Leading Effectively e-Newsletter - January 2009

Be a Change Leader, Not Just a Change Manager

Whether by design or by default, everyone is dealing with change.

While change is often viewed as necessary or interesting, or as a hopeful antidote to the status quo, the truth is most people are not comfortable with change.

Change means stepping into the unknown. It means giving up established ways of being and doing. Change means risk, turbulence and, often, conflict. Even sought-after, desired change puts demands on people that can be uncomfortable, scary or even a source of regret.

John McGuire and his colleagues in CCL's global organizational leadership development (GOLD) practice argue that change leadership is the missing piece in how we handle change in our organizations. "Change pushes people to think and feel differently," says McGuire. "In organizations, change pushes whole groups of people to think and feel differently — in other words, the culture is asked to transform. The problem? The people and the culture push back."

In the absence of change leadership, the current culture will undermine the ability of people and organizations to adapt.

But when change leadership is front and center in the organization, the culture responds. "Agility, speed, execution, unification, readiness — all the things that CEOs dream about — are available to leaders willing to transform their organizations through leadership," says McGuire.

Leading change versus managing change

At a practical level, McGuire advises clients to pay attention to how much time and attention they give to leading change versus managing change. "Consciously and actively recognizing the difference between management and leadership in your daily work life is the most essential quality you can foster in yourself and among your leaders," says McGuire.

Change management focuses mostly on external systems, structures and processes. Operations are changed and reengineered. New product markets may be opened. "Change management is not for the faint of heart," McGuire notes. "It requires mental toughness along with technical and analytical skills, and it demands your making calculated decisions and moving forward based on the best information possible."

Even in times of change, however, management is about predictable, results-oriented work. Managers are paid to target goals and take action. Managing is technical work designed to lower uncertainty and minimize risk.

Change leadership, in contrast, deals in the currency of uncertainty: unpredictable human systems and organizational culture. The ever-shifting way forward. The promise of no guarantees.

"Both change leadership and change management are needed to make progress in a new organizational direction," says McGuire. "Without a change leadership strategy to address the human and the cultural reality, any new business or operational strategy will be half-hearted and have limited success."

John McGuire is a senior program associate at the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL). His diverse work history includes senior business management positions in corporate settings, including Digital Equipment Corporation and Fidelity Investments. John is current research and development practice leader for the Change Leadership team and co-author with Gary Rhodes of Transforming Your Leadership Culture (Jossey-Bass, forthcoming March 2009).