THE ULTIMATE TEST OF LEADERSHIP: CREATING POSITIVE CHANGE
Change the leader, change the organization. Everything rises and falls on leadership! However, I have found that it’s not easy to change leaders. In fact, I’ve discovered that leaders resist change as much as followers do. The result? Unchanged leaders equal unchanged organizations. People do what people see.
PROFILE OF A LEADER IN TROUBLE: Notice that of the twelve trouble spots for a leader listed below, five deal with an unwillingness to change. That spells trouble for the organization.
- Has poor understanding of people
- Lacks imagination
- Has personal problems
- Passes the buck
- Feel secure and satisfied
- Is not organized
- Flies into rages
- Will not take a risk
- Is insecure and defensive
- Stays inflexible
- Has no team spirit
- Fights change
The first order of things to be changed is me, the leader. After I consider how hard it is to change myself, then I will understand the challenge of trying to change others. This is the ultimate test of leadership.
Howard Hendricks, in his book Teaching to Change Lives, throws a challenge out to every potential leader: “Write down somewhere in the margins on this page your answer to this question: How have you changed … lately? In the last week, let’s say? Or the last month? The last year? Can you be very specific? Or must your answer be incredibly vague? You say you’re growing. Okay … how? ‘Well,’ you say, ‘In all kinds of ways.’ Great! Name one. You see, effective teaching comes only through a changed person. The more you change, the more you become an instrument of change in the lives of others. If you want to become a change agent, you also must change.”
People are too satisfied with the way things are: As the following story from Parables reveals, many organizations and people will choose to die before they will choose to change.
In the 1940s the Swiss watch was the most prestigious and best quality watch in the world. Consequently 80% of the watches sold in the world we made in Switzerland. In the late 1950s, the digital watch was presented to the leaders of the Swiss watch company. They rejected the new idea because they knew they already had the best watch and the best watchmakers. The man who had developed the digital watch subsequently sold the idea to Seiko.
In the 1940s Swiss watch-making companies employed eighty thousand people. Today they employ eighteen thousand. In 1940, 80% of the watches sold in the world were made in Switzerland. Today 80% of watches are digital. This story represents what happens to many organizations and people: We choose to die rather than choose to change.
A CHECKLIST FOR CHANGE: Below is the questions you should review before attempting changes within an organization. When the questions can be answered with a yes, change tends to be easier. Questions that can only be answered with no (or maybe) usually indicate that change will be difficult.
YES NO
___ ___ Will this change benefit the followers?
___ ___ Is this change compatible with the purpose of the organization?
___ ___ Is this change specific and clear?
___ ___ Are the top 20% in favour of this change?
___ ___ Is it possible to test this change before making a total commitment to it?
___ ___ Are physical, financial, and human resources available to make this change?
___ ___ Is this change reversible?
___ ___ Is this change the next obvious step?
___ ___ Does this change have both short and long-range benefits?
___ ___ Is the leadership capable of bringing about this change?
___ ___ Is the timing right?
The wrong decision at the wrong time = disaster
The wrong decision at the right time = mistake
The right decision at the wrong time = unacceptance
The right decision at the right time = success
The evolutionary process of successful change within an organization can be summed up in the eight steps that must occur as the organization moves from ignorance about the desired change and the effects it will have to a mindset of willingness and innovation.
Step 1: Ignorance: No unified direction or sense of priorities is felt among the followers. They are “in the dark”
Step 2: Information: General information is given to the people. Initially the ideas for change are not embraced
Step 3: Infusion. The penetration of new ideas into the status quo may cause confrontations with apathy, prejudice, and tradition. The general tendency is to focus on problems.
Step 4: Individual Change. The “early adopters” begin to see the benefits of the proposed change and embrace them. Personal convictions replace complacency.
Step 5: Organizational Change. Two sides of the issue are being discussed. Less defensiveness and more openness concerning proposed changes can be observed. The momentum shifts from anti-change to pro-change.
Step 6: Awkward Application. Some failures and some successes are experienced as the change is implemented. The learning process is rapid.
Step 7: Integration. Awkwardness begins to decrease and the acceptance level increases. A growing sense of accomplishment and a secondary wave of results and successes occur.
Step 8: Innovation. Significant results create confidence and a willingness to take risks. The result is a willingness to change more rapidly and boldly.
At step 8 is taken, the organization as a whole is more willing to go through the process again. The major effect of the process develops as the majority of the organization is exposed repeatedly to the new idea.
1st Exposure: “ I reject that though because it conflicts with my preconceived ideas.”
2nd Exposure: “Well, I understand it, but I can’t accept it.”
3rd Exposure: “I agree with the idea but have reservations as to its use.”
4th Exposure: “You know, that idea pretty well expresses the way I feel about the subject.”
5th Exposure: “I used that Idea today. It’s terrific!”
6th Exposure: “ I gave that idea to someone yesterday. In the truest sense of the word, the idea now belongs to me.”
The leader must develop trust in people: It is wonderful when the people believe in the leader. It is more wonderful when the leader believes in the people. When both are a reality, trust is the result. The more people trust the leader, the more willing they will be to accept the leader’s proposed changes. Warren Bennis and Bert Nanus say that “trust is the emotional glue that binds followers and leaders together.” Abraham Lincoln said, “If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his true friend. Next probe to discover what he wants to accomplish.”
Good leaders solicit the support of the influencers before the change is made public: This ten-item checklist includes all the steps a good leader will go through in soliciting support for a change from the major influencers in his organization.
- List the major influencer(s) of the major groups within your organization
- How many will be affected directly by this change? (These people are the most important group)
- How many will be affected indirectly by this change?
- How many will probably be positive?
- How many will probably be negative?
- Which group is the majority?
- Which group is the most influential?
- If the positive group is stronger, bring the influencers together for discussion
- If the negative group is stronger, meet with the influencers individually.
- Know the “Key” to each influencer.
HOW TO OFFER OWNERSHIP OF CHANGE TO OTHERS
- Inform people in advance so they’ll have time to think about the implications of the change and how it will affect them.
- Explain the overall objectives of the change — the reasons for it and how and when it will occur.
- Show people how the change will benefit them. Be honest with employees who may lose out as a result of the change. Alert them early and provide assistance to help them find another job if necessary.
- Ask those who will be affected by the change to participate in all stages of the change process
- Keep communication channels open. Provide opportunities for employees to discuss the change. Encourage questions, comments, and other feedback.
- Be flexible and adaptable throughout the change process. Admit mistakes and make changes where appropriate.
- Constantly demonstrate your belief in and commitment to the change. Indicate your confidence in their ability to implement the change.
- Provide enthusiasm, assistance, appreciation, and recognition to those implementing the change.
CHANGE WILL HAPPEN: Keeping current with the changes and relating them to the organization is a constant challenge for the leader. Leaders should be aware, for example, of information such as the following, which was outlined in an article written by Dr. Richard Caldwell. He contrasts some of the values of the 1950s and those of the 1990s.
1950s 1990s
Saving Spending
Delayed gratification Instant gratification
Ozzie and Harriet Latchkey's kids
Certainty Ambivalence
Orthodoxy Skepticism
Investing Leveraging
Neighbourhood Lifestyle
Middle-class Underclass
Export Import
Public virtue Personal well-being
Mom and Day Nanny and daycare
Press conference Photo opportunity
Achievement Fame
Knowledge Credential
Manufacturing Service
Duty Divorce
“We” “Me”
