Change Leadership

Effective leadership is critical for engaging team members in the value of change for the organization and inspiring collective action to achieve a shared purpose.

First, determine why the change matters to you as a leader and how you can grow your own change resiliency and capability to lead change. Then think about how you can support your team through change so together, you contribute to organization goals.

Download Change Leadership Tools

Traits of Change Leaders

  • Accepting
  • Open
  • Empathetic
  • Adaptable
  • Collaborative

Mindsets of Change Leaders

  • Awareness of self and impact
  • Leading and sharing purpose
  • Courage to address tough issues
  • Thinking holistically, end-to-end
  • Inclusively inviting wide participation

Three Keys to Successful Organizational Change

  1. Recognize the Value of Change
    It's essential to capture people's hearts and minds with a clear value statement about why the change is needed now. You must inspire people with a shared purpose and vision of what the future can look like.
  2. Create a Visible Roadmap to Get There
    People need to be able to see how the organization can realistically achieve the change. Who must do what and when to prepare for executing the change? What milestones do we need to achieve and how do we measure our progress?
  3. Empower People to Contribute
    For teams to be ready to own and deliver changes, they need the information, tools, and ability to realize the change. It is our job in change management to enable people and create a safe space for people to contribute their part.

Leading People Through Change

People have different reactions to change, and they are all valid. In addition, because change is not linear, reactions can vary over time. Showing empathy can help you better support people through change.

Check-in with yourself, first so you can authentically lead teams and model empathy as you work together to realize change benefits for the organization.

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What does empathy look like in practice?

  • Listening and playing back what you heard
  • Being open and suspending judgement
  • Having compassion for concerns you may not share
  • Engaging in participatory dialogue where you don't have to agree on everything

Ask Yourself

  • How do I feel about the change?
  • Do I have what I need to lead change?
  • How does my team feel about the change?
  • How prepared are they to realize the change?

Ask Your Team

  • What are people thinking, feeling, knowing, and doing now vs. where we need them to go?
  • What do teams need to do differently in the future?
  • What information, support, and capability do teams need to realize change?

Ask the Organization

  • How does this change contribute to goals and strategy?
  • Where does this change fit among other changes happening now?
  • What are we learning from change rollouts so we can increase our resiliency over time?

The Role of Change Sponsor

Sponsors are the ultimate change leader – critical for focusing people on the value of change for the organization and inspiring collective action to achieve a shared purpose. Here's how to be an effective change sponsor:

  • Share a clear vision
  • Show visible support
  • Set clear expectations
  • Build alignment, inclusiveness, and partnerships
  • Remove risks
  • Celebrate and build on success

This content is for Internal Use only.