You’re definitely aware that there’s a pressing need for digital transformation, new business models, and fresh ways of working across all industries today. Yes? And, it’s on you as a leader to efficiently steer your company and teams through these emerging changes and market demands.To thrive in this new reality, you have to build an agile, innovative, collaborative, and a customer-centric organizational culture. But how can you achieve smooth cultural transformation in organizations? How can you create and sustain positive change within your organizations and teams? How can you overcome the resistance that often accompanies culture change initiatives? In this article, we’ll explore the role of leadership in culture transformation in Kenya and East Africa in general and offer you practical tips and best practices to make an enduring difference.
What Is Transformational Leadership?
Transformational leadership is simply a leadership style that promotes positive change within individuals, organizations, and companies. As a transformational leader, you’ll be able to identify opportunities for change, create a plan for achieving the change, and then execute that plan by inspiring others. Transformational leaders also change their organizational cultures by first understanding it and then realigning the organization’s culture with a new vision and a revision of its shared assumptions, values, and norms. Here’s a phenomenal example for you. Transformational leaders are still a lot more. With a transformational leadership style, you can inspire trust, respect, admiration from your teams, and motivate them to reach new heights. Now that you have a good understanding of revolutionary company leadership…
Why Is Leadership Important for Culture Transformation in Kenya?
Creating a compelling vision
As a transformational leader, you’re able to create a clear and compelling vision of your company’s future and goals. You’ll communicate this vision effectively to your teams and stakeholders and also align your vision with your organization’s mission, values, and strategy to create a sense of direction for everyone.
Inspiring and motivating others
Leaders inspire and motivate others to embrace change and follow their vision. With transformational leadership, you can appeal to employees’ emotions, values, and aspirations, creating a sense of excitement and enthusiasm for everyone. Leadership also means being able to recognize and reward your teams’ efforts and achievements, building their confidence and commitment to organizational success.
Challenging the status quo.
The biggest threat to cultural transformation is complacency and the satisfaction of things as they are. Strong leadership skills give you the power to challenge the status quo and question existing assumptions, beliefs, and norms that may hinder change for your company. When empowered with a transformative mindstate, you can encourage people to think critically and creatively, fostering an organizational culture of innovation and learning. You can also act as a model of the desired behaviors and attitudes, setting an example for employees to follow.
Empowering and developing others
Leaders empower and develop others to take ownership of change and contribute to its success. As a leader, you can delegate authority and responsibility to your teams, giving them independence and flexibility. Leaders also provide coaching, mentoring, and feedback to others, helping them grow their skills and capabilities.
How Can You Become A Transformational Leader?
Becoming a transformational leader requires a shift in mindset, attitude, and behavior. It also requires you to take up continuous learning and improvement. Here are some tips on how you can become more transformational:
Sign up for a leadership coaching and development course
While it’s possible to pursue transformational leadership individually, it can be time-consuming without professional assistance. By enrolling in a leadership development program, you’ll learn from seasoned coaches and proven strategies to bring out a more sustainable shift in mindset and approach. A leadership coaching program approaches transformation more comprehensively by building your self-awareness, sharpening your ability to identify risks to optimal performance, and guiding you in aligning your vision with the company’s goals.
Assess your current leadership style
Do you know your leadership style? Many leaders don’t. To become a better leader, you need to first understand your current leadership style, its strengths, and weaknesses. Tools like the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) can help you measure your leadership style. Once you’re aware of this, you can work on exploiting your strengths and improving on any weaknesses.
Develop your emotional intelligence
Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the ability to understand and manage your emotions as well as those of others. Although corporate environments are considered subjective, EI is essential for transformational leadership since it helps you connect with your team more personally and influence their attitudes positively. You can develop your EI by practicing self-awareness (being mindful of your emotions), self-regulation (controlling impulses), social awareness (reading people’s emotions), and relationship management (building rapport and trust).
Seek feedback
Feedback is crucial for transformative leadership because it helps you to identify your strengths and areas for improvement, as well as to monitor progress and impact. You can seek feedback from peers, subordinates, superiors, customers, or external experts. You could use formal or informal methods, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, or observations. And, it’s not just about getting feedback but taking it in and acting on it.
Learn from others
You have mentors and professional idols. Right? Learning from people you look up to is a superb way to become better. You can learn from other astute leaders who’ve successfully led culture change initiatives in their organizations or industries. For a start, follow them on social/professional networks like LinkedIn. See how they think; how they approach things; and borrow some positives.
Practice and experiment
You have to learn consistently to build your leadership muscle. Practice and experiment with what you’ve learned in varied situations and contexts. You also need to be willing to take risks and learn from your failures. By practicing, you will develop your transformational leadership skills and abilities over time.
Conclusion – Leadership & Culture Transformation in Kenya and East Africa
Becoming a leader that oversees seamless cultural transformation in your organization needs you to have an aggressive desire for growth. By working your way to being a transformational leader, you’ll be able to create and sustain long-term positive change within your organization and teams. You’ll develop foresight and give others morale to follow and achieve it. By adopting a transformational leadership style, you can build an agile, innovative, collaborative, and customer-centric culture to thrive in today’s business environment.
Written By : Allen Mwema
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