Achieved Strategies

It isn’t a remarkable insight of mine when I say that we are living in a world faced with rapid-paced change. The economy is surfacing new dilemmas for government to address. We’ve read about horrible acts of leadership from CEOs that leave us wondering where integrity went.  The latest is the surprising actions not taken by Toyota when they learned about the problems with the gas pedal.  These examples are feeding into changes that influence our lives.

This blog post, though, is not to rehash our country’s problems.  Instead, I want to focus on the positive responses to these problems.  For example, there is a rising trend, according to McKinsey Quarterly, of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and organizations that want to give back to the community. Why not? Major organizations have the means to help improve the communities in which they serve.

There is another outcome that isn’t in the headlines nearly enough.  It’s how leaders today engage their employees to transform or change how the business will operate in these rapid-paced times.

The mindful leader recognizes that simply proclaiming the change (new technology, or new organizational structure, or layoffs, etc.) doesn’t yield the desired outcomes. To help employees adapt to change in this rapidly changing world, it requires a leader to “try on” different ways to cause and bring change.

Avoid Meeting-Suck: This is a chronic problem in most companies – an endless schedule of back-to-back meetings.  During organizational change, senior leaders must be visible – interacting with staff, giving presentations or hosting talks about the change. Today’s change leaders blocks time on their schedules to interact with staff.  They get how important it is for them to understand how employees’ realities will be changing.  It helps them know how better to connect and communicate with staff throughout the change initiative.

Challenge Your Worldview: One lesson to be learned from the lack of leadership examples plaguing the papers and television is to not hide the truth. Today we want a leader who shows how real he or she is; that they are fallible and can own up to a mistake when one (or two) is made. Today’s leaders of change share the truth in a way that respects people’s intelligence. They share the truth with the intent to connect with people, to unify people.  Business leaders (change leaders) must challenge the old worldview that they are above people and can hide the truth.  Today’s leaders of change know they are of the people.

Unifying Vision: Vision statements often fall prey to wordsmith-overkill.  A vision of change has suffered the same slow death.  Today’s leaders of change recognize a vision of change becomes a compelling story.  The vision tells the story of what the new tomorrow will be.  It is a symbolic leadership action that extends an invitation to others to be part of something big, to see themselves in the vision. Business leaders find ways to use the vision of change in every interaction with employees, senior manages, middle managers, Board of Directors, even with customers. To inspire change requires a compelling story. It must be shared consistently, authentically, and with urgency.

Indeed we live in very demanding times. It is such times that mold leaders to become stronger and bolder. There is no time like now for leaders of business, government, of anything to learn that change requires the “community” and its people to work together to bring change.  What is achieved with such collaboration can be surprising.

Tell us what you believe is important for today’s leaders of change. Comment below!