Change Management – Change Leadership

(Adapted from an article in the Huffington Post)

Flawed leadership rather than poor management is the main reason why change initiatives fail to achieve their objectives.

For example, the leader of a change management team was struggling, his team was almost in chaos. Their carefully planned program was plagued by disagreement.

From the leader’s perspective the team were allowing personal issues to obstruct progress. In contrast, the team asserted his refusal to deviate from his management plan was frustrating. The leader was convinced by the program and ignored every concern or expression of doubt from the team.

From the team’s perspective, the leader wouldn’t allow the impact on emotions associated with the change to be considered. The leader, who was accountable, was correct. The program was potentially going to miss important deadlines. Furthermore, he was concerned that the team’s performance would reflect poorly on his leadership capabilities.

The team was also correct. The project was important to them but it was also very personal. Significant changes that radically changed their work structure and environment were being introduced.

The leader was an excellent change manager. His plan covered all the tasks and timelines, it outlined the deliverables and allocated resources. It considered everything except the feelings of the team.

The team also wanted things to be better but they struggled with not wanting things to be different. They appreciated their leader’s responsibility to manage the change but desperately needed him to be a change leader.

In summary;
Change management defines and progresses a series of tasks in a program. Applying the essential management tools and processes will enable successful achievement of complex change initiatives.
Change leadership takes a big picture view of the entire process, identifying opportunities to help everyone stay engaged and achieve the stated objectives.

Some additional thoughts;
Is the reason for change entirely valid and convincing? Create a sense of urgency, provide a compelling reason to break the inertia that keeps people doing what they’ve always done. Establish measurable goals and metrics. Goals and metrics maintain urgency and define what success looks like. They send a clear message about what is expected.

Monitor the energy to ensure that people do not suffer from change fatigue. Communicate and communicate again, you can’t have too much communication about change. Make sure that everyone has the knowledge, skills, and resources to successfully implement the change.