Posted on July 14, 2015 by Keren Taylor-Hughes
Successful change leaders need knowledge that covers many areas due to the wide range of changes they lead and the people they support. I have tried to compile a list of skills and knowledge areas a change leader should have, acknowledging not all change leaders can have all them all.
A change leader is inherently:
- A leader/communicator: A people person, who can engage authentically with others, who is respectful and builds coalitions
- A scholar of human behaviour, relationships, situations, evaluation and new ideas
- An agile thinker who is conceptual, yet task oriented; quick thinking, yet a systematic problem solver; resourceful yet organized
- Confident: Someone who embraces ambiguity, can handle resistance, is persistent, open minded and challenges the status quo
A change leader should also have working knowledge in several areas:
Leadership Change Management
Project Management Workflow analysis
Communication Team building
This list is by no way exhaustive, but a good foundation of skills and knowledge to work towards when focusing on leading change. If you do not have these skills there are many resources to gain change management knowledge.
- Study the first significant change model, created by John Kotter of Harvard Business School
- Review the National Change Management Framework
- Attend Change Management Webinars
- Contact Clinical Adoption for information on the National Change Management Framework and questions about change management
Now that we have identified the skills and knowledge a change leader should have, let’s focus on the methodology. Join me next time as I delve into the six core elements of a successful change methodology.
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Keren is a Benefits Realization Lead a member of the Clinical Adoption team at Canada Health Infoway and chair of the Pan Canadian Change Management Network. Keren is a senior change leader with over 16 years of leading change in healthcare across Canada and the United States, who is certified trainer in the ADKAR Model and Bridges: Leading Organizational Transition.