Effective Leadership can Facilitate Change

Leadership is “to use your personal power, to win hearts and minds, to achieve a common purpose”. In other words, it is the ability to motivate, direct and influence the behaviour of employees to achieve the business’s goals and objectives.

Businesses are made up of the following equation: people + processes + products. People are often what will mitigate sub-optimal processes or products. People are also imperative to creating personal connections with customers, and not to mention building relationships. They, therefore, deserve at least the same level of attention and care as processes and products.

As I am sure you have experienced in recent years, in business, change is the only constant. So how can leadership influence the ability to navigate change?

With the correct leader, a team can effectively change and adapt to issues as they arise.

How to navigate change as a leader

Chances are, people’s perception and opinion of change are very different – embraced by some and resisted by others, and even when the team is all on board, the process is time-consuming. For many, the key is in-depth prior planning and support from their team. But how can leaders ensure the whole team is on board?

Communication

Communication is a key skill in business, no matter what the objectives are. You need to communicate with your team about the changes that need to be made. You should explain why they need to be made, how the change will be implemented, and what will happen if change doesn’t occur.

Consult with your employees – you employed them for a reason, they are experts in their own field. Keeping your team informed and involved in the transformational process not only helps to make the process more streamlined, but also helps them to embrace the change.

Including them in the transition also helps to ensure their voice is heard, allowing for more creative and out of the box ideas that help to challenge the status quo. In tough markets like the those many businesses are operating in now, many solutions require unique viewpoints and ideas to help engage customers.

However, as much as the above seems so simple and obvious, it is a skill that does not necessarily come naturally to everyone, but it can be learned. Tips, tricks and best practices can help you put together a plan. We also have to keep in mind that the barriers to good communication can be elsewhere and not just technical reasons. Communications is a skill linked to self-awareness, self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-worth. If the hidden reasons for poor communication skills are not addressed, chances are that the issues will remain, or that communication will come across as inauthentic. This is partly what leadership development can address, rather than a knowledge-based communications training course.

Support

Some teams may resent change for many reasons. For example, they employee may be unsure how the change will impact their job role, or they might fear unknown, or perhaps they are comfortable and like the way things are. Whatever reason it is, we all fear change to some extent. Leaders need to provide a good level of support to employees in order to help control the fear levels as the transition is implemented.

In instances where new technology is needed to progress the change, consider providing some training to the members of the team affected, and perhaps introduce a period of transition. This can be used as a helpful buffer period to allow the team to get acquainted with the new processes and develop new comfort levels for the future.

 Collaboration helps develops a change mindset 

Efficiency is achieved when teams are brought together and encouraged to work collectively. Collective working encourages innovation and creativity, and for some employees, it helps them to develop the skills to pitch ideas for change in the future.

All businesses know that in order to be successful, they must be able to overcome these challenges and continue to deliver their service as best as they can. But, it’s the teams who stay one step ahead and predict such changes that overcome them and come out stronger on the other side. Teams should be able to work together in an environment where they can collaborate and bounce ideas off one another, in order to come up with an ideal solution.

How can we help?

Leadership Trust helps leaders to communicate effectively, build their interpersonal skills when working collectively, and most importantly, to build self—awareness and emotional intelligence. These are all skills that will help leaders to bring their authentic selves to the workplace and engage in collaborative working, and in turn, help their businesses grow and adapt.

If your organisation is looking to help its people grow and develop as leaders in order to effectively navigate and embrace change, please contact us on info@leadershiptrust.co.