Welcome to Change Leadership. A constantly changing world requires leaders to know how to effectively lead change. Leaders today are expected to innovate business models and business processes while improving customer and employee experiences in order to remain competitive. All of these initiatives require the ability to navigate change.
The topic of change management is filled with assumptions and theories that can be difficult to apply. Nita Nohria and Michael Beer (2000) assert that at minimum 70 percent of all change initiatives fail because leaders “… lose focus and become mesmerized by all the advice available in print and on-line about why companies should change, what they should try to accomplish, and how they should do it. This proliferation of recommendations often leads to muddle when change is attempted. The result is that most change efforts exert a heavy toll, both human and economic” (p. 133). Leadership is critical in ensuring that change initiatives succeed.
At the core of a successful change initiative is the ability to engage employees. Leaders today must build trust with team members to intentionally build a learning organization and mitigate perception of negative impacts of change. For any change initiative, leaders need to plan for success and create a compelling vision where those affected can actively contribute and support the change. When leading change, creating multiple opportunities for two-way communication with team members will foster buy-in and commitment. By keeping the lines of communication open and transparent, leaders can recognize the role individual employee values play in team members’ acceptance of, or resistance to, the change initiative and work to foster alignment of those individual values to the organizational values underpinning the change.
Who is this course for?
This program is aimed at leaders and frontline managers seeking to build their capacity in change leadership.