Post on 21-Jan-2017
The Extraordinary Power of Change Leadership Page 1
The Extraordinary Power of Change Leadership
An Auto Ethnography Approach
“The mind makes a decision based on agreement with the information... The heart makes a commitment based on a feeling of connection to the leader.”
Terry Pearce
Leadership. It is a powerful. It is inspiring and influential. It is the driving force of what
brings people together. As leaders we are mentors, teachers, role models, and disciplinarians.
As leaders we are empathetic, listeners, cheerleaders and offer support. We work side by side
with our teams embracing the essence of team. Leaders are visionaries. They have the ability to
transform a vision into reality and effectively communicate this to the teams that they lead.
Effective leaders empower their teams to assist in making decisions that will aid in driving
success, while supporting them through the process. Maxwell (2002) says that your leadership
ability, for better or for worse, always determines your effectiveness and the potential impact of
your organization. He further goes on to say that one’s leadership ability is not static, but that it
changes and grows daily. Just as we say that Rome was not built in a day, one’s leadership is not
built in a day, yet rather over time. We see powerful examples of leadership in people like
Edison, Kroc, Carnegie and Rockefeller. We are able to see just how powerful and influential
leadership can be.
I am a leader and the leader that I am today is not the leader that I was 18 years ago. I am
a leader who takes pride in sharing a vision with my team and delivering upon it. I mentor my
team on all levels and within all positions. I build trust with them by following through on the
commitments that I make to them and listening to what they need and want. I work alongside
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them, sharing in the ups and downs and celebrating the small and large wins. The organization
that I work for is in a retail service industry. I am one of 500+ leaders that are in role to execute
upon the brands core values and standards. As a leader for the organization my responsibility as
a leader is to ensure that the values of the organization, which have been laid as a foundation for
all of us, are carried out and the vision and direction in which the organization is heading to is
brought to reality.
Leaders cannot be successful without a team, and as with any team the ability to trust
one’s leader and demonstrate one’s competence as a leader is in part the framework of building a
team. Maxwell (2002) talks about trust is not merely built by one action, but by a series of
characteristics that are supported by one another. Trust is inspired by one’s individual character
and competence demonstrated over time. A true leader believes that when first building a team
or transitioning into a new leadership role, the first step is to build trust within your team. Trust
is like pocket change. Everyone has a little bit of change in their pocket when they assume a
new leadership role. As time passes and decisions are made that foster trust, the amount of
change in their pocket changes. Bad decisions decrease the amount of change while positive
decisions increase the amount of change. If one continues to make bad decisions within their
team and trust continues to diminish within their team, at some point they will run out of change
in their pocket and trust will be broken. Without trust the probability of being successful
decreases substantially. Covey talks about character as an individual’s integrity, motive and
intent with people (Covery, 2009). Covey further goes on to talk about competence which
includes an individual’s capabilities, skills, results, and track record. The building and
maintaining of trust is not something that is turned off at the end of a work day, but is carried
through every moment of every day and is transcended throughout every member and all aspect
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of a team. Mohler (2010) says that leaders are the masters of motivation, vision, strategy, and
execution (Mohler, 2010, p. 19). Without the trust of a team, these attributes are irrelevant.
As leaders grow they learn that without a team they cannot be successful. What we are
learning is that we need our teams to trust the decisions that we are making and the path that we
are leading them down in order to become successful as a leader. Whether it is writing a
schedule that is accurate or reviewing budgets that are obtainable, trust earned from the
beginning is the cornerstone of a leader’s tenure and ultimately their legacy within their
organization. No matter the organization, no matter what capacity that organization is founded
in, it is people that are depended upon for the realization of the vision and mission of that
organization and people make up teams. At the helm of that team is their leader that is guiding
them into new and extraordinary heights. Without the trust in their leader these
accomplishments will go unrecognized. When we look back in history we can see examples of
organizations that both trusted their leader and those that did not. Howard Schultz earned trust
by staying true to his values, not being threatened by individuals that were smarter than him,
looking to renew oneself and that everything matters. He has written books on not only the
success of his organization, but upon these founding principles. But at the same time we can see
a decline in trust in our President who started his Presidency with a high approval rating based
on the trust that he earned on the vision that he sold voters. But today we see a decrease in his
approval rating due to the lack of trust based on the lack of follow through on the commitments
that he made during his election campaign. Trust is indeed built on commitment, motivation,
follow through, and vision. Followers look to their leaders for these things and when they are let
down, trust is broken, a team’s dynamic changes and leaders lose trust not just with their teams,
but within the organization at consumers as well.
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As I integrate myself into a new team my primary objective and focus is to build trust
with my team. At first meeting, I have given them no reason to trust me, the change in my
pocket is minimal, and the respect that is shown is primarily due to the reporting hierarchy
within the organization. I strategically build trust by listening to what my team wants and needs.
As I listen I look at what I can change immediately that will have an impact on the team enabling
trust to begin. As time goes on and I become increasingly successful with following through on
things that the team wants that will impact them, the more change I begin to have in my pocket
(Maxwell, 2002). An example of this is, the most recent team that I took over had been faced
with some challenges that everyone was aware of. My goal was to come in and listen to
everything that they had to say while being completely transparent and opening myself up for
them to have the opportunity to get to know me. I also spent quite of bit of time working along-
side of them so they could understand my competency level with the day to day functions of
what we do as an organization. What I learned by doing this is that what the team wanted was
open lines of communication. They felt as though they were not connected to the organization
because they did not understand what was happening in the organization. The other thing that
called out to me is that no one was recognized or rewarded for the work that they did. In fact
quite the opposite. There was even hostility and bullying of some individuals that were on the
team. Both of these things, communication and recognition were both part of the evolutionary
change that would be happening within my team, but with a more immediate effect and impact.
By the end of the first week in role a new communication system was put into place and
recognition was being given both in a written form through tools made available to me by the
organization and verbal recognition as well. But along with this I was completely transparent
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with my new team in telling them that the new method of communication within our team was
not set in stone and that they all owned this as well. If any of them had feedback on what was
going well and what was not going well, we would change what was implemented until it was
effective for the team. They were empowered to make suggestions and take ownership of how
they wanted communication.
The measure of success with this was swift and gratifying. Though a team survey that
was taken within a month of my arrival, we saw a 37 point increase on the survey. The survey
score went from a 34 under previous leadership to a 71. Several of the metrics that increase were
centered on the direct impact that communication had and the team felt like they were a part of
the team and organization again. They also weighed in on the fact that they appreciated being
appreciated. Two simple things with great impact. Through this qualitative and quantitative data
it was safe to say that trust had been established and it was time to roll up our sleeves and delve
into the larger opportunities within our business and build and extraordinary team that was
capable of delivering not only upon the brand standards, but deliver extraordinary performance
results.
“Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.”
Warren Bennis
In an article written by Ashkenas (2010), he talks about an analogy of an airline pilot who
comes over the loud speaker and announces to the passengers that he has good news and that he
has bad news. He proceeds to tell the passengers that the good news is that they are ahead of
schedule. However, the bad news is he has no idea where they are heading! Leaders that lack
the ability to share a vision or execute a strategy lack the ability to nurture a shared context
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within their organization. It begins with a leader understanding and sharing where the
organization is at, where it is heading and how it is going to get there. Often times as leaders,
one assumes that everyone on all levels understands the vision and strategy of an organization.
This is the first failure in developing a shared context. When developing a shared context it is
leaders need to ensure that all employees make the connection of what the true context of
strategy is and how it relates to their organization (Ashkenas, 2010). For this to happen
employees need to understand the strategy. From here employees need to use this understanding
as a baseline for their decisions and planning. They need to share where they are with their plans
and how it integrates into the organizations strategy. Ultimately you have to have the buy in of
your team in order to have the shared context and it begins with the effectiveness of their
leader’s ability to communicate this.
I have gained trust with my new team and now we are ready to roll up our sleeves and
begin driving change within our store. It begins with communication. Communicating the
shared vision and strategy of where we are now, where we need to get to, and how we are going
to get there. While the team is comprised of 19 individuals, the experience level and general
understanding can prove challenging in ensuring a clear understanding. What we needed was a
destination postcard, a vivid picture from the near-term future that shows what could be possible
(Heath, 2010, p.76). A teacher shows their students that at the end of the year they will graduate
to the next grade. This is their destination postcard. Our destination postcard was centered on
the training and education of the team. It is difficult to achieve financial objectives, promotional
goals, and store audits when you do not have the education and training to effectively do the job
in which you were hired. We turned our attention to the training and development piece with the
team and explained to them that to no longer be last in our district with goal objectives, and to no
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longer struggle with financial metrics that caused a greater workload across the team, we were
going to take a step back and training and develop everyone. But what about those that do not
agree with the vision of where we are heading and are resistant to the change. Rationalization.
For these individuals who rationalize failure and too much hard work for it to be successful.
While we were focusing on our destination postcard, it was time to begin bringing in new
team members who were ready to embrace the vision of where we were heading and showed no
bias to this. As I evaluated the current team and assessed personalities, strengths and
opportunities, and I could see who was struggling with the rationalization of where we were
heading, I could see be beginnings of my team. Not the team in which I inherited. With each
and every interview candidate I would first ask myself if this individual was qualified to execute
upon the brand standards, but I would then look to see where this individual would fit within the
team that was to be the cornerstone. What we ended up with was a group of individuals with
diverse backgrounds, skills and talents, and put them together teaching them, mentoring them,
leading them with conviction to execute upon the brand standard and core values of who we are
to the best of our ability. Mohler (2010) says that every great leader is a great teacher, and the
greatest leaders seize every opportunity to teach well. Ideas do drive the world, and beliefs
determine action. The leader who wants to effect long-term, lasting determinative change in an
organization has to be its lead teacher, changing minds in order to transform the organization
(Mohler, 2010, p. 68). For those that stayed the course, some days being good days, and some
being bad, changed how they worked together, talked with each other and those that they
encountered daily at our location. They opened their minds to possibility, discovery and a
willingness to learn. They transformed themselves and our little piece of the organization into a
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thriving location reaching for the next goal and conquering it with conviction. They understood
and embraced a context of shared strategy.
What does the future hold? Solomon said, ‘where there is no vision, the people perish.’
Where there is no vision within an organization, the people perish, Proverbs 29:18. Any great
leader is a visionary. They see where we are today and are able to look to the future to see where
we need to be headed to continue to thrive. As I look at my tiny store that is a small entity
within the larger organization I have to ask myself where are we headed and how does that fit
with where the organization is headed. We are given the tools and resources to take the
organizations vision and execute upon it to the best of our ability. It is something that we as
leaders need to embrace, support and guide our team through for the survival of our brand and
organization. My declaration for the future and how this fits into my organization is that I will
continue to develop extraordinary talent that will aid in supporting and delivering upon the vision
of the organization that is a premiere location for people who are searching for the essence of
who they are. We will do this through driving the four platforms that embrace this very essence
of the human spirit. The transformational change has happened. As Lencioni (20020 says, trust
has been built, conflict resolution is absolute. There is an established commitment to team and
accountability within the team and the reporting hierarchy. Lastly, as a team, and only as a team,
results are measured on multiple levels. Lencioni (2002) also said that it is not one individual
that achieves these results but it is one team striving for the same goal and reaching as far as they
can to achieve this. Teams in general are mindful and open to change as change evolves.
As leaders we have developed trust within our teams. We have evaluated our teams and
taken seemingly ordinary people, put them together to create extraordinary teams that are
capable of propelling an organization to greater heights. We have shared a vision with our
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teams. Laying the vision on tomorrow out for our teams to see, grasp and transform. We are
their leaders and with this comes the responsibility of creating consistency and stability within
our teams. We study change within organizations and how this looks, the same is true for how
we structure ourselves and our teams for the ever changing world that we live in. There is no
doubt that we are living in a knowledge economy and with this comes change.
Organizations are created and developed on an assumption of continuity, to continue
surviving, and to last. It is true that most organizations that were founded 100 years ago are no
longer in business today. The false belief that what is built today will last forever was a false
proclamation. Burke (2012) talks about how organizations today need to be masters of creative
destruction and built for discontinuity. If organizations are to survive into the next decade and
beyond they will need to manage this notion of creative destruction while managing todays
current market and day to day operation and needs of consumers. The external environment,
while continuously “out there,” is continuous in the same sense that organizations are. Factors
and forces in an organization’s external environment are discontinuous, do not fit neatly together
in a pattern, are not interdependent, homeostatic, linear, or highly predictable. Forces in the
external environment can cause destruction but can cause creativity as well (Burke, 2012, p. 2).
It is harnessing this external force in order to continue to compel the organization into the future.
The visionary process works in tandem with the external environment to ensure that the
organization sustains and thrives. Maxwell says, “Leadership is influence, nothing more,
nothing less.” As leaders we are here to influence this process and lead our teams through the
turbulent forces shaping the future.
As leaders we are called upon to influence, inspire, motivate and be visionaries for those
around us. Mohler (2010) says that leadership that matters grows out of the leader’s own that the
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story is true, that it matters, and that it must both expand and continue. The story must be
believed with conviction, told with conviction, and stewarded with conviction (Mohler, 2010, p.
39). The commitment that we make to action as leaders goes beyond the fundamentals of
executing a plan on how to increase revenue or implement a new process. My commitment to
action is that of an endurance in which even through change within the organization, the impact
that I have on growing individuals and shaping those that work under me. I am committed to
mentoring, coaching and transforming individuals to help them realize not only who they are, but
the impact that they will have in all of their endeavors, whether they stay in our organization or
leave to follow their dreams and goals. People are our greatest asset to shaping the future.
Mohler (2010) says that endurance not only makes demands of leaders, it also offers the blessing
of a long memory and a longer period of evaluation. It takes time to see fruit grow on trees, and
it usually takes even longer for the fruit of leadership to show itself in abundance. While my call
to action may not be initially felt, it certainly will be endured through time with those that I
transform and shape (Mohler, 2010 p. 135).
Change is an everyday occurrence felt throughout all organizations. Some change is
gradual and while impactful is not felt. Other change is more revolutionary in that its initial
impact shakes the environment and transforms the entire organization (Burke, 2014). As a leader
I will continue to use my framework of putting people first to drive change. Building trust with
my team by listening, empowering them, having follow-through and mentoring them. I will be
able to effectively drive change within my team through positive influence in which through
empowering others through their potential. Let us not forget the most important strategy in
leading change within my organization, and that is being true to who I am and my own beliefs. I
lead with conviction and my conviction comes from within me and my commitment and
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relationship with my faith. In reading Mohler (2010), I was inspired and compelled to find so
many parallels between what he had to say and my own leadership style. Early on in his book he
talks about conviction of leadership. If you think about it, just about every leader who is now
remembered for making a positive difference in history was leader with strong convictions about
life, liberty, truth, freedom, and human dignity. In the long run, this is the only leadership that
matters. Convictional leaders propel action precisely because they are driven by deep
convictions, and their passion for these convictions is transferred to followers who join in
concerted action to do what they know to be right. And they know what is right because they
know what is true (Mohler, 2010, p. 26). As a Christian leader, I believe that you need
conviction not only with your professional life but your personal life as well. Leading a life
filled with conviction is the heart of living. As Mohler (2010) describes in the writing to the
Thessalonians, the apostle Paul encouraged them to know that the gospel had come to them, not
only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction (Mohler, 2012, p.
27). How are you as a convictional leader?
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References
How Leaders Create the Context for Strategy Execution
Ashkenas, R. (2010, October 13). How Leaders Create the Context for Strategy Execution,
Harvard Business Review. Retrieved February 25, 2015, from
https://hbr.org/2010/10/how-good-leaders-execute-strategy.html
Burke, W. Warner. Organization Change: Theory and Practice. Edition: 4. Publisher: Thousand
Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. Year: 2014
Covey, S. (2009). How the Best Leaders Build Trust. Retrieved on February 25, 2015 from
http://www.leadershipnow.com/CoveyOnTrust.html
Heath, C and Heath, D. Switch, How to Change Things When Change Is Hard. Publisher:
New York, New York: Broadway Books. Year: 2010
Lencioni, P. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. Publisher: San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Year: 2002
Maxwell, J. Leadership 101 What Every Leader Needs To Know. Publisher: Nashville, TN:
Thomas Nelson, Inc. Year: 2002
Mohler, A. 25 Principles for Leadership That Matters: The Conviction to Lead. Publisher:
Bloomington, MN: Bethany House Publications. Year: 2010
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