The five myths to Change leadership

Change leadership is a prized skillset in leaders, and an area of leadership development which is growing fast. But what are some of the myths about change leadership in general? Here are five of the most common myths and subsequent mis steps about change leadership.

Myth 1:

The CEO is the most important communicator. There is nothing further from the truth. The CEO plants the flag on a hill, and sets a tone, but at an individual level, the people leader is the one that matters. So Executive leaders need to spend more time than they realise the engage their direct reports, and depending on how many layers there are to the organisation, even more time with the next level and so on and so forth. Distortion of message can easily take place if there is a deep hierarchy and the probability of distortion is high if there isn't top down engagement in the change. Note I mentioned engagement rather than simply top down communication in cascade form. So you may have a CEO general message, but the one that matters is what time and energy is spent in engaging from top down. 

Myth 2:

A presentation or roadshow means leaders are engaged. Wow! how many times have you seen or experienced this? A presentation followed by a request and expectation that, as a leader, you are to immediately buy into the strategy or vision, no questions asked. Well if leaders were robots that would work, but humans work very differently. If you have the right leaders or team members you would expect questions, engagement and discussion. Change leaders especially try to find engagement points. 

Myth 3:

Just explain it once and they will get it. Now even more than ever organisations are rushing change and are expecting their teams to just 'get' what is going on. Focus is on 'fast' under a pretence of 'agile' rather than having any focus on quality. So messages are sent out hard and fast, and leaders mention things once and expect everyone to understand. In this day and age (2022), what used to be a mantra of say it seven times is now say it twenty one times!! That is right! Why? With the information age comes a LOT of noise so repetition and consistency is even more important than ever. So a good change leader busts that myth, and repeats the messages in various ways over and over again.

Myth 4:

The best change leader is the charismatic one. A big myth. The best change leader is the most trusted leader. I have experienced, as I am sure you have, that some of the best change leaders are simply pragmatic, can simplify messages and most importantly are authentic with their messaging. Inspiration isn't necessarily about the 'rah rah'. It is about confidence that the leader shows in times of change. And if there is a basis of trust, the team will follow.

Myth 5:

It is best for a change leader to speak to their people as though they are like them. No, another myth. The best change leaders are those who speak to every individual in the room. Using scenarios relevant to their people, playing back what they have heard and also creating the space for discussion. Change isn't about the leader, it is about the team. For leaders who are servant leaders, change leadership is second nature. They empathise easily and can assist their team through the change curve. For those more narcissistic, this is a little more difficult. You can tell the difference, as a change leader talks about the team, a narcissist talks about themselves.

So here are some myths to change leadership. What does the change leadership landscape look like in your organisation?