Characteristics and Competencies of Change Agents - Coursework Example

Running Head: Characteristics and Competencies of Change Agents Characteristics and Competencies of Change Agents Name Course Tutor Institution Date Introduction The world seems to be changing at the same time with business market and their prerequisites from time to time. Thus, organizations ability to be more flexible organization and to anticipate the market seems to be more crucial now as compared to some few years back. Organizations and businesses that fail to cope with the stipulated conditions in the right manner are likely to undergo difficulties when it comes to change management and thus they may not survive in their respective industry. When organizations are implementing their organizational change, irrespective of their sizes, there is a need for one or more change agents. The group of people or individuals that are tasked with the duty of initiating as well as managing change in organizations are termed as the change agents. Change agents may at times be internal or external. This paper sets out to identify the personal characteristics and competencies of change agents that are likely to enhance the prospects of change taking root. This section will be closely followed by a discussion of the various type of skills needed for change agents to initiate and manage change using a relational mode of agency.    Discussion Personal characteristics and competencies of change agents that are likely to enhance the prospects of change taking root Change agents in all organizations and other premises need to have some common personal characteristics as well as competencies that will enhance the prospects of change that is implemented to take root. On the same note, it is effective to note that, a certain change agent cannot be a master of all the competencies and skills and for that reason; a change agent engages other change agents as well as consultants. One major characteristic that change agent’s needs to have is self-efficacy (Anderson, 2011). Self-efficacy is defined as an individual ability to mobilize the cognitive resources, motivation and the courses of actions that are needed for them to exercise a general control over a number of events. Self-efficacy is usually outstanding in a number of situations and more so the situations that may be unpredictable and stressful to the individual. Self-efficacy is in a way correlated with changes while other researchers correlates the low levels of self-efficacy to signs such as resistance to change and job withdrawal just to mention a few of them. Based on these, change agents need to have self-efficacy and through it, they depict high levels of performance and task effort, resilience, persistence and mostly in the face of difficulties, self-control and effective solving of problems (Bolman & Deal, 2003). In this regard, it has been asserted that, there exists a positive relationship between readiness for change and self-efficacy and thus, change agent’s needs to possess these characteristics for them to implement the proposed changes in an organization in the most effective manner (Bolman & Deal, 2003). In addition to the above-mentioned competency, there is another competencies termed as the cognitive competencies. This kind of competency is required for thinking and perceiving and in these two broad categories, there are other number of competencies. Thus, changes agent’s needs to be analytical and conceptual thinkers (Burke, 2011). Through analytical thinking, change agents will understand a situation, and be able to organize the various parts of a situation to the problem in a systematic way, and this enhances the resolving of the issues or situation at hand. Through conceptual thinking, change agents understand the problem or situation by viewing it from a larger perspective. Thus, change agents need to make use of conceptual, creative and inductive reasoning. Through this, the change agents can effectively implement and manage change in their respective organizations. The other category of competencies is termed as the technical or the functional competencies. These kinds of competencies are required for one to perform effectively in their respective discipline, technical and functional area. Thus, change agents need to work so as to identify and resolve problems. Thus, they need to have the required knowledge and more so as an identifier of the problems as well as a solution provider. Thus, in this respect, change agents need to have the technical competencies which are mainly categorized in four major areas such as the breadth of the knowledge and skills, depth of the knowledge and skills, the distribution of expertise and expertise acquisition motive (Kotter, 1995). Because change agents are mainly concerned with the solving of issues and the issues are likely to emerge on the function of the organizations, there is a need of the technical knowledge to solve such issues. The other competencies and characteristics are broadly termed as the self-management or personal competencies and they help change agents to be effective when it comes to achieving their actions and goals despite environmental pressures and difficulties. In this regard, change agents need to have some competencies and the most common ones in this context refers to self-control, self-confidence, organizational commitment, flexibility and initiative. In regard to self-control, change agent’s need to keep their emotions under control and at the same time enhance or retain their effectiveness even in instances when they are faced with severe stress and hostility (DeBruijn, 2011). Additionally, the change agents need to display a sense of self-confidence and through this, change agents need to express their confidence and more so in the most challenging situations. Changes agents also need to be flexible so that they can adopt and at the same time work effectively in different situations and with different groups of people. In the same light, change agents need to have an organizational commitment and based on these, the change agents are expected to display their ability and willingness to align their behaviors with organizational goals, priorities, and needs (Kotter, 1995). Change agents also need to be initiative and need to have a preference of taking action and in respect to these, they need to even do more than what is expected of them. Therefore, change agents need to enhance and improve results and also avoid various problems and common up with new opportunities. This activities will show that they are initiative and they are ready to do the best and right thing at all times (Ford, Ford & McNamara, 2002). Thus, change agents should not in any way give up despite facing numerous obstacles, they need to recognize and seize the opportunities to ensure that there is improvement. At the same time, they should perform more than what is expected of them, in their job requirements and thus, they should always anticipate and make efforts aimed at seizing the opportunities that seems invisible to the others on the organization (Ford, Ford & McNamara, 2002). Type of skills needed for change agents to initiate and manage change using a relational mode of agency In addition to the above-mentioned characteristics and competencies, there are other types of skills that are needed for the change agents to initiate and mange change. One of such skills is in the interpersonal skills. These kinds of skills are aimed at ensuring that change agents deal with the other people in the organizations and those who are involved in the change process effectively (DeBruijn, 2011). The interpersonal skills are an array of a wide range of skills and in essence, a great number of these skills usually overlap with one another. It is very difficult for one to enumerate all the skills but some of the most common inter-personal skills includes but are not limited to helping other employees, inter-personal relations and developing as well as the maintenance of a smooth and cooperative working conditions with the customers, superiors, colleagues as well as clients and more so when implanting change. In their best behaviors, the change agents who display these skills show greater level of awareness as well as the considerations of the feelings and opinions of others. This skill usually ensures that, all people working in the change process work at ease with each other’s. In most instances, these skills are usually understood, interpreted and assessed at various levels. In regard to the inter personal relationships, the change agents needs to adhere to a number of rules, for example, they need to maintain composure when interacting with pothers even when they are under stress, having good judgments and maturity and managing of the conflicts in a constructive manner (Dawson, 2010). This can be achieved by looking for areas where a common agreement can be agreed. For the change agents to initiate and manage change, they need to have good and efficient communications skills and in this respect, they should ensure that the message relied is understood fully, accepted by the intended audience and ensuring that, the receiver has been motivated to act (Carnall, 2008). Another set of skills that the change agents need to possess relates to service oriented skills. Through this kind of skill, the change agents will be oriented towards the desire to serve or help others on meeting their needs. Through this skill, the change agents will focus their efforts on understanding, discovering and meeting the needs of others. The change agents also need to have skills related to the building of relationships. By this kind of skill, the change agents will build and maintain a friendly, trusting and warm relationship with others and this will be very essential in the building and achievement of the work related goals (Caldwell, 2003). Thus, the change agents in this case will be expected to; Consciously and regularly work to building a good rapport with others Establishing friendly and lasting relationships with a great number of people and more so those who may be useful in the future Change agents should always portray and make use of this skill in two major dimensions that includes the closeness of the relationships formed and the extent of the network or relationships. The building of strong, friendly and lasting relationships can therefore be termed as being among the most valuable skills that change agents ought to have and through this, there is a feeling of mutuality and trust (Burke, 2011). Because the work of change agents is likely to be faced with a lot of resistance, there is a need for the change agents to have good negotiation skills. This skill is classified under the cluster of skills that will enable individuals who have differing views to reach an agreement. Thus, change agents need to have this skill and they should show and implement it in a number of ways. Thus, change agents need to be aware of the benefits of negotiation. Change agents also need to know and appreciate the fact that, winning at the end is not the most important aspect and that a win-win solution is certainly the most effective plan in the end. Thus, change agents should always make use of different styles of approaches such as forcing, accommodating, avoidance, compromising and collaboration based on the situation at hand with the aim of achieving the desired objectives (Bolman & Deal, 2003). Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that the change agents in all fields have a number of common competencies and characteristics. It is crucial to note that most of the competencies and characteristics are not very unique to the change agents. As a matter of fact, the characteristics and competencies in the common day are to be possesses by the managers since the current day managers are the ones expected to be change agents in organizations. In addition to applying and gaining the above stated characteristics and competencies, the change agents have a role to apply in that they need to be actively involved in the identification of change opportunities as well as the facilitation. References Anderson, L. A. (2011). The change leader’s roadmap: How to navigate your organization’s transformation. New York, NY: Routledge. Bolman, L. & Deal, T. (2003). Reframing Organizations. New Jersey: Jossey-Bass. Burke, W. W. (2011). Organizational change: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Caldwell, R. (2003). Change Leaders and change mangers: Different or Complementary Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 24, 5/6. Carnall, C. (2008). Managing change in organizations. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Dawson, P. (2010). Managing change, creativity and innovation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. DeBruijn, H. (2011). Managing professionals. New York, NY: Routledge. Ford, J., Ford, L. & McNamara, R. (2002). Resistance and the Background conversations of Change, Journal of Organizational Change Management; 2002; 15, 2. Kotter, P. (1995). Leading Change: Why Transformations Effort Fail. Harvard: Harvard Business Review. Read More