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Leadership and Management

Tasks of a Leadership Group during a Transition

Look to the leader.

The role of leadership, regardless of how you think of it, or define it, becomes the critical element of success in organizational transition. The captain's chair is looked to not only for direction ("Make it so"), but also for confidence and reassurance during uncertain times and new challenges. Lack of confidence in the leader leads to F & F- factions and friction. Groups will splinter and normative transitional issues will create extraordinary tension if a leader does not take up the specific role of transition manager successfully.

Whether it is an individual leader or a management team that takes the lead in a transition, the following four demands should become the leadership mantra for all stages of the transition process.

1. Keep People Focused

What is the new vision? What will the future look like when we arrive? Why is all this turmoil worth it? Will it not only be different, but better? These are the questions that will be asked, in words and in actions, by everyone involved in the transition process. Find and believe the answers before you begin the transition. Individuals can do almost anything if they believe in the purpose.

One of the key ways this is done is by painting a picture of what the hoped-for outcome will be. Be realistic and positive, clarify the bigger picture, and communicate it to all. You have to practice the language of vision, mission and mandate.

You are the major educator. You must be willing to stand in front of the people that will make the vision a reality and define what is, and what will be.

2. Keep Yourself Focused

Distractions abound. Remind yourself of your role, how it will change, and what is required of you. Your first instinct is not always the best. Build mechanisms into the transition process that will help you monitor your own management activities. The impact your decisions have is more important than your intentions when making them. Always act with this in mind. Be aware that you have to be very perceptive to understand the difference between the two.

Know that this will pull you out of your comfort zone.

Managers and leaders have to pay much more attention to self-management and self-monitoring during organizational transitions.

3. Resolve Conflicts

To paraphrase (sort of) a popular bumper sticker, "Conflict Happens." Organizations in transition need to surface, acknowledge and resolve conflicts. The process of resolution is more important than the specific outcomes. A strong process will create credibility and a belief in organizational capacity. A poor process will undermine it. Make sure your organization has the former.

4. Manage the Balance Between Change and Stability

Too much change can foster aimlessness and a dissipation of energy; too much stability can stifle energy and create the risk of extinction for the organization. No organization can afford to stop doing its work while recreating itself or managing a change. Leaders have to know the limits, the resources and the processes that will allow sufficient stability to exist while at the same time moving the organization forward toward a new future.

In closing let us note that the demands placed upon leadership in ordinary times are significant; during transitions they have the potential to be overwhelming. Management must tend to the process, the staff, and themselves to make a successful move from what was to what will be.

A quick word about managerial competence: like many organizations, nonprofits tend to promote from within, and create opportunities for advancement within the organization. Often, however, a great social worker becomes a good program director becomes an adequate executive director. Thus not everyone comes to management with the complete skill set necessary to effectively manage an organizational transition. At the same time, the tendency of managers and management teams is to spend time and energy on areas in which they are already competent. They spend less time and energy in those areas in which they do not feel competent. Thus a key question is this: "What does this manager or management team really dislike doing?" Whatever that area might be - financial management, planning, dealing with the accountability of employees, etc. - that is probably an area where more time and attention needs to be spent.