Change Leadership... session 7

Culture is what people do when the boss isn’t looking. It’s the behavior, attitude, and atmosphere that happen unconsciously.

Want a culture that embraces change and innovation? Then cultivate an appreciative culture.

I use the word appreciative to describe a company culture where people both contribute to a positive climate AND take care of the business. Appreciative cultures highly value competency, excellence, and results as much as feeling good about their workplace. Two meanings of appreciative fit: to recognize with gratitude, and to increase in value.

Appreciative cultures are resilient to change, not resistant. They seek and reward change that adds value. This session outlines seven actions leaders can take to encourage and reinforce a culture of change...


7 Ideas Coach is an ongoing series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders

see THINK leadership article on cultivating an appreciative culture

Change Leadership... session 6

In the 21st century, increasing complexity is a hard fact for almost all organizations - whether large or small, or business, public, or non-profit.

The combination of knowledge-based work plus increased complexity calls for a different kind of action to move organizations forward, which in turn impacts what kind of leadership styles are most effective and what kind of leaders are needed for the future.

The ideas in this session explain 3 different kinds of complexity, as well as appropriate leadership responses to varying levels of complexity...
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Change Leadership... Series Overview

Essential Competencies for Shaping Your Organization’s Future
Change touches the essential core of leadership. Nothing tests leadership acumen like surviving and thriving the waves of change while shaping your organization’s future.

Do you need people to work well beyond minimum effort? Do you want them to stick with changes once they are implemented? Do you need people that embrace innovation, and are ready for the next change when it comes down the road?

Then crank up your skill in change leadership!

This leadership article outlines seven essential actions explored in my e-book, Change Leadership: 49 Ideas for Mastering Organizational Change and Transition. Each action is further explored in a corresponding 7 Ideas Coach audio podcast. (links provided in article)

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Change Leadership... session 5

Too many change initiatives suffer from what preeminent executive coach Marshall Goldsmith calls the 1 2 3 7 problem - implementing change is a 7 step process, but leaders often leave out steps 4, 5, and 6.

To detail, leaders too often (1) Assess the Situation, (2) Identify Solutions, (3) Plan Action, but then leap to (7) Implement Changes - leaving out efforts to (4) Seek Buy-in Up, (5) Seek Buy-in Across, and (6) Seek Buy-in Down. Oops.

Effective leaders are intentional about creating buy-in for expected change. This podcast covers seven things leaders need to know...

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Change Leadership... session 4

There is fundamental paradox of effective leadership - people make their best effort only when they voluntarily choose to do so. Leading is the art of giving people a genuine choice to follow, while making the choice to follow irresistibly compelling.

A true act of leading is determined not by the “leader” but by the person who chooses to “follow”. Leading can be defined as the act of gaining willing followers for a course of action when the way forward is uncertain or unknown. At its core, leading is about creating conditions where people willingly change - this session reviews seven ways how...

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Change Leadership... session 3

What needs to stick, of course, is change in human behavior. Replace your office furniture and the change will stay put with no effort on your part. The same cannot be said for getting everyone to respond differently to customers, cooperate across functional lines, or implement those new quality measures. If you want organizational changes to stick, implement the leadership initiatives described in this week’s podcast...

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Change Leadership... session 2

Change is different from transition, and leaders ignore transition at their peril.

What’s the difference? Change is an observable event that often occurs very quickly – e.g. you sell your Hummer for a Prius. Transition is an inner state – how long it takes you to get used to driving the Prius. As noted in the previous session, transition is difficult because it requires new learning, new patterns of behavior, and emotional regrouping. This podcast outlines seven actions effective leaders can take to manage transitions.
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Change Leadership... session 1

Conventional wisdom is that people inherently resist change, automatically making organizational change difficult. This assumption can get in the way of effective change leadership. It’s worth thinking a little deeper.

What people resist isn’t necessarily change itself. What people resist is the pain, discomfort, fear, stress, loss, and expending of excess energy and attention that comes with some kinds of change. The ideas presented in this coaching podcast will help leaders understand the nuances of change and better prepare themselves to address real challenges.
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