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Change-friendly Leadership: How to Transform Good Intentions into Great Performance
Most attempts to change fall flat.
Around the world, countless change efforts are underway in all kinds of organizations, spearheaded by leaders with good intentions. Despite the good intentions, the majority of these programs will not succeed. Why?
In this radical new book, practitioner Rodger Dean Duncan shows that humanness, approachability, and friendliness are necessary but often overlooked elements of making change successful.
Change cannot be achieved by a press release, slogan, or announcement. Effective organizational change requires the active, mindful participation of the people affected by the change. Leaders must learn how to bring their entire team on board with changes and ensure they are invested in the process as well as in the outcome.
The Friendly Factor is not just a play on words. It's the very foundation for effectively engaging people's heads, hearts, and hopes. The Change-Friendly framework is based on timeless principles that are tried and true in even the toughest situations. Using this framework will enable you to create effective, lasting change in your organization. Q&A with Rodger Dean Duncan
What's so friendly about change?
Often not much. And that's the point.
Change squeezes us out of our comfort zone. The resulting discomfort produces stress. Stress often manifests itself as resistance. Resistance in the face of change is like having one foot on the brake while the other foot presses the gas pedal.
We live in a moment of history where change is so fast-paced that we begin to see the present only when it's already disappearing. Change is not just faster. It's also exploding in quantity and magnitude. Experts say we can expect more change in our lifetimes than has occurred since the beginning of civilization more than ten millennia ago. Trying to keep up with change can feel like getting trapped on a runaway treadmill. Trying to manage it can be even harder.
Then what's the solution?
In a nutshell, we must create an environment that's receptive to change. This requires what I call change-friendly leadership. It's not leadership by title and it's certainly not leadership by command and control. It's leadership that genuinely engages the heads, hearts, and hopes of the people whose genuine "buy in" is critical to the success of the change.
In this context, "friendly" is not intended to connote coddling or laissez faire. And it's certainly not intended to imply a warm and fuzzy, hands-off approach to serious issues. Change-friendly leadership is a behavior protocol or framework. It produces successful change by acknowledging the sentiments and leveraging the individual gifts of people affected by the change, regardless of their organizational roles.
What does the change-friendly framework "look like" in actual practice?
The Change-Friendly Leadership Model is quite simple. At the center are four sets of very specific behaviors. I call these the Four Ts: Think-Friendly, Talk-Friendly, Trust-Friendly, and Team-Friendly.
Think-Friendly behaviors include exercising curiosity, asking smart questions, and challenging your own conclusions.
Being Talk-Friendly involves dialogue skills, listening to learn and understand rather than to rebut and overpower.
A person is Trust-Friendly by consistently earning trust and extending trust. This involves carefully avoiding common trust-busting behaviors that undermine credibility and influence.
Being Team-Friendly means working with people in ways that foster genuine collaboration. It's much more than superficial "team work." It's synergy on steroids, and it requires a special openness to other people's contributions.
Aren't those behaviors just common sense?
As Will Rogers noted, common sense isn't all that common. In fact, many people unwittingly sabotage their own change efforts. In their eagerness to accelerate change or performance improvement they rely on slogans, posters, high testosterone pep rallies and other "motivational" approaches.
Are you saying that "motivational" efforts don't work?
Personal motivation is wonderful. But it comes from within, not from without. You can educate people, you can entertain them, you can provide a good business case for action. But people must decide for themselves whether they "buy in" to the change you advocate. You can use carrots and sticks to get people to comply. But real change requires more than mere compliance. It requires commitment. That's where change-friendly leadership makes all the difference.
So where's the roadblock?
The problem with many change tools is that they are "schizo-frantic." They involve too many moving parts and make too much noise. They disrupt everything in sight. As weapons of mass distraction, they sometimes scare more than inspire, confuse more than comfort. They can be self-fulfilling prophecies, producing exactly the turmoil that many people associate with change.
Thi...
Around the world, countless change efforts are underway in all kinds of organizations, spearheaded by leaders with good intentions. Despite the good intentions, the majority of these programs will not succeed. Why?
In this radical new book, practitioner Rodger Dean Duncan shows that humanness, approachability, and friendliness are necessary but often overlooked elements of making change successful.
Change cannot be achieved by a press release, slogan, or announcement. Effective organizational change requires the active, mindful participation of the people affected by the change. Leaders must learn how to bring their entire team on board with changes and ensure they are invested in the process as well as in the outcome.
The Friendly Factor is not just a play on words. It's the very foundation for effectively engaging people's heads, hearts, and hopes. The Change-Friendly framework is based on timeless principles that are tried and true in even the toughest situations. Using this framework will enable you to create effective, lasting change in your organization. Q&A with Rodger Dean Duncan
What's so friendly about change?
Often not much. And that's the point.
Change squeezes us out of our comfort zone. The resulting discomfort produces stress. Stress often manifests itself as resistance. Resistance in the face of change is like having one foot on the brake while the other foot presses the gas pedal.
We live in a moment of history where change is so fast-paced that we begin to see the present only when it's already disappearing. Change is not just faster. It's also exploding in quantity and magnitude. Experts say we can expect more change in our lifetimes than has occurred since the beginning of civilization more than ten millennia ago. Trying to keep up with change can feel like getting trapped on a runaway treadmill. Trying to manage it can be even harder.
Then what's the solution?
In a nutshell, we must create an environment that's receptive to change. This requires what I call change-friendly leadership. It's not leadership by title and it's certainly not leadership by command and control. It's leadership that genuinely engages the heads, hearts, and hopes of the people whose genuine "buy in" is critical to the success of the change.
In this context, "friendly" is not intended to connote coddling or laissez faire. And it's certainly not intended to imply a warm and fuzzy, hands-off approach to serious issues. Change-friendly leadership is a behavior protocol or framework. It produces successful change by acknowledging the sentiments and leveraging the individual gifts of people affected by the change, regardless of their organizational roles.
What does the change-friendly framework "look like" in actual practice?
The Change-Friendly Leadership Model is quite simple. At the center are four sets of very specific behaviors. I call these the Four Ts: Think-Friendly, Talk-Friendly, Trust-Friendly, and Team-Friendly.
Think-Friendly behaviors include exercising curiosity, asking smart questions, and challenging your own conclusions.
Being Talk-Friendly involves dialogue skills, listening to learn and understand rather than to rebut and overpower.
A person is Trust-Friendly by consistently earning trust and extending trust. This involves carefully avoiding common trust-busting behaviors that undermine credibility and influence.
Being Team-Friendly means working with people in ways that foster genuine collaboration. It's much more than superficial "team work." It's synergy on steroids, and it requires a special openness to other people's contributions.
Aren't those behaviors just common sense?
As Will Rogers noted, common sense isn't all that common. In fact, many people unwittingly sabotage their own change efforts. In their eagerness to accelerate change or performance improvement they rely on slogans, posters, high testosterone pep rallies and other "motivational" approaches.
Are you saying that "motivational" efforts don't work?
Personal motivation is wonderful. But it comes from within, not from without. You can educate people, you can entertain them, you can provide a good business case for action. But people must decide for themselves whether they "buy in" to the change you advocate. You can use carrots and sticks to get people to comply. But real change requires more than mere compliance. It requires commitment. That's where change-friendly leadership makes all the difference.
So where's the roadblock?
The problem with many change tools is that they are "schizo-frantic." They involve too many moving parts and make too much noise. They disrupt everything in sight. As weapons of mass distraction, they sometimes scare more than inspire, confuse more than comfort. They can be self-fulfilling prophecies, producing exactly the turmoil that many people associate with change.
Thi...
279 pages, Hardcover
First published September 18, 2012
33 people are currently reading
288 people want to read
About the author
Rodger Dean Duncan
5 books3 followersRodger Dean Duncan is the award-winning, bestselling author of CHANGE-friendly LEADERSHIP and a regular contributor to Forbes and other publications. His work has been featured in The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, Fast Company, Inc., and many other national and international media outlets.
He was advisor to cabinet officers in two White House administrations and headed global communication for Campbell Soup Company. He’s been leadership coach to senior officers in more than 100 companies in multiple industries.
Duncan earned his PhD in communication and organizational behavior at Purdue University. Legendary personal success coach Stephen R. Covey called Duncan’s work in leadership “brilliantly insightful and inspiring; profound, yet user-friendly; visionary, yet highly practical.”
He was advisor to cabinet officers in two White House administrations and headed global communication for Campbell Soup Company. He’s been leadership coach to senior officers in more than 100 companies in multiple industries.
Duncan earned his PhD in communication and organizational behavior at Purdue University. Legendary personal success coach Stephen R. Covey called Duncan’s work in leadership “brilliantly insightful and inspiring; profound, yet user-friendly; visionary, yet highly practical.”
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 1, 2024
Good information. Hope to implement these tools.
November 13, 2016
Was excited to listen to "Change-Friendly Leadership" when I saw that Steven MR Covey did the preface to the book. The Covey family has produced some of the best leadership books on the market and although I was not familiar with Dr. Duncan's works, I didn't think the Covey's would blithely endorse a book.
This assumption turned out to be absolutely correct, Change-Friendly Leadership is a must read for anyone in a position to lead change.
As I read this book, none of the topics seemed "new"; however, it does a fantastic job of outlining and condensing many of the best thoughts from leaders such as Drucker and Covey and then effectively spins those thoughts into "friendly" actions. Please note this is not a soft book that will have you gathering your team and singing Kumbaya. This book provides practical methods for delivering the message for the need for change along; dealing with the psychological impact on the changed; and dealing with resistors all in a way that will prevent you from alienating your workforce.
I listened to this on audiobook and I would encourage anyone reading this NOT TO for 2 reasons:
1 - Topics are very deep. I really need to re-listen with pad and pencil in hand.
2 - The author reads the book and is very...very slow and deliberate. I found his voice lulled me into a trance rather than captured my attention. It was much better when I sped the book up to 125%. His voice was less trance inducing.
All in all excellent book.
This assumption turned out to be absolutely correct, Change-Friendly Leadership is a must read for anyone in a position to lead change.
As I read this book, none of the topics seemed "new"; however, it does a fantastic job of outlining and condensing many of the best thoughts from leaders such as Drucker and Covey and then effectively spins those thoughts into "friendly" actions. Please note this is not a soft book that will have you gathering your team and singing Kumbaya. This book provides practical methods for delivering the message for the need for change along; dealing with the psychological impact on the changed; and dealing with resistors all in a way that will prevent you from alienating your workforce.
I listened to this on audiobook and I would encourage anyone reading this NOT TO for 2 reasons:
1 - Topics are very deep. I really need to re-listen with pad and pencil in hand.
2 - The author reads the book and is very...very slow and deliberate. I found his voice lulled me into a trance rather than captured my attention. It was much better when I sped the book up to 125%. His voice was less trance inducing.
All in all excellent book.
November 3, 2023
Leaders if you are needing help with leading during a change check out this book. It has a particle easy to follow process to help make the change you need happen and occur smoothly.
December 18, 2021
This book really lived up to the recommendation. It provides a simple straightforward and practical way to approaching change in an organisation.
My favourite quote “You can rent a mans back and hands but you must earn his head &heart” This is the mindset I must have as a change friendly leader.
Lots of takeaways and frameworks that I will definitely be applying as I approach leading change efforts
My favourite quote “You can rent a mans back and hands but you must earn his head &heart” This is the mindset I must have as a change friendly leader.
Lots of takeaways and frameworks that I will definitely be applying as I approach leading change efforts
September 23, 2012
Organizational change is hard - and very few organizations get it right. They may have good intentions, but the implentation falls flat. Rodger Duncan addresses one of the main components of a successful change plan - attitude! Finding out how to engage the stakeholders to embrace the change is key!
December 11, 2014
Well- written book from a credible author on how leaders (not based on titles) can guide an organization on how to deal with change. This is a must-read book on organizational dynamics.
December 28, 2017
¿Es relevante para ti dirigir un cambio en organizacional por la razones indicadas? ¿El cambio es una constante en tu vida laboral? ¿Consideras importante que la gestión de un cambio respete a las personas construyendo alineación a la par?
Seguro eres sensible a que no se logra únicamente al lanzar un lema, iniciar sesión en una computadora, twittear al respecto, mandar un correo, publicarlo en la prensa o regalando un artículo promocional. El reto es involucrar la cabeza, el corazón y la esperanza de cada miembro del equipo para crear un cambio duradero en la empresa. Y el autor ofrece un mapa muy sencillo para una ejecución eficaz garantizando una participación activa y atenta de las personas. Si bien la estructura y la estrategia son indispensables, el cambio exitoso se centra en los comportamientos: reforzando la curiosidad, el coaching y el compromiso.
Seguro eres sensible a que no se logra únicamente al lanzar un lema, iniciar sesión en una computadora, twittear al respecto, mandar un correo, publicarlo en la prensa o regalando un artículo promocional. El reto es involucrar la cabeza, el corazón y la esperanza de cada miembro del equipo para crear un cambio duradero en la empresa. Y el autor ofrece un mapa muy sencillo para una ejecución eficaz garantizando una participación activa y atenta de las personas. Si bien la estructura y la estrategia son indispensables, el cambio exitoso se centra en los comportamientos: reforzando la curiosidad, el coaching y el compromiso.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews