“The organisation will adopt change when leaders show and model the new way”
👏 Happy Friday!
On this day, September 16th, 1997, Apple Computer Inc. named co-founder Steve Jobs interim CEO. The company had its worst-ever financial quarter and was on the verge of bankruptcy. Steve was, however, largely responsible for reviving Apple. Working closely with English designer Jony Ive they developed a line of products that led to the Apple Store, App Store (iOS), iMac, iPad, iPod, iPhone, iTunes, and iTunes Store. Like us all, Steve had weaknesses, but he was proactive and thrived on setting goals and working hard. He found the balance between empowering his employees and leading by example. He was a role model for his workforce by demonstrating characteristics he wished to see them display, like his meticulous attention, creativity and innovation. One of my favourite quotes from Steve Jobs is, “People judge you on your performance, so focus on the outcome. Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”
✅ This week we have been reminded of a great past leader. Queen Elizabeth II had a vision and purpose, led by example, worked hard, devoted her entire life to duty, respected others, and embraced change. Leaders Model the New Way.
👉 The second main responsibility for the leadership team in implementing their organisation’s change is to ‘Model the new way’. This is about making the leader’s change vision a reality by modelling the new way of working. Working with the sponsor, they must involve employees in the change design and model the new skills and behaviours to enhance the employee change experience. These responsibilities cannot be delegated, they cannot be sent as an e-mail instruction, and they are not the responsibility of the change team. As the leadership team fulfil these responsibilities and associated activities, there will be a profound positive shift in change implementation progress. Employees will feel that they were made aware of the change early, understand the business reasons for the change, have been involved in the change design, and have the capability to operate in the new way of working. Resistance is therefore reduced, and adoption maximised.
Have a fantastic weekend with the ones you love, enjoy some fresh air, exercise, eat, drink and be happy!
Further Reading: Change Management Leadership – Leadership of Change Volume 4
See: Section 3.2 Model - Execute Phase
Peter consults, speaks, and writes on the Leadership of Change®.
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Peter F Gallagher is a Change Management Global Thought Leader, Guru, Expert, International Speaker, Author and Leadership Alignment Coach.
Listed #1 by leadersHum Top 40 Change Management Gurus You Should Follow in 2022 (Mar 2022).
Ranked #1 Change Management Global Thought Leader: Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on Change Management (2022-2021-2020) by Thinkers360.
Ranked #2 Business Strategy Global Thought Leader: Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on Change Management (Dec 2020) by Thinkers360.
Ranked #2 Leadership Global Thought Leader: Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on Leadership (Aug 2020) by Thinkers360.
Business Book Ranking
Change Management Behaviour - Leadership of Change® Volume 6, listed among the 50 Books from Thinkers360 Thought Leaders to read in 2022.
Change Management Adoption - Leadership of Change® Volume 5, listed among year-to-date’s (Jul 2021) most popular books on business and technology from Thinkers360 member thought leaders.
Change Management Handbook - Leadership of Change® Volume 3, listed among the 50 Business and Technology Books from Thinkers360 Thought Leaders to read in 2021.
Change Management Pocket Guide - Leadership of Change® Volume 2, ranked within the top 50 Business and Technology Books (Jan 2020) from Thinkers360 Thought Leaders.
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