Transformational Times Test Leadership: Are You Up To It?

March – what a month! And the challenges have just begun. Everything we thought we could count on in our world seems to have shifted almost overnight.

The new reality is disorienting. And no matter what transpires over the next weeks and months, the future is unlikely to resemble the past we knew just a short time ago.

The good news is we have a chance to come out of this predicament stronger and more resilient than ever. The current crisis has presented us with the opportunity to transform.

The changes we are facing are not the garden variety most of us understand. We have all been through changes that follow a predictable process where the starting point and end state are clear. We control these kinds of changes, hence the popularity of the term “change management.”

Transformation does not follow predictable rules, nor do we know the end state clearly when we start down the path.

We are living through a time that defies our fundamental assumptions about work, the world, and our place in it.

The new challenges have disrupted our routines and habits. The rules shift by the hour. These harsh circumstances leave us feeling like we are fumbling forward blindfolded.

Nevertheless, we do keep moving ahead. We have little choice. Business, as usual, has disappeared. We can either transform or get left behind. We are experiencing transformational change.

What is Transformational Change?

Transformational change is radical. It involves more than merely altering how we do things, such as moving from our offices to our homes to do our work.

Transformational change requires us to question our beliefs, values, and perceptions of who we are as individuals and organizations. It begins with a designated direction, yet the destination emerges over time.

What Does Transformational Change Mean for Leaders?

Transformational change requires leading differently. Let’s look at two critical differences:

Letting Go

Perhaps the most difficult challenge for leaders during a transformational change is to give up control.

According to Robert Gass, psychologist, organizational consultant, and musician, transformational change requires us to shift from a problem-centered approach to focus on a positive vision of the future – one that is good, useful and possible.

For example, over the past few weeks, many leaders have been seeking ways to manage their teams virtually. This pursuit assumes that they must manage their teams, and that location is significant to how work gets done.

However, a transformational approach would differ. Perhaps the leader and the team together might develop a vision of what great work looks like first. Then, over time, they would explore and learn collectively the conditions that enable excellent results.

This process would not only serve them well during the crisis but well beyond it into the unknown future.

Transformation Deals Equally With Hearts and Minds

Transformational change is a human process. It is both logical and emotional. The change process does not discount rational thinking and facts, nor does it throw out intuition and feelings.

The key is to push old assumptions aside and experience the world with fresh eyes. In his book, Building the Bridge as You Walk On It, Robert Quinn suggests that leaders should become purpose-centered rather than problem-centered.

Example: the current crisis has stalled the work of a small training company. For many years, they have relied on face-to-face delivery of their seminars. Now that people work in their homes, that delivery mode is obsolete.

The leader of the company could have tackled this dilemma as a problem to be solved. He could have followed the same path as others and asked his team to work on how they could deliver their current courses via technology, for instance. However, the leader chose another way.

He brought his team together and reminded them that their purpose as a company is to help people learn. He talked about his vision for what learning could look like in the future. He suggested that the team work collectively with each other and their clients to develop more creative approaches to facilitating learning.

He realizes that they would need to take some risks. Some of their experiments might not yield the best results. But he believes that this is the time to look for some new ways of pursuing their purpose. He wants his company to find some practical steps they can take immediately balanced with a longer-term view of how they might come out of the crisis with some innovative and possibly revolutionary products and services they could offer in the marketplace

He has had no trouble inspiring his team to add to his vision. The chance to innovate rather than merely adjust excites them. And they feel connected emotionally to the company’s purpose and work.

They welcome the opportunity to contribute to their community of clients during this crisis and beyond. They are engaged.

Transformational change is both challenging and exciting. We cannot dominate nor manage it carefully. And for some, this loss of complete control creates discomfort.

Nevertheless, transformation requires us to balance our critical thinking with letting go and allowing the changes to unfold.

Some will not be up to the shift. For many years schools have taught leaders to move their organizations through predictable and manageable processes aimed at goals that are clear from the beginning.

However, we are in a transformational time, whether we like it or not. The circumstances we face are fluid. We can either attempt to wait it out and hope that the world returns to business as usual. Or we can grab the opportunity offered to us by this crisis and lead transformational change. Short-term survival and long-run success depend on which path we choose.