Sands Academy, Elevate Series: Leading Change

Change in the workplace isn’t always met with unanimous approval. As leaders in a department, there may come a time when they must face that challenge. Through Sands Academy’s “Elevate” series, Team Members are provided with the tools to help implement new policies or initiatives.

“Change is going to happen, it’s inevitable,” Sylein Burgos, manager of talent, Human Resources Training & Development, said. “How we are going to do it is going to make all the difference.  Being able to communicate what we know and what we don’t know is just as important.”

Understanding the process also begins with understanding the importance of communication throughout implementation. How a leader communicates why the change is happening is especially important. During the class, Team Members brought real workplace changes they had personally dealt with.  By showing empathy as leaders, it allows their team to see that the leader is also going to be affected by the change, and they are going through it together, establishing trust.

Guadalupe Ornelas, talent acquisition specialist for Human Resources at The Venetian and The Palazzo, said the “Elevate” series taught her that communication is most important in a workplace. During the “Leading Change” course, Ornelas understood that in order for a person, team, or business to succeed, they must be willing to acknowledge change and accept it in order to prepare and manage it.

“The group exercises and the transition curve model helped identify the feelings of each stage,” she said. “Understanding how change affects someone before, after and during the process provided us with more insight on how to effectively lead and tend to the needs and challenges one faces during the transition.”