices, a rapid chain reaction like no other permeates the organization shattering stale engagement paradigms and flat profits.

At Ad Lucem Group, our passion is helping forward-thinking company leaders like you find a better way to enact growth. Our approach helps employees experience more meaningful work which, in turn, creates greater engagement and commitment.

This benefits not only the employees themselves, but also significantly improves outcomes for the organization and your customers.

Are you interested in learning how to lead your business through positive change?
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