The Transformer role revolves around organisational change. The impact of change and how to manage it are key areas for transformation leadership. Making up one of the six profiles in our leadership framework, this leader is pivotal in the success of making and embedding changes.  

The absence of a Transformer in your team might manifest as you navigate organisational change. Your leaders might be met with resistance and struggle to get buy-in from their teams. They may also find it hard to adjust their own leadership, let alone encourage adaptability from their team.  

With the capacity to recognise when reform is needed, advocate for it and implement it, Transformers are key players in making transformations work. Their ability to deliver a clear and compelling vision for the future is what gets their team excited to make adjustments, with an understanding of how they will benefit the business. Leveraging influential people in their networks helps them to further communicate the impact and garner more support. 

Navigating the process in this way allows them to role model adaptability, encouraging their people to navigate adversities with optimism. They fully understand that there are inherent difficulties in making big adjustments, but with transparency and keeping realistic about the work involved, they mobilise their teams to adapt brilliantly.  

What key traits does a Transformer have that your leaders can learn? 

Embracing Change

Transformers are excellent at embracing change. They understand that it is a necessity and will advocate for it among their teams to get the best outcome possible. They also have a flair for delivering a compelling vision of the future. The way they communicate with their people about organisational change ignites excitement and inspires hard work to make it happen. Research shows that communication is critical to the success of a transformation. Compelling, experiential language that promotes understanding is most effective¹. 

Their skills in clear communication mean that they are able to reduce any ambiguity surrounding the process, and cultivate an aligned perspective across their team. By enlisting the support of influential people across the organisation, they can deliver this communication further. In turn, this drives greater support for and belief in the transformation plan. 

As a strong guiding compass with a clear direction, they are able to convey the impact that the adjustments could make, increasing the commitment from their people. Without transformation leadership skills in delivering clarity and context, information can be with no clear vision. Teams can therefore be left feeling frustrated and resentful of changes.

Change Management

Change management is a core skill of the Transformer. They navigate the process with optimism, role modelling agility to their team even in volatile situations. Their ability to lead in this way cultivates an environment of optimism, encouraging their team to believe in the benefits of achieving a transformation.  

They don’t have their head in the clouds, however. Transformers are realistic about the work involved in making adjustments and are always transparent about this with their team. A key component in their strategy is helping their people understand how they are going to contribute to the process. When individuals see their own value in the bigger picture, they are energised to commit to the changes.  

Their style of management in these circumstances helps teams to build resilience at work. Without Transformers in leadership, teams are at risk of being less agile and resistant to transformation. Also, the optimism that Transformers inspire in their people is crucial to successful implementation.  

Adaptive Leadership

Modelling adaptive leadership is crucial to The Transformer’s ability to elicit agility in their team. Cultivating an environment where people can be flexible in the face of adversity is important in times of uncertainty. Transformers are excellent at leading through change because due to their understanding of the inherent difficulties in making changes, but have the skills to support their team through any setback.  

By being adaptive themselves to new circumstances, they enable their team to flex with them. They demonstrate this by accommodating different scenarios and responding constructively to adversity. Without transformation leadership, teams may feel unsupported as they navigate change. This can have detrimental effects on the durability of the transformation, so it’s vital that this role is present and these qualities are available to teams through volatile situations. 

Transformers are evidently instrumental in implementing organisational change. With a deep understanding of why it is needed, how it can be achieved and what the benefits will be, they can impart this knowledge to their team with clear and compelling communication. Furthermore, the Transformer’s unique leadership skills are critical for sparking excitement for the positive impact that new adjustments can bring to the organisation. Their ability to inspire unshakeable optimism in their people and meet obstacles with agility is what makes their leadership transformative.

Enable Transformation Leadership With An Alchemist’s Learning Programme

Your leaders might not be naturally adept at managing change. However, with an Alchemist learning programme, they can learn key skills that will enable them to lead change with confidence. With engaging sessions that are custom fit to your people, together we can develop your leaders to embrace a diverse range of skills from our leadership enablement framework. Get in touch today to find out more.  

¹Carton et al, 2015