A new chapter = a big change

It's been 5 days since I landed in the living room of my new husband's parents. It's been 5 days since I moved my life from our little 2-bed top floor flat in South-East London to a house in a field of sheep an hour north of Hamburg city. It's been 5 days since I woke up on the night ferry to the sound of a woman's voice on the tannoy asking all passengers to wake up and gradually proceed to Deck 9 to get ready to disembark and start a new day and a new chapter of life across the sea.

Change is funny.

Well, it's not funny really. It's difficult. It's exciting. It's daunting. It's inspiring. It's freeing. It's fear-inducing. It's identity-shattering. It's exhilarating. It's something new. Yet it's something familiar as we do it all the time. But somehow, sometimes, it feels so much more 'real' and 'meaningful' when you have something or someone to lose and you actually don't mind your everyday normal you'd become accustomed to.

Change, in life and work, is never easy and almost certainly invokes fear to varying degrees in those involved. As a leader, your responsibility is to put your emotions aside and lead others calmly through change so they have all the necessary information needed to make informed decisions about their own professional and personal lives with as much notice as possible.

Even giving plenty of notice doesn't make it any easier if you've been through the trenches with people and overcome seemingly impossible challenges together, only to be told at the end of it that you need to loose 25% of the team because budgets won't allow for continuity as is and the 3rd restructure is in the pipeline.

Yesterday, I taught a class with a global COO who struggles most with leading her team through extended periods of change and navigating these changes sensitively in English, her 3rd language. As someone who has been led successfully and unsuccessfully through transitions and change (having worked for 9 different head teachers in 5 years of teaching in London secondary schools and ridden startup and family business wave dynamics through transitions of ownership), I am fully aware of the small actions which leaders do or rather do not do, which result in making or breaking their staff's loyalty, trust and morale.

Good leaders in times of change can be seen doing the following:

1. Making a habit of saying a simple hello and smiling if and when you walk past any colleague or join a call (this trickles down creating company culture).
2. Communicating early and with clarity that change is coming.
3. Outlining support options for staff with key information and criteria used to make upcoming decisions and encourage continued dialogue.
4. Spending more time listening than talking and acknowledge people's anxieties, while recognising that change is personal and the experience will look different for everyone.
5. Recognising and rewarding progress and contributions that have been made, especially celebrating milestones and key achievements throughout the period of change to support morale.

But, as a Leader whose first language isn't English, how do you choose the right words if you know change is on the horizon?

Start with a few set phrases which you can practice and ultimately embed into your English vocabulary.

To let your colleagues know that change is on the horizon -

• "I would like to share that some changes are coming that will affect our team, impacting how we work and the roles we have.”
• “We are entering a period of change, and it may affect people in different ways.”

To recognise that change is difficult and personal -

• “I know this may feel unsettling, and it’s normal to have questions or concerns. I don’t have all the answers yet, but I want to be transparent about what we know so far.”
• “Some of the impacts are still being determined and I understand that can be difficult. We anticipate the challenges will not be positive for everyone.”
• “These developments will bring challenges and we’re aware of the potential impact on individuals.”

To offer support -

• “We’ll provide guidance and support as we navigate these changes together.”
• “We’ll do our best to help people through this transition and explore options where possible. Please feel free to raise questions or share your concerns with me directly or through channels where you feel comfortable.”

To encourage continued dialogue -

• “Let’s keep communication open so we can address issues as they arise.”
• “Your thoughts and feedback are important as we work through these changes. Please feel free to reach out to me. I am available / onsite on... X”

To celebrate milestones throughout the change period -

• “Let’s take a moment to celebrate the progress we’ve made together. Despite challenges, we’ve achieved [specific milestone], and that deserves recognition.”
• “Even as we navigate changes, I want to acknowledge this important milestone—it’s the result of everyone’s hard work and a significant step forward for our team. It is worth celebrating.”

To recognise contributions during the change period -

• “ I want to highlight the outstanding work [Name/Team] has done on [project/initiative]. Your dedication and effort have made a real difference - thank you for everything you do.”
• “Each of you has played a key role in achieving this, and I want to acknowledge that. Change doesn’t diminish the contributions everyone has made.”
• “We may be facing challenges ahead, but it’s also important to acknowledge what we’ve achieved together.”

Try choosing 2-3 key sentences from those above to embed into your communications with your team as the change period approaches. I'm certainly taking a moment as I move through this period of change to recognise all of my effort and the people who have supported me this far. As the German polymath Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe said, "A great person attracts great people and knows how to hold them together." If you manage change well, there is truly no loss as you'll be sure to see the great people again, perhaps in your next chapter.