Question

As a change leader, you can be a positive influence on change and making change happen, strengthening your own career and professional capabilities. Discuss the differences between managing change and leading change. What are the advantages of being a change leader?

Answer 1

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It is important to differentiate between change management (the tools, processes and techniques used to help people progress through change), and change leadership (the style, attributes, values and behaviours of the person creating the momentum). The two processes are vital to implementing a change strategy, but confusing the two terms can lead to problems.

Change Leadership:-

• The individual or individuals who ‘own the change;
• The style and disposition of the individual(s);
• The credibility and influence of the person owning the change;
• Emotional and social intelligence;
• Mindset not position – anyone can lead a change, it does not require hierarchy;
• Focus, and clarity of thought.

Change Management:-

• An agreed process or method by which to manage change;
• Is about involvement, and overcoming resistance;
• It often has a ‘hierarchical play’ in effect;
• Removing resistance and getting to the new state ASAP;
• People and process; and
• Implementation rather than installation.

Clearly, change leadership describes influencing and focusing on the change, whereas change management describes the processes for how the change can be achieved. If change leadership does not exist employees may not support or understand the vision of the strategy and without change management the processes for achieving, it may not be in place.

As the power behind the change, change leadership fills the holes that change management cannot. Change leadership is essential to effective change because it has the capacity to move an organization in a new strategic direction. Yet like change management, change leadership cannot stand on its own. Examining the pros and cons of change leadership will illustrate both the value it brings as well as the challenges it faces.

The advantages of being a change leader are:-

• Buy-in: Buy-in, or the commitment of an organization’s employees to strategic decisions, is essential for lasting change. Without it, employees will simply view change as an updated or substituted process rather than an entirely new direction for the organization. Change management forces frequently find it challenging to orchestrate buy-in; it must come from the top of the organization. This is where change leadership becomes imperative, because it holds the necessary authority. If leadership communicates the vision for the change to the entire organization, the organization will be far more receptive to the idea of changing. Moreover, change leadership should be sure to include employee input when creating the new strategy for the organization, effectively giving ownership of the change to the entire organization. This ownership will ensure that the organization is invested in the change, as employees are implementing their own strategic changes rather than those that leadership has forced on them.
• Overcoming Politics: While external change management forces can navigate political and cultural barriers more easily than internal forces can, these barriers often start at the top of the organization. Change leadership, therefore, can also play a large part in removing those barriers. Empowering employees to adjust the way they operate in order to cope with the change can greatly help an organization to overcome political and cultural barriers.
• Instilling Urgency: Because leaders drive the organization, change leadership has the capacity to bring about rapid change through instilling a sense of urgency in the organization. If employees understand the necessity for rapid and far-reaching change, they will feel compelled to change, and the change will occur far more thoroughly and rapidly.