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How to Support Your Team During Times of Change in Nigeria

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Why Some Teams Struggle With Change and How to Fix It

In today’s environment, change has become an inherent feature that can impact any industry, including the organizations in Nigeria. According to a recent survey, it was revealed that 82% of Nigerian firms have experienced a certain level of structural changes in the last 3 years. On one hand, change offers new growth prospects, but on the other – it triggers employees’ stress, resistance, and interruptions.

Encouraging employees during such a time is very important to ensure morale is high and productivity is not compromised. Now let us discuss what success strategies Nigerian managers could follow in this context, turning to successful examples of change management.

 

Why Teams Struggle With Change in Nigerian Organizations

1. Resistance to Change

People inherently tend towards stability and that applies to all levels in the workplace, including teams. Organizational change resistance in the Nigerian context may result from rational attitudes such as fear, mistrust, or perceived self-interest threat.

Solution: To successfully address the issue of resistance to change in Nigerian organizations, serious efforts should be made to embark on early, and adequate communication. Change should be managed by recruiting support at all the levels of an organization and this should be accompanied by providing the teams with information on why something has to be done. Communal feedback and passion can help change the hearts and minds of the once-cynical audience.

 

2. Ineffective Communication

One of the most frequent issues that lead to the decline of change initiatives’ success is the absence of clear messaging that is consistent across different levels. If employees cannot appreciate why the change is taking place, when it will happen, or what the benefits of the change are then employee involvement is likely to reduce.

Solution: Use appropriate communication strategies for the change management process in Nigeria as follows, town hall meetings, infographics and team briefings. Cultural and organizational congruency guarantees that the message communicated is understood and meant to be received in that manner.

 

3. Employee Anxiety

Times of change are always characterized by increased stress. Employees working under such circumstances are likely to develop anxiety most of which arises from the possibility of job loss, new responsibilities, and inadequate skills.

Solution: Reducing change anxiety for employees in Nigerian contexts involves dialogue in dealing with change situations. It is suggested that one should provide for mental health or develop and hold stress management sessions. When leaders provide warmth, some of the employees’ concerns can be easily alleviated.

 

4. Skill Gaps

At other times, employees are helpless with change just because they are deflated with the skills necessary for them to be effective in the new situation. These gaps can slow down change: whether the change is adopting a new type of technology or a new way of doing work.

Solution: Providing training for Nigerian teams that are experiencing change helps make employees feel ready to deal with issues. Online courses and in-house training could help in closing these gaps, but special mentorship programs should also work.

 

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How to Fix Change Management Challenges

1. Build Resilience and Adaptability

Sustainability is highly dependent on the firm’s capacity to respond to changes in the environment and overcome setbacks. Interdependency seems to exist in Nigerian teams; while workers are often found to show some level of grit, purposefully cultivating this characteristic can help accelerate organizational change.

Practical Tip: Nigerian workplace teams can begin creating resilience through team activities, personal growth, and endorsing achievement in anticipation of change. For instance, when a company is implementing ERP across the company, it can mark the achievement of the onboarding of each department as a big achievement.

 

2. Foster Agility and Flexibility

Effective processes may hinder development efforts during change. Organizations in Nigeria should therefore learn to be flexible to meet the changing demands once identified.

Practical Tip: For Nigerian businesses to become agile and adaptable they require decentralising decision-making. If empowered, middle managers can more actively own up to the initiatives, this way the organisational implementation process is speedy and effective.

 

3. Support Morale During Disruptions

Most changes are always associated with a certain level of uncertainty and this is always bad for the morale of a team. This consequently implies that Nigerian organizations must pay keen attention to the welfare of their employees to sustain high levels of performance.

Practical Tip: Possible ways through which staff morale can be boosted during a disruption in Nigeria include; Developing flexible working conditions which can help employees manage their time during the disruption, ordering small incentives that can be awarded to the workers and engaging the staff in communication with the leaders.

 

4. Navigate Uncertainty Through Leadership

Most times, the team leaders have the responsibility of making sure that the teams remain on course even during these uncertain times. This is the reason why leadership based on a vision can provide confidence even to people who are finding themselves in a more complex situation.

Practical Tip: If organisational leaders are expected to manage the uncertainties of the Nigerian workforce, they are required to be competent and caring. Leadership is more credible and trustworthy when the leader shares his or her stories of how the organization accomplished great things in specific problem situations.

 

5. Implement Best Practices for Organizational Transformation

Change is one of the greatest challenges of management in any organization most especially in Nigeria and this is why it must be done with a lot of tact: strategy, understanding and realism. Research has also shown that organizations that take time to factor in cultural imperatives in their change management strategies achieve improved results.

Practical Tip: This research has clearly demonstrated that for effective change management to occur in the Nigerian context it is necessary to synchronize the change with the workers’ values and visions. For example, by arguing that change is simply to enhance career mobility or the welfare of the nation then this elicits higher commitment levels.

 

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Real-Life Example: A Tale of Two Teams

Let’s suppose there are two companies in Nigeria launching the same project, such as an AI-based CRM system.

Company A has a top-down organisational culture than the other two companies. Employees are informed through email but there is no maximum response time and no training given to them periodically. In approximately one to several weeks, the complaints pile up since the personnel are disoriented with the new environment hence delays in all the deadlines demoralization.

Company B starts the engagement by conducting a town meeting whereby the management presents the rationale behind the CRM and the organization’s strategic plan. They implement an upskilling program for Nigerian teams in transition with workshops and internal resources available. Working employees are keen the change with more self-employment and get the change as professionals progress.

The difference? A smart visible and sensible approach towards the process of change management.

 

Best Practices for Leading Change in Nigerian Corporate Culture

1. Start with a Clear Vision: Successfully outline what success looks like, and strive to make sure that people at every level have the same concept set into their minds.

2. Involve Employees Early: According to Evey, it benefits greatly from employee contact during the planning stage as it creates willingness and minimizes opposition.

3. Leverage Data and Metrics: Have goals that are quantifiable and which can be evaluated so that changes can be made as may be necessary.

4. Celebrate Small Wins: Praising the efforts which have been made during the project also creates morale for the teams.

5. Focus on Continuous Learning: Change is ongoing. This requires the development of a learning organization ethos that would prepare organisational members for future practice change.

 

Conclusion

There is no definitive guide to managing change effectively, but it doesn’t have to be disastrous to your organization. When it comes to disruption, Nigerian businesses may find it possible to turn the disruptive forces in their favor, and here is how; Addressing resistance, enhancing communication, strengthening the skills and morale of workers. Managers therefore have the task of creating psychological capital in work groups, promoting flexibility and summarizing and practicing applications in the Nigerian context.

Firstly, one realizes that it’s all about the people, secondly, one must ensure that the change is a means to an end – the end being organizational objectives, thirdly, it’s all about passion and true leadership. This way, Nigerian companies will not only manage risk but also build success amidst an unpredictable business environment.