How To Be A Change Leader

Here is how to be a change leader:

Sell more than you tell.

Break the change into “bite-sized” pieces.

Build positive momentum.

Develop a sense of timing.

Know your allies.

Know the change resistors.

Establish your credibility. 

Know the arguments against your ideas.

Justify your ideas.

Make others realize your competitors are adopting ideas like yours.

Make them aware that your firm needs to stay ahead of the curve.

Tell them people expect it of you or your firm.

Also indicate that future regulations & future protocols will demand the acceptance of your ideas.

Lead change by your own example.

Be are part of the solution, not part of the problem.

Have a sense of urgency.

Strive to make things happen.

Avoid being not stuck in corporate bureaucracy.

Take action today, not tomorrow to make a difference.

Have a clear vision.

Be patient yet persistent.

Asks challenging open-ended questions.

Cultivate strong relationships built upon trust.

Be willing to have tough conversations when necessary.

Never fight change. Instead, learn to go with the flow.

Anticipate problems and create contingency plans.

Have contingency plans and test them from time to time to fine-tune them to make sure they're still relevant.

Identifying the positives of the change and maximizing them can help make adapting less painful.

Be flexible and quick to adapt---able to change plans on the spur of the moment if any situation requires it.

Anticipate any sudden market changes that would affect how you need to lead.

Establish a research and development plan.

Keep an eye on your competition.

Stay up-to-date with what they're doing and use it to your advantage in managing your business.

Stay abreast of all news, trends and forecasts.

Lead by example.

Identify your change ambassadors.

Be truthful and always communicate.

Learn from the past.

Communicate often and well.

Show empathy and compassion when things don't go well.

Develop strong personal relationships with each employee.

Get to know each employee’s strengths, passions, and gifts---and how to apply them.

Work collaboratively with all employees.

Foster creativity.

Listen actively to all employee voices

Avoid burnout

Embrace openness.

Use teams to build resilience.

Model change at the top.

Use any crisis as an opportunity.

Take steps to show you care.

Give feedback on jobs well done.

Have employees share their wins each week.

Celebrate personal accomplishments.

Handle conflicts immediately.

Empower and trust employees.

Offer employees flexibility.

Embrace vulnerability and transparency.

Share success.

Share challenges.

Recognize and reward employees for their valuable contributions.

Empower and inspire employee autonomy.

Communicate purpose and passion.

Promote a collaborative atmosphere.

Provide and solicit regular feedback.

Be values-driven.

Be mission-driven.

Focus on employee development and training.

Foster the ability to continuously lead employees through positive changes.

Foster diversity, innovation and creativity.

Strive to stay ahead of the demand for newer and better products and services.

Go the extra mile.

Express appreciation via hand-written thank you notes.

Follow an organized process.

Have a well-developed strategic plan and business plan to get there.

Have a playbook for change.

Recruit the talent to execute.

Build in rigor on alignment, implementation and sustainment.

Be transparent with your own behavioral changes to set the pace for the rest of your organization.

Engage your executives and align them on their view of the business’ current situation, identify the barriers to success, define a shared view of the future direction to create strong conviction and consider the role of culture change in driving strategic success across your organization.

Create so much clarity that there is little room for confusion, disorder, infighting and other distractions.

Factor in all the needs and perceptions of your stakeholders in the change process

See all changes through the eyes of stakeholders as you engage in preparation and planning.

Focus upon managers. Make sure they understand the strategy and then translate it in a way that is relevant for each employee.

Effectively handle any resistance or pushback.

Celebrate early victories and communicate them broadly.

Sustain dialogue.

Be clear upon the expected metrics for success.

Lead with the culture.

Begin at the top and involve every layer of the organization.

Make the rational and emotional cases for change together.

Make major, visible decisions in the early days instead of weeks or months later.

Engage, engage, engage.

Lead outside the lines, using informal leaders, pride builders, change champions, trusted employees, cultural ambassadors and the like.

Leverage informal and formal solutions.

Assess and adapt. 

Also hone skills like these to become a stronger change leader:

-Sales skills: Including persuasiveness and storytelling,

-Influence skills, including body language, demeanor, tone-of-voice, reciprocity and inflection.

-Presentation and communications skills.

Plus: Hire a leadership coach to advise, guide and inspire you.

P.S. Anything else that YOU would add?

The author, Dr. John B. Charnay, CEO of Charnay and Associates in Greater Los Angeles, is a leading leadership coach. He has groomed some of the top leaders in key industries and has taught leadership and change management as part of his extensive experience teaching at the graduate and undergraduate levels at leading universities throughout the greater Los Angeles area, including USC, UCLA, CSUN, FIDM, Woodbury and Pepperdine. Additionally, he is a top fundraising advisor and an award-winning public relations professional who has been a strategic PR and philanthropy advisor to many famous celebrities and Fortune 1000 CEOs. To meet him and ask for his support, invite him to be LinkedIn (email in profile) and contact him today!