Those in the innovation ecosystem understand the value of diversity of thought and experience to open the doors to what’s possible. It’s critical to assemble a diverse team and have skilled leaders empower and engage all of that diversity – not leaving anyone sitting on the sidelines. The key pillars of people development, communication, setting a vision and organizing work are universal. When change leadership excellence is built in those areas and combined with a breadth of career experiences, the sky is the limit.
Change leadership is constant across almost all industries as well as social enterprises.
Long gone are the days when most people remain in one company or even in one industry for their entire career. Not only are people expanding their career experiences, but they are often guided by their life stage to find meaningful work and have an impact regardless of industry. There’s a bigger realization today of the opportunity to transfer skills and experiences.
The behaviors and skills of effective change leadership are transferable everywhere.
Before we get too ahead of ourselves, some of you are thinking – Wait a second! The concrete industry is not the same as banking! It’s very true that the execution of the details with industry experience is critical and unique. It’s also true that the approach different industries take to leading change and developing leadership behaviors have a lot of similarities. The key pillars of people development, communication, setting a vision and organizing work guide all change initiatives.
Leaders need a triage mindset as they move into unfamiliar industries or segments.
The ability to quickly understand the current state, identify gaps to make the change successful and to understand which elements they themselves need to quickly come up to speed on is critical. Change leadership is not only about the details of the initiative, but also about your personal approach.
FAQ
Can change leadership consulting be tailored to specific industries?
Absolutely! There are common best practices that are consistent across all industries and sectors. The unique elements can be tailored to fit the industry.
How do you work with individual contributors to adopt change leadership principles?
Individual contributors are often expected to be experts in a given area. That implies knowing the answers. When unfamiliar areas are positioned as an expansion of their expertise and an opportunity for them to lead the organization into new areas, they are often excited about the opportunities.
Is it just the younger generations of employees who want this?
Younger generations aren’t held back by a career of being told NO. So the assumption is that they should be able to. Once the older generation understands the obstacle has been removed many find excitement in the prospect of continuing to grow later in their careers.
I don’t really want to lose my key experts to other roles, does this not apply to them?
Leaders need to expand the possibilities of how expertise is gleaned. Creative solutions allow experts to be retained while expanding their knowledge and career. However, if you are faced with a situation where you have no succession plan for your experts, that needs to be addressed immediately.
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