In this blog I’ve written extensively about organization and industry change. I recently read a paper in the McKinsey Quarterly entitled “Developing better change leaders” and wanted to share 4 tips, I learned from this paper and other research on leading transformational change.
- Collaborate: Collaboration across departmental and hierarchical boundaries can help organizations to achieve transformational change. The key to getting employees to buy into change is dialogue not dictation. Through dialogue, employees’ concerns can be addressed and ideally eliminated, so they can start to learn how the proposed change will be better. As people become more open, the organization becomes more transparent and trust is fostered, enabling collective solution building and idea sharing to occur.
- Map out the change process: While some adaptability will be necessary, by having the change process mapped out and communicating it, expectations can be shaped of what will happen, what could happen and when it may happen.
- Find the courage to be honest when having difficult conversations: When addressing the negative impacts change will bring such as layoffs, be honest with employees as soon as it is feasibly possible to do so. Work with employees who will face layoffs to help them find new jobs either within the company or with another company. Provide training, mentoring and support to empathetically engage with the displaced employees.
- Use your experience to train and mentor others: Leaders who have experience in transformational change can play a pivotal role in training and advising lower level managers. Such leaders can share their experiences of what worked well and not so well in previous change initiatives. They can then help subordinates to develop the skills necessary to move the organization forward.
While different companies will have different change situations, the above tips offer some generalized guidance. But what do you think? Feel free to add your own tips on leading transformational change in the comments section below.
Marie Wiere's Blue Sky Management Blog 
Marie,
It’s interesting how communication is such a huge part of transformational change. While a lot of the focus is just on what changes managers decide to make, I was thinking after reading this post that the communication with employees that follows might be equally as important. If employees don’t embrace the change, that can create big problems even if the ideas are good.
Also, great video once again!
I agree Greg, you make a very important point. It seems constant communication throughout the change process is vital to eliminate small problems as they arise, before they become bigger ones.
Marie:
I think the four tips you offer are important from a leadership perspective. I agree with Greg that communication is indeed an huge part of transformational change within an organization.
What is missing is how to support employees or organizational members so that they have clarity and acceptance around how the proposed or impending change is going to transform them.
As the organization changes, so too does the role of the employee. I believe helping employees understand and move through the process of their own transformation is the keystone to successful organizational change. This can be done by helping employees to see change as a journey of personal growth and professional development. Anything and everything that the organization can do to support that process (i.e. through coaching, training, education, etc.) will enhance this process significantly.
Thank you for such a thought provoking post!
Warmly, Laureen
Laureen,
Thank you for your thoughtful comment and adding an important point to this post.
Marie