January 2010, Becoming A Change Leader

What will 2010 be like? It is a good bet that there will be more change and economic conditions won’t be easy. So, as you ponder your New Year’s resolutions, the most important one you can make is resolving to be a change agent, rather than a change victim.

How do you become a change agent?

First, you must hold the belief that you are in control of what happens to you. Rather than passively asking “What changes will the New Year bring?” you need to proactively say, “Here are the changes I’m going to make this year to ensure I succeed.”

Second, you must practice the five disciplines of change leadership as outlined by Brett Clay, a the founder and CEO of the innovative Change Leadership Group, a consulting company specializing in the areas of change leadership and business performance.

1) Force Field Analysis - Force field analysis is based on the notion that people take action only when they feel a compelling force. Applying this reality to your business and your life means if you want to influence your customers, influence your organization, influence the people in your life, and influence your life in general, you need to be a master at understanding and harnessing the forces that are influencing those situations.

2) Change Response - The key to your success is how you respond to the forces you feel. To be the master, rather than slave to those forces, you need to cultivate a strong change temperament: minimal anxieties, maximum emotional stability, high confidence, action orientation, open mindedness, and a healthy risk tolerance.

3) Power Analysis - This is the discipline of understanding and minimizing the effort required to make a change. The secret of successful power analysis is to identify all of the factors that act to resist your desired change - and then focus on minimizing or eliminating them altogether, rather than powering over them.

4) Value Creation - Change only happens if there is a clearly articulated vision of its benefits. As you consider various changes, prioritize those that help you accomplish your highest goals and achieve your most cherished values.

5) Change Actuation - To put change into motion, to move from here to there, you must be willing to let go of the “here”. As you are reading this, you are likely physically sitting relatively still. Figuratively, you are sitting frozen in your current situation. Change actuation is the process of unfreezing yourself, standing up, and taking your first step forward. While the changes you undertake may seem like many marathons, if you maintain your focus on the next step, you won’t be overwhelmed, and you’ll traverse many miles before you even realize how far you’ve come.

So, what will this year bring? Who knows? The real question is, What changes will you make?

It all starts with your New Year’s Resolution. “I resolve that I will be a change leader and a change agent—and not a change victim.”