Leading at a time of change
I recently attended a seminar about leadership in a time of organisational change. There were three panellists who were asked their thoughts on how they react, assess and respond to significant change within the business. I found it to be very useful. Here are some of the notes I took:
- You must have confidence in yourself and your abilities
- Remember that change impacts yourself and all those around you - both at work and at home
- You may feel uncomfortable at first but readjust using successful techniques that you've used before - i.e. a lot of it is down to experience
- You may take things personally at first - give yourself time to adjust and see the bigger picture
- Find the positive aspects of the change
- Go back to tools you may have used in the past like Strengthscope, Myers Briggs, Situational Leadership II etc and refresh what you have learnt from them
- Change is the only constant - go looking for it, embrace it and then you can never be afraid of it
- Get perspective - see the big picture that you're a part of
Carl Sagan - 'Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives.'
- Remember that people you lead won't go through the change curve at the same rate that you do
- Practice self care - look after yourself
- Help people accept that the role they have now may not be the role that they have in the future
Richard Branson — 'If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later!'
- Don't be shy - be open and upfront
- Be honest - let them know if you don't have all the answers
- Listen
- Don't be afraid to ask them: what will make you feel comfortable?
- Be aware of your personal values and check yourself against them from time to time
- Find the balance between being your authentic self and the consistency of toeing the company line
- Think about the leader you want to be
- Remember to keep exercising and to keep socialising
- Reach out to your support network
- For people faced with difficult upheavals talk them through their options by storifying them
- You need energy - take time to gather it if you can
- Take control where you can - push back on timelines, be selfish both for your benefit and the benefit of those you lead
- Have grit!
Angela Duckworth - 'I learned a lesson I’d never forget. The lesson was that, when you have setbacks and failures, you can’t overreact to them.'
- Understand how people around you behave under normal circumstances so you can recognise when change is affecting them badly
- Treat people as the adults that they are
- Be mentally and physically ready
- Have frequent contact to provide reassurance
- Share what you know
- Get people to think about what they can control or influence, not what they can't control nor influence
- Manage with respect and dignity
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