Let’s be real: we’ve all experienced a lot of change over the last two years. Change that has forced us to make drastic shifts in how we run our businesses.

If the pandemic taught us anything, it’s that change can’t always be planned, but it can lead to some major cultural shifts within your business — whether it’s a new procedure you need to roll out, an organizational uplift, or a major company rebrand.

Navigating these cultural shifts can be tough, but Becky Karsh, the former global head of people development at Uber, has mastered adapting to the waves of change.

The company has experienced quite a lot of change since they first launched in 2009 — massive growth, new CEOs, and the entire year of 2020, just to name a few. But even through all that change, the company has withstood shifts that would crumble other businesses.

In this episode of “Organize Chaos,” Becky shares her perspective on navigating change and how to shift your attitude towards it. Here are her tips on helping your team deal with changes in the workplace:

Uber’s four-step change curve

According to Becky, it’s important to have a system that helps your team adjust to changes in your business (planned or not). Uber uses a four-step structure, similar to the stages of grief:

1. Denial: the initial shock and confusion about the shift.
2. Resistance: the refusal to participate or deal with the new change.
3. Acceptance: the realization that this is the new normal.
4. Commitment: the desire to be part of the solution (change).

The company uses this structure as a tool to help employees navigate their response to a major change within the business. And ultimately, the guide shows employees how they can contribute to making the change as smooth as possible.

By easing their team through the initial shock and resistance to change, Becky shared that it’s easier to get their employees to a point of acceptance and participation.

The idea behind the system is to offer support to employees at any stage. Not everyone is going to process change at the same pace — some may be more resistant to something new while others adapt more quickly. This is totally fine!

By asking what stage employees are at, you can open avenues for communication, whether it’s through a survey or live feedback. Plus, it makes it easier for leadership to assess how employees are feeling about the change on a broader scale.

Everyone experiences change differently, so having a system like Uber’s four-step structure can help you handle your team’s response. Change isn’t easy — it’s a process. But having a structure for handling change within your team can help you make that transition smoother.

Train resilience

Change happens all the time. So one of the most important parts of navigating change is building resilience to it. For Becky, the perfect opportunity to build resilience is by working through change as it happens.

“The more change you go through, the higher your appetite for change. And the more resilient you become, the more strength you have against these types of changes.”
<blockquoteauthor>Becky Karsh, former global head of people development at Uber<blockquoteauthor>

One of the biggest challenges of change is uncertainty. People can feel blindsided when change occurs, especially if it’s not communicated properly.

That’s where a structure like Uber’s four-step stage curve comes into play. When it comes to adapting to change, your team knows that their feelings about the change are normal and will naturally progress to the next step.

Training your team to become resilient to change also means pushing them to try new things — and that means not letting empathy get in the way.

“I think that progress means encouraging people to think bigger, try bigger things, and then just being super supportive when things don't go well,” Becky shared. “If you're not failing a little, you're not pushing the limits.”

Cultural shifts are going to come with highs and lows as you and your team adapt to the changes they’ll bring to your business. And pushing the boundaries of what you can do with that change can lead to some mistakes.

But as anyone involved in growing a business knows, mistakes are learning curves. And building resilience to change means analyzing where you went wrong, and knowing what you and your team can do differently next time.