Leaders, whether they realize it or not, are in the change business. After all, if nothing was changing, and things were going great, would we even need leaders? But since things are always changing, perhaps faster than ever, we need leaders who can effectively lead change. In other words, leaders need to master change leadership.
To be successful in change leadership requires two inputs:
- Knowledge of tools, processes and approaches that support the change effort itself.
- The confidence to apply those tools, processes and approaches in real life.
In my experience in working with leaders across the world in a wide variety of industries, both of these inputs are often lacking. When organizations decide to invest in the development of their leaders to be more proficient in change leadership, which of those inputs do they typically focus on?
90+% of the time the focus is on knowledge.
It is understandable to start with knowledge – how can people build healthy confidence in anything without a basis in knowledge? The problem isn’t deciding to start with tools and approaches. The problem is assuming that giving people a toolkit is a guarantee the tools will be used.
To move past “this is how to do it” to “doing it” requires confidence.
This conundrum doesn’t apply only to change efforts and skills. The need for confidence is especially important in change efforts because change is complex and the desire for success is high.
This article isn’t about the models or approaches that you might teach (though I have opinions and some successful approaches we can help your organization and leaders with – email me if you want to talk about it). Rather, let’s talk about how we can help bolster the confidence of your leaders in leading change – and any other skill you desire them to exhibit.
- Acknowledge the gap. Help people see that confidence is a key to their success. Help people see that knowledge isn’t all they need.
- Share the confidence/competence loop. The confidence/competence loop shows that if we have enough confidence to try things, we will build our competence, which reinforces and further strengthens our confidence. We don’t have to start with a lot of either one, but the reinforcement loop will predictably build both.
- Give people a safety net. Change efforts are often highly visible and are perceived as important. Both factors can make people more tentative to try things. Help people start small and let them know that if they fail, it will be ok.
- Grant grace and patience. To help the confidence/competence work, we need to be patient. If we can provide patience to leaders as they are leading change, you will help them progress more quickly and continue to build confidence.
- Encourage more. We all know that encouragement helps build confidence. We do it with our kids. Remember to do that with others too – including leaders. Remember adults are just kids in big bodies.
- Take small steps. Several of the steps above imply this important one. A change will seldom be sabotaged in one moment or with one action. Help people apply the tools in small ways. Help them master skills on smaller, less complex changes, and both confidence and competence will begin to grow.
If you are serious about building the confidence of your leaders to provide change leadership, ask yourself these questions:
Which of these steps are happening in your organization?
Which are missing?
Answering, and acting on your answers, to those two questions are the best ways to begin bolstering the competence and confidence of your leader’s ability to lead change.
Looking for a tool to help build both change leadership confidence and competence? Enroll yourself or other leaders in the Remarkable Change Leadership Challenge. This is a 30-day blended learning approach to help build skills awareness and confidence in leading change more effectively. The investment is small, and the impact can be huge – for individual leaders and all the changes they are responsible for leading. Details and registration information is here.
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