Positive Change Requires Leaders to Move Out of the Way

Change is occurring everywhere due to the pandemic, politics, and economy. Some leaders have rallied their teams for positive outcomes…while many have done very little to make change a positive experience.

Many team members are now standing up and speaking up…making change inevitable. This can be intimidating for even the strongest of leaders because change can be difficult whether or not you believe in the need for it.

The truth is, leaders must manage the process of change in a positive and proactive manner, or it will manage them.

How Do You Move Out of the Way?

Embrace, Don’t Fear of Change. This is a must and required to be a leader, especially in today’s new world of work. Learn to embrace change and be part of its evolution instead of allowing it to happen by default. Be the type of leader that guides teams forward by encouraging innovation along the way.

It’s Not Personal. When team members are standing up and speaking up, it’s not about you. It’s about changes they believe are required of the company’s systems, policies, and/or practices. When you set aside your ego, biases and judgments, you will hear what needs to be heard. Then, you can ask questions to brainstorm ideas that build change and create win-win-win outcomes.

Develop Mindful Resilience. We all get triggered by perceived microaggressions and emotional reactions to certain words, facial expressions, or gestures. Mindful resilience is when we develop a conscious awareness of our triggers and address our reactions in a positive manner. It’s starts with you, as the leader, taking responsibility for your triggers when they occur so they don’t get in the way of change. Remember, clarity of what triggered your reactions is required before you can create win-win-win outcomes. Work with your executive coach or therapist to guide you through these triggered reactions and be a leader others value.

Get Over the Need to be Well-Liked When Making Decisions. It hurts your credibility. Many leaders are afraid to upset others and it is reflected in their decisions. However, change requires fearless leadership to make the tough decisions and manage worthwhile change. Work with your executive coach as a trusted sounding board and focus on understanding the impact your decisions have across the company and with your customers. Include team members in decision-making processes by using facilitated brainstorming sessions. Give them a voice and listen to what they are saying!  You’ll be amazed by their ideas and insights.

Make Your Feedback Positive. Recently a group of people were providing feedback on a project by saying, “I don’t like this or that.” When asked why, they said, “Just because I don’t.” This type of feedback is meaningless and not helpful to any leader. As a leader, discover “why” by asking non-accusatory questions. Otherwise, you and your team will fail to stretch and develop the skills required to make better decisions.

Questions to get the conversation started:

  • Tell me more about why you don’t like this idea.
  • Interesting…could you tell me what you’re hearing or seeing about this idea that has you say “no”?
  • What would make it a “yes”?

Getting out of the way and leading change will make you a better leader. Your career will thank you.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2020

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She has been an award-winning executive coach and keynote speaker for 28 years. Her expertise is guiding leaders to get unstuck and achieve unprecedented results. Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation.

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