Introducion
The dynamic business environment requires organizations to continuously change in order to fit and adapt to the adjustments for efficient operation. Sometimes imposing and implementing alterations within the system becomes a challenge to the management, which might cause a negative impact on the firm’s performance. In most cases, employees do not welcome impromptu amendments and thus necessitate business entities to formulate proper techniques for introducing the kind of modification needed to improve the corporation’s activities. Leader’s role is to initiate and influence the processes to ensure staff members fully incorporate the changes. Leadership qualities and skills such as the ability to communicate effectively are significant in ensuring the demand for initiating adjustments is well communicated to the group to enable them to comprehend and embrace.
Leading a transformation and managing a change
Leading a transformation in an organization is critical, and leaders require a different set of skills and competencies that can make them facilitate the process. Several challenges come through during the initiation of adjustments, requiring the managers to have relevant qualities to deal with them at every stage, from entry to the final evaluation phase (Senior and Swailes, 2016, p. 170). Proper and well-coordinated approaches are essential in enabling the business entity to solve any problem that may hinder the transition to the new system of operation within the firm.
Change management requires managers to identify the issue that requires an organization to transform in order to excel. At this stage, proper analytical skills are essential for the leader to explore the nature of the problem and how it is interfering with the success of the business. A deep understanding is important in enabling the management to set relevant objectives to help focus on the challenge. The manager should be able to engage the consultant to help in the critical evaluation of the problem (Clark and Fincham, 2002). Similarly, the ability will allow the leader to outline expectations and how they relate to the situation. Furthermore, the director should be open to new ideas and suggestions. In most cases, the viewpoints vary from one person to another, and having an open mind would ensure the exploration of the scenario is thoroughly done to exploit all the possibilities (Wickham and Wilcock, 2012). Lastly, the leader should be visionary to align the need for transformation and the entity’s goals to make them a reality.
Leaders should have the skills and techniques to interpret collected data. It is necessary to have an insight into the problem. The only possible way is to look into the database and evaluate how the issue has impacted the organization’s performance. When managers have adequate knowledge of analyzing and inferring the information, they have the potential to deduce the exact effect of the situation (Burnes, 2004). Moreover, time management is vital in this phase to reduce the duration taken to understand the available details. When organizations minimise the period of evaluating the business problem, they are left with an adequate time frame to adjust changes (Harrington, 2010, p.135). The director should have effective listening skills because, during the diagnosis, the consultant will propose other approaches worth using to aid in the transition. Being able to understand the suggestions would enable easy comparisons of ideas, thus facilitating the selection of the right method of implementing change. It will also encourage efficacy in the corporation between the advisor and the manager. Being attentive would minimise the issues that can result in delaying the process.
The feedback stage requires a leader to have strong decision-making skills. When the consultant is providing information based on the performed analysis, a manager should be able to evaluate the outcomes and decide on an effective solution (Newton, 2010, p. 187). Decisiveness ensures all the risks that might come following the choice made can be managed. In addition, interrogative abilities are necessary to enable further exploration of the reports provided by the advisor (Kotter, 2001, p. 85). This would allow the executive to explore and comprehend the details that correlate with the intended project. Similarly, a manager should possess strategic thinking ability to enhance the capability of being impartial and logical about the subject. When leaders are rational, they make valuable analyses weighing all the possibilities before jumping into the final choice.
The change implementation stage is critical for the organisation and the leader as well. At this phase, several forms of resistance that have the potential of delaying or preventing the transformation process are encountered. In order to implement and solve business issues, managers should have effective communication skills. Employees should understand the reason behind making adjustments in the system, and to make it clear for them, the leader has to explain in detail every bit of information (Cummings and Worley, 2014, 179). First, juniors should know the problem and its effect on the business. Second, they should be highlighted about the processes which transition will follow. Lastly, workers will have to know how their roles will be affected and their purpose in facilitating the transformation. To make staff members comprehend the need for change, managers have to communicate clearly by stating all the aspects of the alteration for proper synthesis. During this process, the leader should be actively listening to the comments and views of the employees.
Managers should be friendly and welcoming during the implementation process. Creating an interactive atmosphere would enable employees to incorporate the transformation and feel part of it. Giving workers adequate time to share and ask disturbing questions would set their minds free and open to welcome the adjustments. The quality of friendliness enhances collaboration and thus influences individuals to adapt and transform effectively to the changing environment. In addition, leaders should be able to inspire and motivate workers to embrace change. The executive can choose to offer needed support to the staff to facilitate the adaptation. According to the work of Harrington (2005, p. 98), managing the performance of an organization entails focusing on the resources. Therefore, a leader may use the available means to influence the decisions of the subjects. For instance, training can be offered to the workers to make them conform to the requirement of the revolution.
Furthermore, a leader should be confident; this quality is essential in inspiring others to gain confidence, thus making it easier to overcome the situation. When communicating ways to induce transition, a manager should exhibit self-assurance to make employees have trust in the process. The quality would limit the level of resistance because workers will believe in the decision made by their supervisor (Kotter, 2012). According to Kotter, being bold allows leaders to execute major responsibilities that facilitate the change process. In addition, the ability to create short-term goals is significant in pushing for adjustments. Generally, transformation is a complex process, and achieving its objectives may be challenging due to limited momentum during the development (Kotter, 2012, 12). When the set aims are attained, most employees will be encouraged to effectively support the business’s transition to solve the underlying problem.
Anchoring change to the organisation’s culture is fundamental in ensuring workers live and practice it. A manager should have the competency of transforming the needed development to match the way of operating within the business. This would allow the adjustments to sink and get rooted in the norms and beliefs of the firm. To achieve this, supervisors should indicate to employees how changes in the behaviour are effective in promoting transition (Kotter, 2012, 12). The approach would make the staff formulate adaptive characters to enable them to adapt and embrace the development.
In the organisation, employees react differently to changes which require a leader to have a strong emotional intelligence. The quality allows an individual to understand how others feel about sudden adjustments (Hayes, 2022). When managers have the ability to understand what staff members are thinking, they can easily formulate a counter plan to match their expectations in a way that meets the objectives of the project. Based on this capability, a leader can effectively engage the perception of employees, therefore, adjusting them to the system efficiently.
To facilitate change within an organization, support from staff members is significant. Through integrity, a leader can obtain the required trust from juniors to enhance its management activities. When managers are honest and sincere, workers will side with them in every decision they make and help them push forward the objectives. I have experienced this behavior with most businesses where supervisors always communicate and update workers on current issues (Huczynski, Buchanan, and Huczynski, 2013, p. 212). In such entities, employees often rally behind every move their boss makes to ensure it succeeds. Therefore, being open is critical in facilitating transformation and solving issues.
At the final stage of the consultation process, a leader should be evaluative to ensure all the business development needs are met. Evaluation competency is essential because it makes the manager decide whether to terminate or continue with the process. The supervisor can perform a thorough analysis to examine the problem after its implementation to identify if some adjustments are required to perfect the transformation (Clark and Fincham, 2002, p. 157). It will also provide clear insight into the impacts the change has brought during the beginning of its early implantation period. Therefore, the executive can have a proper viewpoint of making final decisions based on the valuation results.
Conclusion
In summary, change is a necessity that all organizations undergo to survive the business environment they operate. In most cases, there is severe resistance that entities encounter when facilitating the transformation process. It, therefore, becomes a challenge for managers to effectively introduce adjustment within the operating system. Despite the shortfalls, leadership qualities and relevant competencies have proven significant in driving the transition and developments in corporations. Supervisors’ skills, such as effective communication and listening ability, are vital in ensuring the problem is communicated to employees and their viewpoints are incorporated. Similarly, confidence and decisive trait enable them to make rational choices that enhance the management of the issue. Analytical and evaluative capabilities also enrich their potential to examine the situation and implement relevant approaches to engaging workers to incorporate the change. Therefore, the qualities and skills of organization leaders are core to facilitating effective problem-solving and managing change within the business setting.
Reference List
Burnes, B. (2004) Managing change: A strategic approach to organizational dynamics. Pearson Education.
Clark, T. and Fincham, R. (2002) Critical consulting: New perspectives on the management advice industry. Web.
Cummings, T.G. and Worley, C.G. (2014) Organization development and change. Cengage Learning
Harrington, B. (2010) Project change management: Applying change management to improving projects’, 3rd Ed Prentice Hall 2000
Harrington, H.J., (2005) The five pillars of organizational excellence. Handbook of business strategy. Web.
Hayes, J. (2022) The theory and practice of change management. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Huczynski, A., Buchanan, D.A. and Huczynski, A.A. (2013) Organizational behavior (p. 82). London: Pearson.
Kotter, J.P. (2012) Leading change. Harvard Business Press.
Kotter, J. P. (2001) What leaders really do.
Newton, R. (2010) The Management consultant: Mastering the art of consultancy, Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd.
Senior B. and Swailes S. (2016) Organizational change (5th ed.) Harlow: Pearson Education Limited
Wickham, L. and Wilcock, J. (2012) Management consulting: Delivering an effective project’ Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd.