“Boost your credibility as a change leader by connecting the change to what people value.” -Rum

As anyone can attest, change is hard. It requires each of us to make sacrifices in terms of time and effort to adapt to new ways of doing things, and to work through ambiguity and disruption. If we as individuals don’t believe in the change (i.e., the changes do not connect with the things each of us value), then the changes will take longer to adopt and have a higher cost to both the individual and to the organization, if the changes happen at all.

Restorative leaders connect change to what people value. This approach encourages people to invest emotionally into the change, boosting their motivation to make the sacrifices needed to accept and implement the change. Restorative leaders also help people thrive at work and feel a greater sense of control, which has the added effect of helping people overcome challenges and personal resistance that is related to sustaining the change.

Research by our own Research Services Team (RST) underscores the linkage between the strength of a leader’s restorative leadership style and perceptions of their change leadership. Specifically, our research on restorative leaders shows that when leaders recharge others’ engagement and capacity to engage (i.e., their Restore® Battery Score), are also seen by their direct reports as more credible and exhibiting more critical change leadership behaviors (as measured on the Core20 and LCI 360 assessments).

For example, leaders who have a stronger restorative leadership style also had…

• Stronger Change Leadership (r = +.83, p <.001).
  • Better at adapting quickly to change (r = +.69, p <.001).
  • Better at helping people overcome resistance to change (r = +.78, p <.001).
  • Better at providing directions during turbulent times (r = +.77, p <.001).
  • More likely to have a good strategy for helping people move through periods of change (r = +.79, p <.001).
• Stronger Leadership Credibility (r = +.79, p <.001)
• More likely to be recommended as an excellent leader/supervisor to a friend or colleague (r = +.81, p <.001).

The net of these results is that restorative leaders are perceived as stronger, more credible change leaders.

Take Action!

Three actions you can take:

1. Assess your restorative leadership style by taking the Restore® assessment at www.credible-leader.shop.
2. Consider a change you are being asked to adopt at work. How are the leaders helping you to adopt the change? Based on their leadership, are you feeling more energized (or less energized) about the changes, and are they helping you feel a greater sense of thriving and control?
3. Now consider a change you are leading at work. What are you doing to connect the change to what people value (i.e., recharging their Engagement)? How are you helping others gain a sense of thriving and control (i.e., restoring their Capacity to Engage) that will help them sustain their emotional investment in the change?

This research supports the Restore® Initiative, LRI’s campaign to encourage you to take a critical and constructive look at your own engagement (your Engage® Battery), and to learn about restorative leadership behaviors that help to recharge your own and others’ engagement (your Restore® Battery). The sample consisted of 206 full-time employees, from a variety of organizations, who completed the Engage® and Restore® Battery assessments, as well as the LCI 360 and Core20 leadership assessments. For more information, email credible-leader@lri.com or click on www.credible-leader.com.