Executive Development Program In Leadership & Change Management

What is Leadership?

Leadership is the art of motivating a group of people to work together towards achieving prevailing objectives. In corporates, leadership is referred to the ability to set goals and accomplish them along with influencing, motivating, and helping others to develop skills and become the best version of themselves. Not just that, leadership is also about how you are leading your life as an individual. To be a leader, you don’t particularly have to be in the position of a CEO, manager, or even a team lead. Anyone can become a leader — it is just a set of skills that may be acquired by anybody.

A leader inspires others’ actions while directing them to perform their best. They must be critical thinkers to optimally utilize the available resources at an organization.

Also Read: Postgraduate Certificate In Human Capital Leadership

What is Change Management?

The strategies that a company uses to elucidate and effectuate transition in internal and external operations are referred to as change management.  Its goal is to carry out techniques for bringing about change, controlling it, and assisting people in adapting to it.

It might be difficult to make major organizational changes. It needs managerial level collaboration and may involve multiple autonomous groups within an organization. It is crucial to develop a strategy to achieve a smooth transition with minimal interruption. 

Relationship between Leadership and Change Management

It is obvious that competitive leadership is required to implement the change. Leading change is one of the most challenging aspects of leadership. Leaders with a vision, communication skills, good interpersonal skills, and supportive leadership skills are more likely to propel change.

Keeping employees informed and allowing them to participate in the change process have been found effective as employees are less skeptical about the change. This is due to the fact that individuals are more likely to accept and adapt to change if they have a clear understanding of the goal and are part of the process.

People will be accepting changes if they perceive that the changes are carried out equitably. This perception comes from the transparency that a leader offers by providing factual information as well as exhibiting their importance in the change process.

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Stages of Successful Change Management

Kurt Lewin, a German-American social psychologist in the early twentieth century was a leader in change management. Lewin established the 3 Stage Model of Change, who was one of the first psychologists to study group dynamics and organizational development. According to Lewin, change is a difficult process and it usually calls for several stages of transformation before reaching a point of stability.

In this model, change is described as a three-stage process of unfreezing, change, and freezing. He used the analogy of an ice block changing its shape to transform into a cone of ice during the unfreezing process to explain the process of organizational change.

The status-quo is described as the current situation in the three-stage model of change, although a change process should progress towards a desirable future state. We must assess the field’s totality and complexity in order to comprehend group as well as individual group members’ behavior during the transition process. This is also referred to as ‘Field Theory’, and it is utilized to create change models like Lewin’s 3 Stage Model.

The 3 Stages of Change

Stage 1 - Unfreezing: This is the first and most important stage of transition in the change management process. It includes increasing employees’ willingness to accept change by making them understand that transferring from one’s current comfort zone to a transformed circumstance is possible. It also includes raising awareness of the need for change and increasing people’s motivation to adopt new ways of doing things to achieve better results. Effective communication is highly important at this stage to gain the needed support and participation of employees in the change process.

Stage 2 - Change: This stage is also known as the transition stage. It includes the willingness to adopt new ways of functioning. This is usually a time of uncertainty when individuals are skeptical about the change and dubious of what will happen next. This stage of change is said to be difficult due to uncertainty or employees’ concern about the implications of implementing a change procedure. They are aware that traditional practices are being challenged, but they are unsure of what current practices will be replaced with. This necessitates a well-planned strategy, good communication, and promoting individual participation in endorsing the change.

Stage 3 - Freezing: This is the stage where employees accept change and return to their normal routine. This period should be regarded as almost perpetual. Employees’ comfort levels return to normal as the new mindset of change becomes the norm, and people acquire new methods of operating. Even after the objectives are met, leaders must ensure that changes are implemented also provide rewards and recognition to the employees for supporting and fortifying towards the change in the methods of operating.

Also Read: Strategic Human Resources Leadership Certificate Program

The Role of Leadership in Change Management

Organizational success relies heavily on effective change management leadership. There are a variety of change management models to choose from, and using the appropriate one is critical since it provides a framework for planning essential milestones in the process of change. Regardless of the change management approach you adopt, the role of leadership is significant in effective change implementation.

Here are a few principles to show the role of leadership during the process of change -

• Communicate the vision clearly and effectively: Leadership in the change management process necessitates the importance of communicating your vision clearly before making any decisions. Your message should be explicit and unambiguous. This raises awareness and motivates people to take action towards organizational change.
   
• Be transparent and approachable: A leader must be visible and involved throughout the transformation process, from the start till the end. Your employees expect you to be straightforward and transparent with them in terms of the desired goals and objectives. They want you to be approachable as well so that they can have an open conversation with you.
   
• Planning Change Management: Leadership is crucial for a successful change. You need to prepare the middle management staff about the change, before sending out details to the employees.

Also Read: Learn to manage Change in Business

Why Leadership is important in Change Management?

Company culture and leadership are intertwined. A company that values its employees will be better able to manage change so that it is advantageous for both management and employees. Employees will be invested in the leader’s attempts to bring about change gracefully, and leadership will go out of their way to connect with and communicate with employees.

There are two types of change that happen in an organization, internal and external. Leadership is essentially required during both the change processes. Let’s understand this deeply that how leadership is important for these changes.

Leadership and Internal Change

It is usually easier to handle change that your company initiates proactively than it is to integrate unforeseen changes brought on by external factors. When a long-term vision is broadly shared and short-term goals are aligned with the change, the leadership process for internal transformation functions well. Clear communication is essential to be done on the leader’s part. This is due to the reason that employees perform more effectively when they know exactly what to do and why they are doing it while being invested in the company’s success.

During internal change, you know what’s coming or what you are striving for so you can gain support. You can manage the expectations as well as take responsibility for the actions. You are in charge of the change rather than allowing it to happen to you.

Also Read: The Future Scope of Leadership & Change Management

Leadership and External Change

The external change brought on by factors outside your control can be more challenging than planned changes, but these difficulties highlight the importance of leadership. The unpredictability of an unforeseen event, such as management shake-up or collapse of a process, may catch your organization off guard, necessitating the need for a leader to build a well-planned strategy.

Although a leader can’t always make things better in the case of unforeseen changes, change management leadership can help employees work together as a team rather than giving rise to a lack of trust and conflict, which will only worsen things. Employees are more likely to support during the change when they know that they are a valuable part of the process. Their allegiance will dwindle if a company is poorly administered and leadership lacks in conducting change smoothly.

You can be an effective leader and an essential part of change management by enrolling in a leadership and change management course. There are two modes to learn change management leadership - online and offline. In the light of the ongoing pandemic, various renowned institutions have begun to provide online courses as well as a chance to earn the certificate on completing the course successfully. One of the foremost institutions, XLRI Jamshedpur is offering you an online course named Executive Development Program in Leadership and Change Management to help you become an effective change leader.

Also Read: Are Leadership and Management Different From One Another?

What Leadership Qualities are Needed to Manage Change Management? 

The ability to lead change is a vital part of leadership. At some point, every organization goes through changes and knowing how to navigate it is an important capability. Change management has, nevertheless, been a regular component of running a business.

It is necessary for the individuals to have change management skills who are most likely to conduct change management projects. However, these skills are beneficial for anyone who will be participating in the change management process.

Here are seven essential leadership skills you will need to succeed in change management positions -

1. Communication
2. Strategic Planning
3. Leadership
4. Vision
5. Research
6. Being Transparent
7. Active Listening
   
    Communication: At every stage of change, effective communication skills are required. Communication is critical throughout the process for determining the end goal you want to achieve with this change. Persuading your staff of the importance of the change and providing them with the needed resources will help you get the better of the change process. This can only be achieved through effective communication.
    

• Strategic Planning: A strong strategy is the foundation of any successful change management process. Strategic planning is essential for determining the exact process that you will be using to attain the set target. It necessitates developing the ability to anticipate potential challenges that may emerge during the transformation process.
   
• Leadership: Change management requires effective people management which necessitates leadership abilities. Leadership is needed to organize people, rally support, and push a project forward, as well as to determine who should be supervising each stage of the change process. You must also understand how to impel your staff to be invested in the change.
   
• Vision: Having a clear and compelling vision can help the staff find the motivation they need to achieve their objectives. Change leaders are expected to have and spread the vision across the organization. Even though change is feasible without a vision, however, a vision is what defines the objective of the change process.
   
• Research: Knowing how to conduct research in advance will help you find a more successful approach for achieving your main objectives. Before you set a strategy in motion, look into the company’s data to ensure you have a thorough understanding of the situation. Find relevant information on similar projects to learn best practices based on real-world experience.
   
• You must first determine what the present bottlenecks are, what employees are striving for, and whether any current processes are impeding progress so you can build a plan that is properly aligned with your company’s goals.
   
• Being Transparent: Transparency is significant when it comes to leading change. Keep your employees informed, be honest and forthright, and encourage open communication about the obstacles and perplexities. Do not try to hide the issues that may come your way during the process of change as every change endeavor comes up with certain stumbling blocks.
   
• Active Listening: It is necessary to have active listening for a smooth transition. Even if your employees’ suggestions are not implemented, listening to your staff will save time and efforts, and give them a sense that they are valued in this whole change process. Also, a good leader deliberately seeks feedback from every individual involved at all levels and then incorporates them as the project progresses.

Leaders with good leadership skills can guide their employees to the right path, in line with the organization’s vision and mission. When a leader leads its staff in the right way and pushes them to constantly develop, the company’s performance will undoubtedly improve, and it will be able to survive in today’s difficult business environment.

Also Read: Executive Development Program In Transformational Leadership

Executive Development Program in Leadership & Change Management

The purpose of the leadership and change management course from XLRI Jamshedpur is to assist participants to improve their leadership skills as well as their perception of the obstacles and concerns that come up while implementing a big change in a company.

This course is designed to teach you especially about managing change at the workplace, ethical leadership, organizational strategy, and self-awareness and self-management. It will also provide you with knowledge of new leadership and management techniques so that you can make the most of your own and others’ abilities.

Professionals who enroll in the Executive Development Program in Leadership & Change Management course from XLRI Jamshedpur get to work on faculty-guided assignments so that they get hands-on practical experience and use the newly acquired knowledge to manage real-life situations.

This change management certification program is designed for executives, managers, and leaders who want to hone their leadership skills to anticipate, strategize, and execute change in their organization.

Why should you pursue an online course from Talentedge?

Due to the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, the popularity of online learning has expanded expeditiously. There are multiple advantages of pursuing this change management certification course online, for instance -

• Pursuing an online certification shows that you are committed to your profession and want to improve skills to boost your career.
• No additional installation is required which means you can attend the classes from anywhere using a laptop/desktop
• Online learning makes it beneficial for working professionals to study while retaining their current jobs

Talentedge currently provides a variety of online certification courses in partnership with some of the world’s prestigious institutions. These eminent institutes’ diplomas are highly valued and add to your professional development. These online certification courses include some of the following features -

• Classes on weekends make it easier for professionals to attend live lectures
• Live and interactive learning offer a real classroom experience in the virtual setting
• Hands-on practical experience to use the knowledge in the current organization
• One-on-one problem-solving sessions
• Guest lectures by industry experts to understand real-life situations better
• Dedicated tech and student support
• Chance to earn a certificate from XLRI Jamshedpur on completion of the course