the extraordinary power of change leadership

The Extraordinary Power of Change Leadership


An Auto Ethnography Approach

“The mind makes a decision based on agreement with the information... The heart makes a commitment based on a feeling of connection to the leader.”

Terry Pearce

Leadership. It is a powerful. It is inspiring and influential. It is the driving force of what

brings people together. As leaders we are mentors, teachers, role models, and disciplinarians.

As leaders we are empathetic, listeners, cheerleaders and offer support. We work side by side

with our teams embracing the essence of team. Leaders are visionaries. They have the ability to

transform a vision into reality and effectively communicate this to the teams that they lead.

Effective leaders empower their teams to assist in making decisions that will aid in driving

success, while supporting them through the process. Maxwell (2002) says that your leadership

ability, for better or for worse, always determines your effectiveness and the potential impact of

your organization. He further goes on to say that one’s leadership ability is not static, but that it

changes and grows daily. Just as we say that Rome was not built in a day, one’s leadership is not

built in a day, yet rather over time. We see powerful examples of leadership in people like

Edison, Kroc, Carnegie and Rockefeller. We are able to see just how powerful and influential

leadership can be.

I am a leader and the leader that I am today is not the leader that I was 18 years ago. I am

a leader who takes pride in sharing a vision with my team and delivering upon it. I mentor my

team on all levels and within all positions. I build trust with them by following through on the

commitments that I make to them and listening to what they need and want. I work alongside


them, sharing in the ups and downs and celebrating the small and large wins. The organization

that I work for is in a retail service industry. I am one of 500+ leaders that are in role to execute

upon the brands core values and standards. As a leader for the organization my responsibility as

a leader is to ensure that the values of the organization, which have been laid as a foundation for

all of us, are carried out and the vision and direction in which the organization is heading to is

brought to reality.

Leaders cannot be successful without a team, and as with any team the ability to trust

one’s leader and demonstrate one’s competence as a leader is in part the framework of building a

team. Maxwell (2002) talks about trust is not merely built by one action, but by a series of

characteristics that are supported by one another. Trust is inspired by one’s individual character

and competence demonstrated over time. A true leader believes that when first building a team

or transitioning into a new leadership role, the first step is to build trust within your team. Trust

is like pocket change. Everyone has a little bit of change in their pocket when they assume a

new leadership role. As time passes and decisions are made that foster trust, the amount of

change in their pocket changes. Bad decisions decrease the amount of change while positive

decisions increase the amount of change. If one continues to make bad decisions within their

team and trust continues to diminish within their team, at some point they will run out of change

in their pocket and trust will be broken. Without trust the probability of being successful

decreases substantially. Covey talks about character as an individual’s integrity, motive and

intent with people (Covery, 2009). Covey further goes on to talk about competence which

includes an individual’s capabilities, skills, results, and track record. The building and

maintaining of trust is not something that is turned off at the end of a work day, but is carried

through every moment of every day and is transcended throughout every member and all aspect


of a team. Mohler (2010) says that leaders are the masters of motivation, vision, strategy, and

execution (Mohler, 2010, p. 19). Without the trust of a team, these attributes are irrelevant.

As leaders grow they learn that without a team they cannot be successful. What we are

learning is that we need our teams to trust the decisions that we are making and the path that we

are leading them down in order to become successful as a leader. Whether it is writing a

schedule that is accurate or reviewing budgets that are obtainable, trust earned from the

beginning is the cornerstone of a leader’s tenure and ultimately their legacy within their

organization. No matter the organization, no matter what capacity that organization is founded

in, it is people that are depended upon for the realization of the vision and mission of that

organization and people make up teams. At the helm of that team is their leader that is guiding

them into new and extraordinary heights. Without the trust in their leader these

accomplishments will go unrecognized. When we look back in history we can see examples of

organizations that both trusted their leader and those that did not. Howard Schultz earned trust

by staying true to his values, not being threatened by individuals that were smarter than him,

looking to renew oneself and that everything matters. He has written books on not only the

success of his organization, but upon these founding principles. But at the same time we can see

a decline in trust in our President who started his Presidency with a high approval rating based

on the trust that he earned on the vision that he sold voters. But today we see a decrease in his

approval rating due to the lack of trust based on the lack of follow through on the commitments

that he made during his election campaign. Trust is indeed built on commitment, motivation,

follow through, and vision. Followers look to their leaders for these things and when they are let

down, trust is broken, a team’s dynamic changes and leaders lose trust not just with their teams,

but within the organization at consumers as well.


As I integrate myself into a new team my primary objective and focus is to build trust

with my team. At first meeting, I have given them no reason to trust me, the change in my

pocket is minimal, and the respect that is shown is primarily due to the reporting hierarchy

within the organization. I strategically build trust by listening to what my team wants and needs.

As I listen I look at what I can change immediately that will have an impact on the team enabling

trust to begin. As time goes on and I become increasingly successful with following through on

things that the team wants that will impact them, the more change I begin to have in my pocket

(Maxwell, 2002). An example of this is, the most recent team that I took over had been faced

with some challenges that everyone was aware of. My goal was to come in and listen to

everything that they had to say while being completely transparent and opening myself up for

them to have the opportunity to get to know me. I also spent quite of bit of time working along-

side of them so they could understand my competency level with the day to day functions of

what we do as an organization. What I learned by doing this is that what the team wanted was

open lines of communication. They felt as though they were not connected to the organization

because they did not understand what was happening in the organization. The other thing that

called out to me is that no one was recognized or rewarded for the work that they did. In fact

quite the opposite. There was even hostility and bullying of some individuals that were on the

team. Both of these things, communication and recognition were both part of the evolutionary

change that would be happening within my team, but with a more immediate effect and impact.

By the end of the first week in role a new communication system was put into place and

recognition was being given both in a written form through tools made available to me by the

organization and verbal recognition as well. But along with this I was completely transparent


with my new team in telling them that the new method of communication within our team was

not set in stone and that they all owned this as well. If any of them had feedback on what was

going well and what was not going well, we would change what was implemented until it was

effective for the team. They were empowered to make suggestions and take ownership of how

they wanted communication.

The measure of success with this was swift and gratifying. Though a team survey that

was taken within a month of my arrival, we saw a 37 point increase on the survey. The survey

score went from a 34 under previous leadership to a 71. Several of the metrics that increase were

centered on the direct impact that communication had and the team felt like they were a part of

the team and organization again. They also weighed in on the fact that they appreciated being

appreciated. Two simple things with great impact. Through this qualitative and quantitative data

it was safe to say that trust had been established and it was time to roll up our sleeves and delve

into the larger opportunities within our business and build and extraordinary team that was

capable of delivering not only upon the brand standards, but deliver extraordinary performance

results.

“Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.”

Warren Bennis

In an article written by Ashkenas (2010), he talks about an analogy of an airline pilot who

comes over the loud speaker and announces to the passengers that he has good news and that he

has bad news. He proceeds to tell the passengers that the good news is that they are ahead of

schedule. However, the bad news is he has no idea where they are heading! Leaders that lack

the ability to share a vision or execute a strategy lack the ability to nurture a shared context


within their organization. It begins with a leader understanding and sharing where the

organization is at, where it is heading and how it is going to get there. Often times as leaders,

one assumes that everyone on all levels understands the vision and strategy of an organization.

This is the first failure in developing a shared context. When developing a shared context it is

leaders need to ensure that all employees make the connection of what the true context of

strategy is and how it relates to their organization (Ashkenas, 2010). For this to happen

employees need to understand the strategy. From here employees need to use this understanding

as a baseline for their decisions and planning. They need to share where they are with their plans

and how it integrates into the organizations strategy. Ultimately you have to have the buy in of

your team in order to have the shared context and it begins with the effectiveness of their

leader’s ability to communicate this.

I have gained trust with my new team and now we are ready to roll up our sleeves and

begin driving change within our store. It begins with communication. Communicating the

shared vision and strategy of where we are now, where we need to get to, and how we are going

to get there. While the team is comprised of 19 individuals, the experience level and general

understanding can prove challenging in ensuring a clear understanding. What we needed was a

destination postcard, a vivid picture from the near-term future that shows what could be possible

(Heath, 2010, p.76). A teacher shows their students that at the end of the year they will graduate

to the next grade. This is their destination postcard. Our destination postcard was centered on

the training and education of the team. It is difficult to achieve financial objectives, promotional

goals, and store audits when you do not have the education and training to effectively do the job

in which you were hired. We turned our attention to the training and development piece with the

team and explained to them that to no longer be last in our district with goal objectives, and to no


longer struggle with financial metrics that caused a greater workload across the team, we were

going to take a step back and training and develop everyone. But what about those that do not

agree with the vision of where we are heading and are resistant to the change. Rationalization.

For these individuals who rationalize failure and too much hard work for it to be successful.

While we were focusing on our destination postcard, it was time to begin bringing in new

team members who were ready to embrace the vision of where we were heading and showed no

bias to this. As I evaluated the current team and assessed personalities, strengths and

opportunities, and I could see who was struggling with the rationalization of where we were

heading, I could see be beginnings of my team. Not the team in which I inherited. With each

and every interview candidate I would first ask myself if this individual was qualified to execute

upon the brand standards, but I would then look to see where this individual would fit within the

team that was to be the cornerstone. What we ended up with was a group of individuals with

diverse backgrounds, skills and talents, and put them together teaching them, mentoring them,

leading them with conviction to execute upon the brand standard and core values of who we are

to the best of our ability. Mohler (2010) says that every great leader is a great teacher, and the

greatest leaders seize every opportunity to teach well. Ideas do drive the world, and beliefs

determine action. The leader who wants to effect long-term, lasting determinative change in an

organization has to be its lead teacher, changing minds in order to transform the organization

(Mohler, 2010, p. 68). For those that stayed the course, some days being good days, and some

being bad, changed how they worked together, talked with each other and those that they

encountered daily at our location. They opened their minds to possibility, discovery and a

willingness to learn. They transformed themselves and our little piece of the organization into a


thriving location reaching for the next goal and conquering it with conviction. They understood

and embraced a context of shared strategy.

What does the future hold? Solomon said, ‘where there is no vision, the people perish.’

Where there is no vision within an organization, the people perish, Proverbs 29:18. Any great

leader is a visionary. They see where we are today and are able to look to the future to see where

we need to be headed to continue to thrive. As I look at my tiny store that is a small entity

within the larger organization I have to ask myself where are we headed and how does that fit

with where the organization is headed. We are given the tools and resources to take the

organizations vision and execute upon it to the best of our ability. It is something that we as

leaders need to embrace, support and guide our team through for the survival of our brand and

organization. My declaration for the future and how this fits into my organization is that I will

continue to develop extraordinary talent that will aid in supporting and delivering upon the vision

of the organization that is a premiere location for people who are searching for the essence of

who they are. We will do this through driving the four platforms that embrace this very essence

of the human spirit. The transformational change has happened. As Lencioni (20020 says, trust

has been built, conflict resolution is absolute. There is an established commitment to team and

accountability within the team and the reporting hierarchy. Lastly, as a team, and only as a team,

results are measured on multiple levels. Lencioni (2002) also said that it is not one individual

that achieves these results but it is one team striving for the same goal and reaching as far as they

can to achieve this. Teams in general are mindful and open to change as change evolves.

As leaders we have developed trust within our teams. We have evaluated our teams and

taken seemingly ordinary people, put them together to create extraordinary teams that are

capable of propelling an organization to greater heights. We have shared a vision with our


teams. Laying the vision on tomorrow out for our teams to see, grasp and transform. We are

their leaders and with this comes the responsibility of creating consistency and stability within

our teams. We study change within organizations and how this looks, the same is true for how

we structure ourselves and our teams for the ever changing world that we live in. There is no

doubt that we are living in a knowledge economy and with this comes change.

Organizations are created and developed on an assumption of continuity, to continue

surviving, and to last. It is true that most organizations that were founded 100 years ago are no

longer in business today. The false belief that what is built today will last forever was a false

proclamation. Burke (2012) talks about how organizations today need to be masters of creative

destruction and built for discontinuity. If organizations are to survive into the next decade and

beyond they will need to manage this notion of creative destruction while managing todays

current market and day to day operation and needs of consumers. The external environment,

while continuously “out there,” is continuous in the same sense that organizations are. Factors

and forces in an organization’s external environment are discontinuous, do not fit neatly together

in a pattern, are not interdependent, homeostatic, linear, or highly predictable. Forces in the

external environment can cause destruction but can cause creativity as well (Burke, 2012, p. 2).

It is harnessing this external force in order to continue to compel the organization into the future.

The visionary process works in tandem with the external environment to ensure that the

organization sustains and thrives. Maxwell says, “Leadership is influence, nothing more,

nothing less.” As leaders we are here to influence this process and lead our teams through the

turbulent forces shaping the future.

As leaders we are called upon to influence, inspire, motivate and be visionaries for those

around us. Mohler (2010) says that leadership that matters grows out of the leader’s own that the


story is true, that it matters, and that it must both expand and continue. The story must be

believed with conviction, told with conviction, and stewarded with conviction (Mohler, 2010, p.

39). The commitment that we make to action as leaders goes beyond the fundamentals of

executing a plan on how to increase revenue or implement a new process. My commitment to

action is that of an endurance in which even through change within the organization, the impact

that I have on growing individuals and shaping those that work under me. I am committed to

mentoring, coaching and transforming individuals to help them realize not only who they are, but

the impact that they will have in all of their endeavors, whether they stay in our organization or

leave to follow their dreams and goals. People are our greatest asset to shaping the future.

Mohler (2010) says that endurance not only makes demands of leaders, it also offers the blessing

of a long memory and a longer period of evaluation. It takes time to see fruit grow on trees, and

it usually takes even longer for the fruit of leadership to show itself in abundance. While my call

to action may not be initially felt, it certainly will be endured through time with those that I

transform and shape (Mohler, 2010 p. 135).

Change is an everyday occurrence felt throughout all organizations. Some change is

gradual and while impactful is not felt. Other change is more revolutionary in that its initial

impact shakes the environment and transforms the entire organization (Burke, 2014). As a leader

I will continue to use my framework of putting people first to drive change. Building trust with

my team by listening, empowering them, having follow-through and mentoring them. I will be

able to effectively drive change within my team through positive influence in which through

empowering others through their potential. Let us not forget the most important strategy in

leading change within my organization, and that is being true to who I am and my own beliefs. I

lead with conviction and my conviction comes from within me and my commitment and


relationship with my faith. In reading Mohler (2010), I was inspired and compelled to find so

many parallels between what he had to say and my own leadership style. Early on in his book he

talks about conviction of leadership. If you think about it, just about every leader who is now

remembered for making a positive difference in history was leader with strong convictions about

life, liberty, truth, freedom, and human dignity. In the long run, this is the only leadership that

matters. Convictional leaders propel action precisely because they are driven by deep

convictions, and their passion for these convictions is transferred to followers who join in

concerted action to do what they know to be right. And they know what is right because they

know what is true (Mohler, 2010, p. 26). As a Christian leader, I believe that you need

conviction not only with your professional life but your personal life as well. Leading a life

filled with conviction is the heart of living. As Mohler (2010) describes in the writing to the

Thessalonians, the apostle Paul encouraged them to know that the gospel had come to them, not

only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction (Mohler, 2012, p.

27). How are you as a convictional leader?


References

How Leaders Create the Context for Strategy Execution

Ashkenas, R. (2010, October 13). How Leaders Create the Context for Strategy Execution,

Harvard Business Review. Retrieved February 25, 2015, from

https://hbr.org/2010/10/how-good-leaders-execute-strategy.html

Burke, W. Warner. Organization Change: Theory and Practice. Edition: 4. Publisher: Thousand

Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. Year: 2014

Covey, S. (2009). How the Best Leaders Build Trust. Retrieved on February 25, 2015 from

http://www.leadershipnow.com/CoveyOnTrust.html

Heath, C and Heath, D. Switch, How to Change Things When Change Is Hard. Publisher:

New York, New York: Broadway Books. Year: 2010

Lencioni, P. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. Publisher: San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Year: 2002

Maxwell, J. Leadership 101 What Every Leader Needs To Know. Publisher: Nashville, TN:

Thomas Nelson, Inc. Year: 2002

Mohler, A. 25 Principles for Leadership That Matters: The Conviction to Lead. Publisher:

Bloomington, MN: Bethany House Publications. Year: 2010

https://hbr.org/2010/10/how-good-

the extraordinary power of change leadership

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