Design thinking is a great way to develop new and creative user-centered solutions to gnarly problems. Leaders still need to implement change initiatives, which can be particularly challenging in conservative, risk-adverse environments like law firms. How, then, should lawyers lead change? We’ll start with the “father of change management”, John Kotter.
Kotter has an excellent article on why change efforts often fail. Jon Katzenbach talks about how “real leaders are determined to shake things up.” Read the articles:
Leading Change: Why Transformation Effort Fail – John Kotter
Real Change Leaders – Jon R. Katzenbach (McKinsey)
Strategic Storytelling as a leadership skill
One of the most powerful tools lawyer-leaders can use to put wind in the sails of a change initiative is to tell strategic stories. Here are two resources on intentional storytelling to power change efforts:
The Irresistible Power of Storytelling as a Strategic Business Tool (Harrison Monarch – HBR)