Preface

Leaders Managing Change is about understanding and dealing with the ongoing stresses of constant change in the business world today, but most importantly it is about leadership.
Good leaders get things done.
They not only get things done; they get things done right. They take ownership and responsibility. They don’t blame others, the world, or whine at circumstances. They make a difference.

This book is about making a difference
This book focuses on the things that make a difference: how what you do helps you get through change, and more importantly helps you lead others through change.

This book is different from others in this field because it speaks to mid-level managers first and foremost – in other words, those leaders who are in and close to the trenches and need to get things done. And hence, it is down-to-earth practical, presenting the skills, tools, knowledge, and fundamental ideas that make a difference to the people who get things done.

This book is different in that it focuses on what you as a leader can DO.

Key Ideas

Non-Stop Change
Fundamentally human beings like stability. Even the most creative, flexible, free-spirited of us like to have things in our lives that give us a sense of belonging, balance, and safety. In many ways that sense of security has disappeared from our work lives over the past few decades.

Change, constant change, is a given in the business world today. Dealing with it is a matter of survival – not only survival for the business, but survival for the individual as well.

Change, especially dramatic change, hits us all hard. The more you know about change, its impact, and what leadership skills you can use to make a difference, the better you and your team/group/business will be able to deal with difficulties that arise and the constant fluctuations that are more often the norm than not in the business world today.

Integrity
Your leadership may be the single most crucial and stable thing left when a major disruption hits your team or organization. Your integrity as a leader is the most important quality you have to keep the boat afloat, your group moving ahead, and your people’s trust. It will be tested.

A leader who maintains his/her own self-worth and his/her own character through difficulties provides a bulwark for others against the fears and insecurities that arise.

People will expect you to have answers, provide guidance, and make a difference in spite of all that has spiraled out of control. You may be able to provide some or most of these, but you can always provide something far more important: yourself.

Your honesty and forthrightness will make all the difference in the world to someone who feels lost, someone who is upset, someone who is depressed, angry, disgruntled, disenfranchised, and/or discombobulated.

In spite of the difficulties and challenges they face, leaders need to maintain their own inner balance. That, more than anything else, can make all the difference in leading others through change.

Honesty
Integrity and Honesty are inseparable.

Don’t mince words. Don’t avoid problems and concerns. Don’t delay decisions or announcements, even if it means giving out bad news.

Keeping your team members apprised of what you know, what you can do, and what you understand makes a major difference in how they are able to handle change. People are much more likely to deal with difficulties and concerns successfully if they feel they have the best possible knowledge base and if they feel they have the power to make a difference because they do have understanding and information.

Ownership
Own your decisions.
Own up to your mistakes.
Own up to what is within your power to change and what you have no power to change.
Own your work and your life.

Good leaders take ownership of everything they do. It is easy to blame others, the boss, the company, the customers, your competitors, the rest of the world, but it doesn’t show much character and it undermines your trust with team members and others.

This type of leadership, of ownership, makes a difference because of who you are and how you approach things – because of the example you set. Team members and colleagues are much more likely to be in integrity, honest, and to own what they do if you have set the example ahead of time. Part of dealing with change, a major part, is having the right stuff from the get-go. Don’t wait for something to happen.

Responsibility
Leaders not only own who they are and what they are about, they take responsibility for what they do and what their teams do. John may have dropped the ball, but you, as leader, have to pick it up, get it back into play, and pass it back to the team.

Responsibility is proactive. It is a positive approach to difficulties that arise. It means you don’t just take things on your shoulders, but you find ways to make things happen. In times of change taking responsibility helps others see that what you and they do makes a difference. Responsibility also shows others that you care about what is happening and how it impacts all of you. That can make all the difference in the world in how successful you and your team are in dealing with change.


When you take responsibility for problems or concerns that come across your desk,
you have created the possibility of a solution.

Taking responsibility is personal empowerment!