PAPERmaking! g FROM THE PUBLISHERS OF PAPER TECHNOLOGY Volume 3, Number 2, 2017
Successful change is one of biggest problems that modern organizations face. In our fast- changing world, the strategic imperative to change is often clear: Without doing things differently, our company is unlikely to continue doing anything at all. But change management research has demonstrated time after time that organizational change initiatives fail more often than they succeed, despite the resources put into creating change management processes. We know that effective leadership is essential to successful change. But we wanted to understand the differences in leadership between successful and unsuccessful change efforts. That’s why we recently conducted a study where we asked 275 senior executives to reflect on successful and unsuccessful change efforts they had led. Our goal was to characterize “change - capable leadership,” define the key lea dership competencies necessary for change, and better understand leadership behaviours that could contribute to change failures. Our study, the full results of which are available in a new white paper, revealed 9 critical leadership competencies that characterized successful change efforts. The 9 change competencies can be further divided into 3 main categories — leading the process, leading people, and what we call “the 3 C’s of change.” The 3 C’s These 3 C’s are the most common themes that united effectiv e change leadership: Communicate . Unsuccessful leaders tended to focus on the “what” behind the change; successful leaders communicated the “what” and the “why.” Leaders who explained the purpose of the change and connected it to the organization’s values or explained the benefits created stronger buy-in and urgency for the change. Collaborate . Bringing people together to plan and execute change is critical. Successful leaders worked across boundaries, encouraged employees to break out of their silos and refused to tolerate competition. They also included employees in decision-making early on, strengthening their commitment to change. Unsuccessful change leaders failed to engage employees early and often in the change process. Commit . Successful leaders made sure their own beliefs and behaviours supported change, too. Change is difficult, but leaders who negotiated it successfully were resilient and persistent, and willing to step outside their comfort zone. They also devoted more of their own time to the change effort and focused on the big picture. Unsuccessful leaders failed to adapt to challenges, expressed negativity, and were impatient with a lack of results.
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Article 14 – Change Leadership
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