According to McKinsey’s research<\/a>, about 70 percent of all organizational changes<\/a> fail \u2013 that\u2019s why strong leaders are more critical than ever when you\u2019re trying to successfully change the fabric of your business.<\/p>\n Following the past year of disruption, the role of the leader<\/a> has become increasingly complex. Businesses today must be more agile than ever before, which means leaders who can clearly communicate a future vision and enact change are in high demand.<\/p>\n In a Forbes article titled “1 Reason Why Most Change Management Efforts Fail<\/a>,” author Brent Gleeson said, \u201cthe need to lead change is growing, but our ability to do it is shrinking.\u00a0Transformations also run into problems when leaders get mistaken as managers \u2015 leaders must differentiate themselves by creating goals and being a catalyst for change.<\/strong> While managers are more concerned with day-to-day operations, leaders motivate people behind the organization\u2019s vision.<\/p>\n In this blog, we\u2019ll highlight four ways you can lean into effectively guiding change as a leader. These key traits are:<\/strong><\/p>\n Change is never easy but if your leadership has the right tools, it can make all the difference.<\/p>\n Strong leaders of transformation have technical and political competencies:<\/p>\n Having both of these competencies helps give a leader a serious appreciation for their role in the change. A transformational leader<\/a> is more than a title. Transformation leaders must persuade and influence teammates, subordinates and other leaders.<\/strong><\/p>\n In his book “How to Develop Gravitas<\/a>,” management and strategic planning consultant Victor Cheng wrote, \u201cWhen you have gravitas, you get taken seriously. Your opinions and insights are respected and sought after.\u201d<\/p>\n This profundity can often make the difference between leaders and managers. Managers have team members (who unwillingly or willingly report) while leaders have followers (who willingly follow). Technical and political competency arm you with the discernment to guide everyone in the same direction.<\/p>\n If leadership is not transparent about why change is happening, they are unlikely to gain the employee trust and support needed to make it successful. Strong leaders of transformation are trustworthy, but this trust goes both ways \u2013 they must also have trust in their own employees.<\/strong><\/p>\n It is important the people in charge of a change have confidence in their people so that instead of micromanaging them, they can let them fail and learn on their own. Leaders support their people when they fail by maintaining a positive, supportive manner. When everyone in the organization feels like they\u2019re trusted with a role in the transformation, they feel agency in joining and taking ownership of their part in the journey.<\/p>\n Emotional intelligence<\/a> allows leaders to align people with change and gain their support in times of transformation. In his bestselling book Emotional Intelligence 2.0<\/a>, Travis Bradberry defines what this means:<\/p>\n \u201cEmotional intelligence is your ability to recognize and understand emotions in yourself and others, and your ability to use this awareness to manage your behavior and relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n Bradberry argues people must have emotional intelligence to develop relationships with others to successfully guide them through change. Strong leaders of transformation build sustainable partnerships across the company hierarchy and empathize with people through careful listening and thoughtful response.<\/strong><\/p>\n Strong leaders of transformation must demonstrate the courage to step up. They should not be afraid to face the facts, especially in times of change. Transformation requires leaders to realistically look at the good and bad of their organization. Good leaders have the courage to do this with enthusiasm and not avoid hard truths in order to self-protect.<\/p>\n\n \n
1. Technical and Political Competency<\/h2>\n
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2. Trust and Transparency<\/h2>\n
3. Emotional Intelligence<\/h2>\n
4. Courage<\/h2>\n