The current role of leaders in organizational changes

Over the years, changes in the organizational culture of organizations have occurred as a result of a planned exercise as part of a new strategy, or as a result of external factors that affect their finances.

The health emergency caused by COVID-19 shook economic performance at the levels of countries, companies and individuals. The measures to prevent the spread of the virus implemented by various nations led us to implement actions that many people would resist under normal conditions. One of them was remote work through videoconferences, and another was the foray into online sales.

Another example of external factors is the one experienced by mining companies, since international metal prices are determined by the market or geopolitical issues. The way in which they face these changes is by planning the exploration, development and exploitation operations, so that when the circumstances arise they can prioritize the execution of those activities that will give them greater profitabilit.

On the contrary, when initiatives are executed within the framework of strategic planning, they have an impact on the profitability of the business. For example, in the cardboard and paper market, those companies that have a corrugation process and buy paper reels from all over the world (this raw material represents the highest production cost), ensure that they have the paper at time and with the quality required to subsequently produce boxes with the least amount of waste and with the least amount of unscheduled stoppages.

The previous examples may seem obvious and we might even think that, with the operational experience acquired, the changes will occur automatically. However, the activities carried out by all the people involved in the aforementioned processes are not 100% automated, and failure to comply with some of them triggers other results. It is here where the leaders of the companies play a fundamental role; first planning for the short, medium and long term, and then measuring the results of the execution and making adjustments to deviations from the plan.

In this order of ideas, leaders should be seen as agents of change to make the rest of the staff break paradigms and adapt to changing circumstances. Today more than ever in the health crisis in which we live, we need to make our conceptions of work more flexible, and enrich the portfolio of products and services to reach the market with a positive impact on our environment.