Effective leadership is more about managing the journey of change than announcing the destination.

In his State of the Union address on January 25, President Obama discussed the opportunity to reorganize the government to make it more organized and better equipped to support American competitiveness.   He stated, “We should give [citizens] a government that’s more competent and more efficient.  We can’t win the future with a government of the past.”  Obama’s plan is to realign organizations to better prepare for a more competitive global economy.  The President noted that a major overhaul of the government hasn’t taken place since the middle of the last century. 

It’s apparently time for change!  This is why President Obama chose Jeffrey Zients, Chief Performance Officer (CPO), to lead the reorganization effort.  The first order of business is to examine trade and exports to determine how these processes can be improved and allow Americans to be more competitive in the global economy. 

With the number of changes being initiated in organizations and the pace at which these changes need to be implemented, change leadership is a critical competency for leaders throughout the organization.  Indeed, it is often said that the only sustainable differentiator is the capacity to successfully lead change.

When leaders learn to lead change effectively, they can expect to

• Minimize resistance to change and gain buy-in from those being asked to change
• Minimize the typical drop in morale when a change initiative is launched
• Minimize the amount of time required to achieve their desired goals
• Build an adaptive organization that successfully initiates and implements change on an ongoing basis

A study conducted by The Ken Blanchard Companies outlines the challenges organizations generally face that demand effective change leadership.  Learn what Blanchard uncovered about what happens with most change initiatives in this article on “Leadership Strategies for Making Change Stick.”

Read more http://howgovleads.com/2011/02/02/letting-go-of-the-government-of-the-past/