Carpe Diem has found that leadership behaviors drive culture. When organizations are looking to enhance or make better use of their culture, there are typically key leadership behaviors that need to change in the process. Change in this context could mean adopting new behaviors or engaging more frequently or consistently in the existing behaviors that enable performance.
Often, the focus is on what needs to change – leaders need to engage in more courageous thinking, leaders need to be more accessible to their teams, etc. It’s equally important to look at why leaders weren’t engaging in the desired behaviors in the first place.
Over time, leaders will develop certain patterns of behavior that can be difficult to break, even when change is warranted. For some leaders, it is a matter of muscle memory. They’ve always operated in a certain way, perhaps even going back to when they were individual contributors and may not be aware of or fully appreciate their actions. Other leaders are more mindful of their approach. But they see that approach as being the key to their own individual success or a key driver of their unit or function’s success.
To facilitate change in leadership behaviors, we have to win over leaders at three levels – mind, heart, and body.
Mind – Leaders buy into the change.
A successful change process starts by providing leaders with a clear vision and mandate for the change – what the desired behaviors look like, why there are necessary to help further the company’s key business objectives, and where existing examples might already exist within the organization. Interestingly, leaders may not be aware of these best practice examples or have made the connection back from the examples to the desired behaviors.
The goal is not only to sell leaders on the merits of the behaviors, but to get leaders to see those behaviors as a meaningful improvement over the status quo, worthy of their immediate attention and effort. This creates the level of urgency needed to solidify the leaders’ buy-in.
Note that this sales effort will be impacted by the relationship between senior leadership and the broader leadership team. Additional and more personal interactions may be required from new leaders or in situations where there has been a lack of communication or trust.
Heart – Leaders are motivated to change.
Change requires leaders to come out of their comfort zone. For some leaders, that comfort zone is more than a shield. It is their source of identity in the organization and the way they connect back to the mission.
So even where there is buy-in on an intellectual level, leaders may need an added spark or source of motivation to act. Some will do so out of a sense of commitment, once they recognize the benefits of the desired behaviors to the company. Other leaders will want to know how the change might benefit them or their unit directly.
- Does it present a potential growth opportunity?
- Will they be recognized in some fashion for their efforts?
That second group of leaders isn’t necessarily being selfish. They are simply weighing the risks and rewards associated with change. At a minimum, those leaders will want some assurance that they have the backing of their manager and peers and aren’t jeopardizing their standing in the company by adopting the desired behaviors.
Past history can come into play here as well. I recently worked with an organization whose new CEO leader wanted his operational leadership team to bring more big ideas to the table. This was something they didn’t think they had permission to do under previous management.
Body – There is a clear path to success.
No one wants to fight what they believe to be a losing battle. Even when properly motivated, leaders may lack the skills or experience needed to engage in the desired behaviors, limiting their adoption. We see this when leaders are asked to engage in crucial conversations with staff members, as one example. For other leaders, capacity will be an issue, as leaders in change situations tend to already feel overwhelmed. They don’t want to take on an additional task or challenge (however beneficial that task might be).
Leaders rarely act in isolation. This means leaders will also be looking to see if the organization has the necessary systems or infrastructure in place to support the desired behaviors and if other leaders or functions will be stepping up to do their part.
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Gaps in any one of these areas – mind, heart, or body – can make leaders defensive or cause them to resist or reject the change. Running through this mind-heart-body “checklist” and identifying the root cause of these gaps can help smooth the path to adoption.
These market insights from Carpe Diem Global Partners are gathered from the firm’s extensive client work with Board, CEO, CXO, and CHRO leaders in public and private multinational companies. For deeper, custom insights, contact Craig Kamins at ckamins@carpediempartners.com.