Leading Change

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.

Change Management vs. Change Leadership – What’s the Difference – 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)

Steve Denning on Storytelling at TedxHogeschoolUtrecht

Karen Eber – How your brain responds to stories and why they’re crucial for leaders (TedxPurdueU)