Mastering the Challenges of Leading Change: Inspire the People and Succeed Where Others Fail

by H. James Dallas

Conquer the most daunting change initiative with the right people, tools, and strategies. James Dallas' "Mastering the Challenges of Leading Change" is an informative, insightful guide to effectively leading the transition through change. While most change management books present case studies about what happened at other companies, this book is based on the author's own experiences managing over 10 transformational and turnaround initiatives, 15 acquisition integrations, and 5 operations/quality shared services centers of excellence. By relating personal lessons learned, how they were subsequently applied, and how you can benefit from them, this book provides a unique first-hand perspective on successful agents of change. You'll learn the qualities and skills required to usher in the new paradigm, and how to break a large initiative into manageable chunks that are more likely to proceed as planned. By crafting your strategy based on proven methods, you're far and away more likely to meet or even exceed your change objectives.

The majority of change initiatives fail because people mistakenly think that a change agent is the same as a project leader. They're not. This book shows you why, and how get the tools, strategies, and people you need at the helm of your initiative to come out the other side much stronger as an organization. Learn the critical skills required for effective change management Assess the difficulty and politics of a change initiative Choose the right people to help implement the change See past obstacles and lead effectively in a crisis

Change is occurring within and across all industries, countries, and organizations. They begin with the best of intentions, but most fail to meet their objectives. Don't let your organization be one of the failures. "Mastering the Challenges of Leading Change" shows you how to plan, lead, and manage a successful transition.

Genres: Nonfiction, Leadership, Professional Development

224 pages, Hardcover

First published September 28, 2015

Reviews

[Dewayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a lot of books out there focused on change leadership. Not many take on the holistic viewpoint provided by author, H. James Dallas, within this book. This twelve chapter book it broken down into four parts; Priorities, Politics, People, and Perseverance. Dallas explains how each part is important if you want to drive change for your organization. Each point is explained in a matter of fact type of perspective written from the heart of a teacher with tangible reflective questions for the reader to consider. My favorite sections were perseverance and people. He delivered a unique view on politics giving slang to the behavior of corporate culture. Most common one I have seen is the moonwalker.

Pick up this quick read if you aspire to be a change driver or your looking for fresh thoughts as a successful change agent to sharpen up your game.

[Todd Smalley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a rare good business book. I picked it up because having had the opportunity to work with James (at a distance) and observe him, I was intrigued to get a better sense of what made him tick and what made him successful. He always stood out, physically and temperamentally, in a way that some may have discounted, but a colleague once said to me, admiringly of James, "he was the toughest boss I ever had"; James got it done.

With that purpose, the book does not disappoint, giving better insight to the "whys" "hows" and "whats" of his approach; how he developed his approach, including sometimes learning the hard way; and what benefits it can bring to others.

This is a book for people who want to be more successful in a corporate environment as well as weave that success into a good life lived more broadly. He primarily uses examples from his time at Georgia Pacific and Medtronic, leading IT and Operations functions, but I believe the lessons are applicable independent of company, industry, function, or strategic direction. I'm glad I read it!

[Iain McCormick · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are so many books written on change management! However this one covers topics such as priorities, politics, people and persistence very well. It’s worth reading.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book, but it feels more like it applies to a more traditional corporation's executive team. There was a few things that I could use in my job, but seems like it was for a higher level. Executives instead of middle management. Narration was good.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had not looked at change in this way before, examining how internal organizational culture impacts the ability to make changes. The ideas of building the proper team seem so simple, but when you examine the team dynamics as Mr. Dallas did, you see that it is much more intricate and the right team is the key to effecting change.

Some keys for me were:

1. The Getting Lost with Confidence Matrix: Factors and Probability.
2. Mr. Dallas' definition of problems vs. dilemmas

To name just a few.

This is a must read for anyone who is responsible for change be it big or small.

[Jordi Polo Carres · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buen libro, 12 capitulos, cada uno enfocado en un aspecto distinto y cada uno con una seria de tareas para un lider intentando crear cambio en una empresa u otra organizacion.

Seria un buen libro para tomar notas y releer.