{"id":48962,"date":"2024-08-15T19:23:30","date_gmt":"2024-08-15T23:23:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/?post_type=articles&#038;p=48962"},"modified":"2025-09-24T09:55:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T13:55:13","slug":"successful-change-leader","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/successful-change-leader\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Be a Successful Change Leader"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>9 Competencies for Effective Leadership Through Change<\/h2>\n<p>Leading change successfully is one of the biggest challenges of individual leaders and one of the most common problems that modern organizations face. In today\u2019s world, the strategic imperative to change is often clear: Without being able to do things differently, your organization is unlikely to succeed, or even to last.<\/p>\n<p>At its core, change management for leaders requires working together to create a shared understanding of change required to execute the strategy, and how to best make it happen. But change-management research has demonstrated time after time that organizational change initiatives fail more often than they succeed, despite all the resources put into creating change management processes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>We know that effective leadership is essential to successful change.<\/strong> But we wanted to understand the <em>differences<\/em> in change leadership between successful and unsuccessful change leaders, so our researchers conducted <a href=\"https:\/\/cclinnovation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/change-capable-leadership.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a study<\/a> and asked 275 senior executives to reflect on successful and unsuccessful change efforts they\u2019d led.<\/p>\n<p>Our goal was to characterize \u201cchange-capable leadership,\u201d define the key leadership competencies necessary for effective leadership through change, and better understand leadership behaviors that could contribute to change failures.<\/p>\n<p>The executives we surveyed were all participants in our <a href=\"\/leadership-programs\/leadership-at-the-peak-training-for-senior-executives\/\"><strong>Leadership at the Peak<\/strong><\/a> program, which targets executives with more than 15 years of management experience, responsibility for 500 or more people, and decision-making authority as members of top management teams. All of them were seasoned leaders. Our researchers found that the most <a href=\"\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/change-capable-leadership-propel-success\/\">change-capable leaders<\/a> have 9 shared competencies that ensure effective leadership though change.<\/p>\n<p>Our study revealed 9 competencies for leadership and change management that can be further divided into 3 main categories:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Core competencies that we call <strong>\u201cthe 3 C\u2019s of change leadership:\u201d<\/strong> communication, collaboration, and commitment;<\/li>\n<li>Competencies related to<strong> leading the <em>process<\/em> of change;<\/strong> and<\/li>\n<li>Competencies related to <strong>leading <em>people<\/em> through change.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Let\u2019s look at each in turn, as together, these 9 competencies are key in how to lead change most effectively.<\/p>\n<h2>The 3 C\u2019s of Change Leadership: Communicate, Collaborate, Commit<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/infographic-effective-change-leadership-center-for-creative-leadership.png\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/infographic-effective-change-leadership-center-for-creative-leadership.png\" alt=\"Infographic: The 3 C's of Effective Change Leadership - CCL\" width=\"800\" height=\"400\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Our researchers found that 3 core skills provide the essential connection between the <em>process<\/em> part of change and the <em>people<\/em> part of change, which is why we call them the essential 3 C\u2019s of change leadership.<\/p>\n<h3>Core Skills for Leading Change<\/h3>\n<h4>1. Communicate.<\/h4>\n<p>Unsuccessful change leaders tended to focus on the \u201cwhat\u201d behind the change. Successful ones communicated <em>both<\/em> the \u201cwhat\u201d <em>and<\/em> the \u201cwhy.\u201d Change leaders who explained the purpose of the change, and connected it to the organization\u2019s values or explained the benefits, created stronger buy-in and urgency for the change. (This is why we say <a href=\"\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/purpose-in-leadership-why-how\/\">purpose in leadership<\/a> is so important.)<\/p>\n<h4>2. Collaborate.<\/h4>\n<p>Bringing people together to plan and execute change is critical. Successful change leaders <a href=\"\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/boundary-spanning-the-leadership-advantage\/\">collaborated across boundaries<\/a>, encouraged employees to break out of their silos, and refused to tolerate unhealthy competition. They also included employees in decision-making early on, strengthening their commitment to change. Unsuccessful change leaders failed to engage employees early and often in the change process.<\/p>\n<h4>3. Commit.<\/h4>\n<p>Successful change leaders made sure their own beliefs and behaviors support the change, too. Change is difficult, but leaders who negotiated it successfully were resilient and persistent, and willing to step outside their comfort zone. They also devoted more of their own time to the change effort and focused on the big picture. Unsuccessful change leaders failed to adapt to challenges, expressed negativity, and were impatient with a lack of results.<\/p>\n<h2>Leading Through Change Requires Balancing Process &amp; People<\/h2>\n<h3>Skills for Leading the <em>Process<\/em> of Change<\/h3>\n<p>Strategic change doesn\u2019t happen on its own. Managing change as a leader requires you guide the process from start to finish. Here are the 3 key competencies that are part of how to lead change in terms of change processes.<\/p>\n<h4>4. Initiate.<\/h4>\n<p>After understanding the need for change, effective change leaders begin by making the case for the change they seek. This can include evaluating the business context, understanding the purpose of the change, developing a clear vision and desired outcome, and identifying a common goal. Unsuccessful change leaders say they didn\u2019t focus on these tasks enough to reach a common understanding of the goal.<\/p>\n<h4>5. Strategize.<\/h4>\n<p>Successful change leaders developed a strategy and a clear action plan, including priorities, timelines, tasks, structures, behaviors, and resources. They identified what would change, but also what would stay the same. Leaders who weren\u2019t successful said they failed to listen enough to questions and concerns, and failed to define success from the beginning.<\/p>\n<h4>6. Execute.<\/h4>\n<p>Translating strategy into execution is one of the most important things leaders can do. In our study, successful change leaders focused on getting key people into key positions (or removing them, in some cases). They also broke big projects down into small wins to get early victories and build momentum. And they developed metrics and monitoring systems to measure progress. Unsuccessful change leaders sometimes began micromanaging, got mired in implementation details, and failed to consider the bigger picture.<\/p>\n<p>Remember that, as organizations evolve over time, both stability <em>and <\/em>change must coexist \u2014 which is not a <a href=\"\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/are-you-facing-a-problem-or-a-polarity\/\">problem to solve, but rather a <em>polarity<\/em> to manage<\/a>. To help your organization achieve its full potential, change leaders must acknowledge both simultaneously. When change leaders find the sweet spot of \u201c<em>both\/and<\/em>,\u201d they can present the change effort in a way that others can embrace.<\/p>\n<div class=\"callOut webinar\">\n<h3>Access Our Webinar!<\/h3>\n<p>Watch our webinar,\u00a0<em><a href=\"\/webinars\/leading-through-change\/\">Leading Through Change<\/a><\/em>, and learn how to\u00a0become a more change-capable leader, effective in both change management and change leadership.<\/p>\n<div class=\"buttonPosition\"><a class=\"buttons button1\" href=\"\/webinars\/leading-through-change\/\" aria-label=\"Watch our webinar on leading through change.\">Access Webinar<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Skills for Leading <em>People <\/em>Through Change<\/h3>\n<p>While formal change processes might be well understood, too many change leaders overlook the all-important <a href=\"\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/missing-half-change-equation\/\">human side of change equation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The most effective change leaders know that another key in how to lead change is devoting effort to engaging everyone involved in the change and remembering that people need time to adapt to change \u2014 no matter how fast-moving the change initiative \u2014\u00a0to <a href=\"\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/change-fatigue-continual-evolution\/\">combat change fatigue and encourage embracing change<\/a>. And they exhibit these 3 crucial competencies of leading people through change:<\/p>\n<h4>7. Support.<\/h4>\n<p>Successful change projects were characterized by leaders removing barriers to employee success. These include personal barriers, such as wounded egos and a sense of loss, as well as professional barriers, such as the time and resources necessary to carry out a change plan. Leaders of unsuccessful change focused exclusively on results, so employees didn\u2019t get the support they needed for the change.<\/p>\n<h4>8. Sway.<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/4-keys-strengthen-ability-influence-others\/\">Influencing others<\/a> is about gaining not just compliance, but also the <em>commitment<\/em> necessary to drive change. It&#8217;s also about mapping out the critical change agents and defining what \u201cbuy-in\u201d looks like from each stakeholder that will lead to a successful outcome. Effective change leaders identified key stakeholders \u2014 including board members, C-suite executives, clients, and others \u2014 and communicated their vision of successful change to them. Unsuccessful leaders told us they were more likely to avoid certain stakeholders rather than try to influence them.<\/p>\n<h4>9. Learn.<\/h4>\n<p>Finally, successful change leaders never assumed they had all the answers. They asked lots of questions and gathered formal and informal feedback. After all, <a href=\"\/articles\/white-papers\/great-leaders-are-great-learners-how-to-develop-learning-agile-high-potentials\/\">great leaders are great learners<\/a>. The input and feedback allowed them to make continual adjustments during the change. In the case of unsuccessful changes, leaders didn\u2019t ask as many questions or gather accurate information, which left them without the knowledge they needed to make appropriate adjustments along the way.<\/p>\n<h2>One Last Thing: Resilience Matters for Change Leadership, Too<\/h2>\n<p>Lastly, managers who are tasked with leadership through change should recognize that leading people through complex change is difficult, and that <a href=\"\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/change-comes-at-a-cumulative-cost\/\">all change comes at a cumulative cost<\/a>. Simply put, change can drain employees \u2014 and leaders, too.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why <strong>successful change leadership also requires <em>resilience<\/em>.<\/strong> Resilience helps people handle change\u2019s inherent pressure, uncertainty, and setbacks. Leaders need to build their own reserves in support of their mental and physical health, and can guide others to face change in healthy and sustainable ways by learning and sharing <a href=\"\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/8-steps-help-become-resilient\/\">practices for resilient leadership<\/a>. In the end, that\u2019s one other thing that change leaders need to be able to stay the course and succeed.<\/p>\n<h2>Ready to Take the Next Step?<\/h2>\n<p><em><strong>Build more effective change leaders at your organization by building your team\u2019s collective capacity and understanding of how to lead change, both the people and process aspects. Explore our\u00a0<a href=\"\/leadership-challenges\/change-leadership\/\">change leadership<\/a>\u00a0solutions.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Productive change doesn\u2019t happen by itself. Effective change leaders know how to manage the change process and guide people through change with these 3 elements.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":48963,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48962","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","categories-change-transformation","categories-change-leadership","categories-collaboration-relationship-skills","categories-communication","categories-disruption-uncertainty","categories-polarity-paradox","categories-resilience-stress","audience-leaders-managers","audience-alumni","article-type-leading-effectively-articles"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.6 (Yoast SEO v26.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Be a Successful Change Leader | CCL<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Productive change doesn\u2019t happen by itself. 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