In a business world that forces organizations to deal with both constant and disruptive changes every
day, business leaders within these companies find themselves trying to find the right balance between driving long term performance and surviving through the next quarter.
“Leadership” in 2017 and beyond means many things but ultimately I believe it should be defined as the execution of business strategy through people. The core tenants of current business leadership thinking includes developing and using competencies such as understanding different personality styles, creating an environment of accountability and empowerment, delegation, innovation, and leading change. However, there is one thing more important that any definition of leadership or the competencies that support it; credibility. No leader can be effective under any circumstances if that leader is not a credible leader and has the respect of direct reports, peers, senior leadership, and other stakeholders within the business ecosystem. Having strong credibility during times of change is the key to success.
But how do leaders in today’s volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous business world maintain their credibility when their message is constantly changing? In reaction to the changing environment, one day the leadership message could be about product innovation being gained through an acquisition, the next day it could be about increased customer service based on voice of customer data, and the day after that it could be about cost cutting to find “synergies” after a spinoff of a business unit. In these situations, the messages of change can be debilitating, the understanding of what to do can be confused, and the impact on leadership credibility can be significantly diminished.
Based on more than 20 years of researching the best practices, building leadership business simulations such as the “Fundamentals of Business Leadership,” and working with more than 100 different “Fortune 500” companies, I share five insights about how to maintain leadership credibility when your message is constantly changing.
Acknowledge all realities
Credibility is about the respect you as a leader have based on the perception of being authentic, truthful, and clear in direction. During times of tremendous change, one easy way of maintaining these perceptions is to simply acknowledge the realities of all situations, events, and changes in a transparent and expeditious manner.
Surround yourself with people who can deal with change and ambiguity
Changing times require different skills and styles. People who have a difficult time dealing with change and are naturally skeptical will be the biggest resistors and you don’t have the time to nurture them along. While I am all for diversity in styles on teams, I believe that having a team of people able, willing, and excited by change and ambiguity is the most certain path to maintaining and growing credibility.
Communicate early and often
During times of intense change, your people need to hear from you so my suggestion is to communicate early and often. I don’t think in this situation there is something called “too much communication.”
Manage expectations
One of the most important lessons from effective change management programs is to effectively manage expectations. As you lead through the process and your messages are changing, make sure that you are also managing expectations at every turn. Specifically, don’t oversell or undersell the impacts of the changing message and make sure that all stakeholders understand what to expect and how to execute.
Reward performance
The final and in my opinion most important element of maintaining credibility when your messages are changing is to reward performance both financially and emotionally. Make sure you are doing everything possible to recognize the top performers through bonuses and other financial rewards as well as finding ways to emotionally recognize through stretch assignments and other forms of public acknowledgement. This also means having the leadership confidence and courage to not reward the underperformers. The top performers will be watching and nothing will diminish your credibility more than rewarding everyone the same.
