Which leadership traits are essential for achieving successful and sustainable transformation?

Explore the essential qualities leaders must embody to drive transformations within their organisations in a sustainable fashion, facilitating the adoption of new initiatives and the ultimate benefits realisation. 

As Peter Drucker said, “Change is the norm; if an organisation does not recognise that its mission is to lead change, it will not survive.”

A couple of clarifications are needed here though:

First, who holds the responsibility for driving change within an organisation? The Leadership Team, of course. They have the crucial duty of steering any transformation.

Second, can any single leadership style ensure successful transformations? No, not really.

Third, what leadership style is most effective for successfully achieving transformation? Answering this question requires a bit more effort and analysis.

To put it simply: No single leadership style can guarantee successful transformations on its own. While transformational leadership is undoubtedly essential, it cannot stand alone and requires some nuances. It often needs to be complemented by other styles, such as visionary leadership for inspiration, transactional leadership for structure, servant leadership to foster a supportive and collaborative environment, and scale-up leadership for innovation.

For a leadership team in charge of driving transformation throughout the organisation, it is crucial to embody a diverse range of leadership styles.

Adapting and integrating to address specific needs as they emerge is crucial for leading change sustainably. This approach ensures that the unique leadership qualities required at each stage of the journey are effectively utilised.

Pragmatically speaking, to ensure successful transformations, leaders must develop a set of essential traits tailored to each step of the Change Management process: 1) Lay the foundations, 2) Plan and prepare, 3) Bring the change to life and 4) Realise the value.

Let’s explore this further…

1. Transformational Leadership is the cornerstone of the entire transformation journey

When it comes to successfully transforming an organisation, transformational leadership is the key trait to achieving it effectively and sustainably.

Adopting a transformational leadership style is crucial throughout the entire transformation journey, influencing every step of the change management process: Lay the foundations, Plan and prepare, Bring the change to life, and Realise the value.

Transformational leadership focuses on inspiring and motivating team members to go beyond their personal interests for the benefit of the organisation. By creating such an environment, leaders can ensure that the organisation not only adapts to change but also thrives, aligning the team’s efforts with the vision and goals of the transformation.

This leadership style continuously enhances the company’s practices and inspires employees to grow and develop their skills, ultimately earning their genuine trust.

A transformational leader’s mission is to create a lasting positive impact, elevate their team to reach their full potential, and drive organisational success.

Here are some key traits of transformational leaders:

• Charisma: Often, transformational leaders are charismatic, which helps them build strong relationships and trust within their team.
• Inspirational Motivation: They are able to inspire level of passion and motivation in their employees to achieve the transformation’s vision goals.
• Intellectual Stimulation: They promote critical thinking and innovative ideas, instead of adhering to established norms and procedures.
• Individualized Consideration: They pay attention to the individual needs of their employees, providing support and encouragement, and helping each person achieve their full potential.
• Authenticity and Integrity: They lead by example, demonstrating honesty, humility, and ethical behaviours. As a result, they are seen as trustworthy and reliable.
• Adaptability: They are flexible and open to change, able to navigate and lead through uncertainty.
• Effective Communication: They are skilled communicators, able to convey their vision and goals clearly and persuasively.

As these traits show, it’s clear that transformational leadership qualities are fundamental to any successful transformation. However, decades of experience in corporate transformations show us that incorporating a mix of other leadership traits is also crucial for sustainably navigating the often-challenging transformation journey.

Additional leadership qualities should complement the transformational one, each specifically applied to a particular step of the change management process. These qualities should be integrated with the core transformational component to ensure the ultimate success of the transformation.

Let’s go through them one at a time.

2. Visionary leadership is essential for laying the foundation and sparking excitement for a remarkable future.

Visionary leadership emphasises future and long-term goals, aiming to inspire and guide the team towards achieving a shared vision.

Teams are more productive and find greater enjoyment in their work when they have a clear vision to strive for. Visionary leaders provide vision statements and other tools to inspire and motivate their teams to stay engaged and committed.

It sounds great, and it is – however, it does not fit all the steps of the process because visionary leaders may overlook daily issues while focusing on long-term ideas, potentially missing roadblocks that could cause future problems. Additionally, they may become overly focused on the single goal which inspires them the most, neglecting other ideas that might be equally valuable to the business.

Thus, visionary leadership traits are crucial when laying the foundations of the transformation, especially during the Strategic Visioning phase. This is when pure inspiration is essential, and it’s important to engage both the hearts and minds of people. Read more about this stage here.

3. Transactional leadership offers a robust yet agile framework and resources for planning and preparation.

Transactional leaders set clear rules and standards, providing a strong framework for the transformation while also monitoring its performance.

This leadership style focuses on ensuring that goals and standards are achieved. It assumes that teams need structure and oversight to meet business objectives, and that they are motivated by rewards.

It sounds sensible – however, it obviously does not fit all the steps of the process because transactional leaders tend to adopt rigid approaches, focusing on using rewards as motivation rather than inspiring people to work for higher organisational purposes, or building relationships and team morale.

Therefore, transactional leadership traits become useful when planning and preparing the transformation, specifically during the set-up of all tools and resources in scope to track activities, deliverables and milestones.

If the strength of change management lies in blending art and science, then applying transactional leadership qualities during the planning and preparation phase brings the scientific aspect into focus.

4. Leadership adds the human element, motivating people to eagerly bring the change to life.

Servant leaders prioritise the growth and wellbeing of their teams, focus on listening, empathy, and stewardship.

This leadership style specifically focuses on incremental improvements and the long-term development of their teams, fostering a supportive and inclusive environment where individuals feel valued and heard. They build an environment of open communication and psychological safety that encourages individuals to share ideas, seek feedback, and work together toward common objectives.

It sounds amazing, really – however, it does not fit all the steps of the process because servant leaders tend to prioritise the wellbeing of their people, which can sometimes make it challenging to maintain a strong focus on organisational objectives. Additionally, they may concentrate on immediate team needs and development, potentially at the expense of longer-term strategic planning.

As from the above, servant leadership qualities are especially valuable for bringing change to life across the organisation through a people-centric approach. Prioritising individuals with a humanistic perspective is essential for encouraging them to embrace the change in a supportive and collaborative manner.

5. Scale-up leadership drives value realisation through innovation and a results-oriented approach.

Scale-up leaders are often pragmatic and results-oriented, while also being innovative when a pivot is necessary. This combination typically results in a directive approach, enabling them to make quick decisions to capitalise on opportunities.

This leadership style involves evaluating specific situations, assessing the competence and commitment of team members, adjusting accordingly and innovating as needed. Leaders who adopt this style measure success through tangible metrics such as operational efficiency and revenue increase. They firmly believe that change is the only constant.

It sounds very relevant – however, it doesn’t align with all steps of the process because applying scale-up leadership traits requires extensive expertise in numerous processes and functions to make informed decisions and pivot quickly. This level of expertise is rarely feasible in large corporations. Additionally, frequent changes in the approach can be stressful for teams, as they may struggle to anticipate what comes next.

Ultimately, scale-up leadership traits become relevant when realising the value of a transformation. They help tracking whether the expected benefits align with the business case and ensure the organisation can pivot quickly if they do not.

Do you want to improve your leaders’ ability to drive change?

In times of change and transformation, leaders play a crucial role in either sustainably winning over people’s hearts and minds, encouraging them to embrace new processes, technologies, and ways of working – or risking the loss of it all.

If you’re looking to create the perfect mix of leadership styles for sustainable and successful organisational transformation, feel free to contact us.

At Project One, our change experts and ‘Transformers’ have extensive experience assisting our customers in addressing this topic, among others. We leverage our Change Capability Uplift offering, which focuses on developing the essential traits for achieving sustainable and successful transformations. If you’d like to learn more or just need a sounding board, please get in touch via theteam@projectone.com.