Savvy, educated customers are requiring more of businesses, and being adaptable and dynamic is essential for competing in today's market place. Effective change can make or break a business' EBIT, especially when sizeable. However even seemingly 'minor' change initiatives, can have an impact on the bottom line - when executed poorly engagement drops, staff are disracted and productivity declines, yet when change is effective, alignment to the desired future state can achieve the expected outcomes, and build capability in readiness for further market forces.

When it comes to the workplace, most of us have been exposed to, lead or ridden the waves of change, and had varying experiences.

Those charged with leading roles as a sponsor or driver of these organisational change initiatives, might remember it as a time when stress levels go up, the path ahead is uncertain, and the time and resources available seem scarce.

With the benefit of hindsight, and that of academic research, knowing change is certain, here are some insights as to how you can prepare yourself mentally for future change in your professional environment. There are many change methodologies, processes and models, this is more about how you lead yourself and others, through the change, not ‘how’ the change is managed.

At the crux of it, a change-leader’s role is to ensure capability and momentum for the change effort. This requires different leadership roles throughout the process, all of which need to be effective and visible. Effective change management leadership is most crucial in the execution phase. In summary, V Nilakant and S Ramnarayan outline four different leadership roles:

  • Cognitive tuner
  • People catalyser
  • Systems architect and
  • Efficacy builder (connected to each stage of the change process).

It goes without saying that firstly, the change needs to be understood, agreed and initiated. A clear project scope and outline of the change is essential and all stakeholders need to be on-board – much easier to do if you’re a small team. Having alignment across the key leaders and influencers now, goes a long way toward ensuring a positive end result.

This also involves developing an understanding the mental mind-sets of those inside and outside the organisation, affected by the change. Understanding their current views and anticipating what’s to come, enables you to lead them through the change.

To understand the mind-set of those affected by the change, open and engaging conversation with individuals need to be undertaken, and balanced with those insights and observations already gathered. To be an effective change leader and to best understand the prevailing mindsets and assist others to have awareness of these, is taking the role of a cognitive tuner. Throughout the change, it is prudent to pay attention to the environment, observe and check in regularly and often too, so as  to understand how it is evolving and being changed over time.

Most importantly, when leading through change, self-awareness is critical, so also take time to be aware of your own mind-set. Reflect and review your own energy and perspective, and actively manage this to ensure alignment with, and energy for, the change. Authenticity is a key leadership attribute and so genuine endorsement of the change has longer lasting positive implications.

In the second stage is an obvious one – once the insights of the team are understood, the task now shifts to one where leaders seek to influence and persuade them to also understand their mental models, and ideally, align them with the change. Outlining the ideal future state, the ideal mind-set and new models that are required to succeed here, are important.

In summary, the role of a leader in this stage is to act as a people catalyser to speed up the process of letting go of old mental models and the adaption of newer ones. This is done by strong and consistent communication, by mobilising support and resources, building networks and continuously communicating the message of change. Therefore, a person acting as a leader in this position, needs the skills for building a frame of change in a way that permits people to let go of their old mental models. If necessary, the support needs to be built through negotiations.

This leads into the implementation or execution phase. During this phase, it is important to establish effective coordination mechanisms (how the new processes, systems etc will work), and to sustain the momentum of  the change. Kotter advises “For change efforts to be successful, behaviors must be altered.  If behavior isn’t altered, we’re doomed to repeat past mistakes.” so being clear about what needs to be altered, and to what, is key.

It is a crucial now to design, build and sustain a social architecture that can facilitate others to change, so the leader’s role here is that of a systems architect. Often, leaders underestimate the importance of establishing new routines and cultures, making the role of the systems architect vital in ensuring the success of change efforts in an organisation. This is outlining ‘how’ people now work, and ‘what’ they need to do. It will unfamiliar for all, so anticipate this as people respond in a variety of ways to change. Be patient, encourage open communication and proactively communicate the future state and details of the ‘what’ and ‘how’ during this stage of change.

Lastly, a successful change leader, acts as an efficacy builder. The essence of this is to be a champion for the change, and a capability builder -  to aid people to face uncertainty positively, and to believe in their own ability to face challenges, and master new ones. This stage is an excellent one for building individual and organisational resilience, an essential competency in today’s fast-paced market place.

All of these stages connect in that they are essential for leaders sponsoring, championing or managing change. These stages are a guide as to a leader’s own style and area of focus, as the change is rolled out.

"Your success in life isn't based on your ability to simply change. It is based on your ability to change faster than your competition, customers and business." - Mark Sanborn