Can You Lead Change Effectively?

Photo by Ross Findon on Unsplash

Leading change is one of the most important frequent functions of leadership, isn’t it?

Ineffective leadership of change is a big contributor to change programs failing.

Here’s where it fails:

• Inadequate planning and preparation.
• The reason for change has not been made clear nor compelling.
• The frequent supportive communication, coaching, patience and persistence needed from the leadership doesn’t occur.
• The focus is on structural and process change primarily, not on people.
• There is little appreciation of the natural physical and emotional resistance to change and how to deal with it.
• Senior leadership fails to engage and champion the change goal.

Effective leadership of change follows this pathway: -

1. Senior leadership recognises the need, value and specific results required of the change goal. That call for change can from anywhere internally or externally.
2. Senior leadership discovers the appetite and readiness for the specific change.
3. Senior leadership create the clear value and compelling reason for the change.
4. The leadership team adopts and embeds attitudinal competence and effective leadership of change practices in themselves first, in preparation for the change goal.
5. The leadership team prepares the workforce for attitudinal competence in respect of the change goal, enabling them to be change ready.
6. The action in 5 above results in the workforce not only accepting the need for the change but committing to actively participate in it. With large numbers of employees, there is an online, on demand method for achieving this, saving time and money.
7. The workforce, together with the leadership, creates a ‘change team’ who plan how the change occurs, ensuring ownership by all; mitigating the need to force or police compliance. This change team is comprised of formal and informal leaders representing the whole workforce.
8. The change action is commenced and supported by line leaders coaching, supporting with patience and persistence as the change is implemented.
9. Structures and systems are implemented designed with the help of the workforce to assist in the change being embedded.
10. The leadership team consistently acknowledge and measure progress.
11. Senior leadership consistently champions the change goal and acknowledges progress.
12. Celebrate the change goal achievement.

The increasing rate of change is impacting heavily on organisations and their people.

Change fatigue is now a real stressor and a contributor to the growing rate of mental health issues in the workplace.

Effective change leadership will improve change success rates and mitigate the mental health risk.

Most importantly, the effective leadership of change for any organisation is not a ‘cookie-cutter’ formula.

It is a well-designed, well-resourced bespoke plan for the organisation, its culture and the change goal.

If you are ready to adopt effective change leadership, email David Deane-Spread to engage in an adult conversation without the hype or ‘selling’ to see if you can use our help in making your change goal succeed.

David has 20 years’ experience in helping his clients succeed through start, scale and sale.