Page 214 - FLL Virtual Binder 2018

Identifying Change Agents – The How To
Ø Find out who people listen to. Change agents lead with the power of their ideas and personality, but they may not be employees with formal authority to lead.
Ø Be alert to people who think differently. Change agents are not satisfied with things as they are – a fact that may not endear them to others.
Ø Take a close look at new employees who have come from outside the circle of traditional competitors. They may not be infected with the same mind-set as everyone else.
Ø Look for people with unusual training or experience. For example, if all your technicians have quantitative research backgrounds, look for the person with a liberal arts major or an unrelated hobby. Chances are they see the word through a different lens.
An Effective Vision
The people leading a change initiative must develop a clear vision of an altered and improved future – that is, the way it could be better. They must be able to communicate that vision to others in ways that make the benefits of change clear. In communicating the vision, leaders must be very specific about:
• How the change will improve the business (through greater customer success, product quality, sales revenues, or productivity), and
• How those improvements will benefit employees. A vision that inspires followers – The How To:
1. Describeadesirablefuture–onethatpeoplewouldbehappytohaveright now if they could;
2. Becompelling–thatis,itmustbesomuchbetterthanthecurrentstatethat people will gladly undertake the effort and make the sacrifices necessary to attain it;
3. Berealistic–thevisionmustbeperceivedasbeingwithinthegraspofa hardworking group of people;
4. Befocused–forexample,itshouldlimititselftoamanageableandcoherent set of goals, such as six sigma quality, or customer service, that resolves a customer’s problem with a single phone call;
5. Beflexible–thatisabletoadapttochangingcircumstances;and,
6. Beeasytocommunicatetodifferentlevels.
Front Line Leadership Module: Leadership
214