Change management and leadership are primarily distinguished by their philosophies. Change leadership uses a combination of several synergies while change management is based on a single synergy. While change management is carried out by groups of people or consultants, change leadership is implemented by an individual with a vision of transforming the organization. Change management aims to ensure that the stakeholders do not resist the changes and that the process is kept under control within the budget. Change leadership, on the other hand, aims at mobilizing the resources required to effect change and initiates the change process. A change leader inspires the stakeholders to believe in their abilities.
For one to be a change leader, they need to be goal-oriented, trustworthy and with good communication skills. The leader needs to focus on the goals that he aims at achieving without any external interruption. The level of trust that the stakeholders have on the leaders is crucial in determining his ability to influence them to accept the changes. Finally, the communications skills are essential in making the stakeholders aware of the need to have the changes. The leader must be persuasive to make the stakeholders accept change and mobilize the required resources including human resources.
For one to succeed as a change manager, they need to be competent in terms of emotional intelligence, facilitation, and resilience. The manager must be emotionally intelligent to be able to manage the changes by being able to manage themselves in the first place. The manager should also be able to facilitate the change by mobilizing the employees to sell the idea of the change to the stakeholders. In most cases, change affects the operations of an entire organization, and this can have adverse effects on productivity. The manager, therefore, needs to be resilient so that he effects the change appropriately.