Common wisdom in management science and
practice has it that to build support for a change project, visionary
leadership is needed to outline what is wrong with the current situation. By
explaining how the envisioned change will result in a better and more appealing
future, leaders can overcome resistance to change. But research, recently
published in the Academy of Management Journal, leads us to add a
very important caveat to this.
A root cause of resistance to change is
that employees identify with and care for their organizations. People fear that
after the change, the organization will no longer be the organization they
value and identify with — and the higher the uncertainty surrounding the
change, the more they anticipate such threats to the organizational identity
they hold dear. Change leadership that emphasizes what is good about the
envisioned change and bad about the current state of affairs typically fuels
these fears because it signals that changes will be fundamental and
far-reaching.
Counterintuitively, then, effective change
leadership has to emphasize continuity — how what is central to “who we are” as
an organization will be preserved, despite the uncertainty and changes on the
horizon.
This is a straightforward and actionable
notion that we put to the test in two studies. The first study was a survey of
209 employees and their supervisors from a number of organizations that
announced organizational change plans (including relocations and business
expansions, reorganizations, structural or technical changes, product changes,
changes in leadership, and mergers). The focus was on how effective the
leadership was in stimulating employee support for the change, measured through
supervisor ratings of employee behavior. As predicted, results showed that
leadership was more effective in building support for change the more that
leaders also communicated a vision of continuity, because a vision of
continuity instilled a sense of continuity of organizational identity in
employees. These effects were larger when employees experienced more
uncertainty at work (as measured by employee self-ratings).
In the second study, we tested the same
idea using a laboratory experiment so that we could draw conclusions about
causality. 208 business school students participated in the study, and the
context was potential changes in the school’s curriculum. They received one of
two messages allegedly from the dean of the business school. One conveyed
a vision of change for the curriculum, and the other conveyed the same vision
of change but also conveyed a vision of continuity of identity. Independent of
which message they were exposed to, students received one of two versions of
background information that suggested either low uncertainty or high
uncertainty about change outcomes. We then assessed their sense of continuity
of identity and their support for the change as expressed in actual behavior:
help in drafting a letter to persuade other students to support the change. The
results of this second study were similar to those of the first: Support for
change was higher when the vision of change was accompanied by a vision of
continuity, because in this case people’s sense of continuity of identity was
higher. Again, the effects were stronger when uncertainty about the change was
higher.
The implications of this research are
straightforward. In overcoming resistance to change and building support for
change, leaders need to communicate an appealing vision of change in
combination with a vision of continuity. Unless they are able
to ensure people that what defines the organization’s identity — “what
makes us who we are” — will be preserved despite the changes, leaders may have
to brace themselves for a wave of resistance.
Leadership provides the opportunity to influence others. It is a great joy, but also an incredible responsibility. Influence is the ability to move others from where they are now into something new. However, influence is not a one-way transaction. We are influencing others and being influenced on a daily basis. When we race through life distracted and busy, we forfeit the opportunity to intentionally influence others. Thus, we must be intentional about what we take in and how we impact those around us.
People are always tuned in and observing our actions, words, and attitudes whether we realize it or not. We can choose intentional influence, and whether our influence is positive or negative.
As leaders, we cannot settle for influence
that is good enough. Great opportunities and exceptional work are
never born from settling for good enough. So, how do we have influence that far surpasses good-enough thinking?
1. Make the choice to be a positive influence. Great leaders understand that influence is equally as important as reputation. Reputation precedes us, and it creates an expectation of what is to come from you. Influence generates reputation and is what’s left behind after others interact with you. It’s the piece of you that you leave with others and the sentence that comes to mind when others think of you. Having a positive impact and leaving others with a positive sentiment is a conscious choice.
2. Accept
responsibility for your influence. Good leaders understand their ability to influence others. Great leaders
go beyond this and also accept responsibility for what is influencing them.
They guard their intake and are vigilant about how they are being influenced.
They are intentional about their inner circles and what information they
consume. This is critical because, ultimately, we give out what we take in. We
reproduce what we are.
3. Aspire to
inspire. Great leaders are
inspiring, especially during challenging times. They are able to bring out the
best in others and instill hope that draws people in. Great leaders are equally
inspiring as they are inspired themselves. They know the purpose that drives them
and tap into their mission to motivate others.
Influence is a two-way street. How others pour into you will dictate how you pour into others. Being intentional about your influence takes you, and those around you, from good enough to great.
Sourced from Kevin Brown at leadercast.com
Leadership is influence. Nothing more. Nothing less. – John Maxwell
“Well, that’s just how we do things here… It’s how we’ve always done it… It’s best that you don’t rock the boat…”
Have you ever heard these dismissive responses when you or your colleagues have suggested changing things in the workplace? Change is always met with some resistance – just ask any visionary.
Anyone Can Challenge the Status Quo
Even when we know something should be different, we don’t always have the courage to take action. And when we do, we risk our ideas falling on deaf ears, or being overruled or ignored. These five approaches can help increase your chances of success when considering challenging to the status quo.
Ask the Right Questions
If you keep asking yourself “why” when you’re following a process or regular course of action, you’ve likely identified something to be improved.
If that’s the case, ask yourself and other people questions, in order to fully understand why things are being done in a particular way. There may be good reasons that you’re unaware of, or maybe it is just because “that’s the way it’s always been done.” Listen carefully – their answers may lead to further questions, problems or solutions that you hadn’t considered.
Prioritize Your Ideas
Perhaps you have a whole list of ideas that you’d like to implement. If so, it’s important to pick your battles. Being passionate about change is admirable, but rattling off new ideas every day will see people start to tune out, and your best ideas may get lost among the lesser ones.
For maximum impact, pick the ones that are most relevant and likely to succeed. Choose wisely; take time for self-reflection and factor in some personal brainstorming.
Gather Allies
If you’re planning to challenge long-standing attitudes or processes, it can help to have people on your side!
Multiple perspectives can help creativity to blossom. You won’t be the only person in the office with ideas, and you might inspire others to speak up with theirs. You’ll gather allies who can support you if you meet resistance, either face-on or behind your back.
Remember, collaboration is the key to success, so it’s important to put your ego aside.
Perfect Your Pitch
There’s a fine line between firm reasoning and antagonism, and change is a scary and therefore touchy subject for some people. If you’re too forceful, you risk people shutting off, and perhaps shutting down your idea before you even had the chance to sell it to them. Be sensitive to other people’s points of view. Listen to what they have to say and be clear about what’s at risk and what will be improved by your idea.
Keep your pitch short and snappy, and leave plenty of time for discussion and questions. Be sure to choose the right moment too.
Keep Calm and Persevere
If you don’t succeed straight away, don’t let exhaustion, anger or stress get the better of you. It’s important not to let failures get you down. Learn from the experience and focus on turning negative emotions around. Some ideas can take a while to come to fruition.
Have you ever challenged the status quo? How did you approach it? What was the outcome? Would you do anything differently next time?
When we think of someone with integrity, we think of someone we can count on to come through on what they promise. Unfortunately, that’s not always a safe bet today.
Over the last several years I’ve noticed a change in the way we use the word integrity. The word used to mean staying true to your word—even if it’s difficult, inconvenient, or expensive. But today I hear more and more people using the word as if it means being true to themselves—even if that means leaving someone else to clean up the mess.
This might look like a win if we’re trying to save ourselves from difficulty and discomfort, but it will come back to bite us in the end. Nothing destroys our credibility faster than bailing on a commitment.
Why is integrity so important?
Trust depends on integrity. If people can’t rely on your word, they won’t trust you. They may extend some grace, but eventually, people will doubt and disbelieve.
Influence depends on trust. People will refuse the influence of leaders they distrust. Just look at how this plays out in politics or the media. We follow people we trust.
Impact depends on influence. You can’t make the impact you want unless you can influence others and shift their behavior.
Now think of other relationships: marriage, parenting, church, whatever. The strength of our relationships is measured by how much people can count on us. If we’re not true to our words, that means our relationships will be as unreliable as we are.
“The strength of our relationships is measured by how much people can count on us.” – Michael Hyatt, Author
When we think of someone with integrity, we think of someone we can count on to come through on what they promise. Unfortunately, that’s not always a safe bet today.