LEADING THROUGH CHANGE

Embracing disruption with courage and compassion

Change is Constant Good leaders embrace change as a reality and prepare

their organizations for it. Similar to disaster preparedness,
The psychologist Kurt Lewin, who was known as training is essential. In the same way we take a
community-focused approach to disaster preparedness
the father of organizational development, created
to build capacity, we must develop leadership at all levels.
a change model focused on “unfreezing an Everyone should know how to lead in times of change.
organization, making changes, then refreezing When leaders proactively and routinely invest in the
the organization with the new processes in place.” necessary skills to strengthen leadership capabilities
at the organizational level, the result is employees,
The idea was that change is a distinct phenomenon with grounded in a culture of trust, prepared to deal with
a beginning and an end, and that an organization could change whenever it comes.
pause operations, move through it and then ramp back up.
Waiting to try to build trust and develop new skills until
Not anymore. Change is not only a constant; the pace a major disruption occurs is incredibly challenging, even
of it is accelerating. for the best leaders and the healthiest organizations.

The world we live in is VUCA: volatile, uncertain,

complex and ambiguous. This acronym was developed The average organization has undergone
by students at the U.S. Army War College to describe 5 enterprise changes in the past 3 years.
the state of the world after the Cold War. Operating in
this kind of environment is not easy—as an individual 73 percent of organizations expect more change
contributor, a leader, a team. But it’s just that—our initiatives in the next few years, and only a small
environment—we are completely surrounded by it, minority expects the pace of change to decelerate.
and we ignore it at our peril.
Source: https://www.gartner.com/en/insights/change-management

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The Accelerating Pace of Change For example, in 2004 there were about a half a billion
internet-connected devices in the world. By 2015 that
Leaders are constantly navigating change within their number was 15 billion, adding 7 million per day or 2.5 billion
organizations and in the world around them. For per year. By 2020, experts expect there will be more
example, the impact of technology and major shifts in than 50 billion internet connected devices and 1 trillion
the global economy are driving an increase in the pace sensors globally. (Source: Peter Diamandis, Singularity University)
and value of mergers and acquisitions. In the first half of
2018 a record $2.5 trillion in mergers were announced. Reason for Optimism
(Source: New York Times Dealbook)
Cautionary tales abound. Cynicism and overwhelm
The number of jobs the average person holds in a are understandable reactions. But futurist and X-Prize
lifetime is also increasing. According to the U.S. Bureau founder Peter Diamandis writes in his bestselling book
of Labor Statistics, the average Baby Boomer held an Abundance, that we have reason for optimism, even joy.
average of 11.7 jobs from ages 18-48. (Source: BLS) Diamandis believes that this unprecedented and
A LinkedIn review of its data from 1986-2016 indicated exponential pace of change means we are living at the
that the number of companies people worked for in the most exciting time in world history. “Humanity is now
five years immediately after college has nearly doubled entering a period of radical transformation in which
(LinkedIn) from 1.6 to 2.85, putting our economy’s young- technology has the potential to significantly raise the
est workers on pace to surpass the average basic standards of living for every man, woman and
number of jobs held by Baby Boomers. child on the planet.”
Change itself—demographic, technological, economic,
Put simply: change has the potential to be good.
socio-political—is happening at an exponentially faster
pace than ever before. Before the digital revolution, For everybody.
industrial progress moved at the pace of one or two As organizations, we have to build our capacity not only
major disruptions every half a decade: the assembly to lead through change, but to lead change itself. We
line, the telephone, the Model-T, the mainframe can’t just navigate this radical transformation, we have to
computer, the cellular phone. But since 2005, help lead it with confidence. The best leaders draw on
technology has caused an ever-escalating increase courage and compassion to guide organizations
in the pace of change and its impact on all facets through change.
of business and society.
Change is now. Do the right thing for your organization
and embrace it with courage and compassion. Here’s how.

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HOW TO LEAD THROUGH CHANGE

Values Based Leadership
At InnerWill, we partner with our clients to ensure positive organizational outcomes through Values Based
Leadership development, a philosophy that embodies living, working and leading in alignment with deeply
discovered core values. It’s more important than ever in the context of disruption to be able to reliably
operate on a set of core values. When everything else is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA),
we find it’s more important than ever for leaders to truly know themselves and what they stand for.

We coach our clients on the

Five Practices of Values Based Leadership:
1 BUILD AWARENESS (UNDERSTANDING WHO I AM) 3 DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS (BUILDING TRUST)
We think of our behavior in terms of an iceberg— The practice of developing relationships is all about
what is visible above the surface, and what is below how we connect with others. As we understand
the water line. The part above the surface is our ourselves, how do we use this knowledge to
style and our behaviors, and what lies beneath are connect better with others? When leaders have a
our values, our beliefs and our fears. As leaders, strong awareness of their teams’ values and styles
the more we understand what is happening below we are significantly more effective at supporting
the water line, the better we can make choices their success and accomplishing goals together.

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about how we show up. Because we generally
attribute a lot to our intent and not as much to TAKE ACTION (LEADING WITH COURAGE)
our actual behavior, seeking out feedback is really Taking action is anchored in self-awareness and
important to build self-awareness. realizing potential. This practice is about making

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day-to-day conscious choices and decisions that
REALIZE POTENTIAL (INVESTING IN MY FUTURE) are in alignment both with who you are and what
While building awareness is a practice mostly you’re trying to accomplish in the big picture. It
anchored in the present, realizing potential helps takes discipline and courage to act on your values,
leaders look to the future. How do we understand especially when the cost is high and others are
what we are working toward? What impact do we encouraging you to choose an easier path.

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want to have on others? This practice of realizing
our potential gives us the why—or the fuel—to PRACTICE REFLECTION (PAUSING TO LEARN)
make changes in our lives. Every aspect of Values Based Leadership involves
some element of reflection. Good leaders take
the time to stop and learn. What are we learning
about ourselves? About our teams? How do I
apply what I am learning to improve myself and
the organization?

With these Values Based practices as a foundation, leaders can embrace

change with a focus on courage and compassion.

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Courage Empower people to be successful.

We often hear from our clients that the hardest part of • Share your vision with the group. You can’t expect
leading through change is not knowing how the change will anyone to enthusiastically embrace the change if they
impact their people. Leading through change with courage don’t understand where it’s leading. Don’t forget to
means being honest about the future while providing high give them the tools they need to be successful.
direction and empowering people to be successful. • There is an incredible amount of trust required to
follow a leader in times of change. The team has to
Develop a vision.
know the leader has their collective best interests at heart.
• Set a direction. Be intentional about looking ahead.
• The team also needs to understand the rules—
Many organizations become paralyzed in the face of
clear goals and a consistent system of rewards and
change—they hold off on launching new initiatives,
sanctions are important.
they wait to make that new hire, they keep that big
idea under wraps. You are leading your organization Be honest.
through a disruptive time. Make sure you’re not
just absorbing the changes, but that you’re actually • As leadership researcher and writer Brene Brown
working toward a vision that everyone shares. says, “Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind.” Be honest
with your teams. They are likely afraid of what kind
• Sometimes this vision will mean a major change of impact this change will have on their jobs, their
for the structure of your organization. For example, careers, their lives. Be kind enough to be honest.
new research around artificial intelligence is enabling Share what you know when you can. Give them
computers to—in many cases—more accurately and honest feedback and guidance on how to adapt
more reliably diagnose certain types of cancers. to change, to build the skills they need to
A courageous leader of a health system has to take embrace the new reality.
this into account when creating a long-term plan for
her organization. Even though today she is likely
leading an esteemed faculty of brilliant and Leading through change with courage means
compassionate oncologists, she has to think how
staying true to your values and the purpose of
to leverage this new technology for the benefit of
patients. Leading through change with courage your organization, even when it’s not popular.
means staying true to your values and the purpose
of your organization, even when it’s not popular.
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Compassion
Leading through change with compassion is all about self-awareness. William Bridges, one of the early researchers on
the topic of change management, described the disconnect between leaders and employees during a major change
as “the Marathon Effect.” Usually by the time a major organizational change (a merger, a change of leadership, etc.)
becomes known by an entire organization, its leaders have been working to make it a reality for months, even years.
In order to lead with compassion, leaders have to circle back to mile one and run the race again with their teams.
Yes, leaders run the race twice. Sometimes even three or four times. As many times as it takes to get everyone who
is willing—across the finish line. Here are some guidelines for leading through change with compassion.

Be present and listen. resistant to change. Let go of any need for your team to
“like” you or your ideas and meet them where they are.
• People have widely varying reactions to change. Only then can you possibly bring them along to support
The only way to get a real read on how your team a change.
is doing is to fully focus your attention on them. As
leaders we have many demands on our time, but the Be positive.
best way to show you care about your team is to give
them your time and focus. • Look for progress. Give praise. Celebrate small
wins. Look for a balance between being realistic and
Be empathetic and give people the benefit of optimistic. Don’t shy away from the negative impacts
the doubt. of a change, but do make sure to celebrate the up-
side. Whether that’s a teammate trying a complicated
• Put yourself in your team’s place. Remember how new protocol or a colleague introducing herself to a
you felt when you first learned of this change and lean new associate, show your appreciation for these small
on those emotions to demonstrate empathy. Your examples of people doing things right. Look for all
team likely feels out of control. They mostly want to those little wins, and they might just add up.
be seen, heard and understood. No matter what the
big picture impact of the change, you can at least give Be real.
them those things.
• Teams don’t want superheroes, they want imperfect,
Take the time to understand and unpack why—deep real people as leaders. Hiding or masking your own
down—people are resistant to change. real emotions about a change will come off as fake.
Be as transparent as possible and as optimistic as
• Have the courage and compassion to be curious. possible, but above all, be real.
Make no assumptions about why people are

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All of these recommendations When leaders have the trust of

have to be anchored in a their teams, their organizations
commitment to integrity. are better prepared to deal with
When leaders behave this change when it happens.
way as a matter of routine, they And the next major change
have the trust of their teams. for your organization may
be happening as you read this.

SO WHY NOT START NOW?

If you’re interested in learning more about leading through
change, contact us to schedule a discovery call today.
(844) 898.WILL
info@innerwill.org
innerwill.org