What's your change initiative? John Edmonds gives us some short sharp advice for success.

There are many things that leaders can do to promote and successfully lead transformational change in their organisation. Here are ten of my favourite ones – in no particular order.

• As a leader, remember that it all starts with you. If you want to champion change then you had better act like it. The way that you act and interact with everyone will shape their perspective of the change – they are watching you and they want to see that it is real.
• Build purpose for people, it’s a key motivator in change. People will always have the ‘why’ question in mind, so help them arrive at an answer that is both valuable and shared.
• Make engagement with people a priority that is both proactive and ongoing. This involves building relational approaches to your change initiative, not simply task approaches. Stakeholder engagement is of paramount importance.
• Don’t be constrained by your organisation’s hierarchy, think outside the formal lines of authority, think like a politician. Make coalitions; identify the early adopters, the influencers, the networks of relationships. And also pay heed to those who appear negative as they may have something important to contribute.
• Look to build the critical mass. You will need support and buy-in for the change to succeed, so understand where your organisational tipping point is. Efforts that don’t have a powerful enough guiding coalition can make apparent progress for a while. But, sooner or later, the opposition gathers itself together and stops the change.
• Others know things too. Don’t see yourself as the sole repository of knowledge. Answers to the challenges of change can come in surprising ways, so be humble enough to take note of the views of others.
• Make everyone a leader. Leadership works at many different levels in change initiatives, so be ready to equip and empower and encourage others to lead where they are.
• Resistance isn’t futile. Instead of seeking to squash resistance to your change programme, view the dissenters as possible sources of new ideas that could prove to be the key innovation that is needed for success.
• Have a planned approach – but be flexible. Understand any models or techniques that you might be employing, but at all times be ready to respond to the trends emerging and be ready to adapt or radically change your chosen approaches.
• Keep re-energising yourself and your team. Change and transition usually takes time, and can be exhausting. Build in activities that will refresh and renew your energy, and learn how perseverance can be a key differentiator for successful change.

John Edmonds is director of strategy and marketing and head of training at pearcemayfield, looking after the development of course materials and team of trainers. John has won himself many fans among delegates in the UK and internationally when delivering pearcemayfield courses such as PRINCE2, MSP and Change Management.