Nowadays, Leadership Means Being More Human - Forbes.com

Nowadays, Leadership Means Being More Human - Forbes.com

Nowadays, Leadership Means Being More Human
Kerry Bunker, 06.24.09, 04:45 PM EDT

The structural side of change management is the easy part.

Excerpts:

In turbulent times, we need our leaders to be more human than ever too.

Confronted by change, particularly layoffs and restructuring, people go through times that are rarely easy. Uncertainty at work triggers all kinds of behavioral and emotional reactions. Instead of being loyal, productive and enthusiastic, employees grow insecure, fearful and skeptical--and rightly so. Seismic shifts of the magnitude we're experiencing today test the resiliency of everyone in an organization.

Managers today have more or less mastered the structural side of leading change. They can understand the practical situation, make the case for change and take action. Reorganizing, restructuring and pushing for leaner organizations has all been institutionalized in our business models. Yet for all our operational savvy, 75% of change initiatives fail--even in the best of times--and in today's tough times, successful change is harder than ever.

The companies that emerge from the crisis with a strong balance sheet and a functioning, high-value talent pool will be the ones with leaders who do something more. They deal effectively with both the structural side of leading change and the human dynamic too. They keep a focus on maintaining and building trust.

This is not a time to take your talented people for granted. Those who remain on the payroll now see few external options. They are happy to still have jobs. But a captive audience is always vigilant. They are well aware of how they and their co-workers are being treated.

Of course, tending to the human side of change does not prevent plant closings, layoffs or tough work realities. But when you balance the structural, technical aspects of managing change with attention to the personal side of transition, you become a more credible and trustworthy leader. To strengthen your ability to lead your people as you run the business, focus on these six areas:

--Manage the change, but lead the transition
--Balance the drive to keep things moving with the need to give people time to catch up
--Know when to empathize and when to be tough.
--Balance realism and optimism
--Trust yourself, and trust others
--Know your strengths, and try new things

Kerry Bunker is a senior fellow at the Center for Creative Leadership, a top-ranked, global provider of executive education. He is coauthor of Leading with Authenticity in Times of Transition. This article is the third in a series from the Center for Creative Leadership; read the first one, "The Three Fundamentals of Effective Leadership," here, and the second, "Change Your Mind Before You Change Your Company," here.

Read Full Article: http://www.forbes.com/2009/06/24/human-change-management-leadership-managing-ccl.html



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This posting was made my Jim Jacobs, President & CEO of Jacobs Executive Advisors. Jim also serves as Leader of Jacobs Advisors' Insurance Practice.