Going through a time of great uncertainty, whoever belongs to an organisation, public or private, productive or non-profit, religious or social, any form of human endeavour, realizes how great nowadays is the gap between need and offer of effective leadership.
In this continuous change context, having to adapt to new conditions, becomes imperative to learn how to change your behaviour, the structure of your thinking, the way of reacting in order to successfully adapt to what the environment requires.
This kind of world with no barriers and limitations will become alien to managers and leaders grown up in a autocratic structure: they will no more be capable to lead effectively and will be crushed by stress unless they are able to develop new leadership styles.
Let’s see some possible advices.
First is necessary to be constantly on the alert in order to anticipate the need for change. Then, once identified, to press for rapidity of action to face the change.
The formula suggested is that change, once the need is identified, should be handled by the joint efforts of two different kind of leader.
The “explorer” plans the actions required, motivates his associates, makes it clear that mistakes can be accepted in the process, spreads the culture of change, prompts creativity.
The “ferryman” puts into being the project, helps going from A to B, reduces the resistance to change, helps his associates accepting change, being himself the first actor.
This very simple model was edited in a book in Italy, intended for head of companies, managers, men and women of any type of organisation and all those individuals that live every day situations that make them seek a way to stimulate, orient and reinforce those actions meant to a never ending improvement.
The book has become a consulting and management training tool we to stimulate people to add new styles (not only to change their style).
We think that behavioural change should be thought in a different way: not anymore replace some behaviour with another, but add different behaviours to the ones we already have and use.
Like learning a new language or a new music or song, also for behaviour learning a new one doesn’t mean to lose or remove the previously learned ones!
In this way changing gives people every day more chance, more instruments, “a larger repertory in which is easier to find the successful one for today situation”.
By Emanuele Kettlitz
