CHAPTER ....

LEADERSHIP &
CHANGE
COMMUNICATION
Madam Melina Mahpuz
01 INTRODUCTION

02 DEFINING LEADERSHIP
AND CHANGE

03 COMMUNICATING
DURING A CHANGE

04 EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP
COMMUNICATION
 1. INTRODUCTION
• Change is constant
• Change often implies a disruption of the status quo and previously established ways of
working and doing things.
• May trigger controversy and confusion with employees and almost always presents a
justification problem.
• May lead to resistance (when managers do not communicate about the change)
• Change may not be what worries the employees, but rather their expectation that they will
no longer continue to work for the same organization.
• Denise Rousseau defined expectation as s 'sense of continuity' and it is essential for
leaders to shape and emphasize sense of continuity to maintain the employee's
identification with the organization.
• Organizational change needs the leadership of managers who articulate a rationale for:-
i. Why change is needed
ii. Who to drum up support from ('followers')
 2. DEFINING LEADERSHIP & CHANGE
• Our understanding of leadership at one level, build on images of great leaders. (e.g. Tun
Mahathir, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz)
• These great leaders have shaped how people think about leadership.
• Classic image of a leader, born-to-lead : have natural attributes and skills like courage,
charisma which often seen as 'given' / 'gifted'. (e.g. “He is such a natural leader”)
• Popular perspective of leadership : It can be acquired and developed, may also be
situational.
i. Focus on the ability to communicate and influence others, and simultaneously
being influenced by others in the implementation in change or any task.
• Traditional image of organization and control : Managers and supervisors should control
and manage the employees in strict ways, and from the basis of authority relationships.
• Since that 'traditional image', models of effective human resource management have
highlighted that employees are not robots or quantities of manpower, employees are social
beings who look for inspiration and want to be socially involved.
 2. DEFINING LEADERSHIP & CHANGE
• Leadership may differ depending on leadership style.
i. The way in their communication and behaviour
ii. The way they approach and provide directions
iii. The way they implement plans
iv. The way they energize and motivate others
• These styles may reflect their own leadership philosophy, personality and experience.
• Transactional leadership style : The leader is concerned with maintaining and ensuring
the completion of a specific set of tasks.
• Transformational leadership style : Broad vision and mobilized by leaders to motivate
employees foster collaoration between them to reach higher-level goals.
• Transformational leadership is for example when CEO wants to strategically move the
organization in a different directon.
• Transactional leadership is central to supervise and support day-to-day operations of an
organization.
 2. DEFINING LEADERSHIP & CHANGE
• Leadership is most needed in management of change
• Change is normal in an organization and can be classified in many terms.
• In terms of Degree of change :-
i. Radical change - Complete re-orientation of an organization.
ii. Convergent change - Fine-tuning the existing orientation and ways of working.
• In terms of its Time Frame :-
i. Evolutionary changes - Slowly ad gradually
ii. Revolutionary changes - Swiftly and affect virtually all organization.
• In terms of Primary Focus of the Change :-
i. Updated technology
ii. Restructuring and change in policies
iii. Routine ways of working
iv. Change in products and services
v. Change in organizational identity and culture
• Change can also be seen as departure from the old organization (substitution) or as an
addition, update of the old organization (addition).
 Putting change in perspective: Additive VS.
Substitutive changes
Additive Change Substitutive Change
Definition An incremental change at the level of work A redefinition of the organization's identity and
processes that enhances the productivity and purpose or a substantial restructuring of the
performance of the organization organization
Nature of change Small-scale Large-scale
Reason for Productivity: Specific operational problems or Continuity: the need for the organization to
change opprtunities to change work processes to achieve adapt or re-orient its overall structure and
superior economic performance positioning in a particular industry or set of
industries to secure its continuity
Term Short-term and strict time frame with clear starting Long-term, start point clear but longer time
and end points horizon around realizing the change
Focus Specific parts of the organization including Strategic renewal of the entire organization,
structures, technologies or work processes including its overall identity, structures,
technologies and work processes
Leadership Getting support for changes to work processes that Getting support for a drastic change that
challenge break with routines and conventions challenges the status quo and requires that
employees embrace a new or revised identity
 3. COMMUNICATING DURING A CHANGE
• Corporate Communication involves communicating to employees during and after
change.
• Communication is important to determine employees successfulness in implementing the
change.
• Poor communication may lead to rumors and resistance.
• Communication is also the main way to how a change is formulated, announced and
explained to employees that will eventually result to a successful implementation of
change.
• the importance of communication by Kurt Lewin's model of the change process. (water
freezing) (1) Recognizing the need for change (unfreezing)

(2) Development of a change plan (vision)

(3) Implementation of the new change (moving)

(4) Routinization of the change (refreezing)

 Management Guru - John Kotter (Managing Change Model)
Create a sense of urgency
1
Preparation in advance
2 Form a guiding coalition of a change initiative

Create a vision 3
4 Communicate the vision

Implementation of
Empower others to act on the vision 5 change

6 Create quick wins

Management &
Build on the change 7 institutionalization of the
change (becomes the
8 Instutionalize the change new status quo)
 Garvin & Roberto model
Change management as a persuasion process
Clampitt & colleagues Communication strategies
 3. COMMUNICATING DURING A CHANGE
• Spray and Pray :-
i. Managers showering ('spray') employees with all info about the change.
ii. The strategy is to pass on to employees who, hopefully ('pray') will sort the details and find
the meaning of the change for their day-to-day job.
• Tell and Sell :-
i. Managers communicating limited set of messages that only highlight the core issues about
the change.
ii. A top-down strategy : employees are not engaged in a conversation, but only being informed
about the change.
iii. Employees may feel they are not listened to, become sceptical or cynical about the change.
• Underscore and Explore :-
i. Managers focusing on several fundamentals issues clearly linked to the change while
allowing employees to explore the implications of the change in a disciplined way.
ii. When managers use this strategy, they assume communication is not complete or effective
until they now the reaction of the employees about the change.
iii. Managers not are only concerned with developing but also with listening to employees to
identify potential misuderstandings and obstacles.
 3. COMMUNICATING DURING A CHANGE
• Identify and Reply :-
i. Differet from the first three because it starts with the concern of the employees.
ii. The assumption of this strategy is that employees are in the best position to know issues
and feasibility of a change.
iii. Setback : emloyees do not have the bigger picture of the organization.
iv. Managers use this strategy as a defensive posture to be seen to attend to employee
concerns without even using the feedback.
• Withhold and Uphold :-
i. Managers withholding info until they can no longer keep them because of rumors or
employee revolt.
ii. Managers assume that infrormation s power and employees are not sophisticated enough
to understand.
 3. COMMUNICATING DURING A CHANGE
• The differences between these strategies involve the degree of either employees are
provided with relevant information, given guidance, feel involved and consulted
during the change process.
• As you move towards to the middle of the figure, it tends to offer employees more guidance
by prioritizing communication and provifing relevant and focused information.
• These strategies are more sensitive to employee concern and needs.

• The Underscore and Explore :-

i. Organizational change is more successful when employees in non-management
positions are able to give employees over the change process by providing feedback
on the change and its implementation.
ii. Joint involvement and collaboration between managers and employees in identifying
the need for change lead to greater employee commitment to a change.
 3. COMMUNICATING DURING A CHANGE
• The need for communication efficiency vary between some change initiatives.
• Communication efficiency :- the accomplishment of change communication with a
minimum expenditure of time, effort and resources.
• Communication efficiency is high in organizations :-
i. it is physically impossible to communicate in a face-to-face or interactive manner with
employees.
ii. resource devoted to change communication are scarce
iii. there is an urgent need to progress through the change process thus, limited time for
interaction.
• Consensus-building :- effort in change communication to achieve commitment to a
course of action as a result of joint decision-making.
• Consensus-building is high in organization when :-
i. changes are preceived to be radical and/or controversial
ii. there is a history of resistance to similar change
iii. critical resources (e.g. expertise, approval) are controlled by employees
iv. ongoing support and cooperation needed to maintain the change
 Factors affecting the choice of change
communication strategies

High need for

communication Need-to-know strategy Quid pro quo strategy
efficiency

Low need for

Equal participation
communication Equal dissemination strategy
strategy
efficiency

Low need for consensus- High need for

building consensus-building
 3. COMMUNICATING DURING A CHANGE
• Need-to-know strategy :-
i. Managers keep quite about planned hange except to employees that really need to
know or who explicitly express a desire for the info.
ii. This is done in (1) part out of an efficiency motivation, (2) in part to avoid giving rise to
potential objection from employees, (3) in part to avoid overburdening employees with
large information which they have little time or use.

• Quid pro quo strategy :-

i. Managers give more attention to employees who have something valuable (e.g.
expertise, approval, power, resources) for the change process.
ii. These employees are crucial to the change, thus need to consulted and
communicated with for the success of the change.
iii. It may anger other employee who feel left out.
 3. COMMUNICATING DURING A CHANGE
• Equal dissemination strategy :-
i. To spread the information to employee entire organization early, often and on equal
basis.
ii. Usually through newsletters, general meetings, postings, individual meetings, phone
calls, posters and banners.
iii. This strategy is not to involve all employees in the change but to give everyne fair
notice of the change
iv. This strategy is used to prevent complaint by employees
v. Common stratergy in large organizations with abundant communication channels.
• Equal participation strategy :-
i. Involves two-way communication (i.e. both disseminating infromation and soliciting
input) between managers and employees.
ii. Used when employees are crucial to the success of the change.
iii. Strategy quite costly and may become political when opinion, support and advice from
all sectors of the workforce are sought.
iv. Common stratergy in small and public sector organizations.
 4. EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP COMMUNICATION
• The use of communication by leaders like managers is to help employees understand and
implement the change.
• Successful management communication can make massive difference.
• Managers and leaders may reflect on how to communicate and how to frame change to
others to gain support.
• Attribute of successful management or leadership communication :-
i. A thruthful and passionate commitment to an idea
ii. Passion through facial expression and use gestures
iii. Tell stories
iv. Need conversational skills
 4. EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP COMMUNICATION
• A thruthful and passionate commitment to an idea :-
i. Commitment to a clear, inspiring idea.
ii. Committed to what they are saying, it gives out a level of consistency and personal
touch.
iii. It brings a personal passion that is more like to win people over.
• Passion through facial expression and use gestures :-
i. Gestures (natural mobements of the arm and hands)
ii. Gestures are subtle but important means of communication and persuasion that are
first seen to reflect a leader's emotions or passion about something.
iii. Skillfully using gestures can make a person seen as persuasive.
• Tell stories :-
i. Stories and frames are to initiate change initiative and motivate workforce.
ii. Stories can be useful to present in a single frame the rationale of change, the steps
needed to realize it and the overall beneficial outcomes that are likely to result.
iii. Stories present a sequence of action and events leader to a paticular outcome (as the
plot). The outcome then rationalize any conscious taken by individuals to get there.
iv. Provide the coherent understanding of what the change may lead to.
 4. EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP COMMUNICATION
• Need conversational skills :-
i. To tap into ongoing conversations about the change.
ii. The aim is to mobilizing conversation at the interpersonal level to enable others in the
organization to see possibilities
iii. Try to relate to others in conversational setting so employees can view the
organization and managers relations with others in a new light.
iv. Successful leaders are able to have open conversations.
v. Willing to say where they stand and what they think, while showing themselves as
being open to accept new suggestions and opinions.
• Importance of conversations and conversational skills :-
i. Emphasize that a straightforward leadership presentation may not be sufficient.
ii. In order to continue and accelerate the enthusiasm and implementation of a change,
managers and leaders must have regular and ongoing conversations with people they
are leading about the things that is going on.
iii. This detailed conversations often matter the most and may be deciding factor to
whether individuals in organizations are supportive or resistant to a change.
Thank You