Course Introduction

Hello and welcome to the Leadership matrix. My name is Irene Agunbiade and I am the founder of
the BBS Consulting Group. Guys I am super excited, first and foremost I’d like to start by
congratulating you, that's right! I’d like to congratulate you for being amongst the very few people
who have decided to take action, see not only have you made the decision to invest in your learning
and development, but you have made a decision to invest in something that can change the course
of your career and your business life. If you work for a company that has acquired this program for
you, that’s fantastic, because that shows you work for a forward thinking and progressive company
that believes in investing in the learning and development of their people. If you've purchased this
program because you want to improve your leadership skills within your business to rapidly
accelerate growth, then this is absolutely the best place to start.

I’d also like to take the opportunity to thank you for placing your trust and confidence in me to help
you along on this journey. Last but not least I’d like to welcome you to the Leadership matrix course.

Introduction to Leadership

In its simplest form, leadership is influencing other people to follow. Therefore, anyone who can
influence people to follow them has leadership qualities.

Leadership happens at all levels within organizations and society, not just among those who work in
defined "leadership positions."

Leadership means different things to different people, different cultures, and in different situations.
But it is always a multifaceted role.

Effective leadership enables followers to succeed. It sets direction, builds a vision, and adapts as
circumstances require. Leadership is about mapping out where you need to go to "win" as a team or
an organization. It's dynamic, exciting and inspiring.

What Is a Leader?

The word "leader" can evoke a variety of images. For example:

A political leader, pursuing a passionate, personal cause.

An explorer, striking out into the wilderness.

An executive, developing strategy to achieve organizational goals.

This article focuses on leaders and leadership in the workplace.

Opinions differ on who can and should lead. Management professor Michael Useem argued that
rather than taking a traditional "top-down approach," leadership is most effective when it also
comes from below. And in today's complex, globalized workplaces, leadership often comes from
many directions.

Indeed, in some organizations, it may be the leaders in supervisory positions who can have the
biggest influence. After all, supervisors are closest to the work of team members and to the needs of
the customer. Sometimes, individuals are expected to fulfill leadership roles among their peers.
Leadership is no longer regarded as a solitary activity. Distributed leadership, a model which
originated in education, is an increasingly popular leadership approach, not least because many
organizations today are simply too large and complex for any one leader to direct alone. See the
section on "Hierarchy," below, for more on this.

Why Is Leadership Important?

All organizations need good leadership. Well-led organizations tend to be more productive,
competitive and responsive to change. Their employees have a clearer vision of where they are
headed and why, and are therefore more engaged and motivated. Organizations that excel at
developing leaders tend to achieve higher long-term profitability.

What Makes a Good Leader?

An effective leader is a person who does the following:

Creates a vision of the future.

Works well with a team.

Enables their team's success.

Demonstrates flexibility.

Leadership brings together the skills needed to do these things. We'll look at each element in more
detail.

1. Leaders Create a Vision

A vision is a realistic, convincing and attractive depiction of where you want to be in the future.
Vision provides direction, makes priorities clear, and provides markers for success.

Leaders hold in mind their vision while understanding the reality of the present. They then embody
that vision in everything they do and find ways of connecting it to employee performance to make it
a reality.

Leaders consider how their industry is likely to evolve, and how their competitors are likely to
behave. They look at how they can innovate successfully and shape their businesses and their
strategies to succeed in future marketplaces. And they test their visions with stakeholders, and by
assessing key risks using techniques such as Scenario Analysis.

Therefore, leaders are proactive – solving problems, looking ahead, and not being satisfied with
things as they are.

A compelling vision is one that people can see, feel, understand, and embrace. Inspirational leaders
provide a rich picture of what the future will look like when their visions have been realized.
They tell inspiring stories and explain their visions in ways that everyone can relate to.

Here, leadership combines the analytical side of vision creation with the passion for shared values,
creating something that's meaningful to the people they lead.

2. Leaders Work Well With a Team

Leaders cannot achieve their vision without other people's contributions. It's a leader's ability to
motivate and collaborate with people that helps them to deliver that vision. As such, much of
effective leadership relies on people skills.
Leaders need to understand and respect the people on their team as individuals, and to know how
to bring out the best in them as they work together. Awareness of team dynamics will help here.

Effective leaders recognize and consider the needs and views of their followers at all levels. Those
leaders who pay close attention to how people feel about their work, and what motivates them
personally, can take proactive, appropriate steps to aid engagement and retention.

The degree to which people feel valued is a primary source of motivation. Effective leaders recognize
their team members' achievements and find ways of expressing their appreciation.

The ability to delegate to others and to empower them is another essential leadership quality. Done
successfully, it can free leaders from day-to-day operations to focus on wider strategy, inform the
vision with fresh ideas, and motivate team members. But this relies on an organizational climate of
trust and confidence.

Effective leaders also look for leadership potential in others. By developing leadership skills within
your team, you create an environment where you can ensure long-term success. Holding back your
people for fear of losing power is a form of self-sabotage.

3. Leaders Enable Success

Enthusiasm can run high at the start of a new project. But it's down to leaders to guide their team
toward the finish line and equip them with the right tools to get there.

People need goals and measures that are directly linked to the vision. Our article on Performance
Management and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) explains one way of doing this, and those
on Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) and OGSM Frameworks present others.

Restating the vision in terms of its impact, and taking frequent opportunities to communicate this
and its relevant objectives in an attractive and engaging way, can embed things further.

Leaders need to ensure that the work required to deliver results is properly managed – either by
themselves, or by delegating to a dedicated manager or team of managers.

They'll also equip team members with the necessary skills and abilities to do their jobs and achieve
the vision. They do this by giving and receiving feedback regularly, by training and coaching people,
and by encouraging collaboration and skill sharing across the organization.

Change management is another essential discipline for leaders, as introducing and delivering the
vision will likely require new attitudes, processes and roles for many, as well as time for adjustment.

4. Leaders Are Flexible

Leaders need to be adaptable – learning how and when to adjust focus, and embracing change
themselves.

For example, the globalization of business is one of the most influential factors in how leadership is
executed in organizations today, alongside the movement toward virtual and hybrid environments.

Back in 2003, executive coach and author Marshall Goldsmith identified five emerging characteristics
that he believed would be increasingly important to future leaders. [2] And they remain true today.
They are the ability to:
Think globally.

Appreciate cultural diversity.

Develop technological know-how.

Forge partnerships and alliances.

Share leadership.

Leaders benefit from applying different models of leadership depending on context. For example,

when working with new starters or in situations where quick decisions are required, a directive style
is often best; an experienced team, on the other hand, benefits from a more hands-off approach.
Similarly, some situations require more focus on the task at hand while others need more attention
on relationship building.

Employees increasingly prefer to work for leaders who offer the best developmental challenges and
opportunities and a culture that makes staying worthwhile beyond the basic security of a paycheck.
A less authoritarian and more consultative approach to leadership is likely to be more effective in
this scenario; Transformational Leadership is a particularly useful model.

Three Things Leaders Don't Do

What we need from leaders has changed over time. The following have been associated with
leadership in the past but are no longer always seen, or desirable, for leadership today:

Separating leadership and management.

Demonstrating big and bold personality traits.

Standing at the front and top of a hierarchy.

We'll look at each of these aspects below.

1. Leadership Vs. Management

Leadership and management are not the same thing. They are distinctive, yet complementary,
processes. And, while leaders set the direction for the work being done, they also need to use
management skills to guide their people to the right destination, in a smooth and efficient way.

Management has been described as the:

"… attainment of organizational goals in an effective and efficient manner through planning,
organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling organizational resource."

Today, we'd also include the responsibilities of people-development and exercising a duty of care.

Increasingly, individuals in management positions are required to exercise what might be more often
termed leadership behaviors, such as creating a compelling vision, inspiring and motivating their
people, behaving strategically, and leading change.

Managers can be highly skilled, good at their jobs, and valuable to their organizations without
exhibiting leadership qualities. But a particular danger in these situations is that people or
organizations that are being managed by such an individual or group may believe they're being led,
but they're not. There may be no leadership at all, with no one setting a vision and no one being
inspired. This can cause serious problems in the long term.
So, leadership and management are not mutually exclusive activities but are much more likely to be
selected and exercised situationally, depending on what the circumstances dictate.

Learn more about the differences between leaders and managers in our infographic, Leadership Vs.
Management.

2. Personality or Trait Theory

Trait theories are among the earliest attempts to explain why leaders are successful. Significantly,
trait theories generally focus on the importance of selecting the right leaders rather than on
developing them.

Charisma and confidence have long been synonymous with leadership and considered essential for a
leader's success. Despite the attraction of this theory, these traits can, in fact, be detrimental in a
leader, as the leader and their followers may believe that they have more skill than they actually do.
You can hear our Expert Interview with Tomas Chamarro-Premuzic to find out more.

The command-and-control leadership methods of the last century are less appropriate in today's
climate of rapid technological change, flatter organizational structures, and empowered employees.

Similarly, a willingness to take risks and be assertive in decision making can reap dramatic rewards.
But when unbalanced by the shared expertise of a team, they can lead to resentment, distrust, fear,
and even business failure.

Knowledge sharing, creativity, and taking the initiative to anticipate and resolve stakeholders' needs
are all highly prized competencies in today's organizations. The "leader as hero" model has therefore
been largely abandoned in favor of a more people-centered leadership approach, where leaders
show a willingness to work in the best interests of staff, customers and other stakeholders.

Leadership consultants Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood urge organizations not to be preoccupied
with leadership styles. [4] But they assert that unless a leader's personal beliefs match the
organization's leadership brand, it will be difficult for a leader to come across as authentic and
credible.

3. Hierarchy

While concepts of leadership were once hierarchical, this may no longer be the case. Leadership is
adapting to encompass distributed activity. Distributed leadership has its roots in the education
sector [5], and…

is the product of an interacting network of individuals, not the act of a single person?

opens leadership to those who would have previously been excluded.

embodies the belief that expertise and influence exist across the organization, rather than being
concentrated in the hands of a few people.

For example, outdoor clothing specialist WL Gore opted for a distributed leadership structure with a
"lattice" formation. [6]

The development of sophisticated web technology allowed the emergence of new types of
organizations based on mass collaboration. Such self-organizing bodies do have founders and
leaders, but their leadership approach differs from that of more traditional companies. They are the
guardians of the ethos, values and guidelines for the communities they serve.
Another more recent non-hierarchical leadership model is Holacracy. An organization using this
model organizes its departments into circles and sub-circles based on roles and purpose. Sub-circles
meet regularly and make their own decisions, considering the needs of the organization (the largest,
all-inclusive circle). Designated members of sub-circles represent them, act as go-betweens, and
make sure that their sub-circles' responsibilities stay on track. In this model, everyone has power and
responsibility, and uses leadership skills to self-manage.

How to Become a Better Leader

There has been an enormous shift in attitudes toward leadership, both at academic and
organizational levels. It is now widely recognized that top-down autocratic leadership has far less
relevance to today's organizations, which face rapid change and have to fight to survive in an
extremely competitive and increasingly global marketplace.

French and Raven describe six forms of power that leaders can use, which encompass both older and
newer views of leadership. Of these, it's particularly helpful when leaders have expert power. People
admire and believe in these leaders because they're experts in what they do. They have credibility,
and they've earned the right to be heard and followed. This makes it much easier for these leaders
to motivate and inspire their teams.

Good leaders are flexible, adaptable, ethical, and culturally aware, in order to be credible in the eyes
of their employees and stakeholders. The effective leaders of today and tomorrow will consult,
collaborate and distribute their power in order to get the best from themselves, their people, and
the organization as a whole.

In our expert interview with him, U.S. Navy Captain Mark Brouker claims that leaders benefit from
knowing that their role can make them intimidating to the people they lead, and taking steps to
mitigate that. For example, corporate leaders make decisions about other people's job security and
pay. So, a good leader should work to be approachable and build trust, and let people know that it's
okay to make and learn from their own mistakes.

For Goffee and Jones, effective leaders tend to be those who are able to articulate the relationship
between where they've come from and where they're headed, are comfortable with their roots, are
self-aware, and can adapt as they rise through the ranks, without losing their authenticity. [7]

Authentic leaders are honest, responsible and courageous. They stay true to themselves, rather than
trying to mould themselves into the kind of leader they think they should be, according to Harvard
management professor Bill George. [8] They lead with purpose, meaning and values, build lasting
relationships with others, and exercise self-discipline. Authentic leaders, George believes, build
authentic organizations, which are less susceptible to mismanagement and corruption, and are
better placed to deliver long-term value for their customers and investors.

Finally, trainer and coach Bruna Martinuzzi notes that authenticity comes from humility, which she
believes is a type of quiet confidence where the person remains open to input.

What is transformational leadership?

Transformational leadership is a leadership style in which leaders encourage, inspire and motivate
employees to innovate and create change that will help grow and shape the future success of the
company. This is accomplished by setting an example at the executive level through a strong sense
of corporate culture, employee ownership and independence in the workplace.
Transformational leaders inspire and motivate their workforce without micromanaging — they trust
trained employees to take authority over decisions in their assigned jobs. It’s a management style
that’s designed to give employees more room to be creative, look to the future and find new
solutions to old problems. Employees on the leadership track will also be prepared to become
transformational leaders themselves through mentorship and training.

Transformational leadership model

The concept of transformational leadership started with James V. Downton in 1973 and was
expanded by James Burns in 1978. In 1985, researcher Bernard M. Bass further expanded the
concept to include ways for measuring the success of transformational leadership. This model
encourages leaders to demonstrate authentic, strong leadership with the idea that employees will
be inspired to follow suit.

While Bass’ model dates to the ’70s, it’s still an effective leadership style practiced today — this style
of authentic leadership never changes, just the environments it’s used in. It’s applicable across every
industry, but it’s especially vital to the fast-paced tech industry where innovation and agility can
make or break a company.

Transformational leadership characteristics

According to Bass, these are the hallmarks of a transformational leader that sets them apart from
other leadership styles. A transformational leader is someone who:

Encourages the motivation and positive development of followers

Exemplifies moral standards within the organization and encourages the same of others

Fosters an ethical work environment with clear values, priorities and standards.

Builds company culture by encouraging employees to move from an attitude of self-interest to a

mindset where they are working for the common good

Holds an emphasis on authenticity, cooperation and open communication

Provides coaching and mentoring but allowing employees to make decisions and take ownership of
tasks

Transactional vs. transformational leadership

Transactional leadership is the exact opposite of transformational leadership — it relies on

motivating employees through rewards and punishments. It requires supervision, oversight,
organization and performance-monitoring. This leadership model doesn’t try to innovate. Instead,
it’s rooted in keeping things consistent and predictable over time. Errors and faults are closely
investigated, and the overall goal is to create efficient, routine procedures.

This style is best suited to departments or organizations that require routine and structure — areas
where businesses want to reduce chaos or inefficiency. But it doesn’t allow for innovation or future
planning the same way transformational leadership will.

Transformational leadership, on the other hand, supports agile environments, especially where
failure carries less risk. You want the development and maintenance of a current product to remain
consistent and error free, but you don’t want that to hinder the progress and growth of future
updates and improvements.
Transactional leadership takes care of creating a consistent development process, while
transformational leadership leaves people free to come up with new ideas and look at the future of
products, services and ideas. 

Examples of transformational leaders

Harvard Business Review analyzed companies on the S&P and Fortune Global 500 list to uncover the
best examples of transformational leadership. These businesses were judged on “new products,
services and business models; repositioning its core business; and financial performance.”

Jeff Bezos, Amazon: Harvard Business Review attribute’s Bezos’ “insider, outsider” status as part of
what makes him a great transformational leader. As someone who jumped from the finance world,
he brought a fresh perspective to e-commerce through years of experience in a different industry.

Reed Hastings, Netflix: Hastings tied for first alongside Bezos, and for similar reasons. Hailing from
the software industry, he wasn’t rooted in pre-established process and procedure in the television
industry.

Jeff Boyd and Glenn Fogel, Priceline: Boyd and Fogel reinvented travel reservations by charging
lower commission fees on reservations, but focused on smaller niche markets (inns, B&Bs and
apartments), eventually spawning Booking.com.

Steve Jobs and Tim Cook, Apple: HBR points to Apple as an example of “dual transformation”: Jobs
innovated on original Microsoft products while also building a software ecosystem. Cook has
extended on Jobs’ vision, maintaining a focus on innovation, software and brand loyalty.

Mark Bertolini, Aetna: Bertolini is known for his realistic management approach in the healthcare
industry. He says his goal is to build strategies around a realistic vision of the future.

Kent Thiry, DaVita: Thiry managed to take a bankrupt company and turn it into a thriving business
through firm core values that included “service excellence, teamwork, accountability and fun,”
according to Harvard Business Review.

Satya Nadella, Microsoft: Nadella started at Microsoft in 1992 and worked his way up the corporate
ladder, eventually running the business’ cloud computing efforts, which landed him the executive
position.

Emmanuel Faber, Danone: Faber started out as an architect for Danone and earned the CEO job
after he helped develop the company’s vision to turn the company into a sustainable health and
nutrition company.

Heinrich Hiesinger, ThyssenKrupp: Hiesinger become CEO of ThyssenKrupp in 2011 and helped

alleviate pressure from Asian competitors in the steel market by embracing newer forms of
manufacturing, including 3D printing – “new growth areas” that now make up 47 percent of the
business’ sales.

Change Leadership: How to Lead Change Effectively

Research from Gartner found that an organization today has implemented an average of five

significant organization-wide changes in the past three years — and nearly 75% expect to multiply
such change management initiatives in the upcoming three years. However, half of these change
initiatives fail, with only 34% finding success. 

But, why? 
One factor that is paramount for every successful or unsuccessful change implementation is having
strong change leadership.

For example, Apple’s iPhone, Microsoft’s Office Suite, and Tesla’s electric vehicles have transformed
society and user experience in the era of digital innovation. But they have something else in
common, too; they were all developed under the guidance of transformational change leaders. 

In this video, we dive deeper into the concept of change leadership, its models, and how to become
a successful change leader.

What Is Change Leadership?

Change leadership is a proactive, people-centric approach to change management, visualizing

change initiatives as an opportunity for organizational growth and improvement rather than a finite
project. It requires being visionary, agile, and responsive to the changing business requirements, and
understanding how to overcome common barriers to change.

Change leaders are not the same as change managers or practitioners. While change managers
administer change to achieve short-term goals, change leaders command, influence, and advocate
for long-term transformation initiatives. If employees are the driver of change initiatives, change
leaders are the ones that empower them to provide inputs. Leaders of change are the ones who
engage with the initiative rather than impose change.

For example, General Electric transformed its electrical motors business from 0% to 25% ROI by
leveraging market intelligence to enhance employee performance through business innovation.
Change leaders at GE Motors employed techniques such as competitor product analysis and
customer visits to transform its business. 

Change Leadership vs. Change Management

Often change leadership and change management are used interchangeably. However, the question
here is whether or not it’s just a matter of semantics. Both these concepts are significantly distinct.

Change management is associated with small-scale changes and is a set of tools and/or measures to
keep a change effort under control and to provide solutions to any organizational resistance to a
change. The goal is to minimize the change initiative’s disruption, make it cost-effective, and reduce
the chances of change failure. On the other hand, change leadership is related to the vision and
driving force behind large-scale transformational changes, ensuring the implementation process
quicker, more innovative, and efficient.

3 Change Leadership Models

Change leadership is associated with continuous improvement of business processes, which often

can be achieved by deploying one of the following prominent change models.

1. The ADKAR Model

ADKAR is a result-oriented change leadership and management model created by Jeffrey Hiatt, the
founder of Prosci. This approach works through employee education on the value of the change and
how it will impact their day-to-day, while also supporting and reinforcing them throughout the
process, allowing them to understand and embrace the value of change. 
The five stages of the ADKAR model are as follows: 

Awareness

Desire

Knowledge

Ability

Reinforcement

This method limits workforce resistance by implementing incremental changes, incorporating

employee feedback, and conveying the benefits of the change project.

2. Kotter’s 8-Step Model

Kotter’s 8-step change model works at the organizational level and is best suited for leading large
enterprise groups. This change model includes eight steps to manage change, which are as follows:

Create a sense of urgency

Build the change team

Form a strategic vision

Communicate the vision

Remove barriers to change

Focus on short-term wins

Maintain momentum

Institute change

A drawback of this model is that it doesn’t include employee feedback, which can be a catalyst for
change resistance and slow project implementation timelines. 

For example, the cloud data services organization NetApp achieved a 44% increase in revenue, a
55% increase in sales, and a $14 billion growth in market capitalization by leveraging Kotter’s change
method to manage and lead a recent change project. 

3. The Bacharach Approach

The Bacharach Approach is another leadership approach that organizations can consider. This
method views leaders as agents of change. It empowers them with effective corporate and mental
tools for driving the change naturally, rather than through forceful, dictatorial leadership. 

How Can a Change Leader Make a Difference

Most organizations have a dedicated change management team to combat employee resistance, yet
the failure rate of change projects still exceeds 70%. 

What do change leaders do differently to set organizations up for success?

Linchpin Linkages: Change leaders connect top management’s aspirations and strategic intent with
market insights, allowing them to convert them into responsive workforce actions. 
Holistic Impact: Change leaders aim to create a holistic impact on their reports, peers, and superiors
instead of following the conventional top-down approach. They often influence people to get on
board and use several motivational tools to achieve this result. For example, Netflix takes a result-
oriented approach instead of micromanagement. It motivates its employees with perks such as
unlimited PTO, flexible work schedules, and more as rewards. 

Multiple Approaches: Change leaders aren’t afraid to use various approaches or a combination of

leadership models for effectively solving a problem. If their methods cannot adapt to the situation,
change leaders delegate others to help lead the current vision to lead the team to the finish line.

8 Tips to Be a Successful Change Leader

1. Have a Clear Vision

A successful change leader is an inspiring visionary. Successful leaders anticipate employee concerns
well in advance and address them throughout their vision to support the change. This clarity in vision
will help employees overcome fears and keep them engaged throughout the process.

2. Create an Action-Oriented, Strategic Plan

It’s imperative to create a well-detailed strategic plan to kickstart the change initiative and achieve
critical milestones. A well-drafted plan helps employees connect with the vision and understand
their roles and responsibilities in making the initiative successful. It also highlights the underlying
tasks, priorities, structures, behaviors, and resources.

3. Be Proactive in Creating Relationships Across Your Organization

Since change leadership demands a people-centric approach, a change leader must build a strong
foundation by creating relationships with internal and external stakeholders. These relationships
reduce friction and ensure a smoother change transition.

4. Explore Technological Trends

In the age of digital transformation, harnessing the strength of technology such as digital adoption
platforms can make your change leadership more effective. Whatfix’s DAP helps your employees
steer through change by providing contextual in-app guidance and on-demand support. It offers
intuitive UX features such as pop-ups and beacons, ensuring that small changes don’t go unnoticed. 

For example, Sophos uses Whatfix to drive effective change management on its Salesforce instance,
attaining the following benefits: 

Reduced support tickets by 12000

Increased user satisfaction score to 9/10

Improved employee productivity, saving over 1,070 hours

Increased Salesforce ROI of 342%

5. Communicate Effectively and Transparently

65% of change leaders feel that clear and frequent communication with employees was the most
crucial factor in driving their change efforts. Effective change communication must address the
questions such as ‘the need for change’, ‘benefits of change’ and ‘what’s in it for me’. This
communication must be bi-directional and encourage employees to voice their concerns.
6. Identify & Confront Barriers and Resistance to Change Head-On

Change imposition is often met with pushback. Change leaders must conduct baseline assessments
and ensure employees look at the change as an opportunity instead of  a threat. It is equally
important to provide consistent support and provide employees with onboarding training to succeed
in the change effort.

7. Collaborate with Team Members Across the Organization

Change leaders must lead the change by setting an example. They should create a collaborative
culture within the organization so that people can step-up in case of emergencies. They should also
collect regular feedback to improve the leadership approach and change techniques for future
initiatives.

8. Hold Your Employees Accountable

According to a CEO survey, 18% of the leaders cited “holding people accountable” as their biggest
weakness. Since people drive change initiatives, it is essential to hold your employees accountable.
Fostering a culture of accountability improves employee performance, empowers team members
with a sense of ownership, and drives organization growth.

How to Be a Successful Change Leader

Great Change Leaders Focus on People & Process

Successful change is one of the biggest problems that modern organizations face. In our fast-
changing world, the strategic imperative to change is often clear: Without doing things differently,
our company is unlikely to succeed, or last.

At its core, change leadership is working together to create a shared understanding of change
required to execute the strategy, and how to best make it happen. But change-management
research has demonstrated time after time that organizational change initiatives fail more often than
they succeed, despite the resources put into creating change management processes.

The 3 C’s of Change Leadership

Researchers found that 3 skills provide the necessary connection between the process part of
change and the people part of change. These 3 C’s unite effective change leadership:

1. Communicate.

Unsuccessful leaders tended to focus on the “what” behind the change. Successful leaders
communicated the “what” and the “why.” Leaders who explained the purpose of the change and
connected it to the organization’s values or explained the benefits created stronger buy-in and
urgency for the change.

2. Collaborate.

Bringing people together to plan and execute change is critical. Successful leaders worked across
boundaries, encouraged employees to break out of their silos, and refused to tolerate unhealthy
competition. They also included employees in decision-making early on, strengthening their
commitment to change. Unsuccessful change leaders failed to engage employees early and often in
the change process.
3. Commit.

Successful leaders made sure their own beliefs and behaviors supported change, too. Change is
difficult, but leaders who negotiated it successfully were resilient and persistent, and willing to step
outside their comfort zone. They also devoted more of their own time to the change effort and
focused on the big picture. Unsuccessful leaders failed to adapt to challenges, expressed negativity,
and were impatient with a lack of results.

How to Be an Effective Change Leader

Strategic change doesn’t happen on its own. Effective leaders guide the process from start to finish.
Here are the 3 key competencies that are part of leading the process:

Initiate. After understanding the need for change, effective change leaders begin by making the case
for the change they seek. This can include evaluating the business context, understanding the
purpose of the change, developing a clear vision and desired outcome, and identifying a common
goal. Unsuccessful leaders say they didn’t focus on these tasks enough to reach a common
understanding of the goal.

Strategize. Successful leaders developed a strategy and a clear action plan, including priorities,
timelines, tasks, structures, behaviors, and resources. They identified what would change, but also
what would stay the same. Leaders who weren’t successful said they failed to listen enough to
questions and concerns, and failed to define success from the beginning.

Execute. Translating strategy into execution is one of the most important things leaders can do. In
our study, successful change leaders focused on getting key people into key positions (or removing
them, in some cases). They also broke big projects down into small wins to get early victories and
build momentum. And they developed metrics and monitoring systems to measure progress.
Unsuccessful change leaders sometimes began micromanaging, got mired in implementation details,
and failed to consider the bigger picture.

Remember that, as organizations evolve over time, stability and change must coexist — which is not

a problem to solve, but rather a polarity to manage. To help your organization achieve its full
potential, acknowledge both poles simultaneously.

When change leaders find the sweet spot of “both/and,” they can present the change effort in a way
that others can embrace.

Leading People Through Change

While formal change processes might be well understood, too many leaders neglect the all-
important human side of change equation. The most effective change leaders devoted considerable
effort to engaging everyone involved in the change and remembered that people need time to adapt
to change — no matter how fast-moving the change initiative.

They understand how to combat change fatigue and encourage embracing change. And they exhibit
these 3 crucial qualities of leading people:

Support. Successful change projects were characterized by leaders removing barriers to employee

success. These include personal barriers, such as wounded egos and a sense of loss, as well as
professional barriers, such as the time and resources necessary to carry out a change plan. Leaders
of unsuccessful change focused exclusively on results, so employees didn’t get the support they
needed for the change.
Sway. Influence is about gaining not only compliance, but also the commitment necessary to drive
change. It is also about mapping out the critical change agents and defining what “buy-in” looks like
from each stakeholder that will lead to a successful outcome. Effective change leaders identified key
stakeholders — including board members, C-suite executives, clients, and others — and
communicated their vision of successful change to them. Unsuccessful leaders told us they were
more likely to avoid certain stakeholders rather than try to influence them.

Learn. Finally, successful change leaders never assumed they had all the answers. They asked lots of
questions and gathered formal and informal feedback. The input and feedback allowed them to
make continual adjustments during the change. In the case of unsuccessful changes, leaders didn’t
ask as many questions or gather accurate information, which left them without the knowledge they
needed to make appropriate adjustments along the way.

Lastly, leaders should recognize that leading people through complex change is difficult, and all
changes, even positive ones, come at a cumulative cost. Change can drain employees — and leaders,
too.

That’s why successful change leadership also requires resilience. Resilience helps people handle
change’s inherent pressure, uncertainty, and setbacks. Leaders need to build their own reserves in
support of their mental and physical health, and can guide others to face change in healthy and
sustainable ways by learning and sharing practices to strengthen leadership resilience.

Collaborative Leadership: Can It Bring Culture Change?

In collaborative leadership, not only a small group of people decides and control information flow, but
it is a collaborative effort from the group. At the very least, a collaborative leadership’s main mission
is to bring everyone to work together.

This group includes executives, managers, and staff. They share information and are responsible for
the entire team. And as a part of a collaborative leadership’s objective, it aims at coming up with the
results across all the boundaries of the organization.

So, if you’re a collaborative leader, you invest your effort and time in not only planning for and
managing the team but also in building relationships among members. You also handle conflicts
among stakeholders in a constructive way while also sharing control in every aspect of your
organization opposite to a traditional leader that uses an autocratic leadership style that takes full
control of every decision without consulting anyone from his team.

With a shared or collaborative leadership style, a leader can bring out the best in everyone, allowing
each of them to improve his/her knowledge, skill and capabilities, while also taking responsibility of
his/her actions.

Using a collaborative leadership style, the information doesn’t just spread easily, but it allows
employees to collaborate, discuss, and most importantly communicate across the organization. As a
result, it promotes transparency, which eventually brings a positive impact on the performance of the
organization.

How Collaborative Leadership Can Promote Culture Change

While collaborative leadership ushers the company into a cultural shift from being traditional to a
more dynamic and interactive one, it can be hard to achieve without clear expectations or a lack of
follow-through. It is why collaborative leaders must learn how to transform their company’s culture
into a collaborative (participative) one that involves the effort of everyone to achieve desired results.
Here are some strategies to promote culture change through collaborative leadership.

Set clear expectations

Communicate what your visions are and make them clear for everyone. What are your desired
attitudes and behaviors? How will your company look like if it’s to implement a collaborative culture?
Remember, you don’t just decide for a collaborative leadership style to promote a culture change,
and then go back later to traditional. You should have clear visions of collaborative leadership to
promote a culture change.

These visions should be communicated from the top leadership to all the employees in all
departments so that they can be in line with and build the commitment towards realizing the visions.

Develop a collaborative leader

Find and develop a collaborative leader who will carry the visions of your company so that he can
build a collaborative culture. If you were to choose the collaborative leader, see to it that this person
has the attributes, including resource-sharing and teamwork style of leadership. He/she must also
know how to collaborate in teams.

Find ways for collaboration

Create projects that will allow collaboration among team members who aim at accomplishing specific
goals. A few of these include chat rooms, focus groups, and team projects. You can also create
experiential learning in which your people can learn hands-on and practice the proper behaviors that
will encourage a collaborative environment.

These are only a few examples of opportunities that can bring teams together to build shared
experiences and that can take advantage of everyone’s skills and ideas.

Follow up, monitor and reinforce

If you happened to implement a collaborative leadership style, you don’t just make it happen and
leave it there without following up or revisiting. You must monitor the progress and the results,
especially if your organization isn’t used to working collaboratively.

To make collaboration work for a cultural change, you should do continuous monitoring to ensure
that everyone maintains the behavior and work style change.

Monitoring employees helps you gain a clear picture of what’s happening, what’s been improving, or
how the employees are keeping up. You can also see if they’re not returning to the old habits and
behaviors, which aren’t what’s desired in a collaborative environment.

Consider reinforcement activities. An example is team-building activities, which opens opportunities

for team members to establish rapport, practice skills, reinforce collaborative and supportive
relationships, and develop trust.

Collaborative Leadership Supports Culture Change

A sustained collaborative leadership style brings in benefits to an organization. It is why it is important

to set clear expectations and visions, develop a collaborative leader, promote collaboration, and
reinforce.
Being effective at collaboration, your employees will become more eager in taking the challenges and
working on new projects, while also embracing the changes.

Part of its benefits, it also improves your organization’s resilience, agility, and flexibility. Also, it
improves employee performance and attracts top talents into the team.

Collaborative leadership can also develop and bring new products to the market faster. As
importantly, it can help in increasing the top and bottom line for the organization.

Practicing collaboration, you can create positive changes and opportunities for your organization and
reenergize staff. It allows your employees to share knowledge and ideas, letting others see things
from a broader perspective. In this case, it also involves everyone in the decision-making, making
each member of the team feel more confident about a decision.

From the top executives to the staff, collaborative leadership also steers the company forward
because of the increased transparency and collaborative efforts from everyone involved.

However, sustaining this leadership approach can only succeed with empowered members who are
aligned with the shared purpose, objectives, and goals. The reason is that collaborative leadership
style calls on all members to participate so that it can drive cultural transformation in addition to a
cultural change. If successful, collaborative leadership can bring culture change and eliminate many
conflicts.

Ethical Leadership Characteristics

What Is Ethical Leadership?

Of course, we want all leaders to follow a strict moral compass and recognize the direction of true
north.  Leaders should know what they stand for and understand their own values lest their
organizations become headline news in the next corporate scandal. Ethical leadership, however,
consistently demonstrates and promotes behavior that respects the rights of others within the
values-based boundaries.

Ethical leadership is not a mutually exclusive style. There are many people who lead and manage
governed by ethical principles integrated within another management framework. Ethical leadership
theory, in contrast, is keenly focused on setting ethical direction within the organization and
directing the organization accordingly. 

Ethical Leadership Examples

There are ethical dilemmas around every corner. And it’s not just in the most obvious sectors
like banking and finance. Nor is it limited to common breaches like manipulating statistics, hiding
assets or liabilities, or spending company money inappropriately. It can take more subtle forms.
Although these subtle forms may go unreported, they are usually not unnoticed, particularly when
the offense is committed by managers and leaders. This includes, for example, accepting gifts from
vendors, theft of company property, employee favoritism or “harmless” jokes that contribute to a
negative culture.

Yet there are many more opportunities to do the right thing. For example, the importance of ethical
leadership is evident in many of the world’s leading companies. Here are three:

Costco’s strategic decision to pay wages well above average industry rates help the company attract
the best workers and avoid the high turnover rates that plague other retailers.
Best Buy, the only U.S. electronics chain still standing, operates Teen Tech Centers, training
underserved youth in basic technology skills while creating its next generation of skilled employees.

Clothing manufacturer Everlane is committed to transparency in its factory and supply chain

practices and a champion of its workers’ well-being.

The Value of Ethical Leadership and Its Impacts

Practices maintained by ethical leadership impact companies in a myriad of ways, including:

Avoidance of costly legal and compliance issues.

Greater financial stability since ethical practices are less likely to lead to issues that can bankrupt a
company.

Good press and positive public relations.

Increased profitability.

Both short-term and long-term benefits accrue when organizations are led by highly principled
leaders. Ethical leadership matters not only for companies but for their stakeholders and their
broader communities. These impacts include:

Culture

Environments that are short on ethics can be toxic. Ethical people like to work for ethical companies.
In a more nurturing environment, employees are treated respectfully and are more likely to
demonstrate respect for fellow workers and clients. 

Employees

Millennials aren’t the only ones who want to work for values-based companies. There is support
among baby boomers, as well. Additionally, people feel proud to work for ethical leaders.
Researchers from Robert Half found that proud employees are three times more likely to be happy
— and more productive — than those who lacked this emotion.

Investors

Many investors, both individual and institutional, want to put their dollars into ethical organizations
that share similar values. Scandals are never a good look for a mutual fund.

Business Partners

Suppliers, vendors and other companies want to work with companies they trust. Their reputations
are at stake, as well.

Customers

Research shows that customers are more loyal to companies that follow ethical business practices.
Facilitated by social networks, they share their positive feelings with others and they are also less
price sensitive than customers who don’t share the same sense of loyalty. Generation Z is already
starting to exhibit strong preferences for brands that share their ethical sensibilities. 

Ethical Leadership Characteristics

As mentioned, ethical leadership is not mutually exclusive. An ethical leader’s traits may cross over
into, for example, the transformational style. However, here are 10 leadership characteristics that
are common among the best ethical leaders:

Justice

An ethical leader is fair and just. They have no favorites, and everyone is treated equally. Ethical
leadership eliminates biased treatment based on gender, ethnicity, nationality or any other factor.

Respect for Others

An ethical leader demonstrates respect for all members of the team by listening compassionately,
valuing diverse contributions and considering opposing viewpoints.

Transparency

Ethical leaders convey facts transparently, no matter how unpopular the facts may be. These leaders
understand that transparency breeds trust, empowering others to make their own decisions with
the information they need. 

Humane Behavior

Being humane is one of the most revealing traits of a leader who is ethical and moral. Ethical leaders
place importance on being kind and act in a manner that is always beneficial to the greater good.

Focus on Team Building

Ethical leaders foster a sense of community and team spirit within the organization. When an ethical
leader strives to achieve goals, it’s not just about a personal mission. They make genuine efforts to
achieve objectives that benefit the entire organization — not just themselves.

Values-Driven Decisions

In ethical leadership, decisions are first validated for alignment with the overall organizational
values. Only the decisions that meet this criterion are implemented.

Encourages Initiative

Under an ethical leader, employees thrive. Employees are rewarded for coming up with innovative
ideas and are encouraged to do what it takes to improve the way things are done. Employees are
praised for taking the first step rather than waiting for somebody else to do it for them.

Leadership by Example

The ethical leader has high expectations for themselves and others. They demonstrate unwavering
commitment to their ideals by not just talking the talk, but walking the walk. Leaders also expect
others to lead by example.

Values Awareness

An ethical leader regularly promotes the high values and expectations they hold. By regularly
communicating and discussing values, they ensure that there is consistent understanding and
compliance across the company.

No Tolerance for Ethical Violations

An ethical leader expects employees to do the right thing at all times, not just when it is convenient
for them. They will not overlook or tolerate ethical violations.

Developing, Coaching and Mentoring Others

Its relatively easy for a leader or manager to get caught up in the day-to-day of completing urgent
actions, fighting fires and dealing with administrative burdens. However, one of the attributes of a
great leader is their recognition that development of talent is an important priority. They have an
ability and willingness to truly care about others and help them grow in their careers. This may be
for members on their team, within their organisation or perhaps within their broader industry or
network. While all very important and aimed at supporting another individual, the skills of
Developing Others, Coaching and Mentoring are a little different so let’s take a look at each one.

Developing Others

By developing others, we are referring to the ability of a leader to train and further develop the skills
of employees or team members. The objective may be to make them more effective, prepare them
to take on more significant challenges or to develop new skills to adapt to changes in the nature of
their work or within the organisation.

A leader who is successful at developing others will:

Foster a culture of learning and encourage the development of new skills within a “safe”
environment

Build confidence in their employees by helping them become more efficient and/or effective

Identify any competency gaps or potential growth areas and develop goals (perhaps as part of a
personal development plan). Establish milestones and timelines to gauge progress

Provide coaching and advice to support development needs e.g., recommend books or academic
papers to read, identify training opportunities

Utilise a range of approaches to development e.g., team off-sites, workshops, reading, one-on-one
discussions, training courses

Provide regular constructive feedback on performance and progress

Look for new development opportunities for an individual that will support their career goals and
aspirations e.g., encouraging them to take on a challenging assignment or identifying a new role for
them to move into

Be constantly on the lookout for new talent and potential future leaders for the organisation or
company

Like many leadership skills, there are multiple ways of achieving the above objectives and some
leaders do it better than others. Try to find new and creative ways of incorporating personal
development into your team activities and make it fun along the way. I once worked for a senior
manager who had a truly unorthodox way of going about things. Over a 3-4year period, I learned so
much and developed as a leader myself. When I think back to that time, I can’t recall ever having a
lengthy one-way conversation where I was told what I needed to do – he allowed me to learn by
experience, provided some challenging opportunities along the way and provided guidance and
support when it was needed. Above all, those 3-4 years were fun…and it was a truly high performing
team that delivered excellent results.
Coaching

When many people think of coaching, they immediately conjure up images of a sports coach. When I
was swimming competitively, I had multiple coaches – at a minimum, one for the pool and one for
general strength and conditioning training. These coaches are essentially experts in their field who
guide or direct their athletes based on their experience and knowledge. While this type of direction
has its place in the workplace, it falls more under the definition of developing or advising.

So, when we talk about coaching in the workplace, what do we really mean? The main objective of
coaching is to support an individual (or team) to unlock their potential and achieve the best possible
performance (note, coaching can equally apply and be beneficial to a whole team…but for the rest of
this section, we will just refer to the individual). It focuses on helping them to learn rather than
teaching them – its about developing a partnership between the leader/coach and the
individual. Pure coaching is advice free, its future focused (i.e., doesn’t dwell on resolving issues
from the past) and is based on the notion that the individual has all the resources required to
achieve their goal.

A leader who utilises a successful coaching approach will:

Ask the individual powerful, open-ended questions (i.e., questions that don’t have a simple yes/no
answer)

Listen effectively and empathetically to the individual

Minimise the amount of advising as well as encouraging the individual to solve their issues and
challenges

Allows the individual to devise their own actions and strategies

This approach empowers the individual to reach their goals. Have you ever made a point and it
seems it has not sunk in…and then the individual it was targeted at repeats essentially the same
thing as if it was their idea? Not only that, but it seems like they are fully bought in? This is similar to
the power of coaching – when an individual is supported through a process where they are the ones
who identify actions to help themselves achieve their goals, they are much more likely to take
accountability for delivering on those actions.

This style of coaching can be incredibly difficult, particularly if you are quite knowledgeable or skilled
in the topic of discussion. The temptation to go into advising or directing mode will be extremely
high, but its important to continue to support the person to draw on the resources and
competencies that they already have within themselves.

Its important to note that there are certain times when coaching is not the best approach including:

When there are time constraints and urgent decisions must be made

When disciplinary action is required

When there is a deficiency in the required level of skill(s)

Of course, sometimes the best approach might be a combination of coaching, mentoring and/or
advising.

Mentoring
As a mentor, a leader’s role is to help less experienced people further develop skills, make better
decisions and gain insights or new perspectives into their life and career. Mentoring is about
providing guidance and knowledge in a specific area from someone who is more
experienced. Ordinarily, a leader will mentor an individual (or mentee) who is outside of their
organisation (i.e., not a direct report), as mentoring is not about “telling” the mentee what they
should do. Having a mentor can be an important part of anyone’s support network and should be
encouraged. Many senior leaders still have mentors with whom they can bounce ideas off and
discuss particular focus areas. 

A leader who utilises a successful mentoring approach will:

Ask powerful questions and listen empathetically to the response

Build trust with the mentee, keep confidence and establish and respect boundaries

Challenge and support a mentee but not judge them

Not “tell” the mentee what to do

Clarify and support the mentee’s short-term and longer-term goals

At times, play devil’s advocate

Encourage the mentee’s development

Provide corrective feedback

Support the mentee with how to manage risks or avoid certain “mistakes”

If appropriate, provide opportunities to the mentee such as introducing them to people who can
support them in achieving their goals (or opening doors)

There is an element of “fit” with mentoring – it is important that the mentor and mentee are able to
connect at multiple levels to develop a truly effective mentor relationship. Another factor is that the
mentor and the mentee are both willing to commit the time required to build and maintain such a
relationship.

Mentoring does not just provide a one-way benefit – there are also a number of benefits to the
mentor including:

Being highly rewarding to see the mentee grow and develop as well as sharing in their successes

Making the mentor self-reflect on some of the questions they might ask of the mentee

Gaining fresh perspectives or insights from the mentee – often they may be younger and perhaps
come into the workplace with different experiences and expectations. They will also have different
relationships within an organisation and see or hear things a little differently

Providing further opportunity to refine leadership skills such as communication and empathetic
listening

Providing the opportunity to share experiences and help others avoid some of the pitfalls the
mentor may have experienced

Developing others, coaching and mentoring are essential skills for anyone who aspires to be a great
leader and it is critical to the ongoing success of a team and the broader organisation. As the great
American Football Coach, Pete Carroll, once said, “each person holds so much power within
themselves. Sometimes they just need a little nudge – direction, support, coaching”.

Conclusion

There is a common belief that leadership is vital for effective organizational and societal functioning
and success. Antonakis et al. (2004) note that because of the complex nature of leadership, a specific
and widely accepted definition of leadership does not exist and might never be found. However, we
can conclude that leadership is the ability to direct a group of people in realising a common goal.
This is done by people applying their leadership attributes. Leaders create commitment and
enthusiasm amongst followers to achieve goals. Leadership is achieved through interaction between
leader, follower and environment.