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What is most effective in leading change?

What are the leadership styles that are most effective in leading change and especially in the current environment?

The key themes that emerges from a brief review of the research and literature on styles of leadership are outlined below.

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(1) Good management alone is not enough

Key additional factors are:

The realisation that a focus on people before process is in the long run more productive than a job or task centred focus

Getting the balance right between a task orientation and a people orientation and knowing when and where to move to the most appropriate position on that spectrum

Having the flexibility to adopt leadership styles that are appropriate to the level of development or maturity of the people involved

“Leaders are people who do the right thing; managers are people who do things right.”

Bennis

(2) Leadership is required

Leadership is required - in the form of leadership styles:

That in some way transcends short-term goals and focuses on values and higher order needs and provides meaning for people

That also addresses their deepest fears.

(3) The importance of a people-centred leadership styles

The importance of a people-centred leadership that:

Addresses people’s anxieties and fears:
- Generally about the uncertainties of the current environment and:
- Specifically about the impacts and consequences of a step-change initiative.
Realising that this is important because people cannot work effectively if they are experiencing emotional turbulence - and that their ability to get work done depends on their emotions being under control.

A leader has to address those often unconscious and unexpressed fears along the way in order to help people keep them under control.

(4) Recognising the emotional dimension of leadership styles

Recognising:

That emotions are essentially contagious, and that the leader's attitude and energy "infects" a workplace either for better or for worse

The importance of the leader’s ability to articulate a message that resonates with their followers’ emotional reality and their sense of purpose, and thus motivate them to move in a specific direction

The leader’s style determines about 70% of the emotional climate which in turns drives 20-30% of business performance

Ultimately, the quality of leadership that you provide is one of the top 5 factors that will determine whether you really do succeed and realise the benefits with your step change initiative - or whether -to put it bluntly - you join the long list of 70% failures.

The other 4 factors are:

(1) Determining that you are embarking on a step change that sits outside of business as usual and needs to be handled as a specific initiative.

(2) Using a programme management based approach to your step change initiative

(3) The thoroughness of your pre programme review and planning process

(4) The extent to which you identify and address the cultural change in your organisation that is required to deliver the step change and the desired business benefit.

Leading your people through change, putting it all together and managing the whole messy business

By convention we speak of change “management” but the reality is that change involves leadership as well as management. Leadership styles matter, as the primary causes of failure in change initiatives are all people related, and to do with emotions. So change leadership requires some very special qualities in the person[s] leading the change.

This is more to do with “being” than “doing”. What you do, and how you do it will be largely determined by how you are as a person.

Change is an emotional business. The failure to address the human impacts of change is at the root of most failed change initiatives. It is not enough just to “manage” change; people need to be led through change.

Change is a messy business fraught with complexity, multiple factors and many things that can, and usually do, go wrong. There are 3 broad areas that need to be included in any successful change initiative, namely:

Leadership styles that directly address the transitions and emotional dimension of those impacted by the change, and provides inspirational motivation
A change model and methodology that covers the multiple factors that must be addressed
Action management that shows and assists people with the specifics of exactly what is required of them

These are addressed in the "Practitioners Masterclass" which takes a holistic view of the key areas and shows you how to put all this into practise.

And all of this is examined, co-related and integrated with the other key areas leading your people through change, putting it all together and managing the whole messy business.

To equip yourself, stay one step ahead with the tools and processes that will enable you to manage the messy stuff - check out the Practitioners' Masterclass [or click on the image to the right].

8 FREE Introductory Lessons from Practitioners Masterclass - HERE