What Is Change Leadership?
Change leadership is the people-centric approach to leading groups or organizations through significant change or transformation. Change leadership is needed in addition to change management practices to foster a culture of adaptability.
Change leadership might be required during technological, cultural, or strategic transitions, and it emphasizes collaboration and communication to inspire employees and create a clear vision.
Why Change Leadership Is Important
As the pace of change increases, effective change leadership is essential. With 92% of project and portfolio management professionals still struggling to adapt to change, there is an urgent need for people-centric change leadership that helps teams adapt and thrive.
Change is no longer an option — it's the status quo. In an era of exponential change, there is an urgent need for change leadership, a people-centric approach to helping teams adapt to and implement change in organizations. In a 2024 survey of more than 1,400 project and portfolio management (PPM) professionals, 92% said they struggle with adapting to change and 70% said that the rate of business changes increased in 2024 compared to previous years.
Change leadership is especially important in larger organizations, where adapting to change tends to happen more slowly and employees face more challenges in the process — 61% of survey respondents at organizations with 10,000 or more employees said their organization is "very" or "somewhat" slow in their approach to adapting to change (compared to only 40% of those with 2,000 to 10,000 employees). Whether it’s technology disruption, organizational changes, or market shifts, effective change leadership is desperately needed as the rate of change only continues to increase.
Change Leadership vs. Change Management
There are three main differences between change leadership and change management: scope, timing, and focus. Change leadership is broad, ongoing, and focuses on the why. Change management is project-specific, has a start date and end date, and focuses on the how. Both are needed to successfully adapt to and implement change.
Change leadership is a broader, more strategic approach with no defined timeline and a focus on qualitative aspects of change: vision and motivation. Change management is project-specific: It involves target start and end dates, and it focuses on the processes and frameworks used to tactically implement change.
Here’s a helpful table comparing change leadership and change management:
Change Leadership | Change Management |
|---|---|
| Focused on the why | Focused on the how |
| Scope: Broad, strategic approach; intends to set a cultural foundation of adaptability, and to portray change as an opportunity | Scope: Project-specific, tactical approach; requires structured processes, planning, organizing, and execution |
| Skills required: Creative thinking, strategic planning, emotional intelligence, communication, collaboration | Skills required: Project management, facilitation, ability to understand data and analytics |
| Timing: No definitive timeline — ongoing endeavor as people’s needs evolve | Timing: Defined start and end date for implementing the change |
| Goal: To create a welcoming environment for change where people view change as an opportunity for innovation and growth | Goal: To minimize disruption in day-to-day business while tactically and efficiently implementing change |
Characteristics of Effective Change Leaders
Effective change leaders exemplify emotional intelligence, adaptability, clear communication, strategic thinking, and a visionary mindset. Work on developing these characteristics to more effectively lead your organization’s teams through change.
No two change efforts are the same, but effective change leaders share some characteristics no matter the type of change.
Here are five important characteristics of effective change leaders:
- Emotional Intelligence: One of the major differences between change leadership and change management is the focus on people in change leadership. Effective change leaders prioritize people’s needs throughout the process and create a supportive, positive environment.
- Adaptability: With 92% of PPM professionals struggling to adapt to change, leading by example is especially important when it comes to adaptability. When disruption occurs, embrace it publicly and calmly. Talk the team through your process, and encourage them to show curiosity rather than panic or frustration. You can also exemplify adaptability by adjusting communication styles or piloting new tools or processes.
- Clear Communication: Nearly half (45%) of PPM professionals surveyed said that a lack of effective communication and collaboration prevents them from effectively adapting to change. Creating a shared understanding of the change effort is foundational to success. Change leaders gain respect when they can clearly and consistently articulate the what, how, and why.
- Strategic Thinking: Effective change leaders are always asking what-if questions and considering different scenarios. Extend these questions to your team to get them in the practice of brainstorming and scenario planning, so they’re more apt for strategic thinking and creative problem-solving when changes and disruptions occur.
- Visionary Mindset: Change leaders must motivate and inspire people to embrace change as opportunities for growth and innovation. Paint a clear picture of the future and remind them regularly of that future state to encourage them to dream beyond the current scope. Make this a shared activity to build a culture of innovation and long-term thinking.
Connecting Change Leadership and Change Management
Strong change leadership bridges the gap between people and process. By building credibility, empowering teams through flexibility within structure, and turning skeptics into allies, you can support smoother transitions during change.
With change and disruption impacting teams on a daily basis, there are needs beyond what change management has historically solved for. If you’re tasked with fulfilling both roles — leading people through change and managing the change processes — it’s important to connect change leadership with change management.
Here are some actions required in both change leadership and change management:
- Make Commitments: Build trust and credibility by demonstrating your personal and professional commitment to the change process, and work toward the transformation goal of inspiring and motivating teams. Adhering to processes and setting an example of commitment is important to gaining buy-in and building a sense of ownership.
- Balance Structure and Flexibility: Find the right balance of structure and flexibility for each project — the balance will differ by project. PPM professionals surveyed ranked both "standardized guidelines, processes, and systems," and "flexible processes and systems" as "very helpful" in adapting to change. Using standardized guidelines, tools, and systems ensures consistency and allows teams the freedom to adjust as necessary and respond quickly when disruptions occur.
- Overcome Interference: Anticipate resistance and interference — most people don’t like change. Find your champions or influencers as quickly as possible, and engage skeptics early and often. The earlier you can collect majority buy-in, the more momentum you’ll have for implementing the change at hand. To motivate especially difficult naysayers, assign them to roles with responsibility and set them up for success.
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