Leading in a Culture of Change

1. Complexity Demands Adaptive Leadership

The more complex society gets, the more sophisticated leadership must become.

Navigating Uncertainty. In today's rapidly changing world, leaders must be able to operate effectively under conditions of uncertainty and ambiguity. Quick decisions can be as fatal as failing to act, requiring a balance of decisive action and thoughtful reflection. This means embracing complexity rather than trying to simplify it.

Beyond Traditional Management. Traditional management focuses on solving known problems with established solutions. Adaptive leadership, on the other hand, involves mobilizing people to tackle tough problems for which there are no simple, painless solutions. This requires challenging existing assumptions and fostering a culture of learning and innovation.

The Leader's Dilemma. Leaders face the challenge of acting decisively while acknowledging the limits of their own knowledge. This requires humility, a willingness to listen to diverse perspectives, and the ability to facilitate collaborative problem-solving. It's about being right at the end of the meeting, not the beginning.

2. Moral Purpose: The Bedrock of Change

Leaders don't need to become better at a bad game; they need to change the game!

Beyond Self-Interest. Moral purpose is about acting with the intention of making a positive difference in the lives of employees, customers, and society as a whole. It's about aligning organizational goals with a larger sense of meaning and purpose. This is not just an altruistic ideal, but a practical necessity for long-term success.

Evolutionary Imperative. Cooperative groups thrive, and selfish ones do not, so cooperative societies have survived at the expense of others. Leaders contribute to moral purpose in their organizations and society, whether they know it or not. This evolutionary perspective suggests that moral purpose is not just a nice-to-have, but a fundamental driver of organizational survival.

Moral Purpose in Action. Moral purpose is not a static value but a dynamic process. It requires a deep understanding of the change process, a commitment to building strong relationships, a focus on knowledge building, and a relentless pursuit of coherence. It's about creating a culture where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to contribute their best work.

3. Nuance: The Art of Understanding Change

In complex societies, effective change and nuance pretty much go hand in hand.

Beyond Management Fads. The management literature is filled with advice on how to lead change, but much of it is contradictory, general, and ultimately confusing. Effective change leaders understand that change cannot be managed in a literal sense, but rather understood and perhaps led. This requires a deep understanding of the human dimensions of change.

The Skinny on Change Savvy. Change savvy leaders understand the socio-psychology of change, tailoring their actions to the specific people and context they are working with. This involves:

• Being right at the end of the meeting
• Prioritizing relationships
• Acknowledging the implementation dip
• Accelerating as you go
• Avoiding fat plans
• Focusing on behaviors before beliefs
• Communicating during implementation
• Recognizing the fragility of pre-implementation excitement
• Becoming a lead learner

The Implementation Dip. Introducing something new, even with preparation, will be bumpy. New skills and understanding require a learning curve. Leaders should be aware that their job is to help the organization get through the process to the point where benefits start to accrue.

4. Relationships: The New Bottom Line

If relationships improve, things get better. If they remain the same or get worse, ground is lost.

Beyond Networking. Relationships are not just a product of networking but genuine connections based on authenticity and care. The "soul at work" is both individual and collective, connecting people to a larger purpose and a web of connection. This requires paying as much attention to how we treat people as we do to structures, strategies, and statistics.

Businesses with Souls. Companies that place high value on the quality of their employees end up doing best in the market. These "firms of endearment" pay equal attention to all five stakeholders (customers, employees, investors, partners, society). This humanistic approach translates into superior financial performance.

Schools with Minds. Schools need to strengthen their intellectual and social (group) quality as they deepen their moral purpose. This involves fostering a culture of collaboration, where teachers work together to improve instruction and support student learning. It's about creating a collective mind that is greater than the sum of its parts.

5. Knowledge Building: The Social Imperative

Information is machines. Knowledge is people.

Beyond Information Glut. In the knowledge society, access to information is abundant. However, turning information into knowledge requires a social process. It's about creating a culture where people feel valued, respected, and empowered to share their expertise.

Tacit Knowledge. Successful organizations access tacit knowledge (skills, beliefs, and understanding that are below the level of awareness). Their success is found in the intricate interaction inside and outside the organization—interaction that converts tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge on an ongoing basis.

Knowledge Sharing in Action. Companies must name knowledge sharing as a core value and then establish mechanisms and procedures that embody the value in action. This might involve peer assist programs, after-action reviews, or other initiatives that foster collaboration and knowledge exchange. The key is to create a culture where learning is the work.

6. Coherence Making: The Leadership Glue

Effective leaders enable daily coherence making.

Beyond Strategic Alignment. Coherence is not alignment. The latter consists of the rational organization and explanation as to what the main pieces of the organization are and how they relate to each other. Coherence is a subjective, emotional phenomenon.

The Coherence Framework. The Coherence Framework for Education consists of four main components:

• Focusing direction (moral purpose)
• Cultivating collaborative cultures
• Deepening learning
• Securing accountability

Leadership from the Middle. In system change, the middle becomes a system resource. This involves districts and counties working more closely together locally (vertically) and laterally across districts and counties. It's about creating a network of interconnectedness that fosters shared understanding and collective action.

7. The Messy Reality of Leadership

Leadership is a mess.

Beyond Heroic Leaders. Deep and sustained reform depends on many of us, not just on the very few who appear to be extraordinary. Superhuman leaders also do us another disservice: They are role models who can never be emulated. The goal is to cultivate leadership at all levels of the organization.

The Leadership Deficit. There is a widespread finding that almost two-thirds of employees on the average are not actively engaged in their organizations. This is not just the fault of individual leaders, but the failure of organizations to position leadership effectively. It's about creating a culture where everyone feels empowered to lead.

The New Leadership Imperative. Leading in a culture of change requires a new mind-set that is more dynamic, less linear, and more nuanced. It's about embracing complexity, fostering collaboration, and empowering people to take ownership of their work. It's about creating a culture of continuous learning and improvement.

8. Becoming a Lead Learner: The Path to Expertise

Become a lead learner.

Beyond Traditional Expertise. Lead learners are not just experts in their field, but also apprentices who are constantly seeking new knowledge and perspectives. They are humble, curious, and always willing to learn from others. This requires a shift from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset.

The Six Aspects of Lead Learning:

• Participating as a learner
• Listening, learning, and leading, in that order
• Being an expert and an apprentice
• Developing others to the point that you become dispensable
• Being relentlessly persistent and courageous about impact
• Focusing on the "how" as well as the "what" of change

Deliberate Practice. The key to becoming a lead learner is deliberate practice. This involves setting specific goals, focusing intently on the task at hand, seeking feedback, and pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone. It's about constantly challenging yourself to improve.

9. The Power of Systemic Thinking

All good solutions are system solutions.

Beyond Piecemeal Reform. Effective leaders understand that organizations are complex systems, and that change in one part of the system will inevitably affect other parts. This requires a systemic approach to problem-solving, where leaders consider the interconnectedness of all the elements.

The Importance of Context. Learning in the setting where you work, or learning in context, is the learning with the greatest payoff because it is more specific (customized to the situation) and because it is social (involves the group). Learning in context is developing leadership and improving the organization as you go.

The Flywheel Effect. The heavy lifting of establishing a new focused collaborative culture is at the beginning. In year two, some momentum occurs, then in year three the payoff becomes evident and you get what Collins calls “the power of strategic compounding.”

10. The Imperative of Moral Leadership

Make your organization the best it can be. To do this effectively, you have to take into account the bigger picture.

Beyond Profit Maximization. Moral leadership is about more than just maximizing profits or achieving organizational goals. It's about creating a positive impact on the world. This requires a commitment to ethical behavior, social responsibility, and environmental sustainability.

The Blurring of Public and Private. There is an increasing number of top leaders taking strong moral stands on social and political issues. This reflects the blurring of the lines between public and private spheres in an interconnected world and an acknowledgement that customers, employees, and other stakeholders expect corporations to take moral stands.

The Future of Leadership. Business and education leaders in the future will need to step out more and more into society concerned with the evolving state of moral purpose in their organizations and beyond. The message is: Make your moral purpose more prominent and hitch it to the other four forces in this book, including making the complexity of change work in your favor.

Last updated: March 3, 2025