Looking ahead to 2024, is your mind spinning around lessons you’ve learned over the past few years, or perhaps what needs to change with either your leadership, your team or your organization at large?

Change can be tough but, as the saying goes, “The only constant in life is change.” And you know well that there’s not a single organization or leader immune from this inevitable fact. Look at the pandemic—even businesses on seemingly solid ground felt impacts, some negative and some positive, but the companies, their people, and their leaders who thrived were undoubtedly those who embraced a mindset of adaptability; not resisting, but moving through the realities with a solution-focused approach.

If you’ve identified a need for change, the great news is that course-correction doesn’t have to be a scary undertaking. It can, in fact, be really exciting and even fun, particularly if you approach it with a mindset of adaptability paired with solid strategies to support the new course you’re hoping to take. Here are some proven tactics for ushering transformation and boosting your odds of success:

Introduce the change with a focus on the (new) goals. Your people are likely going to resist change to some degree—it’s human nature. So as you introduce and execute around any course corrections, keep in mind this isn’t about “being tough” or adopting an “authoritarian” leadership style to motivate your people, but reinforcing the importance and relevance of goal achievement. Paint the picture for them and clarify what hitting those targets really means and why a course correction is needed to ensure individual, team and company-wide success.

Drive a course-correction with the right resources and supports. When you’re shifting direction and setting new goals, it’s imperative to make sure you and your people have what they need to be successful. This might mean investing in change-management or professional coaching to ensure everyone knows what’s expected, that they are supported, and they have the skills and abilities to adapt and succeed. And, it might mean that you need to invest in more tangible resources, money, hours, business planning, and an accountability system to help keep everyone on track, focused and executing around the goals.

Expect challenges and setbacks. Like mentioned, change can be tough. And even when you have all the right tools and supports in place, both internal and external factors can trigger unexpected roadblocks. Taking a proactive approach, such as identifying and responding to potential triggers in advance of any issues, and even creating contingency plans, can help everyone feel prepared for the unexpected, build consensus around how to respond, and provide a roadmap to do so. Above all, it reinforces the mindset that people need to remain adaptable, a trait that’s valued culture-wide.

Are you implementing changes for the upcoming year and need coaching or training on how to do it most efficiently? MAP Consulting provides solutions, coaching and workshops around change-management that drive results around goal setting. Contact Us today!