Sparking Change in Your Leadership
“Change does not surface when you are not ready to be the catalyst. Your reaction matters, not your inaction.”
― Michael Bassey Johnson
Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Catalyst Leader?
Change leaders are a unique breed. Accepting the challenge to change from a traditional workplace, a handful of leaders decided to take up the challenge and turn their workplace into an unconventional way of doing business. Employees are able to produce greater results with a creative leader than with a traditional leader who is not will to thrive beyond survival mode.
Let’s start from the beginning. A leader is someone who leads others to an end-goal through a vision you have for producing a specific result. On the other hand, a catalyst is a reaction to something added to change what you started with. A catalyst, in the context of leadership, is a person who causes change and growth to happen. The leader must act as a catalyst for change and when you engage in creative thinking to bring about change, such as ideas, solutions, new concepts. Leaders need to learn how to manage their own creative thinking, as well as those they work with, to bring about productive change for new products, services, resolution to problems, opportunities.
Being a Catalyst Starts with You
As a leader, being a change maker requires you to inspire and move others to action. Identify blind spots and obstacles that prevent greater productivity and breakthrough results from occurring.
Sooner or later, leaders in the company will recognize change must come or they are forced into it as the risk of losing quality people starts to become a reality. Developing a plan for personal and professional growth needs to extend to your employees.
Knowing who you are and letting your employees see that is a plus. Having your employees see that you are a courageous risk taker with calculated risks teaches your employees to do the same. They need to see you confident in allowing them to take the lead on projects. This is a trust you place in them.
“Decision makers usually think of decision situations as problems to solve, not as opportunities to take advantage of.”
– Ralph L. Keeney
Leadership as a Catalyst for Creativity
Exploring creativity as a catalyst for change leadership, as a leader you need to get to know your employee’s skills and talent. By understanding their creative abilities you are able to create work teams of people from diverse backgrounds. These individuals have their own preferences of how they think, generate ideas, make things happen, behave, complete their work and get along with like and unlike minded people. It is only then the leader allows this collaborative team to generate ideas and solve their problems, challenges and difficulties you assign to them.
Characteristics of Catalyst Leaders include Courage, Inspiring others, not conforming to traditional and looking for unconventional ways of greater breakthrough results, Drivers of change, Visionaries, and Catalysts are different in how they see the world and create value.
Giving Employees Actionable Feedback
Before you start critiquing your team members, think about how they performed on the latest project. When giving feedback, also give suggestions and direction on how they can improve and get to the next level. Don’t just give a compliment or critique and leave it at that. Add your thoughts and opinions. Finally, frame what you say in a positive way for the employee to respond and grow on what you tell them.
Being a trailblazer for change is not easy. Grow and change how you show up as a leader. Having a mindset that is growth oriented. While there is no one-size fits all approach to leadership creative leaders demonstrate certain types of actions that fit your style. Creative catalysts move your organization to creative and innovative change and growth.
