1. Be authentic.

 People don’t trust what they don’t understand, and this creates resistance.
Leaders who seek to hide their own feelings and reactions aren’t doing themselves any favors
and will erode trust.

2. Be inspirational. One of the most important elements of successful change is people who

share a vision of the future. Great leaders paint a compelling picture of what the future will be,
why it is important and how it will be positive.

3. Be visible. Successful change starts at the top, and successful change leadership requires the
active, visible and committed involvement of senior leaders.

4. Be inclusive. In the same way you should ensure the involvement of yourself and other
senior leaders, be sure you’re also creating opportunities for mid-managers, frontline leaders
and individual contributors to engage.

5. Be clear. Clarify your expectations for new behaviors. Any change requires shifts in
behaviors, and people need to understand the differences between what they were doing before
and how that’s different from what you’re requesting tomorrow.
6. Be proactive. People need different kinds of information at different times. Be intentional
and proactive about providing the right communication at the right times.

7. Be educational. One of the primary reasons people resist change is because they worry
their performance will be negatively impacted.

8. Be measured. Learning and reflection are critical to success, but we can skip them in our
rush to keep things moving forward. Be intentional about reflection by setting up evaluation
processes to measure pre-change and post-change.

9. Be reinforcing. Leading change is not for the faint of heart and it will take endurance. At
the same time you’re communicating a sense of urgency, you’ll also need to be patient as change
unfolds.

10. Be evolving. Change is rarely a start-to-finish endeavor. One leader put it well, “We’re 
not doing a ribbon cutting on our new space because it’s never finished. We’re always learning
and it’s always going to change.”
Deuteronomy 31:6

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the
LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”