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Dec 21, 2008

"But never forget ... our mission is to recognize contraries for what they are: first of all as contraries, but then as opposite poles of a unity." --Herman Hesse

The Balance Needed To Lead Change

One reason leading change is so difficult is the tension it sets up between managing business issues and managing people issues. Most managers are trained to deal with structural and operational issues, and they are evaluated on and rewarded for their ability to innovate and to deliver business results. But the pressures generated by major structural or operational change compel leaders to pay particular attention to what's happening on the human side of the organization. So how do leaders address the people side of change without jeopardizing the business side? According to this Harvard Management Update, the answer lies in building trust through authenticity. When leaders focus on establishing trust, they are better able to deal with both the business and the human elements of change. To accomplish this, leaders must strike a balance between these six pairs of opposites.