Change Requires Leadership

"Change Requires Leadership" is a principle I stress in order to get leaders to genuinely understand the nature of their unique role in an organization. Leaders challenge and help people to face and thrive in a changing environment. 

• Change v1.0, the old style of leadership, is to tell people what and how to change. 
• Change v2.0 in the old style is to force people to change. I call this the 'one - two punch' of leadership. In short, "Do what I tell you, or I'll make you do it.". Forcing people to do anything against their will almost always has a negative reaction (ask any parent!). It works in the short term, but long term resentment and resistance builds up. 
• Change v3.0. It is a strategy that involves engaging those impacted by the change in an honest dialogue in order to gain the more information, and ultimately, real commitment to the change. Ideally, it works for the organization and the people involved. The difficulty is that it requires a reduction of top down control, whilst simultaneously remaining clear and strong about the underlying intent. 
• Change v4.0 is the Transforming strategy in this phase anode. It requires letting go of old principles and values, in order to find new operating principles and purpose in order to succeed in the future.

"Leaders Generate Clarity not Certainty" - In this complex global environment, no one person can know the answer or strategy in every situation. Conscious leaders seek to generate as much clarity as possible, for themselves as well as the people they serve. There is a paradoxical quality to this approach. They have a firm view, but are genuinely willing to listen, in order to create clarity of purpose and action for all concerned.