This question is an important one, because change is a requirement for wholeheartedness and relevance. Today, it’s essential that organisations and people are successfully morphing to their next stage of existence. Impermanence is one of the few things in life that we can truly rely on. How we experience and do life, and business today will be different in a few years’ time, and in some domains vastly different. This being true, a fundamental skill of leadership and management is change advocacy skills.
To support people in change, leaders first need to understand how people change. If they can do this, they can utilize this knowledge as a lever to support change. Simply expecting change will seldom bring change. Leaders need to be change savvy; they need to know how to build change capability. This takes time and investment. If you’re a leader in an organisation, let me ask you: how much focus are you placing on your skills and ability to lead change?
Remaining Relevant Requires Change
Simply put, organisational change is about future relevance. When we don’t change in a changing world, we start a slippery slope of irrelevance. Here are four of my favourite change quotes that support this notion. Warning: These are not feel-good quotes.
The good news is that we as human beings are not only capable of change, we’re able to thrive in change. We just need to know how to activate and support change.
There are four critical areas that support how people change. Each of these focus areas has the ability to agitate the other three into action; meaning that change can often be led by any one of these focus areas and followed by the others. But before I share these with you, lets ponder two questions for a moment: Where have you experienced successful change? And secondly, what enabled this change to be successful?
King Moshoeshoe of the Basotho people
One of my favorite stories of change comes from King Moshoeshoe of the Basotho people. King Moshoeshoe is remembered as a powerful and inspirational leader, especially during the turbulent 1830s, when many sought refuge under his guidance in the mountain kingdom of Lesotho.
But Moshoeshoe wasn’t always the wise and compassionate leader he became. As a young man, he was ambitious but often resorted to violence and domination to assert his power. Leadership, to him, was about control. That was until he met his mentor, the wise old man Mohlomi.
Mohlomi introduced Moshoeshoe to a different style of leadership, one centered on service rather than control. Their encounter lasted just three days, but it had a profound and lasting impact on Moshoeshoe. As a symbolic reminder, Mohlomi gave him an earring, which Moshoeshoe would carry as a tangible representation of this new path. Over time, people noticed a visible shift in Moshoeshoe’s behavior, and he went on to become one of the most revered leaders in Southern Africa.
So, how did this transformation happen? Let’s break down the four components of change through the story of Moshoeshoe:
1. Desire: A Compelling “Why”
People change when they have a strong desire or, as Simon Sinek says, a compelling “why.” The more emotional and meaningful this reason is, the more likely change will occur. Change expert John Kotter calls this “urgency”—without it, people cling to the status quo. For Moshoeshoe, the desire to become a great leader provided the spark that Mohlomi used to engage and guide him toward transformation.
2. Mindset: Shifting Beliefs
As George Bernard Shaw said, “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their mindset cannot change anything.” If new behaviors clash with our deeply held beliefs, change is almost impossible. Moshoeshoe had to challenge his assumptions about leadership. With Mohlomi’s guidance, he adopted a new, more service-oriented mindset that aligned with the leader he aspired to become.
3. Habits: Small Actions, Big Impact
Change often begins with small, consistent actions. As Seth Godin wisely puts it, “Attitude follows action far more often than action follows attitude.” In other words, don’t wait to feel ready—start acting as if you are. James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, reinforces this idea, saying that small, consistent habits cast “votes” for the person you want to become. While we don’t know the exact steps Moshoeshoe took, we do know that his behavior changed enough for people to take notice.
4. Environment: The Invisible Influence
Our environment shapes our behavior in ways we often don’t realize. James Clear offers a simple example: when water was made more accessible in a cafeteria, sales of water increased without any messaging around health benefits. The environment had changed, and so did the behavior. For Moshoeshoe, the earring Mohlomi gave him served as a powerful environmental cue, reminding him daily of his new path.
Putting It All Together: The Catalyst for Change
Change can be initiated by any one of these four elements—desire, mindset, habits, or environment—and once motion begins in one area, it often spreads to the others.
As Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau once said, “The pace of change has never been this fast, yet it will never be this slow again.” To thrive in today’s world, we must get better at both adapting to change and leading others through it. Simply demanding change isn’t enough. Like Mohlomi, leaders need to invest in the process—whether by igniting a compelling “why,” shifting mindsets, fostering new habits, or redesigning environments.
By doing so, you just might unleash the leader in yourself and in those around you.
