The Change Of A Change Leader

Step 2 is forming a powerful guiding coalition. Leadership will have to be on board and on the same page in regards to the change. Kotter and Cohen reveal the core problems people face when leading change. Their main findings are that the central issue concerns not structure or systems but behavior and how to alter it (Farris, 2008). The success of the changes will depend on the ability of the managers to show their commitment to change and motivate the employees to do the same. Without any process to track the implementation, the change can also fail.

In order to successfully and effectively implement change all of the employees should have a good understanding of how the changes will benefit the organization, their positions, and how it might impact their routines. To many employees the implementation of change is not always properly communicated, and the process of change on paper as it is being implemented can be threatening as well as confusing. Also, the people behind the scenes making the changes may not have taken specific details into consideration regarding effective changes that perhaps the employees

Implementing change in an organization is complicated. It is important that a manager understands their role and responsibilities for which could very well be the success or failure of an organization. A manager should know how to handle staff resistance, and the areas that require change. There are processes that help management with assisting their staff members with adjusting to change and concentrate on the areas of importance. This process includes planning, assessment, implementation, and evaluation. The difference between a failed organization and a successful manager is when the manager has the ability to implement change with little disruption to

The more active the participants are in the planning, the less resistance there will be later (Sullivan & Decker). If staff does not trust leadership, does not share the organization's vision, does not buy into the reason for change, and aren't included in the planning, there will be no successful change, regardless of how brilliant the strategy (Goman, 2000). How people react to change is important to understand. Change takes an emotional toll on people, some more than others. It is important not to underestimate that toll and understand who will have a harder time adapting to change. Fear of change has many roots. Those roots can be a lack of trust, fear of failure, fear of loss of income or a belief that the change is unnecessary (Sullivan & Decker). By understanding the reason for the resistance a manager can help the employee overcome his or her fear and become a supporter of the change. The last two steps are to provide feedback mechanisms to keep everyone informed of the progress of change and evaluate the effectiveness of change (Sullivan & Decker). People need to be kept informed of the change process to minimize anxiety. Sometimes there are unexpected consequences to the change, and it is important to have a system in place for those consequences to be discussed and if needed more changes made in order to accommodate those consequences.

Managers need to determine the best method of communicating the changes to the employees that are directly affected. This material presented in last weeks class and in the course material helped us understand how important communication is when implementing changes in a work environment. The course book identified four main approaches to managing change in an organization. Lewins’ Three-Step Model argued that successful change in an organization follows three steps: Unfreezing the status quo, movement to a desired end state, and refreezing the new change to make it permanent. (Robbins & Judge, 2011). This approach requires manages to evaluate the need for change and implement a plan of action to help the organization manage changes effectively.

Management must espouse coherent strategies and persuasively convey them to the employees to successfully communicate the change vision within an organization. Also, the organization should query employees to conclude the superlative mode of communicating with the team. It starts with leaders considering their previous methods and determine if they need modification or enhancement.

Change is difficult because all organizations cultures, structures, mission, and values are unique. As a result, there is not a “blueprint” that leaders can follow to ensure change initiative success. However, understanding the conditions that promote successful change processes is critically important for leaders. If employees do not support

I believe that a key to leading through, and accepting, change can be effective communication. Although everyone may not be able to accept change, they should make that decision with proper information on hand. Fullan (2015) stated that "Consistent communication during implementation is essential to getting the collective clarity and energy necessary for success. Communication sticks best when it is close to action in time and place and is frequently

In order to bring about a successful change, it is important to first consider the rationale for change. The organization and people being impacted by the change must understand the desire for change, benefits, and importance of supporting the change. After the change has been embraced and implemented successfully, it is essential for the organization to incorporate it as a standard practice, motivate the personnel to utilize it, and adhere to the change to influence positive

With any change there are many factors involved within the process itself however communication has to be the key factor involved in the change process. Without this you cannot expect line managers or employees to support the change. With communication you need to ensure employees feel positive. It is also good practice the company adapts its style of communication depending on their audience and where they are in the change. Where one style might suit senior management, this might not be appropriate for administrators or cleaners. Communication can have a huge impact on the end result, it can also help to ensure targets are met, everything is kept in control and no employee disregards the change. Lack of communication could lead to frustration and lack of trust with employees.

Communication – Talk about the change vision, if people have anxieties then address these openly and honestly. Tie in the vision to all areas of the business from training to performance reviews

The author will employ a combination of two change theories. Kurt Lewis’ Unfreeze-Change-refreeze theory and John Kotter’s 8 Steps of leading change. A summary of the steps is attached below (Taner, R. 2015).

Not only informing employees why changes are important but also deliver the message clearly to lessen vagueness and uncertainty which is one of the foremost causes of resistance. Last but not least, the way one communicates the message to employees must be effective and compelling. Great storytelling can help leaders drive organizational changes easily, as a leader one cannot eradicate anxiety or uncertainty that occur in the minds of staff but one can convince employees by working with their emotional concerns to develop more engagement which leads to collaboration.

Change is a double-edged sword (Fullan, 2001). Change is a word that might inspire or put fear into people. Leadership is challenging when it comes to dealing with change and how individuals react within the organization to the change. Marzano, McNulty, and Waters (2005) discuss two orders of change in their book School Leadership that Works; first and second. Fullan (2001) also adds to the discussion in his book Leading in a Culture of Change, with regard to understanding change. In Change Leadership, Keagan and Wagner (2006) discuss many factors of change and the systematic approach to change. Change affects people in different ways. Leaders need to be able to respond to the individuals throughout the change process.

In a recent study of major change, it was found that employees are highly critical of even well thought-out attempts to communicate change and multiple communication channels are preferred when communicating a change vision, plan and process (Elving, 2005;