The Role of Leadership in Driving Change

The role of leadership in driving change in an organization is multifaceted. It can take place in these forms of top-down change management: tactical change, where leaders plan a top-down change, and transformational change, where leaders aim for a radical and significant change. In tactical change, leaders should set clear directives, goals, communication plans, and assessment models and implement them when the leader is confident and there is little resistance. This type of change is suitable for short-term wins, whether small project wins or large organization-wide project wins. In transformational change, leaders devote a lot of resources to managing significant change and consider how to solicit buy-in and acceptance at all levels (Kotter & Cohen, 2012).

Leaders should first launch a diagnostic test to determine what changes are needed to move the company forward. Then, they should set up a framework to manage the change and empower and inspire employees and team members to embrace it. This empowerment is a key aspect of leadership, as it makes employees feel trusted and valued. Leaders should work in alignment with the company's mission, ensuring that every change is a step towards the company's greater purpose. This connection to the company's mission makes employees feel purposeful and engaged. Leaders should communicate with key stakeholders, teams, and employees to solicit feedback that can foster better decision-making to improve the change process. From the diagnostic intervention to implementation, and throughout the process of achieving change-management goals, leaders are expected to drive the change forward while communicating and motivating employees and working through challenges.

We can see that the leadership role is very significant in the change process. Leaders are expected to win the support of key stakeholders, embrace and guide the change, sustain positive accomplishments, and foster collaboration. This involves listening to and responding to the views and concerns of employees throughout the change process. For leaders, communication is not just a tool but a cornerstone of the change process. It ensures that employees are informed and involved and that they understand the benefits they will derive and how the company will also benefit. Finally, all involved in the change should share the vision, working together, driven by a mixture of personality, behavior, values, emotions, experience, and environment. (Farhan, 2017).



References

Farhan, M. (2017). Leadership Role in Change Process: Leadership. SlideShare.net April 9, 2017.

Kotter, J. P. and Cohen, D. S. (2012). Leading Change: Harvard Business Review Press.