Change Management: Analyzing the Impact of Leadership Skills

This essay discusses the importance of leadership in change management, highlighting that change is inevitable and requires a systematic approach for successful implementation. It emphasizes that organizations that adapt to changes faster gain a competitive advantage. Effective change management involves employee involvement, communication, executive support, planning, and analysis. The essay also covers various change management models like McKinsey 7S Framework, Lewin’s Change Management Model, and Kotter's Model, and addresses common issues such as employee resistance, communication problems, and technology implementation. The essay concludes that effective leadership is essential for successful change management, requiring leaders to listen to their management, accept change, and understand organizational priorities to align individual and organizational goals.

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Title: Change Management
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Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
Importance of Leadership in Change Management.....................................................................................2
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................6
References...................................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
Change is inevitable. In every walk of life, one has to face changes every now and then.
Technology is also changing with time and therefore it demands acceptance and adoption. In
general, Change Management is a systematic approach that ensures successful implementation of
the changes. Further, it also provides long-lasting benefits. The changes can be big or small, and
so can their impacts. The influence of change is measured as how smoothly people accept and
adapt to that change. The process can be short and smooth or it can be major and time taking.
Change Management is a very wide concept. There are several approaches to it and they
vary significantly. The variation can be on the basis of project, organization, personnel, and so
on. Many organizations opt for a formal and methodical change, whereas others go for a more
casual approach. There are many theories of psychologists and behavioral scientists with regard
to Change Management. The basic inference of all the studies and researches is that- change
cannot take place individually. It means that the whole organization and people in the
organization are affected by the change.
Importance of Leadership in Change Management
The process of change is ongoing and continuous. The organizations that adapt to the
changes faster are more likely to attain a competitive advantage. Effective management of
change is very critical. However, the approaches towards Change Management vary on several
grounds yet the organizations that follow a disciplined and systematic approach survive longer.
This is an era of fast-paced developments, which ultimately requires change. In other
words, Change Management can be defined as a process of moving from the present state to the
desired state. For a successful Change Management, it is important to have those skills. The job
title or designation has little to do with managing it (Blokdijk, 2012). The tools or skill-set
required in the process includes the involvement of employees, better flow of communication,
executive leadership and support, Planning and strategizing, analysis, looking into change
resistant factors (Czichos, 2014).
The focus of management is to minimize the distractions during the process of change in
an organization. These distractions can be employees’ resistance to change, change in

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technology, change in priorities, change in company’s objectives and approach of achieving the
objective and many more (Wooding, 2013). As mentioned, the process of Change Management
can be organization-wide or it can be limited to a certain department. The wider the change,
more time and efforts required. For example- a new software change is to be implemented. This
change will be affecting the whole organization and everyone has to accept this change. This is
because everyone makes use of the computers at their level. On the other hand, a new tool has
emerged in data security. This change will only be concerned with the department that handles
data and information (Laakso and Palomäki, 2013).
There can be any number of changes. If anything is constant, its change. The changes can
be related to the goal of the organization, the products, new outlook from the new CEO. It can
also be a change in the needs and demands of the customer, expectation concerning a specific
product. Since the market is ever changing, the organizations must be adaptable to change.
Another example of the change can be a new boss; his way of doing things differs from the
previous boss. Promotion can also bring a whole wave of changes i.e. new colleagues, new
responsibilities, and area of work and so on. Therefore, changes enter the lives of people every
day. It is vital to managing these changes in an efficient manner (Shaw, 2015).
The knowledge of the objectives of the Change Management is the key to its successful
application. These objectives vary from situation to situation, organization to organization. The
focus of the Change Management process is on its thorough and successful implementation. In
order to do that, one must know the objectives of it (Lindberg, 2013). These goals can be defined
by- ensuring a lively sponsorship, communicating about the change to the people who will be
affected, assessment of the change impact, involvement of people who will support in the
process, and willingness of people to adopt the said change.
The next thing to consider is the activities of Change Management. The activities are vast
and there can be many activities within an organization. The trick is to choose the ones which
suit the need. There can be many activities that are included in the process of Change
Management (Strategies-for-managing-change.com, 2019). However, some major activities are-
clear explanation as to why the change is being implemented, the identification of the people
who will cooperate and carry with the process of change, planning and strategizing in an
appropriate manner, communicating the strategies in a clear manner, assessment of the influence

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of these changes, and others. These activities are different for different organizations and largely
depend on the type of change (Bell and Bridgman, 2017). There should be a proper
communication channel and cooperation at all levels of management for the successful
application of the changes.
The McKinsey 7S Framework is one of the most popular theories of Change
Management. Peters and Waterman, who worked at the McKinsey consulting firm, developed it.
In the early 1980s, they focused on the basic aspects of an organization and came up with the 7S
Framework. This framework includes seven independent aspects that are further classified as
‘hard’ and ‘soft’. The hard components are easily identified and the management can influence
them with ease. The hard elements include- structures, systems, and strategy. The soft elements
are comparatively harder to influence by management (Ravanfar, 2015). They are more
influenced by culture. The soft elements comprise of shared values, skills, style, and staff.
The picture below defines the connection and interdependency of hard and soft elements.
Image Source: (www.mindtools.com)
These elements are interdependent and connected. The strategy can be defined as the plan
to gain a competitive advantage, whereas the structure is the chain of command. Further, systems
are the daily activities in the organization, shared values are the fundamental principles of the

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establishment, style refers to the leadership style, staff denotes the workforces and their abilities,
and lastly, skills are the abilities and capabilities of the employees of that organization. However,
there are certain limitations to this model. Since, all the elements are connected, if one changes
all go through change. This is a complicated model and the differences in various elements are
also not considered (Hammersley, 2013).
Kurt Lewin developed the Lewin’s Change Management Model in the 1950s. It was
stated by Lewin that people preferred operating in their safety zones. On the basis of this
observation, he came up with three stages of change, viz,- unfreeze, transition/change, and
freeze. In the first stage, people resist the change and make all possible efforts to avoid the
process of change. Therefore, to unfreeze or make people willing for the change, motivation was
provided. The second stage arrives when the change is started. This stage might last for quite
some time. This process will be successful if there are effective leadership strategies and
management in place. The final stage is refreeze, where the change is implemented and readily
accepted by all. At this stage the company becomes stable. Lewin’s model of Change
Management is still widely used because it is easy and smooth (Bakari, Hunjra and Niazi, 2017).
However, it takes a sufficient amount of time for the successful implementation.
A Harvard University Professor John Kotter developed a model of Change Management
which leads the employees to accept the change after leaders convince them regarding its
urgency (Robert Tanner, 2018). It means that the employees are more likely to adopt the change
if they perceive that the change is imminent and urgent. This model has eight stages- aggregating
the urgency of change, creating a group that supports change, developing a vision for change,
communicating the necessity for change, authorizing the staff, constructing short-term
objectives, staying determined, and forming the change permanent. This framework is preferred
by organizations because it offers step-by-step guidance to Change Management (Quick Base,
2019). The goal is not the real change rather the preparation and acceptance of it. The process of
change is far easier and smooth. However, like every coin has its flip side, so does this model.
The steps in the model cannot be skipped; if they are skipped the whole process can be
threatened. One of the major drawbacks of using this model is that it takes a lot of time (Bose
and Patnaik, 2015).

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There are three main issues that are observed at the time of change management-
employee resistance, communication issues, and implementation of new technologies. The
employee resistance is the most common and basic issue found at the time of change
management. This can be dealt with by proper motivation and guidance. The leader should be
able to convince the employee to align his individual goals with that of the organization. The
second issue is the communication problem. At times, the objective of change is properly
communicated to the employees and therefore they are less enthusiastic about the change. It is
vital to convey the message in clear words. Last issue is regarding the implementation of
technology. The new technology requires a certain skill set which might not be there in the
existing workforce (Mulholland, 2017). Therefore, the employees have a negative outlook
towards the change. By ensuring proper training and mentoring this issue can be tackled.
Effective leadership maximizes the chances of effective Change Management. The
leaders who are able to reshape their organizations are valued and respected. The changes under
such leadership can be implemented smoothly (Liu, 2018). The quality of a good leader is that he
always motivates and uplifts his employees, no matter what the situation is. The process of
Change Management is rather easy and also provides wins for the company. For example- after
winning a cricket match, the captain is well respected and listened to by the fellow team
members. Also, his decisions are carried with an encouraging spirit. Similarly, the employees
look up to the leader and become confident about him (İkinci, 2014).
There are certain skills that a leader must possess in order to carry out the process of
Change Management properly. The first skill is to listen to his management. This is the quality
which most of the leaders lack. The time is wasted by arguing with fellow leaders and thus the
outcomes are catastrophic. The key aspect is to listen to the management because they interact
with the whole organization and all its influencers, i.e. customers, suppliers, employees, etc. If
the leaders started listening to their own managers, they will never have to look here and there
for the advice. They know the organization in and out and their perspective will help in
addressing the challenges to change very effectively. The second skill is the skill of accepting
that change. It is important for the leader to show the willingness to adopt that change before he
expects the same of his employees. (Mironescu, 2013) The workforce always looks up to the
leader and most of the time tries to copy the same attitude towards various situations. Therefore,

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a leader should always perceive the change positively so that his employees also look towards
the change as something constructive. The third skill is the skill of knowing organizational
priorities. The leader should gain the trust of his employees before moving on to the process of
change management. (Parsells, 2013)
The change is important to everyone at different levels. A shared culture must be
developed where the goals and objectives of the individuals are able to align with that of the
organization. The last skill is the skill of perseverance. The leader should always be ready for
something to go wrong, this way he will be prepared for any adversities that might come at the
time of transitionb. The ability to lead the team in the right direction and to make the right
decisions at the right time is crucial.
Conclusion
Any change is difficult to go through. Adjusting to change is difficult on part of the
organization and employees. The process of Change Management can be completed by using the
McKinsey 7-S Model, Kotter’s 8-Step Change Framework or Lewin's Change Management
Structure. Any of these models will be helpful because they offer proper guidance towards the
management of change and also indicate the expected outcomes. To survive and succeed every
organization requires an efficient leader. A good leadership drives the organizations towards
success or drags it away. The key skill set of leadership should include listening to the
management, accepting the change as a positive thing, being familiar with the organizational
goals and objectives, and the ability to take the right decisions. Change Management is important
and every organization has to go through the process of it. However, the kind of leadership an
organization is under is an important determinant of its success. The acceptance to change and a
positive attitude towards it can deeply affect the way an organization manages the change at
hand.

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Image Reference:
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