From personal experience, we all know that when we feel part of the change we will be more motivated to make the change. If we feel the change is being done to us, we tend to drag our heels. This relates to our ability to make decisions.

People working at a management level will feel this way, and people working on the shop floor will also feel this way. If we can find ways of involving people in the decision-making process we can reduce resistance and improve engagement and motivation. But the level of involvement depends on a number of factors.

The Leadership Continuum describes the range of behaviours that we can adopt through a process of change from telling to selling, consulting, delegating and sharing. At one end of the continuum, we are very directive. At the other end, we might set the ultimate goal and limitations, but allow the team to make the plan.

The three factors that affect the style of leadership and behaviours are the timescale for decision-making, leadership maturity and the level of risk. If we need to make changes quickly then our level of team involvement tends to decline. Discussion will delay the process and if it is time-critical, may not be appropriate.

If change needs to occur over an extended period of time, team involvement will allow people to engage more completely with the change. Our own leadership maturity will affect how we want to involve others. In our early days in this type of role, we may not have the confidence to involve others.