Here's how you can overcome challenges as an assertive leader driving change.

I have found that some of my best and most authentic conversations have come about after showing vulnerability and opening up to others. I am a very empathetic person and have had to learn to balance my empathy with assertiveness, that’s when I can use my Empathy as a superpower instead of it being a limitation.

Many leaders and organisations have a very negative opinion about cultures which allow, even more - promote - conflicts on management level. I see this totally different. As long as conflicts are constructive, they help the teams and organisation to identify weaknesses and to apply improvements. The richness of a highly productive and innovative management team lies in the diversity of its team members, especially when different cultures, experiences, philosophies, strategies and ideas meet each other. The only no-go`s are ethical non-accordances and personal disputes. As Schumpeter`s famous "constructive destruction" expressed it. This is also a question of the necessary courage, which devides leading companies from losing companies.

Additionally, anticipating the needs and likely objections of clients or vendors allows you to prepare well-reasoned responses and alternative solutions. This demonstrates your commitment to finding a mutually beneficial outcome and fosters trust and cooperation.

I have found that sincerely adopting a servant leader mindset, engaging stakeholders with the perspective that they are your customers, and genuinely listening to their needs and concerns to gather their feedback, negotiate, and develop honest project/product requirements can effectively excite leaders. This can help carry their enthusiasm across the organization to support change adoption successfully.

Empathy need to come from the leaders, is not a change manager responsibility, when the workers can see their leaders are “suffering” the new way of the change, showing how they are going to be benefit from the transformation and explaining how everything needs to improve inclusive their own jobs, roles, culture, they will feel equal and will promote the change

Clear communication is the cornerstone of assertive leadership. Drawing from my 25-year experience heading various departments at the Lebanese tax administration, I have consistently emphasized clear communication to implement complex tax policies effectively. Additionally, as the former Minister of Information, I navigated through significant crises (COVID-19, Beirut port explosion, economic crisis…). It’s crucial to articulate the vision, reasons for change & expected outcomes without ambiguity. Ensuring transparency & regular updates were essential to avoid misunderstanding & build trust publicly & within the team. Finally, by explaining the 'why' behind changes, leaders can align their teams & stakeholders, driving successful outcomes.

Communication never will be enough, we as humans always need to know more that’s why the people who can see the future in cards, hands, etc., are very famous. What is necessary to create a confidence environment is to let them know that no body knows everything, and the info will be provide as it is available and accurate, news will be delivery when they are ready.

Two important aspects of clear communication is the frequency and also the channels of the communication that is used. Depending on the importance of the topic the channels and frequency of the communication should be adjusted. I have experienced that normally more communication is better than less communication.

It involves conveying your vision, goals, and plans in a straightforward and transparent manner, ensuring that everyone understands the direction and purpose of the change. Clear communication also means being open to feedback and addressing concerns promptly, which helps to build trust and reduce resistance. By providing consistent and concise information, you keep your team informed and aligned, facilitating smoother transitions and more cohesive efforts toward achieving organizational goals.

Focusing on the performance improvements changes will create motivates people to embrace the change. Most of the time, performance improvements make everyone's job easier. Depending on the particular role or responsibility, everyone will benefit differently. Communicate specifically to the audience how the performance improvement will make their job easier.

I believe creating boundaries around clearly defined roles and responsibilities helps identifying training needs and devising plan to address low performance, where as opening up new roles and opportunities for high performers. Encouraging communication, providing continuous mentorship, enforcing consequences and facilitating cross-training are essential to develop talent within a team. I've experienced that establishing boundaries helps minimize time spent on low value tasks, encourage learning and initiation, enable progress toward a common goals. Various KPIs can be created to gauge performance against goals over time.

It involves clearly defining expectations, roles, and responsibilities to ensure clarity and minimize misunderstandings. By establishing boundaries, you create a framework that helps prioritize tasks, manage workload effectively, and prevent burnout. Additionally, setting boundaries encourages accountability and encourages team members to respect each other's time and personal space. Ultimately, effective boundary-setting contributes to a positive work environment where individuals feel valued, empowered, and motivated to achieve shared objectives.

Boundaries are like the sports rules, they are very clear before the game start and not negotiable, the time depends on the sport, the field also, there are referees who are in charge of the rules follow up.

One example I have encountered recently is a lack of team familiarity with communications and training planning and development interfering with the actual work itself. Once resistance affects large areas of performance, set boundaries and ensure norms are in place so that general professional best practices are followed, regardless of resistance to following them.

There’s always a driver behind the scope of a program, ie regulatory, business needs, etc & on occasions there maybe ‘Time’ factor which may play big factor. During defining the scope, if stakeholders propose ‘Value add’ suggestions, they should not be thrown way but added on to the ‘Book of work’ but be transparent in your relevant governance (ie managing expectations) forum and work with your stakeholders on what would be required to get it materialised. Yes it’s important to know your end goal with your defined scope but always remember to keep your stakeholders in the journey.

To promote employees’ resilience I see open early communication and the highest possible level of transparency as important prerequisites. Ideally, those involved in the process are also involved in decision-making processes and can therefore identify with them to a high degree. There should also be the opportunity to give feedback during the change process. Every employee has different prerequisites and attitudes towards change. Individual coaching should be offered to support with workload and emotional stress. Healthy and empathetic leadership and a workload that remains within reasonable limits can be of particular importance. Understanding each other and mutual support within the team are certainly further success factors.

It requires creating a supportive environment where individuals feel empowered to take calculated risks and learn from failures. By encouraging a growth mindset and providing opportunities for skill development and mentorship, you help cultivate resilience. Effective communication, constructive feedback, and recognition of achievements play pivotal roles in building resilience, as they reinforce confidence and motivation. Ultimately, fostering resilience not only strengthens individual capabilities but also enhances team cohesion and performance, enabling the organization to navigate changes and achieve long-term success.

One thing I found helpful in navigating change is consistently communicating the vision and benefits to the team. This creates purpose and mitigates fear. Celebrating small wins boosts morale, and encouraging feedback makes team members feel valued, reducing resistance and fostering a positive outlook.

In my experience if there is resistance to change, it’s important to understand why. In team or in 1:1 meetings, it’s critical your team members are empowered to share any of the challenges encountered & work with them. Just voicing the challenges encountered in a ‘Safe’ environment will allow the team members they will not go in the journey on their own. Yes during the Change journey some will learn on the ‘Job’ experience of new skill sets but at times you need to provide ‘Coach’ hat on.

Several years had passed since we start hearing about change management, many new techniques and theories, what has been a constant is the people we can not avoid the feelings, at the end is a matter of felling, the people will acepta and adopt if they like it, can with it and understand it

Como es lógico todo cambio genera una resistencia inicial, fomentada por la incertidumbre y el abandono de la zona de confort, la clave para que desde las figuras de liderazgo se aliente el mismo, está en la creación de contextos emocionalmente seguros. A nivel técnico o de conocimientos, la adaptación puede ser más rápida, pero es la falta de certezas a nivel emocional la que crea la resistencia. En este sentido el líder debe ser promotor del cambio o facilitar, favoreciendo un entorno de relaciones sanas y cordiales que creen entornos de trabajo emocionalmente seguros, para ello es básica una comunicación abierta, clara, constructiva y bidireccional.

It requires understanding the dynamics of influence within your team and across stakeholders, identifying key decision-makers, and effectively communicating your ideas and vision to garner support. By building credibility through consistent and ethical leadership practices, you can inspire trust and influence others to align with your objectives. Leveraging influence also entails listening actively, empathizing with different perspectives, and adapting your approach to engage diverse stakeholders effectively. Ultimately, effective use of influence enables leaders to mobilize resources, navigate challenges, and propel the organization toward sustainable growth and success.

As I commented in other point the Leaders walk the talk is the formula. If the workers can see all their leaders going to the same direction, will create a confident environment and a curiosity to move forward, no body want to go to unknown place, situation. Leadership alignment and cohesive team, will produce curiosity to move on

KYS (Know Your Stakeholders) is paramount in driving change. If big decisions are to made in relevant forum, working behind the scenes to earn the trust of ‘Decision’ or ‘Influential’ makers are critical.

Win over trusted individuals and multipliers: Identify opinion leaders and influential people in the company early and convince them to support the change. Act as a role model: Managers should exemplify the desired values and behaviours themselves and thus set a positive example. Use networks and relationships: Use existing internal and external networks to gain support for the change and overcome resistance.

Fostering an environment where open and honest feedback is encouraged throughout the change process. This not only helps in spotting potential issues early but also ensures that your team feels involved and valued in the transition. Acting on the feedback received emphasizes the collaborative nature of your leadership, enhancing the change management strategy and leading to better outcomes. By promoting a culture of feedback, we strengthen team engagement and create a sense of shared ownership in the success of the change.

One thing I have found helpful to promote open and honest discussion is to arrange the forum to get the feedbacks on a more frequent basis and also follow up actions from these feedback with the help of an action log. This will create the importance of hearing out the feedback from the people who is affected by the change and create transparency!

Feedback is the answer to the question. The key is to keep the feedback structured, timely and consistent. Change management is a defined process and each key milestone requires a specific set of inputs that are aligned to the feedback- eliminating vague and generic. The most effective approach to using this would be to create proactive feedback steps and implement clear two way communication between the stakeholders.

Encouraging open and honest feedback throughout the change process create an environment where team members feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and concerns. This approach helps in identifying potential issues early and equally permit the team to actively participate in the change process. Early identification of issues allows for timely interventions, preventing small problems from escalating. Moreover, when team members are invited to contribute their feedback, they feel more invested in the process and the outcomes. When feedback is welcomed and acted upon, it reinforces the collaborative nature of leadership and helps refine the change management strategy for better outcomes.

The basis for open feedback is trust - in the manager, the company, the environment. How do they deal with it? Is constructive criticism valued and what happens to it? Does the manager actively listen? What (safe) space is given for feedback? Is feedback part of the corporate culture and how is it actually practiced ("walk the talk")? These are important success factors, especially in change processes that are characterized by uncertainty.

Overcoming challenges as an assertive leader driving change requires a clear vision and strong communication. Begin by defining and articulating your goals transparently, ensuring everyone understands the purpose and benefits of the change. Build trust by listening to feedback, addressing concerns, and involving your team in the decision-making process. Stay resilient and adaptable, willing to pivot strategies as needed. Provide consistent support and resources to your team, empowering them to embrace the change. Recognize and celebrate small wins to maintain motivation. By balancing assertiveness with empathy and flexibility, you can effectively lead and inspire your team through the challenges of change.