Managing Change & the role of a Leader

People expectations add to a leader's pressure of managing change. Everywhere, the employees look up to leaders for connection, clarity, and accountability—and this only intensifies in times of change.

This September 2013 Forbes study tells us a lot about role of leaders in managing change. Although 55% of leaders felt the changes met initial goals, change management initiatives over the long term were successful only 25% of the time. More than 87% of leaders said they trained their managers to oversee the process of change management, but the changes, once implemented, didn’t last. In fact, training was effective among just 22% of those surveyed. A third of those understood the reasons for organizational change, but that important message never fully trickled down to middle managers or front line supervisors.

All leaders want change, but only a select few actually help make it happen. And that's the advantage they create, because possessing a mindset of change and practicing a mindset of change management are very different.

The reasons for not possessing the right mindset are sometimes understandable. Some leaders feel the need to allocate time and resources from the perspective of business growth, versus change initiatives. Other leaders feel lost at gaining support in a consensus-driven culture. There are a few others who might even be resistant to share their intellectual capital for the good of the change initiative. And then there are those who at any cost want to avoid a possible failure and a career risk.

Unfortunately, because managing change is usually learnt through trial and error by most leaders - their learning curve can be at the expense of the organization.

Anytime leaders ignore people expectations from them, their teams become disillusioned, and demotivated. The business suffers. Leaders must manage the change or it will manage them. When leaders understand their own role in managing change, they look at sustainable changes and do not blame others for failures if any.

Incase there is a change you are considering in your organization; consider the following:

1. Are you clarifying the purpose to the people collectively and communicating it effectively? This type of collective communication needs to occur consistently, no matter if it’s the mundane, day-to-day issues or more serious change programs. Your message needs to be perceived as unbiased, clear and consistent.
2. Are you connected with your employees? With employee disconnectedness, anyone will have a difficult time enlisting support. Employees look to you to be direct and transparent. If you stand up say you are approachable, you should probably show it that you mean it by responding to their emails & getting back to them when they reach out.
3. Are you open to admitting your mistakes? During times of change, leaders who are not vocally accountable for what is working and what isn’t working; come across as political and power centrist - especially if point 1 above has been done very passionately. To be accountable is to be willing to let employees candidly assess how things are going. As you do this, your team will embrace a similar, no-blame openness to performance.

These times of transition create powerful perceptions. By not being mindful of change and our role as leaders, we allow people to question our leadership and the mission of the organization. It could undermine everyone's commitment to the change initiatives. These leadership questions may even have an impact on customers, supply partners and other stakeholders.

Don't abdicate change management to others!

 Don’t abdicate change management to others, such as HR, or leave it to chance because you think people will “get it” the first time.

If a leader understands her role in change management and that it requires connection, clarity and accountability; she can successfully navigate even the most disruptive change.