5 Perfect Ways Leaders are Impacting Change Today
Lead change by influencing it.
There are many examples of thriving organizations that started strong- with excellent leadership, culture, top-notch talent, and a massive client base. But, shortly after selling out or migrating to another location, they rapidly crumble. Typically, the root cause of this kind of downfall is change management.
Constantly changing and devising ways to stay ahead of the competition is crucial for the survival of companies. So, change management is becoming a core skill for leadership. Transition periods are stressful for any organization but robust, compassionate leadership can aid groups to move through these changes successfully. Leading change by influencing it is very essential as it helps to ease worries, addresses uncertainty, and encourages teams.
Today’s blog explores five copybook ways leaders are impacting change in organizations.
Creating Experiences That Introduce Possibilities
Most people won’t change unless they see and understand the need. In effect, leaders that influence change master the tricks that table this proof. One way is creating experiences (a drill/ test run) that show them all the possible benefits of the new system, environment, or other adjustments coming. Test runs or drills are specific, so they help the leaders to communicate and engage their teams. They also assist the leaders to directly handle the resistance arising due to change. In addition, drills and test runs help the groups to see and acknowledge the value of change. Lastly, according to the change management coach, drills help improve communication, collaboration, and cooperation during the period of change.
Benefits of Creating Experiences That Introduce Possibilities that Come with Change | |
Leader | Team |
Helps the Leader to Communicate and Engage Their Teams | Help the Groups to See and Acknowledge the Value of Change |
Helps the Leader to Deal Directly with the Resistance | Encourages collaboration from team members |
Modeling the Change
Crazy as it may sound, did you know employees monitor the leader’s consistency in words and actions to tell what they should believe? The same applies to influencing organizational change. Successful leaders become the first people to adopt the new adjustments. Then, the team will be confident and receptive to take up the same. It is the difference between theory and practice.
For the actual change to happen, they must move from concept to reality. Just like the famous quote by Albert Schweitzer, “the three most important ways to lead people are: by example, by example, and by example. Similarly, the best way for a leader to inspire change is by modeling. Leaders model change when they perform deliberate actions that are directed toward the new organizational objectives.
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Strategically Leading Decision Making
Leaders are usually in charge of resources and people. Such is an ideal position to make decisions on the projects and initiatives that support the new changes. They choose options that will drive these goals by leveraging this authority.
Great leaders make strategic decisions to offer a competitive advantage and attempt to change the overall direction and scope of the organization.
Chron describes strategic decision-making as the procedure of charting a course for your organization based on the long-term goals. These strategic decisions are essential for the company’s survival during transition periods. Strategic decisions are mostly based on the organization’s vision and mission, thus they help the managers to concentrate on the main objectives even during the period of change. Therefore, strategically leading decision making facilitates a smooth transition without the organization losing focus of its goals.
Influencing Company Culture
The things that influence people have the power to change how people act or feel.
Certain elements can intensely influence company culture:
transparency, employee voice, gratitude, respect, fun culture, appreciation, and development opportunities
Humanity is subject to influence. The things that influence people have the power to change how they act or feel. These sources fall into personal, social, and structural motivation. Leaders that understand these human motivations tap into them to effect change in the organization and the world.
Research by Deloitte University Press found out that culture and engagement ranked as the number one influencers of change in an organization. Leaders who introduce change by influencing the company’s culture help their employees to believe that the transition will create a more humane workplace. As a result, the employees openly adopt the new changes with minimum resistance.
Additionally, great leaders are aware that certain elements can intensely influence an organization’s culture. These elements include; transparency, employee voice, gratitude, respect, fun culture, appreciation, and development opportunities. An example of a personal motive for employees resisting change can be fear of failure or lack of skill/inexperience to work in a new environment. The role of the leader is to use these as the baseline.
Taking a page from coke, they connect to human emotions with creative stories that relate with our culture.
Sponsoring the Change Initiative
In January 2021, the world went abuzz following Elon Musk’s endorsement of Signal in a tweet to his followers. Musk’s Signal versus Whatsapp affair is just a demonstration of the power of a leader’s sponsorship on change. Musk was acting as the primary sponsor.
Fundamental sponsors are the leaders who authorize transition within the company and are ultimately responsible for ensuring that the transition realizes the intended merits. The sponsors also ensure that the employees clearly understand their new roles upfront.
Furthermore, a case study by Project Management Institute indicates that the primary sponsors provide the necessary resources required for change through budgetary allocations and they are ultimately in charge of the change initiative. In this scenario, leaders act as advocates using their political, financial, or social influence to support a new reform.
Conclusion of the Matter
When it comes to change, doing is more productive than knowing. Those that are successful do so by actions and not intellect. Although implementing change is typically met by a lot of resistance from the employees, there are wise strategies that leaders can apply to ease the transition. To recap, the top five ways leaders impact change are modeling it, making strategic decisions, advocating, influencing the teams’ behaviors, and showing the value of this change.
Your Call
All the leaders desiring to introduce change in their organizations should read and implement these five perfect ways of impacting change. Leaders who implement these strategies successfully introduce change in their organizations without losing focus of the main objectives or facing much resistance.
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