Creative Leadership = Creative Change

A friend has been asked to give a speech on Leadership During Times of Change. As a change consultant, she asked for my take on the topic.  Three key things popped into mind:

1)      Name the Beast: Change signals hard work and no one should take it lightly. Have you ever woken up in the morning, assessed that all is right with the world – good health, good fortune, meaningful work & relationships – and then decided to change them? I hope not. Change is needed only when we encounter an inauthentic situation and seek to rectify it. This can be daunting, it cries for resistance. No matter how much lip service is paid to our willingness to change – we’d really rather not.  Are the stakes high enough to disrupt the status quo?

2)      Know your What and Why – Don’t Worry About How:  As you prepare to gather the troops to overcome the beast of change resistance, you must be able to articulate clearly not only what needs changing, but why. And this why needs to be supported with passion and commitment on your part. This is your rallying cry.  How will we make things better?  This is where the expertise of your followers comes into play.  So….

3)      Begin at the End:  By simply gathering all the change-makers together and imagining what our world will look like when we have accomplished our goals, possibilities emerge. Some of these “visions” will confirm ideas you already had, while others will surprise and delight you. Once your team members know that they are being heard, their ideas taken seriously, and even incorporated into how change will happen – strategies and processes will fall into place. By taking time to launch a change project with a facilitated visioning session, you will have transformed what might have been an onerous ordeal into a creative endeavor.

Now that's Leadership During Times of Change.