Effective change is not only essential for survival but also for building and maintaining competitive advantage. The key to successful change initiatives is having influential leaders who not only embrace change but also lead others through change effectively. Leaders need to take actions that help the entire organization support change continuously. Thus, organizations that proactively plan change initiatives, engage employees, and whose leaders have strong practices that align people with the cause of change are more likely to outperform their peers. They also successfully navigate change and can, overcome obstacles and continue to grow.
The Role of Leadership in the change process
1) Develop a clear vision for change
Successful change requires a vision that details the reason for the change, how it will affect employees, and what the result will be. As a leader, you must draw a realistic and clear picture of what the organization will lead to and the expected results. Moreover, a solid and clear vision inspires people to act, they become more comfortable with the vision of change, and they will have time to embrace it and support it by changing their behavior.
2) Pay attention to periods of high and low momentum of change
There will be high and low momentum during change initiatives. As a leader, you must ask employees how things are going and focus on the progress and obstacles to the change process. As a strategic leader, you can proactively manage this momentum and take advantage of it at the right time. During periods of high change momentum, you must celebrate victories to build momentum. You can readjust your communication strategies at low periods to listen to employee input and build trust and support.
3) Nurture change as a participant
As a leader, you must ensure that the change initiative involves all levels of the organization. When everyone is involved in the change effort, there is a greater likelihood that a culture that embraces change will result. Moreover, great leaders are always engaged and visible on the front lines, putting them in a unique position to ensure workforce engagement at all levels of the organization.
4) Preparing change management forms
If personal or managerial procedures or behaviors require a change for the changes to take root in the organization, the new behaviors and procedures must be modeled. As a leader, you model the behavior you expect from employees, coach individuals to improve performance, and then demand the necessary change in behavior by setting clear expectations and consequences.
5) Staff support
Change can be a daunting and frustrating experience. Still, as a leader, you can soothe these frustrations by providing motivation and support that assures employees they are not alone. You can support employees by having one-on-one conversations, showing empathy, and offering suggestions on navigating change. You can also provide them with tools to help them adapt to a new process or workflow.
6) Behavioral reinforcement and measurement
Effective change requires enhancing employees’ behaviors and skills and continually measuring their progress. Note that regular reinforcement of newly learned behaviors supports better retention. In addition, measuring progress helps everyone know how far they are progressing and inspires them to stay the course. Also, measuring the results of change initiatives through surveys and performance measures maintains the continuous momentum of change efforts.
7) Responding to employee feedback and observations
During change initiatives and times of uncertainty, as a leader, you are a source of information. So employees will come to you with questions and feedback and expect answers. Listening to and responding to their questions is crucial to showing them you care and appreciate them. Thus, your response to employee feedback and acting accordingly is an essential incentive for their comfort and effective continuation of their work.
8) Know and understand the needs and nature of employees
People have different needs and ways of reacting to change and need time to process and adapt. In addition, many people deal with change the same way they deal with grief, and it’s a great tool to help you support others through change as a leader. Change can be challenging for some people, and leaders need to do everything they can to fully recognize and actively reduce these feelings when they find themselves in a new, changed world.
9) Participation in learning and development
Leaders can benefit from learning, development, and change management training that helps them master the art of leading change. When you have the skills you need to guide employees through change, you will influence and drive change individually. Thus you must participate in the training attended by the staff, but most importantly you must demonstrate your ‘learning’ from the learning and development activities.
10) Effective communication
Effective communication helps employees understand change and how it will affect them and keeps change efforts on track. When leadership communicates effectively with employees, they feel valued, which leads to them embracing and participating in change. Thus, the proactive communication of change leaders creates the desire for change across the workforce, enabling the organization to respond and solve problems that create resistance.
11) Strengthening administrative accountability
Successful change can only happen if everyone takes responsibility for their role. So leaders need to make sure that everyone on the team is accountable for the outcome of the change initiative rather than just viewing it as a management exercise. So when everyone does their part and takes ownership of change, teams work more efficiently, making sustainable change more likely.
12) Pay attention to signs of resistance to change
Leaders must watch for resistance to change, including inaction, procrastination, withholding information, and spreading rumors. To effectively lead the change process and deal with symptoms of resistance to change, you should create feedback loops with employees, such as surveys, feedback channels, and input sessions, to proactively identify signs of resistance, then take swift action.
13) Build confidence in your decisions
Good leaders make decisions carefully after gathering data from multiple sources and seeking opinions from people they know have different points of view. They understand that seeking advice from others is a sign of their confidence and strength, not weakness. Because of their ability to build confidence in their decisions, their ability to transform the organization rises exponentially.
The change will only happen or thrive with the commitment of the senior leadership team because leading change requires a thoughtful focus on developing leaders who can lead others through change initiatives.
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