We all tend to fit one of seven types of change leader, each of which indicates a different mix of leading with Head, Heart, or Hands. The sixth change leader type is the Facilitator, who has strong Heart and Hands capabilities.
High-performance, high-participation organizations display constancy of vision and flexibility of approach. That’s good news for Facilitators, who excel at practical, creative, hands-on change leadership.
In The Heart of Change, Kotter writes,
People change what they do less because they are given analysis that shifts their thinking than because they are shown a truth that influences their feelings. The central challenge is not strategy, not systems, not culture. These elements and many others can be very important, but the core problem without question is behavior—what people do, and the need for significant shifts in what people do . . . Changing behavior is less a matter of giving people analysis to influence their thoughts than helping to see a truth to influence their feelings. Both thinking and feeling are essential, and both are to be found in successful organizations, but the heart of change is in the emotions. The flow of see-feel-change is more powerful than that of analysis-think-change.
Given their penchant for “making it real,” Facilitators are naturally gifted in helping others see and feel the positive impacts of change, and as Kotter notes, this is pivotal in organizational transformation. Once a Facilitator bolsters his strong focus on the Heart and Hands with conscious attention to the Head, he’ll be ready to lead positive change and invigorate his career.
I look more deeply into the role and the traits of the Facilitator in Change Intelligence.