Mastering the basics of change leadership

There are 4 inter-related core competencies that leaders must master to congruently lead organizational change.

These provide the foundation on which all other change leadership skills can sit.

 

 

1. Mastery of Self – operating from a psychology and physiology of excellence. A leader should be able to choose his/her state at any given time; choose their response to any situation; process feedback and adapt accordingly, use language with volition knowing the impact that his/her words and actions have on others. This is where a leader demonstrates congruence and is, in effect, the process by which a leader leads himself/herself. Mastery of self manifests itself in what people often refer to as “Walking the talk!”
2. Mastery of Relating to and Communicating with Others. This is about your ability to build rapport with others and enter into another person’s model of the world to better understand what motivates them and how best to communicate with them. Because Leaders have to realize their change programs through the cooperation of and their influence on others, relational skills are essential aspects of leadership. You’ll know if you need to work on these if you experience any form of resistance to the changes you propose.
3. Mastery of Strategic Thinking Skills. These are necessary both to define and achieve specific goals and objectives. Being able to define a desired state as a well-formed outcome and not just in clichés but also in sensory based terms is a key aspect of being able to think strategically. A key part of effective strategic thinking skills is knowing how to determine which operators and operations will most effectively and efficiently influence and move people from the present state to the desired state. In times of change, your people will expect you to set the path for them to follow.
4. Mastery of Systemic Thinking Skills. These are at the root of effective problem solving and the ability to create functional teams and essential in times of change. Leaders today are too reliant on linear thinking and this is not useful in most situations. Systemic thinking enables you to better understand elements such as: the relationships between parts, the consequences of actions, feedback loops, dynamic complexity, mental models/mindsets, etc… The ability to think systemically in a pragmatic way is a sign of maturity in a leader.

To develop and enhance these skills leaders first must be willing to do some Wide Thinking for a Change…

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