Leadership - Be positive - change
Be positive - change
The status quo
One area where a leader should excel is in initiating and managing change.
However, the leader may not be very keen on altering the status quo in a similar vein to many members of the team or organisation.
It is very nice having a desire to change other people but until you have tried to change yourself it is difficult to see the enormity of the task. Many leaders avoid change for a variety of reasons.
- They are not flexible in their approach.
- Unwilling to discuss options available.
- Avoid choices that carry ‘too’ much’ risk.
- They lack the necessary imagination.
- They reach a level where they are happy with their lot and milk the system for perks.
Any leader must be good at evaluating risks and ideas.
Managing change
At the lower rung of the leadership ladder technical knowledge is vital. To develop as a leader you must be able to move away from the technical area to handling the hearts and minds of people. You need to understand them and what makes them tick.
When change occurs initially there will be a heavy input of leadership skills. Once change has occurred management skills come to the fore in order to maintain the change so that you don’t take a backward step.
Understanding how people will react to change depends very much on how the individual will benefit from it.
From your perspective as leader you should already have made a list of potential benefits and problems.
These should relate to your vision.
If you try to avoid the negative aspects of change others won’t.
Don’t be caught out with awkward questions.
Change may be hard to initiate. You may be subject to ridicule.
The biggest fear in change is failure. If this is the case you will never create change.
You will never confront risk and you will definitely fail as a leader.
Change avoidance
There are many reasons why individuals tend to shy away from change.
Ownership
When we have an idea we are naturally very enthusiastic. We think the idea is great and we can see all of the advantages of success in the future. In other words, we have a brilliant vision and can’t wait to plan how to get there. We are eager to start.
If the idea originates from someone else we tend to resist being pushed along a path we have not seen ourselves.
We feel annoyed that our input wasn’t sought and a little aggrieved that it wasn’t our brilliant idea in the first place.
We begin to see obstacles.
The facts become clouded.
Benefits of the change disappear and negatives spring up from everywhere.
Habits
Habits don’t just miraculously appear they are acquired over a period of time by repetitive actions.
It is an established custom.
Many have habits lead to a routine that people find hard to break.
Sometimes in order to move forward you must break some of these habits.
A good example of an acquired bad habit is in sport. If you have had no professional training your technique often has many flaws.
You have to train extensively to rid yourself of these before improvements are seen. It requires a lot of effort.
Risk and fear
We know that many people are afraid of what the change will actually mean in practice to them personally.
The fear creates risk avoidance.
Too many people are afraid of making mistakes.
Clarity
If the purpose and outcome of the change is in doubt it will be harder to persuade people to follow.
Make sure there is no ambiguity not only in the outcome but also the effects of the change.
After a decision is made try to make the announcement directly to those that it concerns so that they don’t hear about it second hand.
Benefits
People generally avoid change when the rewards for their efforts and sacrifices appear to be unmet.
In general, there will be losers, winners and those whose circumstances don’t really alter.
Negative thinking
This is closely related to the fear of failure. Those persons who think negatively will always see the hurdles and not the benefits.
The avoidance of any obstacles in life will mean that person will try to eliminate risks by doing nothing.
People are either unwilling or unable to change.
An unwillingness to change may be improved by the leader helping to prioritise and clarify particular tasks.
People who have a narrow outlook on life tend to resist change more.
The leader’s attributes
Unfortunately, if the leader isn’t very likeable then any change he or she tries to implement will not be received well.
A leader has only his or herself to blame if they are not liked. It is up to them to initiate change in such a manner that is acceptable to the followers. If the leader thinks that change can be made with no regard to individuals then they will not be popular and neither will the change.
From the perspective of the leader, change that is not initiated by him or her directly, but will still involve them may suggest failure on their part in some area.
This insecurity leads to a negative response to the change.
Other
A change can be major and affect all aspects of the organisation.
Is it compatible with the values of the organisation?
Have you got the backing of the top 20% of influencers using the Pareto rule?.
Do you have the necessary resources to implement the change within a desired time span?
Can you carry out a feasibility study or test the implementation in some fashion?
If the change fails can you go back to the way things were?
Does the change appear to be necessary, is it logical?
Is the timing of the change appropriate?
Timing can be extremely important.