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add value to the organization. In such situations, it may be necessary to work with HR to see options available like early retirement packages. Developing ethical and legal sensitivity Should there be situations where some employees are not a good fit for the culture change, then the choice of early retirement needs to be done carefully, keeping in mind that there are employment laws that need to be followed and also the exit of certain team members can have an impact on those who remain. The option of early retirement needs to be done in a sensitive and ethical way, without sending out wrong messages to the team. There may be replacements and these also need to be seen to be above board, otherwise the culture change process is impacted by the ill feeling and bad blood among those left behind. Changing organizational culture is a complex process that does not have a one size fits all approach. Organizational context is important as some organizations may have strong cultures in existence, and others may have a top down approach to management as compared to a more inclusive approach. Sounds exactly like Located at H O M E S GOLDEN BEACH RESORT DIANI marketing doesn’t it? As much as there are guiding principles, one marketing strategy or plan cannot be replicated across other organizations and success guaranteed. In order to help employees embrace change, there are several learning and development initiatives that can be embedded as part of the change process. Key to this is training and coaching. Coaching has been identified as the leadership style of the future. The essence of coaching is about helping people grow and improve personal performance at the workplace. This is sometimes difficult for a leader to do because team leaders are more used to telling or directing employees rather than allowing them to find the answers for themselves. Coaching is sometimes defined as a collaborative process - in this case between the team leader and employee - that helps the employee achieve set goals. The leader acts as a coach where the leader uses coaching skills to help him lead the team through the change. The team members could also benefit from team coaching in order to drive improved communication and inclusive team work. The team leader and the individual team members can benefit from one on one coaching sessions that would help them through the transition that will handle self - awareness of their feelings through the change process, self-confidence, being assertive and also working with others. In the words of Frances Hesslebein - “Culture does not change because we desire to change it. Culture changes when the organization is transformed; the culture reflects the realities of people working together every day.” J O I N T H E R E W A R D S CLUB W I N 2 N I G H T S F O R 2 A T C H R Y S T A L B A H A R I N I #chrystallife [email protected] www.chrystal.co.ke Visit us at Chrystal Baharini on KOSEN 0722700642 *Terms and conditions apply If you are looking to achieve the unimaginable for your organization, take a moment and think through what needs to change. Go ahead and follow the change process. Ignore culture at your own peril! Thrity Engineer-Mbuthia is a Marketing and Leadership Coach. She is also a PhD student of management and leadership. You can engage her on this or related matters via email at: Mycoach@ thrityengineer.org.