The chief energizer and “bouncer off of ideas” in my life Alan Schnur woke me up and reaffirmed some beliefs I have about the last year, smiles and laughter (or lack thereof) with his blog post for today-
Yes of course, smiles and laughter have everything to do with change management.
The ones at end when you can be happy about success
The ones in the middle that are a result of camaraderie and shared sacrifice/difficulty
The ones during the project track that have to do with humility and self-deprecation
The ones at the beginning when mapping out dreams and visions
The smile from a compliment along the way
The laughter of a team bouncing ideas
The quick smiles between team members locked up in day long working sessions
The smile you get when you hand over an unordered coffee
If I could package up the smiles and laughter as actual tools in the Change Management Tool set, I would. In your initiatives make time for banter and low key exchange to get the release of laughter and the warmth of smiles.
Especially after the last year or two.