When a leader is elevated to a new role within an organization, they can easily fall into the trap of doubling down on skills that have made them successful in the past. That can be a big mistake. Often, the skills that got you to where you are today are not going to be the same ones that get you further in your career or your next leadership role.
Never has this been more true than in the context of leading change within an organization. “In order to be successful at leading change, leaders must learn to recognize and act when it’s necessary to evolve their own behaviors,” says Author Narayan Pant in his recent Harvard Business Review article.
For example, a leader who is feeling pressure to produce results may become overly directive and micromanaging. In reality, what their team needs is a leader who is a good listener and can help them work through roadblocks. Sometimes leaders need to step back and adjust their approach based on the current situation they find themselves in and align their leadership approach to that situation.
How can you do this? Follow this four-step model for adjusting your own leadership approach:
- Increase your self-awareness by asking for feedback from others on a regular basis.
- Make commitments to change – and ask others to hold you accountable to what you promised.
- Overcome interference. Identify what automatic thoughts may be derailing you.
- Practice! Successful change comes through trial and error. Practice small behavioral changes deliberately, then learn and tweak them along the way.
Read Narayan Pant’s entire article with his insightful stories in “Leading Change May Need to Begin with Changing Yourself.”