Tag Leading Change

Leading Through Change

Steve Keating 2 Comments

I know people who claim to love change. I’m not certain I know anyone who actually does. I am certain I know lots of people who would be better off if they changed, I’m also certain I’m not one of those people. 🙂

Change is hard. One of the reasons for that is that there is always some sort of loss associated with change. Even change that we instigate. Authentic Leaders can’t remove all of the stress of change from their people. But they can make it less painful by following the steps I’ve outline below. 

  • Begin by gaining a thorough understanding of the change itself. What is the purpose behind it? What are the anticipated challenges and benefits? Analyze the impact it will have on your team, organization, and stakeholders. Fight the urge to prejudge the change, live with the idea a bit and make no decisions until you truly understand ALL the ramifications of the change. 
  • Open and transparent communication is crucial during times of change. Clearly articulate the reasons for the change, the expected outcomes, and how it will affect individuals and teams. Address any concerns or questions openly and honestly, fostering trust and understanding. Hiding the change for as long as possible, or springing the change on your people at the last minute, is counterproductive. You’ve had time to process the change in your mind, allow your people the same luxury if it’s at all possible. 
  • Paint a compelling vision of the future that the change is intended to achieve. Clearly outline the benefits and opportunities it presents for the team or organization. This vision should inspire and motivate your team, creating a sense of purpose and direction. No one follows a leader until they have some sense of where that leader is going. Share that vision early and often. 
  • Involve your team members in the change process by seeking their input, ideas, and feedback. Encourage collaboration and create opportunities for individuals to contribute to the decision-making process. This inclusiveness will help build ownership and commitment. Few people truly like change but feeling as if they had some input into the change or it’s outcomes will make it much more palatable for everyone. 
  • Recognize that change can be challenging and evoke various emotions in individuals. Show empathy and provide support to your team members throughout the transition. Offer resources, training, and coaching to help them adapt to the new situation and acquire any necessary skills.
  • Whether you realize of or not you are leading by example. So model the behavior and mindset you want to see in your team. Display optimism, resilience, and adaptability in the face of change. Be open to feedback, demonstrate flexibility, and embrace the new processes or systems yourself. This will inspire your people to do the same.
  • Understand that resistance to change is normal. Address concerns and objections proactively. Be willing to listen to different perspectives. Provide clear explanations and help individuals see the benefits of the change. Encourage open dialogue and create opportunities for people to express their concerns.
  • Continuously monitor the progress of the change initiative. Celebrate milestones and achievements along the way to maintain morale and motivation. Regularly assess the impact of the change and make adjustments as needed. Communicate updates and keep the team informed about the progress being made. The bigger the change the more communication is needed. You cannot over communicate. 
  • Amidst change, it is essential to provide stability and a sense of security for your team. Be available to address concerns and provide guidance. Establish a clear framework and expectations, providing a sense of stability during the transition period. Never, and I do mean never, hide from your team if things begin to go south. Nothing will destroy your credibility as a leader faster. 

Leading through change can be challenging even for the most seasoned leader. It requires resilience, flexibility, and the ability to inspire and motivate others. Effective and consistent communication is a must. An open mind is essential. A willingness to “change the change” when you see previously unseen obstacles is the hallmark of Authentic Leadership. It is not an admission of failure. 

Change is most effectively led from alongside your people, not so far out front that you appear immune to the change. Pitch in to make the change happen and provide the support your people need. 

That’s how you can successfully guide your team through the challenges and opportunities that change presents. In this way you make the change a positive and productive experience for everyone. 

Want more of LeadToday? I’ve changed things up on my Twitter feed for subscribers. I recently began publishing two or three videos each week focusing on an element of Authentic Leadership. I’ll post these videos each Tuesday and Thursday morning. Sometimes a bonus video pops up at other times during the week. They will be about 10 minutes long so we can get into the topic in a more meaningful way. The investment for subscribers in still only $4.99 a month. That’s for at least 80 MINUTES of quality video content on leadership a month. 

If you’re interested in taking a look, head on over to my Twitter profile page. If you’re not a follower yet just hit the follow button. It will change to a subscribe button and once you hit that you’re on your way. You can cancel at any time you’ve decided you have nothing left to learn about leading the people who you count on for your success. 

Here’s the link to my Twitter… https://twitter.com/leadtoday 

Creating Leadership Success

Steve Keating 4 Comments

One of the common causes of failure among leaders is assuming that they cannot fail simply because they never have.

They assume that their future, and the future of their organization is just an almost automatic extension of their past. They assume that they will always succeed because they always have. That causes the assumption that because “things” have always been a certain way they will always be that way. 

That assumption has always been wrong but it’s never been more wrong than it is today. “Things” are most certainly changing and they are changing at a breakneck pace. 

This increased pace of change has never been on greater display than in the current United States Presidential Campaign. The Republican Party has completely missed the fact that people don’t want and won’t accept the status quo. The leadership of the party just assumed that despite all evidence to the contrary, “things” would eventually return to normal and everything would be as it was.

The Democratic Party is just as confused. They appear to be in the process of selecting a candidate who proudly says “I am a child of the sixties and I think like a child of the sixties.” Well guess what, as sad as it might make me and a lot of other people, children of the sixties are not the future of the United States or the world.

What once was isn’t anymore and leaders who fail to understand that absolute fact will themselves fall victim to failure. 

To avoid that all too common leadership failure you must know exactly why you do everything thing you do. If you’re doing anything, anything at all, simply because “we’ve always done it that way” then you are putting yourself, and your organization on a potential path to failure. If you assume that anything will be the same in just ten years as it is today then your path to failure is even wider.

Some, maybe even many, leaders from the Baby Boomer generation, when asked by a leader from the Millennial generation, “why do you do it that way?” see the question as a threat or a challenge to their leadership. They need to see it as an opportunity to verify that what they are currently doing is still the best way to do it. They need to see the question as an opportunity to improve. They absolutely need to understand that “the way they have always done it” might not actually be the best way to do it today.

To avoid this common leadership failure leaders must challenge their own thinking everyday and surround themselves with people who will challenge their thinking for them when they can’t or won’t. Then, and this is the real secret to leadership success, then they must allow those people who they have surrounded themselves with to actually challenge them with zero risk of reprisal.

Leaders who assume, hope or believe that “things” are not changing have blinded themselves to the fact that most everything IS changing and they are going to continue to change whether they are ready for it or not.

As President Lincoln said, “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” Leaders who let the future happen will eventually fail. Leaders who continually create their future will have the best opportunity for continual success. 

Who is creating your future? 

The Value of Planning

Steve Keating 8 Comments

I talk with people nearly every week who tell me that they can’t plan because “things” change. The thing is, that’s exactly why you need a plan. The greatest value of the planning process may not be the actual plan, it may just be the fact that you stopped long enough to do some planning. 

Plans may not always work but planning always does.

In order to plan we need to think and thinking is always good. We need to think about where we are, where we want to be, and how we can get from here to there. A good planning process will include decision making on how much we are willing to invest to get there. Good planners remember to think of investment in terms of BOTH financial and time investments. 

Good plans of course include timelines for goal achievement to help build a little accountability into the plan and any plan worth the time it took to put it together includes periodic follow-up built into the plan to ensure it’s still on track.

That follow-up is where most planners miss the mark. 

German military strategist Helmuth von Moltke is credited with first saying that “No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.” In business it’s fair to say that no plan survives contact with reality. In sales it’s safe to say that there has never been a marketing plan that fully survived first contact with a customer. 

Yet many “planners” assume once the plan is complete that the planning is done. The most successful people, from any walk of life, will tell you that planning is never “done.”

All good plans begin with a clear view of the “as is” or current situation and many of those plans fail because they are never adjusted, even though the “as is” will often change.

That’s the biggest reason why what got you where you are will likely NOT get you to where you want to be. Things change, circumstances change, technology changes, customers change, everything changes… and so must your plans.

It’s a great idea to stop on your journey to success once and a while to see where you’re actually at. Look around, see what’s different from the day your initial plan was developed. Determine if where you are at is still aligned with where you want to be. 

If the plan is still aligned with your goals and objectives then perhaps a few tweaks to your plan will suffice. If the alignment is way off perhaps a blank piece of paper is the best place to begin again. 

Most importantly, when reviewing your plan is this: Don’t attempt this alone! If it’s “your” plan, if you developed it, it’s very likely that you’re to close to really see it for what it is. Get help, if you’re a leader then task your people with a review of the plan. If you’re an entrepreneur and just starting out then ask your mentor or someone you trust to periodically review your plan. 

However you choose to review your plan the key is to actually review it, at least a couple of times a year. Things change, if your plan isn’t changing with them then what got you where you are most certainly will NOT get you to where you want to go next.