Leadership

Topic 8: Leading
Change
*Understanding Complex Organisational Change

*Leading Organisational Change

*Leading Cultural Change

*Leading An Innovative Organisation

*Creating & Leading A Learning Organisation

Analysing Complex Change Drivers
*Types of change encountered by organisations are
generally far more complex than those faced by
individuals
*This is due to the large number of stakeholders that
are involved in organisational change & the wide
range of spheres in which the organisation engages
*The pace of change in the external environment is
higher
*This increases the number of environmental cues
that the organisation must monitor
*One tool that may assist executives and organisations
in analysing the environment (and the complex
network of change drivers which it presents) is the
PEST analysis

*PEST is an acronym defining four categories of

change in the wider environment: political, economic,
socio-cultural and technological

* Two additional categories—environmental and

legal—are sometimes added, producing acronyms
such as PESTEL or LEPEST.
Complexity Originating Within The Organisation
*Organizational Structure
Most organisations are divided into discrete components,
based either on function (e.g. IT) or geographic location
(e.g. Melbourne office)
The structure of organisations is generally hierarchical
Each of the discrete components of an organisation may
experience different change drivers, a different
combination of change drivers, or different impacts from
given drivers.
Degree of dislocation between components
*Organizational Change Resistance
• It has often been noted that organisations resist change,
favouring tradition and the status quo. This may be traced
back to divisional structure.

• Kotter and Schlesinger (1979) have identified four distinct

sources of change resistance within the organisation:
• Parochial self-interest—There may be a perception the
change will create winners and losers.
• Misunderstanding and lack of trust—People will naturally
resist change when they do not fully understand what it
involves.
• Different assessments—Even where the relevant change
drivers have been communicated to all stakeholders, some
groups may assess the need for (and potential impacts of)
the change quite differently
• Low tolerance for change—Often people will resist change
because they worry that they will not be able to develop
the new skills or behaviours required of them.
A Process For Implementing The Change

KOTTER’S 8 STAGE
CHANGE
MANAGEMENT
MODEL
*Step One: Create a sense of urgency
In order for people to have the level of motivation necessary
for your change to succeed, they need to see a sense of
urgency. They need to know that the change is needed now.
*Step Two: Create guiding coalitions
Develop a team of leaders that represent the entire
organization. This team should have the expertise and
influence necessary to bring credibility to the change.
*Step Three: Develop the change vision
The vision and strategy behind it should be well focused,
realistic, attainable, desirable and easy to communicate to
others.
*Step Four: Communicate the vision
Communicate with the goal of getting buy-in from your
audience. Encourage a dialogue that is easy to
understand, clear and easy to share.
*Step 5: Empower others to act
Determine what barriers are in place (e.g. organizational
structure, employee skillsets, individual resistance to
change, etc.) and work to remove barriers as far in
advance as possible.
*Step 6: Create quick wins
Short-term wins on the way to long-term change help
overcome resistance and build momentum.
*Step 7: Don’t let up
Resistance to change can re-emerge later in the
process. Continue to move the change forward by keeping
the urgency high, encouraging employee empowerment
and greater focus on the strategic vision by leadership.
*Step 8: Infuse the change into the corporate culture
As Kotter puts it, “Make it stick.” New employees should
see the change as part of the culture. Existing employees
should see it as a benefit over the previous way of being.
Promoting The Change
Garvin & Roberto’s change through persuasion
Overcoming Resistance
*Kotter and Schlesinger (1979) propose six possible
approaches to overcoming change resistance. Each approach
has strengths and weaknesses, and each is responsive to a
particular set of conditions in the change environment.
*Education and Communication
*Participation and Involvement
*Facilitation and Support
*Negotiation and Agreement
*Manipulation and Co-optation
*Explicit and Implicit Coercion
Culture is an important principle for any organisation
because, it:
*integrates team members into the organisation
*helps the organisation adapt to the external
environment.

According to Daft (2008), cultures may be measured

according to three main criteria:
*how strong they are,
*whether they are adaptive, and
*whether they contribute to high performance.
Daft has identified three specific cultural values that
typify high performance organisations:
*The greater good outweighs that of specific units
within the organisation, & the divisions between
units are minimised.
*Equality and trust are cherished values.
*Risk taking, change and improvement are
encouraged
*Daft (2008: 430–433) also identifies six cultural
change mechanisms that can help the leader to fulfil
this role effectively:
1. Coordinating ceremonies
2. Telling stories
3. Communicating with symbols
4. Developing specialised language
5. Selection and socialisation of staff
6. Reinforcing values through their daily actions.
*Creativity :“The generation of ideas that are both novel
and useful for improving efficiency and/or effectiveness of
an organisation". (Daft)
*Innovation is a necessary ingredient for any change
process.
*Drucker (1998) identifies seven sources of innovation:
• Unexpected Occurrences • Demographic Changes
• Incongruities • Changes in Perception
• Process Needs
• New Knowledge
• Industry and Market Changes
Providing a creative environment
*Opportunities can only be exploited successfully if the
organisation provides an environment which nurtures and
guides creativity.
*In order to guarantee that the innovation is beneficial, the
leader must align individuals' interests with those of the
organisation
*The leader can instil creative values (such as exploration and
risk-taking) by providing a context where these can be acted
on without adverse consequences.
*Leaders can encourage others to experiment and think
outside their normal role by allowing time for 'unofficial
activity'.
Harnessing individual creativity
In addition to providing a conducive environment, the leader can
improve overall creativity by working directly with those who are
innovating.
Techniques outlined by Daft (2008) that draw out creativity from
people include:
*Brainstorming—The main benefits of brainstorming are access to a
wide range of perspectives and immediate face-to-face feedback.
*Lateral thinking—This technique involves unconventional
approaches to the problem, and may produce genuinely original
answers.
*Free-association activities—Word association and riddles are two
examples of activities that train people to allow their subconscious
mind to suggest creative answers.
*Meaning:
Garvin (1993: 80) defines a learning organisation as "an
organization skilled at creating, acquiring, and transferring
knowledge, and at modifying its behavior to reflect new
knowledge and insights".

*Management:
Garvin (1993) identifies five 'building blocks' for managing the
productive operation of a learning organisation. These include;
*Systematic Problem Solving
*Experimentation
*Learning from Past Experience
 *Learning from Others
*Transferring Knowledge
*Measurement:
*The final issue relevant to creating and leading a learning
organisation is to measure its performance.
*Garvin (1993: 89) reminds us that 'if you can't measure it,
you can't manage it'.
*In the context of learning organisations, this means
measuring the learning in the same way as performance
against any other organisational target.