Originally published in March 2021.
The Biden/Harris administration has a lot going on. Dealing with the pandemic, the economy, climate change, infrastructure, cybersecurity, immigration, a $15 minimum wage….exactly what we call dealing with “complex change.”
There are some lessons I hope they have learned that we teach in leadership training.
Are you prepared to manage change?
Too often, real change is abandoned because the leader fails to put into place the necessary pieces to ensure its success: clear vision, skills to implement the vision and rewards when goals are met.
If your team is confused about the change you’ve introduced, perhaps your vision hasn’t been clearly communicated. If they’ve grasped your vision but are still anxious about their ability to pull it off, then they may lack the skills needed to carry out the strategy. If vision, skills and a good action plan are in place, but progress seems painfully slow, you may need to introduce some incentives (rewards) to get people moving ahead.
Do you have what you need?
An absence or scarcity of resources results in frustration. For vision, skills, incentives and resources to come together, you’ll need a strong action plan. For action plans to be effective they need good feedback from like-minded peers and continual revisiting. Use your action plan to track measurable progress; revise it periodically to ensure that you are learning well from your experiences – both the positive and negative ones!
I like to use this diagram from Dr. Mary Lippitt, founder and president of Enterprise Management, Ltd., the “Managing Complex Change” model, to explain the process.
Keep learning and leaning toward the vision!
Explain your vision clearly. Learn to celebrate the little victories along the way that encourage prompt and exemplary change. Make sure you have an action plan.
Then go for it.
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