Leader Commitment as a Key Driver for Successful Change Implementation

Change is taking its rightful place as a market constant in the broader healthcare marketplace and within the life sciences industry.

As more and more professionals accept that varying levels of change are ever present in their organization, change agility has stepped to the forefront as the “in demand” organizational and leadership competency to develop.

Research supports that a consistent factor in successful change implementation is the leader’s ability to articulate the case for change, share the “why” behind the change, and inspire commitment from their team. This ability is key for senior leaders and first-line managers.  To inspire others,’ leaders at all levels must first start with themselves by committing to the change.

To develop change agile leaders, WLH Consulting, Inc. (“WLH”) utilizes a framework entitled, the 5C’s of Transition Leadership®. The first phase, “Commit by owning the change and preparing to lead,” focuses on leaders, recognizing that change starts with personal acceptance and commitment to the new direction. In this phase, leaders confront their own change agility through self-assessment and work to improve their balance, speed, strength, and coordination as they move through the change process.
In the Commit phase leaders learn to:

1. Manage personal reactions
2. Understand the business case for change
3. Align expectations with their manager
4. Close learning gaps
5. Prepare to lead their teams
6. Develop change agility skills

The Commit phase taps into the key characteristics of change agile leaders by encouraging self-reflection, personal learning, and professional development.