Kurtural – A facilitative leader is someone who is capable of creating a vision for change and then inspiring others to get on board with the vision or put their hand up to make sure that they are informed and involved. This leader is also able to adapt a style of leadership based on the needs of a situation, whether this be a quick or a slow process.
In today’s world that we are in, the speed of change is ever increasing. We see this in our political system with what I will label the “change of the guard”. It is the leader that will determine which style and process of leadership will best serve the future needs of the organization, not an individual.
An effective facilitative leader will have the capability and dedication to be able to develop the best systems and tools that will support the movement toward change. While we may be all experts in making the various types of change inappropriate can and do occur. Most of the time an effective leader will have developed the solutions to what to do when these changes occur. These leaders will have taken time to do their research and if they choose the right one, they will know who the people will be that will make the best immediate and organic candidates for success. I have stated that leaders are always looking for the opportunity to “jayapoker” their people on one level or another. Imagine that if you were the leader and the need, I think you would want to work closely with this type of individual during your change. This would make you able to provide them the structure and the support to move forward into a state of stability unless the company provides this type of support or other techniques in the implementation of the upcoming changes.
Putting on the stage of an environment that allows you and others to be agile and have those individuals work for each other is important. A core factor to have in mind when moving forward is “how do I motivate and structure the people that are with me”
In order to be deemed a facilitative leader we must set aside power, status, and even lateness. Instead focus on developing a vision and putting together a team that will facilitate the entire process given the time you have to get it done.
While an effective leader is a strong communicator, providing clear direction, and analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the team members while also coaching, it is a fine line. We not only have to be strong communicators when change comes, but we also want to ensure that we play well with others. This means that we will need to be a good communicator during the change process.
People are always looking for change. Think about the reasons related to your leadership style and “How do I get more from people in my team?”, take a look at your direct reports and others in your business so that you can see where the cracks are.
Mind Power
Everyone, whether you are a natural or a learned leader has been the “thinker” and this is also true in the world of change. When change is coming, you can only imagine how others will respond. The way you respond to that change is in your mind and if you know how to control and direct your mind course you will come out a leader head and shoulders above the rest.
Let me give you a personal example within my business and it will serve as a learning tool to use in your business in the future. I made the decision to make an upgrade to an entirely new system and because of this choice, I was not able to close a project that desperately needed it. The time was now available for a company to save their system, which could not be retooled, or reengineered for a multi-year time frame. My thought process said that if I shut my mind and stopped working, I would get shut down and shut in.
Permit me to send a crystal clear message here. This situation was not unique to the work that I do and certainly not unique to my business since I have never stopped working. While it was my choice to stay in the midst of this dilemma, when my mind went back to the work that I was doing, I could not again focus on working and I required that I, the team members, and other people in the industry understand that I was in the middle of a difficult time. Your company’s situation may be challenging right now, it may not be that way when you complete the restructuring, or when you move into a new marketing, production, and sales strategy, if you are good at extracting the gains from the prior changes you will come out better and will have a highly engaged team.
If you are facing this type of situation in your company right now, do not take this as an excuse to stop working.