The Leadership Guide to a More Effective Change Management Process
Leaders who understand and embrace change management principles are better positioned to lead their organizations successfully through digital transformation. In our work here at Tuckpoint, we’re happy to report that we’ve observed an attitude shift around change management even in the last five years: where it was once considered an add-on to digital transformation efforts, it's now understood that change is constant so the strategies supporting it should also be ongoing. However, the perception that it’s one person or team’s job to handle change has not evolved, and that’s where there’s work to be done.
In this guide, I’ll cover the essential elements of effective change leadership and strategies leaders can leverage to foster a culture of change agility within their transforming organizations. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a ton of credit for my thinking on this topic to my collaborator and friend Summer Miller, EdD. She has done a ton of smart writing on these subjects, and since I can’t cite every conversation I’ve ever had with her in this article, I’ll just share her blog here for you to explore for yourself!
Recognizing the Cultural Shift Around Change Management
It used to be that change management was something handled by a person from an office in HR who would show up at your door with a clipboard and a checklist. They ticked items off the list, left you with a 23-step plan to “do change,” and went on their way. But that didn’t really move the needle, did it? And, as someone who used to interact with the clipboard holders a lot during my days as a product manager, I always felt like those lists never helped me to personally welcome and navigate change.
A lot of organizations are stuck on the idea that someone is going to come in and “do” change. But true change is a muscle that needs to be honed – it’s not about managing change, it’s about cultivating change agility throughout the organization. And that starts with those in leadership.
The evolution in how we perceive change – coupled with a growing awareness of mental health and the broader shifts in workplace dynamics – demands a more nuanced and integrated approach. It's no longer about a one-time training session or a checklist; it's about building change agility into the cultural fabric of an organization.
The Leader's Role in Change Agility
As a leader, you’re central to this cultural shift. And I’m sure you’ve put in a lot of work here already, like articulating your “why” and using beautiful language to paint a picture of the future. You’ve probably communicated the vision, rationale, and benefits of digital transformation across different organizational levels. So, why isn’t it enough?
In digital transformation, the power of inspired language only gets you so far. It’s a foundational step, to be sure, but what happens next is what makes all the difference.
Beyond Checklist Change Management
Traditional change management often follows a linear process—train, implement, measure, and move on. In contrast, change agility requires a more nuanced, ongoing approach that acknowledges the human aspects tied to the work. As a leader, you’ll need to move beyond a checklist mentality and actively involve your teams in the change process if you want to succeed at digital transformation and building a product-let organization.
Strategies for Effective Change Leadership
The true catalyst to cultivating change agility is fostering collaboration and earning buy-in among your teams. In my experience, the organizations most successful at navigating transformation have employed almost all of these practices, and it makes a world of difference:
Facilitate Two-Way Dialogue
When people are invited into dialogue around change and are allowed to voice concerns, ask questions, and get curious, it builds inclusion and investment in the process. It also creates opportunities to calm some of their fears and helps people realize that they own the change too. It’s not just happening to them – they get to co-create it!
The truth is, people generally care about their jobs, their customers, the success of the business, and their career growth. They want to do well! They also need to feel seen and heard, and that the impact of change has been considered. Tapping into this requires two-way dialogue wherein leadership isn’t simply telling; you’re also engaging in conversation, receiving feedback, and showing you can evolve your thinking when you receive the inputs.
Create Opportunities for Engagement and Lower Barriers for Dialogue
To help create two-way dialogue, you’ll need to lower barriers for conversations and create more opportunities for leadership to engage with people at different levels of the organization. A few strategies that can help you get there:
Host Town Hall Meetings: Depending on the size of your organization, this can be an excellent tool to encourage open dialogue in a forum where employees can express their thoughts and concerns. Remember, most of this process is about helping people feel seen and heard, and for them to understand that you’ve thought about the obstacles and know that this process will be challenging. If your organization is very large, some of the following options might be a better fit for achieving this outcome.
Executive Tours: Break down hierarchical barriers through casual, face-to-face interactions. Send your executive team on “tour” around the organization so they can connect with people several levels below them to talk about the change. Whether it’s through scheduled lunch gatherings with a handful of people at a time, or something similar that encourages open conversation, make this an ongoing effort.
Create a Change Champion Network: Invite select individuals from different parts of the organization into a day-long training about the ongoing changes, then send them back to their roles. These folks will become designated change champions who are knowledgeable about the vision, understand the “whys” of the change, and can provide context to others when questions arise. This approach can be more comfortable to lower-level roles because they get to approach a peer rather than their boss or someone many levels above them with questions or concerns about the process.
Working Teams: Choose people from around the company to be a part of designing the future state. These people will help collaborate outside the confines of their day-to-day jobs so they can contribute to what you’re building. This creates investment in the process and, as an added bonus, lets their fellow interdepartmental peers know that someone from their team is representing their needs.
Dial Up Your EQ
Remember, change leadership recognizes that we’re all humans with feelings tied up in the work that we do. This makes it critical to demonstrate your “soft skills” and lean into the human side of the work. The reality is, change can be hard and scary for most, and ignoring that fact doesn't do transformation any favors. Here are some of the EQ traits I’ve admired among leaders who have done this work successfully:
Active Listening: Being a great communicator is just as much about what you say as what you don't. In addition to being able to effectively convey ideas, you’ll also need to be receptive to feedback, listen to people’s concerns, and have an ability to hold space for varying opinions.
Empathy: Some people thrive under change, but most people fear it. Your job as a leader is to balance organizational needs with individual concerns so you can level with those struggling with shifts. Sometimes it’s simply about acknowledging that things are going to be a little choppy and it’s normal to feel unsure about it.
Relationship-forward: Hone your ability to create strong connections with team members and peers, and foster strong collaborative relationships. When you invite participation from all levels regarding change-related decisions, it promotes a sense of ownership and inclusion.
In Conclusion
Effective change leadership goes beyond procedural checklists. It involves creating a culture of change agility where leaders actively engage their teams, foster two-way communication, and cultivate buy-in. By recognizing the broader cultural shifts and implementing collaborative strategies, leaders can navigate the complexities of change and guide their organizations through transformation and toward a more resilient future.
As a leader, this is something you’ll need to work at every single day in order for it to stick. But here’s the really cool part: You get to decide whether you want to simply try to clench your way through it, or build a culture that embraces and adapts to ongoing change.
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