Canadian Government Executive - Volume 24 - Issue 04

42 / Canadian Government Executive // July/August 2018 MIDDLE MANAGEMENT I n the 5th century BC, Nehemiah rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. The governor’s transitional problem was how to maintain what had been gained. At the threshold of a renewed covenant, the people of Israel needed dif- ferent leadership ideas and skills. Being of service, value, and impactful meant transitioning from the leader as catalyst- designer-motivator-entrepreneur to the leader as consolidator-developer-manag- er-executive. Sustaining progress today means pressing harder after the first successes. Change leaders are relentless in initiat- ing one change after another. They deter- mine what can be done every day. They adapt quickly to the constantly shifting landscape to maintain speed and ac- celerate results. They risk much in this disrupt-or-be-disrupted world. They stay the course towards making the vision a reality. Kotter International estimates that ag- ile firms that employ leaders who adapt strategically in any situation garner 37 per cent greater revenue. They foster or- ganizational fitness and stamina that re- invigorate the mission and continuity of change. Enhanced credibility improves policies, structures, and systems. Organizations that balance change management with change leadership know this accelerates progress. They in- terrogate how management and leader- ship are different and critical to success, how to counterweight tendencies to over- manage, where opportunities for people to behave more like leaders are found, and what specifically could change. Consolidating gains As momentum builds and changes are made, leaders have to guard against re- newed complacency. It is crucial to con- solidate gains and produce even more SUSTAINING PROGRESS BY JOHN WILKINS The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man. – GEORGE BERNARD SHAW (1903): MAXIMS FOR REVOLUTIONISTS, #124