Change is inevitable — a phrase we hear much too often that we sometimes forget its truest essence. It’s constant, yes. And regardless of what industry or how good an organisation’s performance has been in the past, change will always be an unavoidable factor. We’ve already heard this a dozen of times before. But what do we do about it? We won’t just stop at accepting this cliche of life, won’t we? We will do something about it. Because while change is inevitable, progress is not.
Whether in business or any other set-up, growth depends on how well we are able to cope with change. That’s why we have this thing called “change management”, a structured approach to ensure that changes are seamlessly implemented, preparing people to switch from the current situation to the new one. When there are changes, say, to the company’s policy or management, the highest impact is always on the people, the most important assets of our companies. And so in change management, our top priority is to guide our team into adopting necessary changes successfully.
Here in this post, our aim to give you a list of unique an engaging change management activities that will help you prep your team by overcoming their resistance to change.
1. Cross Your Arms
No. of Participants: unlimited
Mechanics:
Instruct each of your team members to cross their arms, placing one over the other. Naturally, they’d do it the way they always do. They won’t even have to think which arm goes over which one. When they’re already pretty comfortable, ask them to cross their arms the other way, placing the other arm over the other. This will surely left them feeling uncomfortable. Some may even have to redo the first instruction to check which arm went on top when they first did it. Open a discussion as to how they felt while doing the exercise.
The Point:
- Most often than not, we do things unmindfully because we have been so accustomed to our ways.
- Change may come uncomfortable at first but doesn’t mean it will always be feel that way.
2. Change Your Seat
No. of Participants: unlimited
Mechanics:
From their original position, instruct your team members to move to a different seat. After a couple of minutes, ask them again to move to another seat. See how your team behaves the second time around, and again, open a discussion. Did they choose a different seat? Or did they go back to their original position? How did they feel while doing the exercise?
The Point:
- People have innate resistance to change, but that doesn’t mean that changes are bad.
- Getting out of your comfort zone can be scary, but it will give you a different perspective every time.
3. Bandinc.
No. of Participants: 10-350 pax
Program:
Bandinc. is the ultimate corporate band experience which spans from half-day to full-day retreats offered by Team Music. With this unique change management exercise, the aim to is train your team to play 2-4 songs using different musical instruments. The fun part is that participants are not required to have any prior musical background at all. Visa Worldwide, Yahoo!, Procter & Gamble, Changi Airport Group, Zalora and many others tried it and had a memorable team building experience with us!
The Point:
- Change is inevitable but with clarity of roles, spirit of collaboration, commitment to finish the job, and change management, the team will be able to reach their goal.
The Fun in Moving Forward
For us humans, change is one of the most difficult things to accept. But with these exercises, we hope to help you better illustrate to your team the benefits that come along with it. Enjoy!