What happens when the ‘change agent’ you hire actually becomes part of the problem?
A company we worked with brought in a senior operations leader as a ‘change agent’ to increase efficiency, safety, productivity & profitability – to ‘right the ship’ so to speak.
He was meant to be a long-term leader with the company who would drive improved safety, productivity & profitability.
Like most change agents, however, he was extremely smart, very independent, quick to make decisions & operated with a super high sense of urgency.
His natural style clashed with the organization’s culture.
They called us in to help leverage his strengths & reduce the friction.
The company and the leader had to first decide if he was going to continue to be a ‘change agent’ – with a focus on the short-term fix to righting the ship.
Or, if he was going to be a long-term leader who not only implemented changes but would also be in it for the long haul to sustain them.
The company and the leader decided this was a long-term role. Wherein the leader would need to balance his tendencies toward being a change agent with also sustaining the changes long term.
The leader wanted to grow his ability to lead people through change and beyond.
In addition to his level of independence, quick decisiveness, and high sense of urgency, he did have a heart for people.
But through our work together, he realized that others weren’t seeing or experiencing his heart or his intentions. They were only experiencing the ‘change agent’ side of who he was as a leader.
This became a catalyst for his growth.
He invested in doing the hard work of developing himself as a leader & was able to:
- Transform how he was showing up to others
- Recognized when he got off track & how to adjust
- Learned the mindset & skillset of being less of a driver and more of a coach for his team
The Coach Approach to Leadership™ system works for ‘change agents’ who are open & willing to look at the impact they are having on others. And to learn a better way to lead multiple generations in the workforce.
If you’re ready to develop your leaders so you can reach your goals faster, then let’s chat.
Schedule a Discovery Call by clicking on this link.