Become a change leader
… and not just a change manager
05:55 AM Aug 03, 2009
by John Mcguire succeed@mediacorp.com.sg
WHETHER by design or by default, everyone is dealing with change. While change is often viewed as necessary or interesting, or as a hopeful antidote to the status quo, the truth is most people are not comfortable with change.
Change means stepping into the unknown. It means giving up established ways of being and doing. Change means risk, turbulence and, often, conflict. Even sought-after, desired change makes demands that can be uncomfortable, scary or a source of regret.
Change leadership is the missing piece in how we handle change in our organisations. Change pushes people to think and feel differently.
In organisations, change pushes whole groups of people to think and feel differently; in other words, the culture is asked to transform. The problem is that the people and the culture push back against change.
In the absence of change leadership, the current culture will undermine the ability of people and organisations to adapt.
But when change leadership is a focal point in the organisation, the culture responds. Agility, speed, execution, unification, readiness – all the things that CEOs dream about – are available to leaders willing to transform their organisations through leadership.
Leading versus managing
At a practical level, leaders should pay attention to how much time and attention they give to leading change versus managing change.
Consciously and actively recognising the difference between management and leadership in your daily work life is the most essential quality you can foster in yourself and among your leaders. Change management focuses mostly on external systems, structures and processes. Operations are changed and re-engineered. New product markets may be opened.
Change management is not for the faint of heart. It requires mental toughness along with technical and analytical skills, and it forces you to make calculated decisions and move ahead based on the best information possible.
Even in times of change, however, management is about predictable, results-oriented work. Managers are paid to target goals and take action. Managing is technical work designed to lower uncertainty and minimise risk.
Change leadership, in contrast, deals in the currency of uncertainty: It requires leadership strategy alongside business strategy to successfully advance unpredictable human systems and organisational culture. It grapples with the ever-shifting way forward and the promise of no guarantees.
Both change leadership and change management are needed to make progress in a new direction. Without a leadership strategy to address the human and the cultural reality, any new business or operational strategy will be half-hearted and have limited success.
Four bad attitudes
What gets in the way of leading change? According to the Center for Creative Leadership, four general attitudes are common reasons people shrink back from leading change and, instead, focus on managing operations.
“Just let George do it”: This attitude allows everyone to pass the buck to someone else. Leadership gets deferred as people wait for some transformational, powerful person to show the way, make the tough decisions and protect everyone else. Senior vice presidents defer to executive vice presidents, who defer to the chief operations officer, who defers to the chief executive. Amazingly, people often give away their hard-earned power rather than stand up and lead.
“Yes, but”: Another common attitude is “Yes! I will lead change – but I want to control how it turns out.” Executives often feel reluctant to give others real space to create change or to find new ways to process and respond to change. They worry that if they let go of control, they are opening up a Pandora’s Box.
“Either-or”: The challenge is too big and there is not enough time. Executives are so busy with operational changes and making the numbers (managing change) that there is no time for the people side (leading change). They think they have to do one or the other; they cannot do both at once.
“Are we there yet?”: Impatience gets in the way of leading change. Executives want to know how long their organisational change will take and often ask how much further they have to go. But lasting, meaningful change takes time and serious intention.
The writer is a senior programme associate at the Center for Creative Leadership, a top-ranked, global provider of leadership education with a campus in Singapore.
URL http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC090803-0000030/Become-a-change-leader
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