Managers as change agents

Managers who have difficulty with change often suffer pusillanimity. To initiate, encourage or maintain change, a manager needs the courage to fail. They also need interpersonal courage, particularly in the delivery of bad news and confronting poor performers. In addition, managers need moral courage to confront ethical dilemmas and corruption. Most importantly, change is a psychological issue in that managers need to challenge and support those who have to learn to behave differently. Perhaps managing the customer-facing employee in times of internal and external change is the most important task facing all managers. The paper concludes with an example of a bank that is trying to use 360° feedback to measure and encourage managerial courage.