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LAP-EI-022-CS © 2018, MBA Research and Curriculum Center® Start the Revolution 1

Discuss what it means to lead change.

Objectives

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Leading Change

Start the Revolution Change Happens

Demonstrate procedures for leading change.

Time for Change

Why bother learning about leading change?

What would you do?

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Change is all around us, every day. You may ex-perience changes at home, such as moving to a new house or accepting extra babysitting responsibilities with your younger sib-lings. Or, you may experience changes at school—perhaps a favorite teacher retires, or you modify your schedule for next year to include a physics class. Sometimes, change happens to us; other times, we are the ones who make the change happen. Leading change is an important life skill, and it’s also vital for any professional career. Learn more about what it means to lead change and how you can do it!

Change Happens

“In life, change is inevitable. In business, change is vital.”

—Warren G. Bennis

Do you remember:

• Yourfirstdayofhighschool?

• The time you or your best friend had to move?

• Losing a grandparent or other loved one?

• When the last president was elected?

• Having someone new marry into your family?

LAP-EI-022-CS © 2018, MBA Research and Curriculum Center®

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Attending a new school due to a transfer, or simply because you are advancing to the next level,

can be a big change that may be a little challenging at first.


Life is all about changes. Nothing ever stays the same! Some changes are good, and some changes are not so good. And some-

times, it just depends on who you are and how you look at it. Maybe you loved going into high school, but your brother or sister

hated it. You might have been excited when someone new married into your family, or you might not have been too thrilled with

the idea. Change comes in various forms and people react to it in many different ways, but one aspect of change is constant—it is

unavoidable! Changes in business are no different than changes in life—they happen all the time. Starting a new after-school job is

a change. Learning a new job-related skill is a change. Getting a promotion or a new manager would certainly be a change as well.

Read Dr. Robert Maurer’s article “Why Change Is So Hard” tolearnmoreaboutwhychangeisdifficult:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-traits-excellence/201607/why-change-is-so-hard.

Moving away from home is a big life change that is exciting and scary at the same time.

Highwaystarz-Photography/iStock/Thinkstock


Sometimes, you don’t have any control over the changes that come into your life or work position. When you’re a kid and your

parents decide to move, you pretty much have to move, right? When the business you work for is sold to another company, you

most likely can’t do anything to stop it. In situations

such as these, the change happens to you rather

than because of you. The Human Relations Media’s

video excerpt “Coping With Disruptive Life Changes”

shares one teen’s experience with change: http://

www.hrmvideo.com/catalog/coping-with-disruptive-

life-changes.

Other times, you have opportunities to have some

control over change. If there’s going to be a big

change at work, someone might ask for your in-

volvement and input. Or, if you see that a change

needs to be made, you might decide to make it

happen. When you do that, you are leading change.

When big changes happen that you have no control over, it can be overwhelming.

tommaso79/iStock/Thinkstock


Why lead change?

There are many good reasons for wanting to lead change. Sometimes, you might want to lead

a change because a certain process or idea is no longer working as well as it used to. A busi-

ness’s ability to make needed changes can mean the difference between success and failure.

Let’s say you work in a frozen-yogurt shop. It’s been a popular hangout for kids from your school, but now it’s becoming somewhat

“oldnews.”Asamemberofthebusiness’stargetmarket,youbelievethatintroducingsomenewyogurtflavorsandtoppingsaswell

as installing some TVs in the shop would really boost the appeal of the product. You might be able to initiate some of these changes.

The ability to find better ways to accomplish goals is a great skill, but it takes a willingness to lead to make it happen.

jacoblund/iStock/Thinkstock


Sometimes, you might lead a change because you’ve been asked to. Perhaps the farm where you work is considering opening a per-

manent “farm-stand” location for selling its fruits and vegetables. It will be a big change for the business, and your supervisor has

asked you to help determine the best location for the farm-stand and to encourage other employees to get on board with the project.

Another reason for leading change might be knowing that you or your business can make a positive difference in the world around

you. Maybe there’s a rundown park in your town where children no longer play because the equipment is old and rusty, and the

grass has been overtaken by weeds. Your town’s parks department doesn’t have the money to address the problem right now. You

might want to convince the owner of the landscaping service you work for to help you raise money and renovate the park. Your

decision to do so will have a major impact on your town and many of its residents. There will certainly never be a shortage of situ-

ations for leading change at work. Each time you see one, you are looking at an opportunity for personal and professional growth.

See how some entrepreneurial teens made a change to better their community in KTBV’s video “Teen-Designed Recycle Bins

Installed in Boise Park”: http://www.ktvb.com/news/local/teen-designed-recycle-bins-installed-in-boise-park/114351543.

Everyone is different. Leading change means knowing how each team member learns and communicates best, then

reaching out to individuals. Let’s say your company’s new policy is to create a paperless environment, placing all

company records and procedures into its database. Your coworker, Liz, has limited database skills so you have given

herpapercopiesofseveralcompanyfiles.Whenanothercoworkerfindsout,heaccusesyouofshowingfavoritismto

Liz and disregarding the company’s new policy. But you think you were just accommodating her needs. What do you

think? Is it unethical to allow Liz to use paper when the company is pursuing a paperless environment?


Who, me?

Youmightnotthinkyou’requalifiedtobeachangeleader.Afterall,you’rejustahighschoolstudent,right?Yourbossorcoworkers

might laugh at you if you suggest changes to the business or try to undertake a huge project like renovating a park. Well, if they do,

the joke might be on them! Research shows that successful change can be led from all levels of a business. You don’t need to be a

certain age or have a certain amount of education or experience to be a change leader. In the SAP TV video “Young Minds, Bright

Ideas: Edel Browne,” an entrepreneur encourages young people to use their abilities to solve problems:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JohSfadU1G8.

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There are many opportunities for young people to lead within school organizations, team sports, and community events.


So, what does it take to be a change leader? Besides being able to identify opportunities for change, effective change leaders:

Are not afraid to “go for it.” Change leaders arepeopleofaction.They’renotsatisfiedwithsittingonthesidelinesand

just waiting for change to happen. They stand up for what they believe in and aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo

(the way things exist right now).

Are willing to go above and beyond. Change leaders care about more than just what is technically their responsibility.

They’re the type of people who stay an extra 10 minutes after their shifts end to make sure everything is ready for the next

day. They never say, “Don’t look at me! It isn’t my job!” Instead, they constantly look for extra ways to help and contribute.

Leaders are willing to take action instead of going with the flow.

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Love to learn new things. Many changes require you to learn a new set of skills or to readjust an old way of thinking.

For example, if you’re trying to raise money to renovate the park, you might have to learn new phone skills so you can

ask other businesses for donations and volunteers. Change leaders embrace this type of opportunity to learn and grow.

Have a sense of urgency. Change leaders take action. They don’t wait around to see if someone else will get the change

going—they don’t think there’s enough time for that! Instead of hesitating or waiting until the “right” time for change, they

get started right away.

Are independent. Being a change leader means that you will stand out from the crowd. Perhaps you’ll come up with an idea

forachangethatyoureallybelievein,butyoudon’tfindmuchsupportforitatfirst.Whatwillyoudo?Willyoubestrong

andindependentenoughtopursuethechangeanyway,orwillyoudecideitisn’tworthgoingagainsttheflow?TheFoxvideo

“Teen Activist Leads Charge in DPS Protests Calling for Change, Justice” highlights one teen’s dedication to change:

http://www.fox2detroit.com/news/local-news/98954769-story.

cacaroot/iStock/Thinkstock

Leaders are willing to learn new skills to accomplish a goal.


Know how to relate to others in a positive way. For many people, change is uncomfortable. Change leaders understand

this and know how to encourage teamwork and keep people feeling focused, optimistic, and energetic about the change.

Are persuasive. Change doesn’t just happen on its own. If you’re leading a change in your workplace, you’ll need the involve-

ment and help of many different people—supervisors, coworkers, investors, perhaps even vendors or customers. Change

leaders are able to persuade the right people to go along with them and help make the change happen.

Summary

At school, at home, in life, and at work—change is inevitable.

Sometimes change happens to us, and sometimes we have the

opportunity to lead change ourselves. You may lead change

because the status quo isn’t working anymore, because some-

one has asked you to, because you see an opportunity to make

a difference, etc. Anyone can be a change leader, regardless of

age, education, or experience. Change leaders are not afraid to

“go for it,” are willing to go above and beyond, love learning new

things, have a sense of urgency, are independent, know how to

relate to others in a positive way, and are persuasive.

1. Why would someone lead a change in her/his place of work?

2. Explain why anyone can lead change.

3. What are some characteristics of effective change leaders?


It’s important to make sure others understand the benefits of a change and to give them time to adjust.

Time for Change

Ready to lead change? Before you begin, take some time to consider the following tips and reminders:

Focus on people. It’s easy to get lost in a sea of tasks

and activities when it comes time to make a major

change in a business. Keep in mind that real change

won’t happen unless everyone involved is “sold” on it.

The change has to take root at a personal level for each

person in the company.

Let’s say you are implementing a new computer system

foreveryoneinyouroffice.Manyofyourcoworkersare

unhappy about the change because they are comfort-

able with the old system and don’t want to take the time

to learn something new. It’s up to you, as the change

leader, to discover how each person communicates and

learns best, and then to present the change to her/him

in an appropriate way. Travis might need someone to sit

down with him and walk him through the new system.

Karin, on the other hand, might learn better if you hand

her the software manual and let her explore the system

for herself.

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It’s also important to remember that each individual accepts change on his/her own time schedule, which may not necessarily be the

same as yours. Sure, you have deadlines to consider, but rushing people will only increase their resistance to change.

As much as you can, try to give people plenty of time to adjust. Mark Mueller-Eberstein’s TED Talk “Lead and Be

the Change” details how to help others transition through a change:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv-QiSvuLLM.

Avoid linear thinking. Businesses and organizations are not static (unchanging) things. As a matter of fact, they change as of-

ten as people do! Therefore, you can’t expect a business to change in a linear (straightforward, predetermined) way. As a change

leader, you must expect and prepare for “taking two steps forward and one step back” and even for losing some productivity

along the way.

“Willingness to change is a strength, even if it means plunging part of the company into total confusion for a while.”

–Jack Welch

Let’s go back to the example of the new computer system. As everyone in the company switches to the new system, the overall

work pace may slow down due to the learning curve. This could cause a temporary setback in productivity, but things should even

out with time and get better. Change leaders should be ready for this and shouldn’t get upset or discouraged by it!

Emphasize positive outcomes. It’s much more effective to lead change by focusing on positive outcomes rather than by instill-

ing fear about possible negative outcomes. For example, instead of telling the work team that “the company will lose money and

may have to downsize” if the new computer system isn’t implemented by a certain date, a skilled change leader might say, “If the

newcomputersystemisimplementedbythedeadline,ourproductivitywillincrease,thecompanywillmakeabiggerprofit,and

year-end bonuses will likely be bigger!” Always focus on the positive—it’s much more motivating than dragging down employee

morale with negative thoughts.


Ready, set, go

The following steps will lead you through the process of leading change in your place of business:

Step One—Show why the change is necessary. Most people don’t like change, especially in the workplace. If you want them to

join you, you must show them why the change is good—for them and for the company. If you’re trying to lead the change for new

flavorsandtoppingsintheyogurtshop,you’llneedtodemonstratetotheowner,Mr.Thompson,whytheoldmenujustwon’twork

anymore. It’s a good idea to provide some kind of evidence during this step, rather than just stating your ideas or feelings. Perhaps

you can enlist your coworkers or friends who visit the yogurt shop to speak to Mr. Thompson as well, sharing their support. It’s

importantnottogetaheadofyourself.Ifyoustartbyintroducingallthenewflavorsandtoppingsyou’vecomeupwithbeforeMr.

Thompson understands why you’re making the suggestions, he might be a bit confused.

Step Two—Ask others to join you in leading the change. There’s strength in numbers! For inspiration, view the animation

“The Power of Teamwork” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9j3-ghRjBs. After you’ve convinced others of the need for the

change, ask them to work alongside you to make the change happen. Put together a team of people who have the skills and abilities

needed to implement the change. If you’re trying to raise

moneytorenovatethepark,you’lldefinitelywanttoen-

list the help of coworkers and other volunteers who have

the talents and skills to get the job done. You also need

to consider proper authority and permission during this

step, like making sure the city authorities have approved

this project and are allowing you to move forward.

It takes teamwork to accomplish large projects.


Step Three—Communicate the change to everyone involved. This step is absolutely critical. Most change failures occur

because there’s a lack of communication. You can’t just tell people that the change is going to happen; you must

communicate with them in a way that causes them to become committed to the change as well. Actions speak

much louder than words. If your manager and coworkers see you pulling weeds and mowing the grass at the

rundown park, they’ll be much more likely to “buy in” to your change and start helping you than if you just tell them, “I want to

renovate the park.”

Besides becoming committed to the change, people also must understand exactly what it is that you’re trying to do. Raising money

and organizing the renovation of a park involve quite a few details. Everyone needs to know the “what,” “where,” “when,” and “how”

of his/her job. For example, if you’re planning a company work day at the park, you’ll need to decide on and communicate details

such as:

• What time it will begin and end

• Who’s responsible for:

4 Mowing

4 Plantingflowers

4 Repainting the benches

4 Dismantling the old playground equipment

• Where everyone can pick up their supplies

• When lunch will be provided

ruksil/iStock/Thinkstock

Transparency


Step Four—Address resistance to the change. As you know, change is not always comfortable. And, even though change is

unavoidable, many people still want to try to keep it from happening. When you are leading a change at work, you will almost

always face some type of resistance. Dealing with it is an important skill to develop. And although it’s listed as step four here,

resistance can occur at any point in the change process, so you’ll need to be ready to address it at any time.

First, keep in mind that resistance to change is not always a bad thing. Let’s say that when you go to Mr. Thompson with your ideas

formenurevisionsandnewtelevisions,hetellsyouthatthere’snothingwrongwiththecurrentyogurtflavorsandtoppings,andhe

sees no reason to make changes. His resistance forces you to build a strong case for your change. You send out a survey to over

150 members of the yogurt shop’s target market (high school students around your age), and the results show that 90 percent of

those surveyed would be more likely to visit the shop if there were some new menu items or a new source of entertainment. When

Mr. Thompson sees the results, he agrees to seriously consider your ideas. Because of his initial resistance, you now

have reassurance that your proposed change is a good one. Margaret Heffernan’s TED Talk “Dare to Disagree”

explains how facing resistance can lead to better problem solving:

https://www.ted.com/talks/margaret_heffernan_dare_to_disagree.

Viability

Effective leaders are willing to provide the information needed for others to understand and accept a change.

DragonImages/iStock/Thinkstock


Sometimes you will face resistance from the people involved in the change after the decision to make the change has already

been made. There are many different reasons why people resist change, including:

• Fear—Change means that something people are used to and comfortable with is now going to be different. Fear of the unknown causes them to resist change.

• Contentment—Whenpeoplethinkthatthingsare“justfinethewaytheyare,”theyhavenomotivationto change. They feel that change is unnecessary, so they resist it.

• Lackoftrustorconfidence—People resist change when they’re taken by surprise and don’t have any input into the process. This causes them to feel that the change leader isn’t trustworthy and that the change will fail.

If changes are imposed without addressing employees’ concerns, they are likely to resist the change.

kzenon/iStock/Thinkstock


Whenyoufaceresistance,youmustfigureoutwhereit’scomingfromifyouwanttoaddressitproperly.Addressingresistance

properly means that you help the resistant people overcome whatever is holding them back from being committed to the change. If

they’reafraid,showthemhowthechangewillbenefitthemintheirjobtasks.Ifthey’recontentwiththewaythingsare,showthem

howthechangewillprovideachallengeandhelpthemtogrowasaprofessional.Iftheylacktrustorconfidence,askthemfor

suggestions on how to make the change work better. Go out of your way to prove to them that they can count on you. View Fabio

Luelmo’s animation “Overcoming Resistance to Change” for more on addressing resistance to change:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wU3bTkqHoXc.

Step Five—Put the change into action. As the change leader, it’s your responsibility to see the change through. If you encounter

obstacles, you’ll have to think creatively about how to overcome them. Be sure to listen to the feedback you receive from your

fellow change leaders as well as everyone else involved with the change. If something’s not working, they will be the ones to tell

you about it and to help you brainstorm for ways to make improvements.

Success!

The change process can be a long one, full of hard work

for everyone involved. A good change leader shows grati-

tude and appreciation to everyone once the change has

been completed and also remembers to celebrate the

smaller successes along the way to completion. Leading

change successfully is an accomplishment you’ll be proud

of. Don’t be afraid to be a change leader when the right

opportunity comes along!

Start the Revolution 17

When a change is accomplished, it’s important to show

appreciation to everyone who helped achieve it.

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Summary

When leading change, remember to focus on people, to avoid

linear thinking, and to emphasize positive outcomes. The

process of leading change includes showing why the change

is necessary, asking others to join you in leading change,

communicating the change to everyone involved, addressing

resistance, and putting the change into action. Be sure to

celebrate success as well!

1. What are some tips for leading change?

2. When leading change, why is it important to involve others?

3. Why do people resist change?

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