The Qualities that Set Great Change Leaders Apart from the Rest

Whether working on a self-contained change project, or in a more general program delivering a series of changes, the overarching reaction to change is that it is constant - and organisations must adapt quickly.

Change brought about by technological advancements, new processes, shifts in consumer preferences, or for any other reason requires effective change leadership. But what distinguishes exceptional change leaders from those who falter? This article highlights key qualities that set great change leaders apart, showing what excellence looks like compared to mediocrity.

Vision and Clarity

Great change leaders have a well-defined vision. For instance, Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, transformed the company by clearly articulating a vision focused on cloud computing and artificial intelligence. This clarity not only guided teams but also drove a remarkable 77% increase in Microsoft’s stock price from 2015 to 2025.

In contrast, poor change leaders often lack a solid vision. They may react to changes rather than anticipate them, which creates confusion. This lack of guidance can lead to a significant drop in employee engagement, as teams struggle to understand their roles and objectives.

Further, poor change leaders are those who can be reluctant to take a visible role. This leadership reluctance has come up in around half of the change management assignments I've been responsible for managing. Whether due to a lack of faith in the proposed solution, feeling forced into leading the change, unable to understand and process the associated risk, or backing away at the first signs of resistance, change leaders who stay their course can be rarer than we'd like to think.

Empathy and Emotional Intelligence

Empathy is crucial for great change leaders. They understand that transitions can be challenging for team members. For example, when an Australian FMCG company launched a significant restructuring in 2023, their CEO communicated the likely impact on jobs, consulted widely and made feedback channels open to understand employee concerns. This approach reduced resistance and fostered a supportive environment in which those with impacted jobs were successfully retained to oversee the automation or handover of their former roles.

Conversely, poor change leaders may overlook emotional impacts. A lack of empathy can increase turnover rates by as much as 25%, as employees feel undervalued and disengaged during the change process.

It's true that business is business, however organisations require people to run them, purchase their services, build their products, fill their stores with equipment and operate their strategies. Taking a human approach to change only makes sense.

Strong Communication Skills

Effective communication is vital during change. Great leaders consistently share updates, expectations, and feedback. For instance, during Colonial Mutual's demutualisation in the late 1990s, CEO Peter Smedley implemented top down communication with simple, straightforward messaging. This clarity kept the workforce informed and engaged throughout the transition.

In contrast, poor change leaders struggle to communicate effectively. Inconsistent or vague messages can lead to confusion, fostering a toxic environment filled with concerns and speculation, which can increase misinformation.

Communication problems can also occur from a desire to communicate when there is nothing yet to say. Change communications are specialised, and differ to traditional communications because of two key influences: resistance and impacts. Over-communicating before there is substantial information available about the specific change impacts can create general confusion and give resistors a platform to engender strife.

Adaptability and Flexibility

Adaptability is a key trait of great change leaders. They welcome feedback and adjust their strategies as necessary. For instance, when Netflix shifted from DVD rentals to streaming, this was because of leaders responding to consumer preferences, leading to a 45% increase in subscriptions in just one year.

On the flip side, poor change leaders often cling to outdated plans. This rigidity can hinder growth and stifle innovation, ultimately leading to the well-known 70% failure rate for organisational change initiatives.

The fallacy of sunk cost can come into play in our change leaders. This is a cognitive bias that occurs when we continue to invest time, money, or resources into a project or decision based on the cumulative prior investment, rather than on a rational assessment of future benefits and costs. It often leads to poor decision-making, as we may feel compelled to justify past expenditures, even when it becomes clear that the current path is no longer viable or beneficial.

This can sometimes lead to a cycle of escalating commitment, where the desire to avoid loss or regret overrides logical reasoning and objective evaluation of the true expected benefits of the change.

Decision-Making Capability

Great change leaders are decisive. They gather data, evaluate options, and make informed choices. During the pandemic, many leaders rapidly adopted remote work policies that catered to employee needs and improved productivity by 13% for some companies.

In contrast, ineffective leaders may hesitate or rely too much on others for decisions. This indecision can lead to a lack of confidence within teams, causing productivity to drop.

Not every leader needs to be a perfect example of every leadership trait. Great leaders know they have weaknesses and rely on their teams to fill the gaps. To do this requires:

• Strategic delegation - not trying to micromanage every detail but delegating important tasks to others with the necessary skills.

• Trusting in the team and allowing them to exercise their expertise.

• Understanding limitations - no one person can have all the skills needed to run a project, organisation or company.

Inspiring Leadership Style

Inspiring leadership is a hallmark of great change leaders. They motivate their teams through recognition and enthusiasm. For example, Howard Schultz, former CEO of Starbucks, openly celebrated employee achievements, increasing employee satisfaction scores significantly, which corresponded to documented revenue growth.

In contrast, poor change leaders often adopt a disengaged style. Their lack of enthusiasm can lead to a workforce feeling obligated rather than motivated, which can have the opposite effect and decrease performance.

Whether leaders consciously intend to be role models or not, employees look to how leadership behaves and model their own behaviours accordingly. In change environments, it is essential that leaders adapt quickly to exemplify the positive change behaviours they want to see in the workforce, including:

• Openness to change

• Listening to alternative views

• Positive attitude

• Problem solving

• Accountability

• Collaboration

• Empowerment

• Emotional intelligence

• Transparency

Strategic Thinking

Strategic thinkers consider long-term implications. Great change leaders analyse the broader impact of their decisions. For instance, Apple’s sustainability efforts have strengthened its brand image, demonstrating a perceived commitment to environmental responsibility and attracting environmentally conscious consumers, while also driving innovation. Apple aims to achieve carbon neutrality across its entire value chain by 2030, which includes reducing emissions by 75% compared to 2015 levels.

Conversely, poor leaders often focus only on immediate concerns. This short-sightedness can overlook important risks, leading to consequences that threaten long-term success, potentially causing financial losses often unexpected and unaccounted for.

When examining the qualities that set great change leaders apart from the rest, it's impossible to go past strategic thinking. A pure dollar and cents approach to the here and now is obvious, not particularly difficult and not indicative of great forward thinking.

Strong change leaders push beyond the here and now to imagine, visualise and bring into being the future state of their organisation, workforce, product line-up, customer base, market position, technology stack or industry.

Collaboration and Team Work

Great change leaders prioritise collaboration. They understand that diverse input fuels successful change. When Google launched its wide-spread initiatives for remote work in 2020, they invested in collaboration tools and technologies, promoting remote working across teams, resulting in innovative solutions that improved productivity by about 20%.

Poor change leaders, however, may create silos. By disregarding diverse perspectives, they inhibit problem-solving and innovation, leading to missed opportunities that can cost organisations in lost revenue.

In a former role with an Australian state government agency, the low diversity in the team was well-known to have direct impacts on the decisions they made, resulting in an acknowledged frustrating and poor experience of the public service for which they were responsible.

A team of people working in shifts was responsible for traffic-related decisions that impacted the state's citizens all day every day. Yet the team was demographically homogenous, consisting of men near retirement who had a policing or military work history. This tended to result in a focus on getting the traffic moving quickly past areas of congestion - like schools, airports, transport hubs and shopping centres - rather than facilitating better and more accessible utilisation by the public of these areas: people who were trying to travel to these areas, not past them. Low diversity in the team meant that the decision makers had very little experience in trying to use school drop-off zones and community shopping strips in peak traffic conditions.

Resilience and Persistence

Change can be challenging, but great change leaders are resilient. They stay committed to their vision despite obstacles. For example, during the 2008 financial crisis, leaders who persisted in their strategic goals saw their companies recover faster, with many experiencing pre-crisis revenue levels within three years.

In contrast, poor change leaders may easily become discouraged, which can undermine efforts. This lack of persistence can lead to a loss of faith in the initiative, decreasing morale and resulting in a decline in team engagement.

Maintaining strong team engagement means giving the team a reason - and naturally the team will only stay as committed as the leaders. Kotter's principle of Institute Change essentially means making change stick by anchoring it in the organisational culture. Persistence and commitment are key.

Final Thoughts on Qualities that Set Great Change Leaders Apart from the Rest

Leading through change is challenging, yet the qualities that distinguish great leaders are clear. Vision, empathy, communication, adaptability, decisiveness, inspiration, strategic thinking, collaboration, and resilience are the foundations of effective change leadership.

By recognising and rewarding these traits, organisations can cultivate leaders who will successfully navigate the complexities of transformation. The demand for skilled leaders will only increase and investing in these qualities now positions companies for future success.

For a confidential discussion on setting up your leaders, projects or organisation for change success; or to improve your ability to coach change leaders, book in a call with Agencia Change.

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