Don't "manage" change. Embrace it!

The ability to manage, respond to, implement and even inspire change is so deeply embedded in THE SENSEI LEADER program, I seldom make it a separate issue…

I work from the fundamental belief that there are few incontrovertible truths, but here are two of the most persistent:

• The only guaranteed constant in life is change.

• And in life and business, some of the biggest changes come without warning.

This is just part of why it is essential that leaders adopt the strategy of becoming flexible, adaptable and comfortable with change…

In their October 2016 issue, Harvard Business Review featured an article by Michael Beer and colleagues. The focus was the disappointing return on investment for leadership development. This report focused largely on leadership development in the context of leading organizations through periods of change. I contend that the best, most dynamic organizations never escape, but rather embrace change as an ongoing, necessary and productive process.

Still…

“Three-quarters of the nearly 1,500 senior managers at 50 organizations interviewed…were dissatisfied with their companies’ leadership and development function.”

According to this report, organizations face a number of challenges when implementing leadership development ranging from poor support from senior managers to authoritarian edicts and internal barriers.

“Participants in corporate education programs often tell us that the context in which they work makes it difficult for them to put what they’ve been taught into practice.”

When managing change, it is vital to recognize this fact: Organizational change is nothing more than the willingness of the PEOPLE in that organization to embrace and manage that change.

You lead PEOPLE. And we know why people respond to certain leaders––particularly during a period of change.