Transformational Leadership Strategies

Continuous change is the new normal.  Change isn’t just an event, it’s a process, and generally a messy process.  Yet effective change tends to follow a pattern:  people are clear about the direction, they are motivated and inspired, and there is a supportive environment.  In prior blogs, I’ve addressed direction and motivation, so now let’s look at your environment.  These three steps below are not meant to suggest a linear approach to change, merely an attempt to address the three key components of effective change.

Initially, when you hear the word “coach,” you think of sports, athletes and winning games. Coaches are responsible for training athletes in a sport by analyzing their performances, instructing in relevant skills and by providing encouragement. But they are also responsible for the guidance of the athlete in life and their chosen sport. Therefore, the role of the coach will be many and varied, from instructor, mentor, facilitator, demonstrator, advisor and supporter.

Remember when you were in grade school and you had to go before the class to do “Show and Tell”?  Well, guess what?  You and your leadership team have to do the same thing in your organization.  Your employees will recognize new changes or policies, but they may not recognize how the organization’s values guided the decision behind the directive.  Your job is to ensure everyone in your organization recognizes how your decisions and guidance are tied to the organization’s values.

In the old days when mapmakers were unfamiliar with a land, they would typically place the image of a dragon in the middle of an unknown area. When sailors or other explorers came to the land, they would see the dragon symbol and say, “Dragons be here.”  The symbol of the dragon was a clear indication to them that the land was unknown and possibly dangerous, so they stayed away from it.