The global economy has turned the rules of leadership upside down and shaken them vigorously for good measure. Where there was once a fairly defined hierarchy—Boss A tells Worker B what to do and Worker B does it—there’s now a flat landscape where everyone is expected to take the reins as needed. That means if Worker B has an idea—a way to make a process more efficient or a new way to get customer feedback—he or she is allowed, even expected, to make it happen.
Everyone is now a leader. This is great news for entrepreneurially minded employees—but it does pose a challenge for an employee who wants to create change but doesn’t “officially” run the show.
It can be more challenging for employee-led grassroots movements to spark change, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done. While you may not have the long-term resource commitment your boss does, you can still be proactive—and successful—if you have a clear vision and a firm commitment.
Align individual priorities with organizational goals. No matter where you work, chances are your organization has overarching change goals it is working to meet. Don’t just wait to be told what to do—look at those goals and figure out what you can do as an individual employee to support them. For instance, if your company just announced that it is acquiring another to strengthen its product line, one of your individual priorities might be to learn more about that company, its customers, and what it does. You could even ask your manager to present your ideas on how these findings will impact your team.
Learn to live with ambiguity. If you’re not running the show (and sometimes, even if you are!), there will usually be uncertainty during change. For instance, perhaps leadership hasn’t answered all your questions because not all of the details have been worked out yet. Executives may also have legal reasons for not releasing information. The point is, sometimes it’s in your best interest to roll with the ambiguity.
Of course you should raise your concerns and ideas if you have them, but then keep focused on the task at hand. However, if you feel that ambiguity is disturbing the workplace or if you see executives ignoring real concerns, let your manager know the downstream impact in a polite yet firm manner.
Understand your leadership style first. Even if your business card doesn’t have a powerful title, you are still a leader. And every leader has a particular style and specific strengths. It’s well worth your time to figure out what your style is, how it is seen by others, and how you can apply it to maximize your strengths.
Change what you can change: yourself. There is an old saying that too many cooks spoil the soup. Similarly, too many leaders during change can make everything confusing and fragmented. If you are not in a position to formally influence the change, instead of trying to create a leadership role, take the opportunity to change your own attitude, behaviors, and beliefs.
You must clearly identify what you want to change, what the change looks like, and the specific steps and milestones for meeting them.
Influence what you can’t change: others. Even if you aren’t the one running the show, you can still influence the direction of the change. And your position of being “one of them” could even give your opinions a boost with your fellow employees! A good way to build trust and respect with your colleagues is to give meaningful and timely feedback with the sole intent of increasing effectiveness and job satisfaction.
Cultivating this atmosphere of openness among your peers will help you influence change, because knowing others’ motivations and interests will help you to explain how the change project will meet their needs.
Become an early adopter and ally for change. Adapting early to change and being an ally for it is one of the simplest and most visible ways of leading change when you are not running the show. This entails wanting change to happen and working toward that goal as soon as you have a logical explanation for a particular alteration or modification.
Create a community of peers. Many change projects have frontline staff or employee councils that serve as the eyes and ears of change. This group relays information, ideas, and concerns back to senior leaders so that the change plan can be adjusted as needed. If your organization has a change council, ask to be part of it. If it doesn’t, offer to help organize one.
Help other employees cope with change. Even if you’re excited about change, not everyone will be. Some team members might find the going to be extremely tough; they might also feel confused, angry, or taken advantage of. You can help make the transition easier for them. First, be on the lookout for signals that someone needs help coping, like absenteeism, depressed or despondent behavior, or attacks on team members. You might want to intervene one-on-one, or help steer a bickering session into a change session.
Encourage communication among your peers. Remember, the sum of the parts is always greater than individual contribution levels added together. On a regular basis, ask yourself how you can help build a better organization by diffusing confusion, expediting the flow of information, or reaching out to others.
Communication between peers and up through management helps make your job easier in a number of ways. It uncovers what is valuable to the business and what is not, it minimizes the amount of time required to achieve goals, and it maximizes productivity.
Believe in the change and speak up. This isn’t so much about self-help as it is making positive ideas a reality! As soon as change starts happening, start talking about how great it will be. And if change isn’t happening yet, talk about past accomplishments in order to capture the emotions, excitement, and energy your team needs to forge ahead.
Whether you are the most junior employee in the company or the CEO, showing your enthusiasm for the project always helps. Change comes from the heart, not from corporate messaging. Remember that a sense of possibility for the future of the company is contagious.
When you show that you’re committed to making your organization succeed and you show that commitment in creative ways, don’t be surprised if you’re asked to be the one running the show sooner than you think.
