Leadership impact and change management (3)

To survive and succeed, an organisation will have to turn itself into a change agent. The most effective way to manage change is to create it” (Peter Drucker).

Altering the direction of an organisation is immensely difficult, and adapting to constantly changing scenarios is an extremely tough task for leaders with the responsibility of developing and implementing realistic change management strategies. The most daunting challenge in this regard is getting others to understand, accept, embrace and implement the desirable change. This is especially so when the people that are depended upon to execute the change fail to understand the reason why they have to do things differently.

The truth is that every new innovation is the product of very difficult and often painful changes, which have been brought about by the need to grow and get better each time. However, there is never an alternative to innovation. It is what keeps you at the cutting edge of distinction and greatness. As a matter of fact, stagnation is only a step away from inevitable death. Therefore, the first rule of leadership in business and management in general is exactly the same as the first rule of life: adapt or die.

It is true that the leader is the primary change agent, but the people are the conveyor of change. Consider the conveyor belt at the airports. What someone needs to do is simply place the luggage on the moving device, and the rest of the job of moving heavy loads is done. In the same way, the leader initiates, but he must also empower the people to move the change. The dramatic thing is that the conveyor system continues to work until it is stopped externally. What great power it receives to carry on the task! The question for a good leader is whether people can effectively handle tasks without him?

The leader is only as good as his people. People make the difference; hence the difference between a good company and a great company is usually the talent level. That is why the war for talent is so intense. Good leaders are those that seek good talents and develop them to produce awesome results. It is by changing their beliefs and behaviours that the individuals become change agents in the business. And as long as they see the leader’s own commitment to the change, as well as their own interests being well covered in the process, their commitment can be largely assured. Obviously, it is great commitment that feeds the consistency of any change project.

For change to be real, it must be consistent and sustainable. In other words, there must be no room for a regression or a backward lurching in any way. While the skills of people can be improved through training, their attitude, behaviours and personalities can be changed only through change in their beliefs and mindset. Therefore, for the change in any organisation to stick, the people must be committed to making it stick. They must individually and corporately buy into it, and they must be ready to give all it takes to maintain it. It is all about change in their personal beliefs and mindset.

Importantly, if leaders and their organisations are not constantly evolving and remaining relevant, the rapid changes going on around them would soon become the steamroller that will roll them into the dunghill of history. The times of economic difficulties in this regard often prove to be the separator between those organisations that would make history and those that would be made history. If people resist change, or are reluctant to make desirable change, their organisations risk being consumed by change.

Obviously, people learn and grow in organisations just the same way they learn and grow anywhere else. Therefore, there must be the desire to grow and develop through the process of constant change. The truth of the matter is that if every element of an organisation gets a little bit better every day, the organisation will become great. This however demands continuous growth and continuous change from one level of performance to a higher level – that is positive and consistent change. Organisational leaders must always strive for such consistency. In reality, consistency is what promotes a sense of confidence in every leadership.

A good leader is not expected to be a ‘know-it all’ person, but he must be the kind of person that people have regard and respect for in terms of his knowledge and competence. No one really wants to be subjected to leadership that does not inspire hope and enthusiasm about the present and future challenges. Confidence in leadership actually enables leaders to exercise authority in facilitating real change.

Emmanuel Imevbere