a) As Akosa Minerals Limited (AML) integrates lithium extraction into its core business, it faces challenges such as regulatory compliance, technological advancements, and stakeholder management. To successfully navigate these changes, AML’s leadership must demonstrate five key change management skills identified by Rosabeth Moss Kanter:

1. Communication Skills

• Effective communication is crucial in managing transformation within AML. Leaders must clearly articulate the company’s vision for lithium expansion and ensure that employees, regulators, and stakeholders understand the strategic direction.
• Application to AML: AML’s leadership should proactively engage with government regulators and mining communities to clarify its commitment to responsible lithium extraction and compliance with environmental laws.

2. Collaboration and Coalition Building

• Change is more effective when leaders build coalitions and gain support from key stakeholders. This involves fostering partnerships, negotiating with industry regulators, and engaging employees.
• Application to AML: AML must collaborate with the Ghanaian government, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and international investors to ensure sustainable mining practices and financial backing for lithium operations.

3. Emotional Intelligence and People Management

• Leaders must understand the emotional impact of change on employees and stakeholders. They should be empathetic and provide support to employees who may feel uncertain about AML’s diversification.
• Application to AML: AML’s leadership should address employee concerns regarding job security and training, ensuring that workers from gold mining operations receive opportunities to transition into lithium mining roles.

4. Risk-Taking and Innovation

• Embracing change requires a willingness to experiment with new ideas and take calculated risks. Leaders should foster a culture of innovation that encourages adaptation to market shifts.
• Application to AML: AML must invest in new lithium extraction technologies and pilot projects to remain competitive in the critical minerals market.

5. Strategic Thinking and Vision

• Effective leaders anticipate future challenges and align corporate strategy with long-term objectives. They balance short-term operational efficiency with long-term sustainability.
• Application to AML: AML’s executives should integrate ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) principles into its lithium strategy to align with global sustainable mining standards and attract international investors.

Alternatively;
Rosabeth Moss Kanter suggested that a manager in a change-adept entity should have the following skills.

1. Tuning in to the environment. Managers need to be aware of changes in the environment that will make change by the entity necessary or desirable. Kanter suggested that managers should create a network of ‘listening posts’ that they should use to monitor environmental change. She commented: ‘Pay special attention to customer complaints, which are often your best source of information about an operational weakness or unmet need.
2. Challenging the prevailing organisational wisdom. Change managers should be prepared to challenge the ‘conventional wisdom’ and question accepted views about what is necessary or the way that things should be done.
3. Communicating a compelling aspiration. A change manager should have a clear idea of what he wants to achieve and should communicate this ‘vision’ to everyone he deals with. The manager must have personal conviction that the change is necessary. Without this sense of purpose, he will not be able to ‘sell’ the need for change to others.
4. Building coalitions. Managers cannot make change happen through personal effort alone. They need to win the support and co-operation of all the individuals with the knowledge, influence or resources to make change happen. Making change happen is therefore a process of building alliances and support.
5. Learning to persevere. Managers should continue with the process of change even though there are likely to be setbacks and ‘defeats’ on the way.
6. Making everyone a hero. The manager should give full credit to everyone who helps to introduce change successfully, and should make them feel that their efforts are fully appreciated. If possible, individuals who help to introduce changes successfully should be rewarded.

b) The Gemini 4Rs Another model for introducing transformational change was promoted by Gemini Consultants. This is known as the 4Rs model. The elements of the model are as follows. Re-frame Create the desire for change. Create a vision of what the entity is trying to achieve. Create a measurement system to set targets for change and measure performance. Re-structure Examine the organisation structure, and create an economic model showing how value is created by the entity, and therefore where resources should be used. Re-design the processes so that they work better to create more value. Revitalise This is the entity’s commitment to the future. Find new products and new markets that fit well with the entity’s environment. Invent new businesses. Change the rules of competition by making use of new technology. Renew Develop individuals within the organisation. Make sure that employees have the skills that are needed and that they support the change process. Create a reward system to motivate individuals to seek change. Develop individual learning and creativity within the entity.