Successfully Leading Change Is a Competency, Not a Skill

Change is a constant, and successfully navigating it is a constant problem.??

Because of this uneditable fact, the ability to successfully lead through change is essential for leaders and organizations to thrive.?Yet it is an ability which to this day, and after all we’ve collectively experienced, eludes so many.?

What stands in the way of many leaders is that dealing with change is often seen as a skill - something that can be learned and applied to solve a particular problem.??

While this is true to some extent, the reality is that change is more of a core competency than a skill.?

"What's the difference?" You might ask. It’s not a question asked often in organizations, and I want to explore the answer. So, I'm going to delve into the distinction between a competency and a skill - and explain why this distinction is so important to successfully navigating change today.??

The difference between competency and skill?

A competency is a set of behaviors, knowledge, and capabilities that are required to perform a particular task or function successfully and sustainably. It goes beyond just having a skill or knowledge in a particular area.?

Several factors add up to a competency, including:?

Knowledge: Theoretical understanding of a subject matter, including facts, concepts, and principles.?

Skills: Practical abilities that are acquired through practice and experience, such as communication, problem-solving, and decision-making.?

Behaviors: Observable actions that are necessary for effective performance, such as time management, teamwork, and leadership.?

Abilities: Talents - whether natural aptitudes or developed through practice and experience - that are required for success, such as creativity, analytical thinking, and emotional intelligence.?

Attitudes: Beliefs, values, and assumptions that influence behavior and performance.??

As you can see, in contrast, a skill is only part of the picture. To understand what makes a good leader, we need to look at the entire picture. ?

Understanding and contextualising change as a competency involves a mindset shift. It requires leaders to understand that change is not merely a response to an acute problem that can be solved in a tidy and finite way. Rather, change is an ongoing leadership capability that is essential for long-term success.?

Competency gives sustainable success?

So, focusing on change as a skill allows us to fix a problem in the moment. It gives us a hammer and a nail. But thinking of change as a competency gives sustainable success across every stage of change.??

The FranklinCovey Change Model identifies four universal zones of change:??

The Zone of Status Quo - where we assess where we are, what's happening, what's working, what's not, and what needs to change.?

The Zone of Disruption - where we shake things up. Announce the change, and start making things happen.?

The Zone of Adoption - where we decide the hows. Discover what matters, and figure out the strategies that will take us where we need to be. And where we persist to get there.?

The Zone of Innovation - where we explore. Where has the change taken us? Do we enter a new status quo? Or do we assess what's possible now??

When organizations view change as a?competency to be ingrained in behaviour, their leaders are better prepared to navigate each of the four zones successfully. They understand that change requires preparation, learning, decision-making, and implementation. They are also better equipped to sustain and embed the change into the organization's culture.?

Investing in leadership capability through change outside of crisis management pays dividends?

Many organizations invest in change management only when they're facing a crisis. This reactive approach limits their ability to navigate change successfully. It does so by reducing the concept of change to a stress response - something we "handle" only when absolutely necessary. ?

I read an interesting Harvard Business Review article recently which revealed only 57% of managers report having enough capacity in their day-to-day work to support their teams through change. In the words of the authors: ?

“Instead of asking managers to champion each and every change, leaders should instead challenge their managers to act as resilience builders. Managers who build their teams’ ability to self-navigate through change can increase employee sustainable performance by 29% and protect their own performance at the same time.”?

Leaders who are equipped with change management?as a skill are a lot less likely to have a holistic, human view of change or?anticipate the impact of their decisions. This results in a tendency to?empathize less with direct reports’ experiences,?create conditions which puts them under acute pressure and diminish individual opportunity-seeking potential.?

Ultimately, when you view change as a one-time thing, you risk treating the change like a nail and employees like a hammer- with less consideration and autonomy. Leaders end up managing things and fixing a problem, instead of inspiring and empowering people through the constant state of flux in which we live.?

Beyond change management?

Organizations need leaders who can negotiate change effectively and efficiently, while still managing to be authentic and human. Doing so requires a deep understanding of how organizations function, how people respond to change and how best to implement strategies that will ensure the organization's success.?

Understanding the distinction between change as a competency and change management as a skill is the crux of achieving change success and resilience across all organizations. Gone are the days when leaders can implement change with finite objectives, in isolation and tied up in neat little packages. Change is a constant - not a project. So, change management must be a non-negotiable area for development and investment for all our leaders.?