Organizational change is inevitable. According to research by Gartner, a typical organization today has undertaken at least five major organizational changes in the past three years. During times of change, effective leadership is especially critical to organizational success. Every organization needs leaders who can successfully navigate the waters of change.

Whether change is driven by shifts in customer demands, increased competition, or the introduction of new technology, organizations must be able to upgrade or re-engineer processes and ensure employees adapt and grow to meet organizational needs. People are at the heart of any effort to bring about organizational change, and they require strong leaders who, through their actions and words, can set the tone for how employees should approach change. Here are four ways to provide strong leadership in times of change:

Set and Communicate the Vision

Whether dealing with one significant change or a climate of continuous change, it’s important to establish and communicate a vision early. The vision for change helps employees understand why change is occurring, what the desired end result is, and how the organization will look once change has been achieved. When people understand the vision, there’s a greater chance of allaying the anxieties they may have about how change will affect them. But establishing the vision doesn’t stop with the initial communication; the vision must then be communicated often, and in different forums, so that employees have many chances to encounter and connect with it.

Model Expected Behaviors

An IBM study found that the top factor reported by organizations for successfully leading change was having leaders who act as role models and communicate the case for change. When leaders model desired behaviors, they show how to develop a positive attitude about change and approach it with confidence. Leaders can model expected behaviors by:

• Asking thoughtful questions when unclear about how change will impact certain processes
• Sharing advice and insights with the team about what they’ve learned when undergoing certain kinds of change
• Displaying a healthy sense of humor, which helps others feel encouraged rather than discouraged
• Showing a willingness to try new things and adjust processes to accommodate organizational change

Support Employees

Strong leaders are able to support employees who are dealing with fear, confusion, or resistance to change. In fact, when individuals feel supported by their leaders and see that they’re not alone or ignored, they become more receptive to change. Leaders can support employees by:

• Regularly sharing information about the status, timeline, and impact of change on people and key processes
• Showing empathy and expressing a desire to understand how change affects each of the people on their team
• Providing opportunities for employees to share their frustrations, concerns, and successes in dealing with change
• Providing employees with learning opportunities to adjust their mindset and acquire new skills for managing change

Recognize Successes

Leaders can encourage positive behavior and a healthy attitude about change by recognizing behaviors that demonstrate support of change. There are a variety of ways to recognize employees, including via email, in team meetings, and one on one. During times of change, it can be easy to get caught up in ever-changing activities and processes, but recognizing and celebrating successes along the way helps everyone see the progress made. In addition, by recognizing employee actions taken in support of the change or changes that are occurring, leaders reinforce positive behaviors and show others what they can do to be recognized and rewarded.

To lead change successfully, leaders must communicate the vision for and details of change early and often and show through their actions how to approach change. When leaders remain a constant source of information and support, employees don’t just understand the vision for change; they embrace it.

Measuring a company’s culture can be a challenging undertaking. While some parameters are clearly definable, others are more difficult to pin down. However, when your objective is to shift a company’s culture, it’s important to measure progress to determine if your efforts are resulting in your desired outcomes.

When you consider that a company culture is the sum of individual behaviors, it becomes easier to identify measurement techniques. Making the transition from one culture to another requires behavioral change on an individual level, which is more difficult than you might expect. Even after an inspiring training event, it’s easy to slip back into old habits, especially when employees are faced with the daily pressures of their jobs. However, when individuals collectively make changes over time, the cycle is repeated, new norms are created, and the result is a new culture.

Let’s take a look at the seven measurement techniques that can be used throughout a successful culture transformation.

1. Pulse Checks

Before even starting a culture transformation initiative, it’s important to know the current state of the organization. A pulse check is a short questionnaire used to first capture the baseline culture and then measure change over defined periods of time. For example, you might ask employees to do a pulse check once every quarter to measure changes in responses to questions about how well the leadership models behavior that embodies the company culture.

2. Key Milestones

An important component of culture change is clearly articulating the expected standard and identifying what must be done to achieve it. Creating key milestones over a period of 18 to 36 months gives employees and managers benchmarks to work toward. These milestones also help sustain the momentum of culture change over time. Many culture shifts start with a big push but can fizzle after a few months as employees revert to their old habits. Keeping these key milestones at the forefront as a measurement tool can help sustain the energy as people work to incorporate new behaviors into their daily jobs.

3. Knowledge Testing

In the early stages of a culture transformation, it’s important to know if the new information being delivered during training is understood by participants. If the training didn’t resonate, you can’t reasonably expect changes in behavior. Knowledge testing in the days and weeks after training will confirm that employees learned the desired skills or will provide evidence that further training is required.

4. Mobile Boost Learning

After confirmation that the training was effective, fight the effects of learning decay with a tool like mobile boost learning. Meant to reinforce (not reteach) knowledge already acquired, boost learning can help keep new concepts and behaviors top of mind. Mobile tools can deliver short messages to reinforce behaviors that lead to better quality, efficiency, productivity, or whatever your defined culture change goals are.

5. Self-Assessments

As time progresses during a culture change, employees reach a point where they understand what is expected of them, have the tools to make the desired changes, and are making a genuine effort to apply new skills and change their own behavior. During this stage, self-assessments are valuable tools that allow employees to test these new behaviors in a safe environment. Working with a manager who is able to set clear goals for specific tasks ensures that employees are able to try a new behavior, make corrections, and generate feedback that contributes to lasting change.

6. Multi-Rater Assessments

The next stage in a culture transformation is when employees are not just testing new behaviors, but fully deploying them. At this point, multi-rater assessments that gather feedback from managers, customers, and direct reports can help refine these behaviors even further and optimize the culture. This level of measurement is not necessarily appropriate for every organization going through a culture transformation, as it demands more resources and a level of rigor that not every company needs. However, for organizations that want to achieve a certain level of performance, multi-rater assessments can be a valuable tool.

7. Culture Impact Scorecard

All of the results from the above assessment tools can be combined into a culture impact scorecard or digital dashboard that allows you to centrally manage and communicate the importance of the culture in the organization. Having all of the data in a single location enables you to correlate all of the phases in adopting a new company culture.

• Training
• Knowledge
• Application
• Behavior change
• Culture transformation
• Business impact

Can each of these culture transformation tools be used independently? Of course, but if you want to get the most from your training investment and measure how much of an impact your culture transformation program have on organizational goals, it’s important to employ measurement tools during each phase and tie them all together into a snapshot view. Measuring a company culture is not as simple as taking an occasional survey, but with a smart strategy and the right tools, you can measure transformation in action.

Leaders and managers play a unique role in organizational change. They act as champions for change, as supporters of employees, and in reinforcing change after it has taken root. Despite the many studies that show the high failure rate of change management initiatives, one study of more than 56 companies found that a key characteristic of successful change efforts was the involvement of managers who are able to act as levers of change at all levels of the organization. Given that leaders are involved in the daily work routines of all employees, it is of the utmost importance that they implement the following five change management strategies to increase the chances of success:

1. Establish a Clear Vision

Effective change leadership requires a clear vision that is shared with employees in a way that is both understandable and inspiring. The shared vision should outline what will change and what will remain the same for the organization, the team, and individuals. Beyond hearing or reading about the vision, employees need to understand it. Therefore, communicating the vision many times and in various mediums will ensure your employees have a clear understanding of the planned change and the reasons behind it. Here are a few things you can do as a leader to establish a clear vision:

• Create a clear picture of the organizational goals, how the change initiative will help to achieve those goals, and how it will affect employees on an individual level.
• Regularly discuss the vision in meetings, on the company intranet, and in town-hall gatherings.
• Talk with your employees individually, formally and informally, about the change and, more specifically, about how it is going for them personally.

2. Leverage the Change Management Timeline

Organizational change is a journey that requires a strategy before, during, and after implementation. As a leader, you can take the following steps throughout the timeline:

• Before the change: Begin to ask questions to determine employee readiness for change; surveys are one way to do this. Set and communicate employee goals that relate directly to the change initiative.
• During the change: Recognize milestones and employee actions in support of change. This is a great way to keep change efforts alive. During meetings, emphasize items that have been crossed off to-do lists and praise the team’s progress and continued commitment.
• After the change: Reinforce the goal of the initiative with the help of surveys or questionnaires that assess the degree to which the transformation has been successful. Use the responses to determine if further action needs to be taken.

3. Support Your Employees

New MRI technology is able to show what happens to our brains when we are faced with major organizational change, giving us a better understanding of the feelings that change can evoke in us, including fear, anxiety, anger, and fatigue. To gain the support and commitment of your employees, try using change-management strategies to mitigate emotions like fear and resistance. The following are some actions you can take to support your employees during times of change:

• Create varied learning opportunities to help your employees handle workplace changes; for example, experiential training sessions can encourage individuals to test out new skills and behaviors associated with change in a risk-free environment that allows them to practice and better understand the outcomes.

• Be sympathetic to your employees’ emotions and address their concerns with honesty and optimism. Sometimes, working through emotions together—either one-on-one or as a team—helps individuals address their frustration and fear of change in a more constructive way.

4. Ensure Effective Two-Way Communication

Some people need to see and hear information many times to achieve sustainable behavior change. Furthermore, the chances of change-management success are greater when employees are given a variety of opportunities to communicate with one another. Here’s how you can support healthy two-way communication:

• Provide opportunities to discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with change in meetings, team off-site activities, and team-building sessions.
• Recognize the power of casual social interactions and how shared experiences help employees make sense of the change they are experiencing.
• Search for and address communication bottlenecks that may be standing in the way of change.

5. Focus on Skill Development

When your employees develop the communication, time management, and stress management skills that can help them handle change, they’ll be better equipped and will feel more confident. During times of change it may be necessary to provide change management training for both leaders and employees, as well as implement a reinforcement strategy that promotes real-time coaching and ongoing learning.

Effective change management requires the active participation of leadership and the implementation of the strategies above. While the actions leaders take to support change initiatives may vary depending on their role, function, or leadership style, the underlying commonality is their commitment to the change initiative and ensuring its success.

Change affects all organizations. It’s inevitable, and it can occur internally or as a result of market or industry change. Leading change effectively is not only necessary for survival, but it’s also a requirement for building and maintaining a competitive advantage. Towers Watson research found that companies with strong change management practices are 3.5 times more likely to outperform their peers. Organizations that successfully navigate change are able to overcome obstacles and continue to grow as they transform existing processes and introduce new tools.

The key to any successful change management initiative is having effective leaders who not only embrace change, but also effectively lead others through change. Organizational change isn’t always predictable and can occur at any time. As a result, leaders must be flexible and ready to recognize the need for change. They also need to take actions that help the entire organization support change on an ongoing basis. Here are eight important principles for leading organizational change.

1. A clear vision

For any company endeavor, there must be a well-defined plan. Successful organizational change requires a vision that details the reason for change, how it will impact employees, and what the end result will be. People need to have a clear line of sight that helps them see how things will change and how the company will be better once the change is implemented effectively. Without that clarity, it’s hard for people to see how and why they should support change. Instead of simply telling employees that change is coming, leaders can effectively communicate a clear vision for change by repeating the vision in numerous forums, including in meetings, one-on-one discussions, and emails. A strong vision inspires people to action. As people become more comfortable with the vision for change, they will have time to embrace it and support it by changing their behavior.

2. Involvement of the entire organization

Although it’s necessary for organizational leaders to establish and communicate the vision for change, leaders also need to ensure that the change initiative involves all levels of the organization. Successful change management must start at the top, but it can’t stay there. When the entire workforce is involved, there is less chance of certain groups or functions assuming they are immune to change or that they don’t need to participate. In addition, when everyone is included in organizational change efforts, there’s a greater likelihood that a culture that embraces change will result.

Functional and frontline leaders are uniquely positioned to ensure the involvement of the whole workforce. They touch all levels of employees and can help ensure that key messages about change are consistently delivered throughout the company. In fact, one study found that one of the most important factors of successful organizational change efforts was the effectiveness of mid-level managers. With the consistent support of all leaders, key messages are reinforced rather than diluted or lost.

3. Change agents

Organizational leaders can further drive the effectiveness of company change efforts by enlisting change agents who can also support and champion change. These informal leaders support change and lead by example, showing others how to approach change and how to develop a mindset that is less resistant to change. Change agents can lead a task force, explain a new process to a group of employees, or organize a Q&A session to help employees navigate change. When people see change agents and peers participating in change efforts, they may be more likely to join in.

4. Effective communication

Effective communication not only helps people understand change and how it will impact them, but also keeps change efforts on track. When the communication is two-way, individuals also have opportunities to share feedback and ask questions. According to a Robert Half survey, 65 percent of managers said that clear and frequent communication was the most important aspect of leading through times of change. Opportunities for effective communication exist before, during, and after a change initiative. For example:

• Before change – Clear communication about the change that’s coming helps employees prepare and adjust.
• During change – Frequent communication about progress and milestones helps individuals see what’s been accomplished and gain clarity on next steps.
• After a change initiative has concluded – Regular communication reinforces new behaviors and processes and helps to ensure people don’t fall into the “old way” of doing things.

5. Learning and development

Most people don’t show up to work knowing how to handle change; they need to be taught. Considering that organizational change happens so frequently and that there are many effective strategies for managing it, leaders can benefit from coaching and change management training that helps them master the art of leading change. When leaders have the skills they need to guide employees through change, they will lead with greater impact and drive change at the individual level. Targeted leadership development can help individuals build competency in the following areas:

• Setting expectations to help individuals understand desired outcomes
• Effectively delivering messages about change that drive individual behavior
• Giving feedback that inspires and motivates employees to embrace change

6. Employee support

Change can be a daunting and frustrating experience, but those frustrations can be allayed by leaders who provide the motivation and support that shows employees they’re not alone. Support for employees can come in many forms. Leaders can have one-on-one conversations with employees during which they show empathy and provide suggestions for how to navigate change. They can also provide individuals with tools that will help them adapt to a new process or workflow. Other examples of employee support mechanisms include:

• Feedback sessions that give individuals opportunities to raise concerns and ask questions about the changes they’re experiencing.
• Experiential learning exercises that provide a safe environment for learning and practicing new skills in areas such as teamwork, communication, or time management.
• Team building and off-site sessions that help individuals bond over shared experiences and benefit from each other’s advice.

7. Accountability in teams

Successful organizational change can only happen if everyone takes accountability for doing their part. Leaders need to be accountable for communicating clear expectations, providing feedback, and supporting their team through a change initiative. They also need to ensure that everyone on the team is accountable for the outcome of the change initiative, instead of viewing it as a management-only exercise. One way leaders can build accountability within teams is with MCR (Model, Coach, Require) coaching. In this three-step process, leaders model the behavior they expect of employees, coach individuals for improved performance, and then require the necessary change in behavior by setting clear expectations and consequences. When everyone does their part and takes ownership of organizational change, teams function more efficiently and sustainable change becomes more likely.

8. Reinforcement and measurement

Organizational change doesn’t stop just because a specific change initiative has come to its conclusion. Leading organizational change requires reinforcement of new employee behaviors and skills, as well as measurement of your progress on an ongoing basis. Regular reinforcement of newly learned behaviors supports better retention of training content. Additionally, measuring progress helps everyone see how far you’ve come and inspires them to stay the course. Examples of reinforcement and measurement activities that keep the momentum going for organizational change efforts include:

• Celebrating wins and other successes.
• Following up with employees in person and via email to reiterate the company’s commitment to change.
• Reinforcing new skills employees have learned through assessments and learning exercises.
• Measuring the results of change initiatives through surveys and performance metrics.

Leading organizational change requires a deliberate focus on developing leaders who can lead others through the waters of change. Leaders need to possess the ability to explain to employees why change is necessary, how change will impact them, and what each person must do to make the change initiative a success. When leaders have the tools to communicate, coach, and support employees through change, the chances of success are greater.

Everyone experiences some kind of conflict in the workplace at some point. Something which Covid has added a realm of complexity to, to not only detect, but also resolve. Conflict can arise in many situations, but disagreements with coworkers commonly cause interpersonal strife. In fact, in an 18-month research study, nearly 100 percent of respondents cited interactions with coworkers as the primary cause of conflict at work. Conflict in the workplace also impacts employee productivity. According to one study, a single employee spends nearly three hours every workweek trying to resolve some kind of conflict. Even worse, unresolved conflicts can impact employee engagement and have negative implications for company culture.

Change is inevitable, and for organizations everywhere, things are moving faster than ever before. One study found that industry change, mergers and acquisitions activity, and disruptive startups will shorten the average lifecycle of an S&P 500 company from 24 years to just 12 years by 2027. Whether it is a result of organizational initiatives, a merger or acquisition, a leadership transition, or simply shifting market conditions, it isn’t about if, or even when change will occur. It’s about how long-lasting and disruptive the change will be, and how it is handled by the organization.

Being prepared to not just survive change, but to proactively design and leverage opportunities for change from within the organization, is a key differentiator in today’s markets. To do this effectively, it is important to understand change management vs. change leadership.

What is Change Management?

Change management is usually reactionary and can be seen as a linear process, with a single goal and preset checkpoints. These are defined by the change managers, and implemented by relevant individuals. As a Forbes article put it, “change management can be seen as an intermittent project, with a discrete beginning and end, addressing one or two big-ticket items, such as restructuring the organization or implementing a new IT system.”

As anyone who has been through a major change in an organization knows, it is rarely that straightforward. It is an iterative process that requires strong leadership, input from throughout the organization, and course-corrections throughout the process. To bring the biggest benefit, implementing change requires more than just management – it requires change leadership.

What is Change Leadership?

Change leadership is a proactive approach to change management, where change is seen as an opportunity for growth and improvement rather than a finite project. Change leaders create an inspiring vision, and advocate for that vision throughout the organization.

Change leaders take a people-centric approach. They consider how change affects employees, their processes, and their tools. They work alongside company leaders, HR, and employees to successfully integrate the change rather than impose it. Change leaders seek out insights and feedback, and strive to understand any challenges the change initiative is causing. They acknowledge when things aren’t working as anticipated and adjust the plan accordingly. This gives employees a voice in the initiative, empowering them to provide the input that will allow them to support and engage with the initiative.

But before a change initiative even begins, true change leaders work diligently to build trust with their employees. That way, when change happens there are strong relationships to provide a foundation that allows employees to follow even when things seem uncertain.

What Do Change Leaders Do Differently?

1. Inspire Others with a Vision

A good change leader can create a vision for the future of the organization that will inspire others to support change, rather than resist or fear change. The vision will clearly show why change is necessary, the benefits of changing, and how people will be affected in their work. Successful change leaders anticipate, understand, and address employee concerns in that vision. A clear vision not only ensures that everyone understands the benefits of organizational change, but that they feel like a part of it – the picture is so vivid that it inspires everyone to want to achieve it.

2. Define the Strategic Plan

People will begin to connect with the vision for change when they have a clear understanding of the direct impact on their everyday work. To do that, change leaders bring the vision to life by sharing the strategic plan for accomplishing the change. This includes how team and individual accountabilities will be affected, when, and how the processes will change.

3. Communicate Effectively with Employees

Communication can’t stop after the vision and plan are shared. It must continue with progress updates, any adjustments to the plan, and celebrations of the milestones along the way. During a change management initiative, leaders should encourage two-way communication and actively seek opportunities to solicit feedback and questions from employees. They recognize the importance of safe avenues for individuals to provide feedback, ask questions, and seek reassurance, because there will be no meaningful insights without that safety – and change leaders know that would be missing a critical step toward success.

4. Provide Consistent Support

To ensure success, change leaders make sure there is ample support available. This includes providing leaders at all levels of the organization with the skills and information they need to coach and assist their employees. By working with teams and individuals, leaders can address specific changes to tasks and duties, collect suggestions and ideas related to optimizing new processes, and identify areas where further training and supports will be needed. By providing these supports proactively, leaders can maximize the chances of success.

5. Sustain Energy Long-Term

Change leaders know that successfully achieving the vision requires maintaining momentum and avoiding backtracking wherever possible. By routinely providing updates, implementing retention strategies, making adjustments, and reiterating the vision on an ongoing basis, the organizational change initiative stays top of mind. Providing any metrics you’re tracking helps everyone to see the progress as it unfolds. Some change leaders even find that conducting surveys periodically helps them to keep their finger on the pulse of employee mindsets and commitment so they can proactively overcome challenges and friction in the process. Especially in the case of long-term change initiatives, maintaining momentum after the kickoff is crucial to success.

Conclusion

Companies that pursue and embrace change are well positioned to continue to evolve and grow, while those that resist change are at risk of stagnation – or even extinction. Pursuing and embracing change takes more than a change management approach. It requires leaders who lead the change and diligently work to guarantee the organization’s success. When companies simply manage change as it comes, they are constantly attempting to avoid threats. But when leaders can adopt a change leadership approach, change becomes an opportunity to thrive.

Training employees to become better managers or executives is an important part of maintaining a strong leadership pipeline. Without this type of development, an organization can be left with leadership gaps that result in decreased productivity, unintentional shifts in the company culture, and potentially lost profits. That is why it is crucial to address certain leadership topics throughout an employee’s development, in order to improve communication skills and team dynamics.

The types of leadership topics that are most relevant will depend on factors like where an individual is on their development path and the foundation of skills that has already been created. Consider including these ideas as you develop your leadership development program.

1. Communication

For those individuals who are early in their journey to becoming a leader, learning how to effectively communicate is critical. Learning and implementing techniques for active listening is the first step in avoiding misunderstandings and overcoming roadblocks. As they continue to grow into leadership positions that require managing people, they can achieve greater impact by learning how to solicit and provide feedback to improve performance. Senior leaders benefit from learning how to create and deliver the consistent messages that will promote a unified culture.

Why do leaders find this topic engaging? Everybody faces challenges that can be resolved using strong communication skills. Leaders in training want to know how they can be better at communicating effectively so that they can generate the results they expect from their teams.

2. Execution

One of the many strengths that makes an individual a great leader is the talent for developing brilliant strategies. However, in order to be effective, this skill must be paired with the ability to execute. Learning how to implement smart strategies through creating plans, tracking milestones, and leveraging innovation enables leaders to demonstrate that their strategies are valid by delivering results.

Why do leaders find this topic engaging? Teaching leaders how to put their strategies into action empowers them to develop new initiatives and gives them confidence in their ability to bring them to reality.

3. Change Management

One of the most challenging times for any organization is a period of transition. Whether it is a change in leadership, a merger, or opening a new branch office, employees crave structure, knowledge, and security in their roles. With the right approach and change management best practices in place, leaders can drive productivity during transitional times, provide stability and vision, and adapt as roadblocks or challenges arise.

Why do leaders find this topic engaging? This type of training is always relevant but is particularly powerful before a planned transition. Having a clear approach allows executives to respond to change with confidence and poise.

4. Empowerment

All leaders must delegate tasks, both large and small. In addition to knowing which tasks are appropriate for the right people, a good leader also has the skills to engage individuals in the decision-making process so that they feel empowered to do whatever is required to produce the best results. Leaders who know how to empower others unleash the full potential of their teams.

Why do leaders find this topic engaging? Leaders who focus on optimizing results want to learn how to get the most from their teams. Although they might know how to maximize their own productivity, they might not yet know how to encourage the same in others.

5. Team Performance

By its very nature, a leadership role requires an individual to guide other people. Different personalities, work ethics, skill sets, and other factors contribute to the many challenges a leader might face when trying to improve team performance. Having the practical skills to overcome these various hurdles enables a leader to both help individuals grow and foster higher levels of collaboration.

Why do leaders find this topic engaging? Effectively leading teams is an ongoing process that requires a broad but refined skill set in order to handle the wide range of situations that will arise.

Development programs for emerging leaders, managers, and executives can include many types of leadership topics. Select the ones that make the most sense for everyone depending on their career level, the challenges they currently face, and the journey you expect them to take as they continue to grow as leaders.