Samuel Bacharach wrote about the different types of political change leaders for Inc.com. Originally published December 16, 2019.
In any organization and in any social institution, you need to have some degree of political savvy to move your agenda. The reality is the best of organizations–no matter how big or small–is made up of turf and micropolitics. If you want to move your agenda, some degree of political competence is necessary. At the core of this is self-awareness. As a change leader, as an individual who is trying to move an agenda, nothing is more important than an understanding of your implicit and often subtle political mindset. How you approach change, what your inclinations are about the rate of change (slow versus rapid), what your ideas are concerning how encompassing or specific the change should be–all compose your political mindset.
The problem is that your political change mindset is often expressed by you but not owned by you. You may be unaware of your inherent biases on how change should be approached. The first thing a self-aware political change leader does is begin to understand what his or her implicit mindset is. As I argued in The Agenda Mover, there are four political change mindsets. When you are moving an agenda, the first thing you need to figure out is what kind of mindset you are using to approach this change challenge.
Are you a traditionalist political change leader?
A traditionalist political change leader is not against change, but prefers that any change initiative be considered carefully, reflecting the organization’s history. If an organization is going off track–sales are sluggish, staff are unhappy, innovation is lagging–the traditionalist will try to find the solution in “going back to basics” and reviving once-abandoned routines to help the organization weather a difficult period.
Traditionalists prefer making changes at the edges, slowly and incrementally, rather than tossing the whole thing and starting from scratch. They prefer the slow approach to change–to get it right the first time–and find it difficult dealing with situations on the fly. There will be change with a traditionalist at the helm. However, it will be slow, incremental, measured, and conducted within the frame of the organization’s history.
A traditionalist political change leader is most comfortable making tinkering changes here and there, and any change that a traditionalist makes is thoughtful and well-planned.
Are you an adjuster political change leader?
The adjuster political change leader shares some characteristics with the traditionalist leader. They prefer making incremental changes, but they are far more comfortable when improvising solutions. The adjuster change leader lives in the here-and-now. What happened yesterday is so far in the distant past that it might as well have happened a hundred years ago. Adjusters live in the moment and have a gift for continually re-assimilating themselves into the changing environment. The question for the adjuster is timing. When must a move be made? When should we expand? When should we consolidate?
Adjusters are practical. Their strength is reacting to changing circumstances, and timing the next move. Often the adjuster will not have a particular goal in mind, and find that improvised changes are easier to make (even if the changes have a higher degree of risk).
An adjuster political change leader does not go in for big change, but is fine with tweaking and making adjustments as they go along. Adjusters aren’t tied up with long-term planning, but prefer to react when the situation demands it.
Are you a developer change leader?
The developer political change leader would rather see overhauling changes, but they don’t want to see a dramatic transformation overnight. They want change–but through careful planning and using thoughtful caution. Developers are ground visionaries–while their goals have the potential for far-reaching consequences, they prefer to plod toward their goal.
Are you a revolutionary political change leader?
Revolutionary political change leaders are not content with puny changes. They seek transformational change that will radically and fundamentally change the organization. Revolutionaries have an idea of what they want to achieve, but they don’t have a step-by-step plan. A plan would get in the way of their agility. They are risk takers.
Revolutionaries thrive on new ideas and new twists on old ideas. Always looking to push the envelope, revolutionaries are likely to focus on new technologies, emerging markets, and up-to-the-minute research as the impetus for change.
The revolutionary political change leader wants big change and wants to engage in radical action to do it. They can’t be bothered with the nitty-gritty details, but they barge forward and do it.
Know when to be which
So, the answer to the question “What kind of political change leader are you?” is: “none of the above” and “all of the above”!
Politically competent change leaders change their mindset depending on the issue at hand. For some issues, a leader may be a traditionalist, and for others, the leader may be a revolutionary, and so forth. Political change leaders are agile–they are able to project different styles depending on the agenda they are backing. The most vulnerable change leaders are the ones who are consistent in their political mindset.
It’s not who you are but which mindset you choose to bring to a particular agenda. Competent change leaders adjust their mindset depending on their agenda.
(c) BLG
