Leading a business successfully through change is a complex endeavour that requires a delicate balance of strategic thinking, empathetic leadership, and effective communication. It involves inspiring leaders that stand strong through the transformation, even when faced with uncertainty and resistance.

Our in-house Change Specialists Jess Herniman and Annette Frem invited longstanding LACE friends Andy Brown from Engage Group, and Pete Thomas from TEAMFIT to discuss the role that leaders plays as part of leading through change. 

This is part one of our ‘leading through change’ two-parts series– click here to read part two Leading through change: The tools for steering a successful transformation.

What do we mean with ‘leading through change’?

Transformation and change programmes are typically managed by a standalone project team reporting to a leadership team. However, leaders need to recognise that change is continuous, and their role in leading and enabling change is in effect about ensuring the organisation can meet their overall goals. As a result, leadership teams should see themselves as transformation teams, constantly thinking about evolving their organisation whilst ensuring it’s still performing today.

This means leading through change is more than just managing getting from where we are now to where we want to be. It’s about continuously inspiring and guiding individuals and teams to embrace transformation and sustain adoption – whether related to new technology, changes to organisational structures or new ways of working.

What is the essence of effective change leadership?

At the heart of successful change leadership lies a clear vision and a compelling purpose. Leaders must articulate a compelling “why” we are changing that is aligned to the overall business strategy and resonates with employees at all levels of the organisation. This vision should be inspiring and motivating, providing a sense of direction and a purpose employees can resonate with.

Equally important is the ability to empathise with the concerns and emotions of employees. Change is difficult for all employees, for fears of the unknown and how it will affect their roles, but by actively listening and understanding their perspectives, leaders can build trust and foster a sense of shared ownership. Open and honest communication is essential to keep employees informed and engaged throughout the change process.

Effective change leaders also possess strong stakeholder relationships. They use their interpersonal skills to build strong relationships required to secure buy-in, resolve conflicts, and motivate others to achieve common goals. By modelling the desired behaviours, leaders can inspire their teams to embrace change and overcome challenges.

Why do leaders need to proactively lead change?

Research confirms again and again that most transformations fail – with Gartner stating that only one in three change initiatives ends in clear success. This has major implications for the businesses going through change with potential decline in productivity, poorer customer service and employee engagement to name a few – and calls for leaders to step up and take charge of the situation.

Now, not all change is per definition bad and results in confusion and resistance. Change can be a powerful force for positive transformation, but it is likely to present challenges as employees go through the emotions typically triggered by change and managers aren’t set up for success with the right mindset and tools to navigate and mitigate.

Transformation projects without clear leadership tends to experience:

• Lack of direction and scope: Transformations strategies not aligned with overall business strategies leaving project teams and employees confused about why the transformation is happening and what to prioritise.
• Insufficient resources: Lack of clear scope means resource allocation being insufficient for the transformation process, expecting employees getting to grips with the new and delivering on business-as-usual expectations.
• Lack of stakeholder buy in: Key business stakeholders aren’t identified and managed from the outset of the project, missing out on the opportunity to influence them and gain their buy-in and early support.
• Inadequate decision-making: Leaders and project teams not equipped to make well-informed strategic and timely decisions that might lead to delays or costly redirections.
• Overall resistance to change: Employees being anxious and disengaged, focusing on the familiar past instead of accepting and adopting the future.

What are the leadership behaviours negating these common challenges

From organisations that deliver on successful change, we often see leaders displaying the following behaviours:

• Visionary leadership: Articulates a clear and compelling vision for the future highlighting how the change aligns with individual and collective goals, building a sense of shared purpose and gaining their buy-in.
• Authentic & human: Being present and approachable, and open to sharing own experiences of going through change, showing up as authentic human beings to their employees.
• Effective communication: Prioritises regular on-going communication, continuously communicating the compelling vision and are actively asking for, and happy to address questions and concerns.
• Accountability and ownership: Takes accountability and responsibility for the change process, even when potentially not 100% agreeing with the decisions being made. Expects their peers to do the same.
• Adaptability and resilience: Embrace change and adapt to the new circumstances even faced with challenges. Models a growth mindset by seeing setbacks as opportunities to improve.
• Collaboration and teamwork: Champion and foster a collaborative culture, builds relationships and works effectively with others pre, during and post the change.
• Positive attitude: Maintaining a positive and optimistic outlook and recognizing and rewarding behaviour changes and achievements to boost morale and motivation.

By embodying these key behaviours, leaders can create a positive and supportive change environment that empowers employees to thrive and transformation to succeed.

Leading collectively as an aligned leadership team

Whilst the responsibility sits with the individual leader to role model these behaviours, no leader can succeed on their own. An aligned leadership team plays a crucial role in driving successful organisational change and is achieved through:

• Articulating how to collectively lead change: Spend time identifying and agreeing what good change leadership looks like.
• Committing to model the behaviours: Collectively demonstrating the agreed mindset and behaviours to set a positive example for their teams.
• Holding each other accountable: Create a psychological safe environment through relationship building to encourage and enable challenging and honest conversation as and when required.

By working together, leadership teams can create a powerful force for change, inspiring and motivating their organisations to achieve their goals.

Leading through change requires resourceful leaders who inspire to master strategic thinking, emotional intelligence, and effective communication. By understanding the principles of effective change leadership and implementing the appropriate strategies, organisations can navigate transformation successfully and emerge stronger than ever.

This is part one of our ‘leading through change’ two-parts series– click here to read part two, Leading through change: The tools for steering a successful transformation.

Looking to get some support with your approach to leading through change or change management in general? Fill in the form below and tell us what your challenges are and we’d be happy to help.