At ChangeFolio, change is viewed as the result of any shift in strategy, structure and systems that require leaders to implement strategic efforts for survival, growth and transformation. We advocate that change management helps people successfully adopt the relevant leadership behaviours required to realise the benefit of the change. This helps organisations maintain their competitive advantage in an ever-changing, highly competitive environment that is characteristic of the world today.

Effective change management requires building an environment where people are motivated to adjust to ever-shifting circumstances. Change managers must be able to convey the message of change to help organisations execute change strategies that will create a positive response to the changes. Some of the behaviours required to do this effectively include:

• Recognising the need to change
• Helping and informing others
• Promoting and building commitment for change
• Managing the change process
• Championing and leading change

Changes in organisations are happening more often and at a faster pace than they are often able to adapt to. Change managers thus have a crucial role in setting an example of the leadership behaviours, values and skills needed for successful change. Therefore, it is reasonable to maintain that change managers require certain key leadership behaviours and competencies for successful implementation of change.

The Journal for Leadership and Organisational Development did a study which revealed which leadership behaviours and competencies are mandatory for effective change leadership. These include competencies such as interpersonal skills, vision and goal setting, as well as technical knowledge about the related business. In addition, commonly referenced competencies include: integrity/honesty, communication, diversity consciousness, technical competence, results-orientation, developing others, change management, decision making and problem-solving, political savvy, strategic/visionary thinking, customer/client focus, business skills, team leadership, influence skills, conflict management, emotional intelligence, social and environmental responsibility, and depending on the culture of the organisation even humour and innovation

According to Harvard Business Review, five behaviours of leaders who create competitive advantage by embracing change are:

1. Compelling and clear purpose.
2. See opportunities by looking ahead.
3. Find what’s not working.
4. Promote calculated risk-taking and experimentation.
5. Find boundary-spanning partnerships.

When these five behaviours are mutually implemented by change managers wishing to lead change, it creates the space for organisations to develop culture shifts where responsiveness to change are accepted and accelerated.

The complexity, however, is converting these generic behaviours into tangible actions that can be measured and tracked. These will also differ from organisation to organisation, or industry to industry, or even within different departments of an organisation. As a result, the ability for change managers and leaders to tailor these behaviours to suit the need of the relevant organisation or department is what will set them apart.

Each of these behaviours must be expanded into a set of competencies and objectives, so that they become competencies and skills that can be measured in terms of progress and completion, as follows:

1. Compelling and clear purpose: answering the ‘why’ of change to promote faster acceptance of change.
2. See opportunities by looking ahead: integrating the identified trends and required actions into everyday activities.
3. Find what’s not working: create an environment where staff feel safe to share what’s not working and allow for corrective action to be implemented (be flexible).
4. Promote calculated risk-taking and experimentation: establish opportunities for pilots, prototypes, and experimentation.
5. Find boundary-spanning partnerships: allow for collaborations across and among different teams and business units.

Only when these competencies are converted into real actions that can be measured and tracked, will it assist leaders in fast-tracking change management in their organisations.