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Leadership and followership
Leadership and followership

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5.1 Force field analysis

Force field analysis, developed by Kurt Lewin (1951), is a useful change management tool that looks at the drivers and resistors of change. Watch this short MindTools video for an explanation of how it works:

Interactive feature not available in single page view (see it in standard view).

At the end of this video there is a reference to an accompanying article. If you would like to read it, you can find it on the MindTools website [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .

Clay (2010) outlines six characteristics of successful change leaders in his blog article. He suggests you might want to cultivate these qualities in yourself, factor them into your hiring decisions and make them part of your team culture:

  1. Low level of anxiety – create an environment where people feel secure
  2. Emotional stability – take daily action to maintain a high level of enthusiasm among your team
  3. Action orientation – have events and activities that stimulate energy and action
  4. Confidence – measure and reward exploration, even if an idea fails
  5. Openness – encourage employees to gain different experiences and perspectives
  6. Risk tolerance – measure and coach your staff on how well they manage risk rather than penalising them when they fail.

Now you’ve reached the end of Week 6, you can try a short quiz to help you reflect on what you’ve learned.