Change Management and Leadership - Research Paper Example

?(Add (Add (Add Information) (Add Change Management and Leadership Introduction It is generally accepted these days that without a strong leadership, it is impossible for an organization to change. In other words, only a strong and fully committed leadership can introduce successful change plans and gain the support and commitment of the stakeholders. Anyway, one can undoubtedly say that change is an unavoidable thing in the present day business climate. In change, the first role of leadership is to develop such a culture in which knowledge is shared instead of hoarded. In other words, the organization should be a learning organization. Secondly, the leadership should have the power to motivate and empower the followers so that they become ready to adapt to changes without resistance. Also, they should be encouraged to accept the shared vision and get ready to accept challenging goals. Another important point is that the leadership should be able to enforce enough discipline to execute the plans and policies. Most of the time, organizations come up with impressive strategic plans but they lack the change management skills to properly operate the strategies to reach the expected goals. As Kaminski insists, whenever there is a plan, there should be properly developed performance measures and targets. Thirdly, the leadership should be fully prepared to change at any time as an organization might need to change as a result of environmental changes. So, only a fully prepared leadership can ensure that the organization has an environment that proactively observes and responds to changes in both external and internal factors. Finally, the leadership should understand change as a long and continuous process which has to be implemented over a long period of time. Leadership as the Visionary The first role of leadership is that of a visionary. In other words, the leadership is able to imagine the future and look for opportunities and challenges. In other words, the leadership is able to foresee things and situations which are to take place in future. Thus, the change introduced by a leadership will match with the organizational vision, mission, strategy, and individual goals. In simple words, leadership has the responsibility to introduce such changes which will result in the growth of the organization (Elements of Visionary Leadership). Leadership as the Inspirer Leadership should have the ability to inspire and motivate the people under it. It is often achieved by identifying specific benefits to the people and minimizing potential losses. Also, there is participative decision making and open communication which will make the followers feel that there is a compelling reason for change. Leadership as Supporter In fact, leadership acts as supporter through providing enough resources, enough time, recognition and rewards. Also, from time to time, leadership will publicise vivid stories about the success of the change. Moreover, the leadership will provide such a picture that the success of all people is dependent on the success of the change. Leadership as Supporter Leadership also acts as supporter during changes. It actively listens to the problems and criticisms of people. Also, it offers as much empathy and care as possible to the people affected by the change. Leadership and Change Strategies There was a seminar named ‘Transforming Organisations’ organised by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions in Madrid on 23 and 24 September 2003. In the seminar, all the participants agreed to the fact that change management is the most important role of leadership. In fact, most of the changes introduced in organizations are aimed at improving either performance or productivity. The various strategies the companies adopt to ensure transformation range from growth, innovation and skills development, downsizing, layoff, replacements, altering assets and resources, and so on and on (cited in Dhondt, Kraan and Sloten). June Kaminski points out certain important features of the leaderships which introduce successful change. Kaminski says that they are the taking risks, understanding the politics involved, giving attention to even minute details, creating a good impression, making the employees aware about the crisis, developing a new identity, demonstrating the need for change, communicating in a timely and proper manner, having a clear vision which is capable of getting the commitment of everyone, and developing a shared goal. According to people like Lewin (qtd in Macredie et al), there are three phase in a change; and they are unfreezing, movement (or change) and refreezing (8). The unfreezing phase In the unfreezing phase, the leadership is supposed to unfreeze all those forces which maintain the status quo. This helps in revealing all the drawbacks in the present situation. The benefit of this unfreezing is that as the problems are clearly visible, people become discontented and aware of the need to change. The change phase The change phase involves the leadership identifying, planning, and implementing adequate and suitable strategies in order to overcome the resistance. That means, the strategies should be sufficient to ensure that the driving forces exceed the restraining forces. Admittedly, the change phase is not an easy one because change is always unsettling. It is normal for people to resist any change as far as they do not recognize its importance, do not take part in its development, or do not have any control over its enforcement. So, the first tenet of change is that staff should be properly consulted about the change because they are concerned about how the change would affect them. Secondly, by ensuring their proper participation, it is possible for the leadership to earn the commitment of the people who are to be affected by the change. The second important point is that whenever there is a change, the employees must be made aware about the need for the change and also about the potential benefits they will get out of it. Thirdly, the people should be given assurance that they will not be damaged by the change. Another vital point is the use of open communication with people. The benefit of such open communication is that the feelings, attitudes, and habits which require change can be discussed openly. Such a discussion will make some people understand the need to change and many people will follow suit as they see other people changing their attitude. Yet another area for the leadership is to ensure proper timing of the change. As is clearly known, it is necessary for people to get enough time to modify their views in order to adjust to the change. The refreezing phase The refreezing stage involves making the changes integrated into the status quo. If the leadership fails in effective refreezing, the people are likely fall back to the pre-change behaviors. So, there should be support and reinforcement from the part of the management. In fact, it is necessary for the leadership to understand the way people usually react to changes. Some usual behaviors people exhibit during change are resistance, confusion, exploration, and commitment. However, the mere fact is that many of the behaviors are just predictable. So, an effective change agent will be able to study those behaviors and respond appropriately to bring the people to unity and commitment. That means the change agent will engage in dealing with human emotions which are connected with each of these phases. Obstacles in organizational change The main obstacles to organizational change are employee resistance, communication breakdown, insufficient time devoted to training, staff turnover during transition, and costs exceeding the budget (Change Management Leadership Guide). The first issue to be addressed is resistance. It is accepted these days that resistance is a natural response to changes. Traditionally, managers used strategies like autocratic leadership, higher number of rules, and excessive enforcement of discipline. However, the leadership today accepts the fact that resistance can be both covert and overt. According to Appelbaum, St-Pierre and Glavas, though it is possible to handle and understand overt resistance which openly refuses to follow a particular command, it is difficult to handle covert resistance which involves passive behaviors like aggression or delaying tactics; and if not addressed properly, this results in diminished productivity and high level of frustration (292). At present, the leadership engages in such strategies like open discussion. The benefit of open talk is that it helps in identifying such mutually acceptable options to overcome the objections. Also, this helps managers identify the various perceptions about the planned change held by the people. Another important point is that the leadership has to understand the importance of involving all those who are affected by the change in planning the change. This participation and collaboration will help in considerably reducing resistance and increasing commitment. Another important reason behind resistance is that employees want security and predictability. When the employees are kept in dark regarding the kind of the change to take place and the possible effect of that change on them, trust erodes, and the result is resistance. So, when an organization undergoes change, leaders have the duty to clearly communicate with the rest of the organization. This will include the purpose of change, the way it is done, the possible effects of change, progression of the change process and so on. In fact, Bridges developed a model which shows the emotional impact of change on employees over time and the role of leaders. According to him, there is a difference between change and transition. While the former is situational and will happen without the people, the latter deals with the psychological impact on people. According to Bridges, there are three phases of transition. They are ending, losing, letting go; the neutral zone; and the new beginning. In the first phase the staff should get ready to give up the old situation (12). This is necessary to ensure that they are able to move on to the change. The possible effects of such a change are a sense of shock, fear, resentment, apathy, and loss. So, the role of leadership at this stage is to identify what each employee is losing and to show attention towards the reactions of the employees. Instead of neglecting the losses, people who are adversely affected should be given empathy and all possible efforts should be taken to compensate for their losses. Furthermore, at this stage, employees should be provided with as much information as possible because people will have a lot of doubts about the way the change will affect each of them. At this stage, people should be given enough time to express their grievances and concerns and get responses. The next phase is called the neutral zone. In this phase, the staff reaches a stage where the old norms do not work and the new norms have not been established. This stage is marked by issues like anxiety, confusion, les motivation, and a few people who are hopeful. In this phase, the leadership is supposed to continue explaining the purpose of the plan and the skills people will have to develop. Also, there should be proper communication with the staff to make sure that anxiety and confusion are addressed in a proper way. Also, it is helpful to talk with the staff about the possible feelings they might experience in this particular phase. The last phase is the new beginning. In this phase, employees will experience new energy, new identity and a sense of purpose. Here, the leadership should continue with its explanation about the purpose of the new beginning. Also, there should be proper communication about the outcome of the change. Furthermore, employees should be offered active participation in the process of transition. Changing an organization – various stages and the role of leadership In the book ‘Leading Change’, Kotter writes about eight necessary steps in transforming an organization. They are increasing urgency, getting the vision right, communicating, empowering action, creating short-term wins, not letting up, and making the change permanent (34). In the first step, it is necessary for the leadership to develop such a story which shows that change is inevitable. Also, while developing the story, it is necessary for the leadership not to underestimate how much fear and anger are involved. At this stage, underestimating the possible resistance will make the leadership give up the change efforts half way. Once a compelling story is made, it is possible for the leadership to develop a guiding team. At this juncture, it is necessary to make sure that the right people are selected to the team. The selected people should be well-respected within the organization, should have power and influence to drive the change ahead, and should be enthusiastic about and committed to the proposed change. The next stage involves getting the vision right. That means the team is able to see the possible future and the effects of change in clear terms. This vision should be so clear that it is communicable in a view words. This vision should be centered on the desired future state. Along with this vision, the guiding team should be able to develop the desired new behavior which will help achieve the new vision. Once there is a clear vision ready, it is time to start communication with the rest of the organization. At this stage, care must be taken to ensure that the points presented are clear, credible, and heartfelt. It is at this stage that issues like anger, anxieties, distrust and confusion start pouring in. So, the communication should be sufficient to meet these issues effectively. Furthermore, care should be taken to make sure that the communication with employees is simple and heartfelt. The mere fact is that under-communicating at this stage will have disastrous effects on employee motivation and commitment. At this stage, ignoring the cynicism will result in lack of support from the part of employees. So, there should be adequate chances for open communication. The next stage is empowering action. At this stage, the leadership makes sure that the people who can push the change forward are given opportunity by removing the obstacles. In order to achieve this purpose, care is taken to promote optimism around the change effort. At this stage, such people with prior change experience are identified and used to promote the self-confidence of others through their anecdotes of successful change. It is often accompanied by such reward and recognition systems which will promote self-confidence, optimism and the feeling of security. The sixth stage is creating short-term wins. Admittedly, this stage is very crucial in giving further momentum to the change effort. It happens because when the leadership is able to show that the change is bringing desired effects, the critics will lose their chance to fight against the proposed change. Moreover, this will act as a boost for the ones who are supportive and hardworking. In fact, it is after this stage that many organizations fail to keep the momentum of change. It happens because with the first performance improvement, many organizations declare victory and fail to introduce ways to keep urgency up. In fact, what the leadership has to do at this stage is to aggressively look for newer ways to keep the momentum and urgency up. Also, it is necessary use the existing situation to launch new waves of change. The last stage is to take steps to ensure that the change sticks. This can only be achieved by creating a new sufficiently strong organizational culture which provides sufficient grounds for the new ways of functioning. At this stage, the leadership should make sure that new stories about the success of the change and the nature of the new organization. A success story – moving beyond fear and resistance In the article ‘Leadership: Managing Change’, the secret behind the successful change of Apple is narrated. It is pointed out that Apple, which almost sank in the 1990s, became one of the most successful companies in the 21st century through the visionary leadership of Steve Jobs. It is pointed out that effective change management requires a good leadership which can move a team through the turbulent change smoothly. It is pointed out in the article that instead of fighting fear and resistance, it is necessary to make aware about the nature of the change and the need for change. This will ensure that the people are working in harmony with the change instead of opposing it (“Leadership: Managing change”). Summary In fact, there are three distinct stages of change where the leadership is important. They are preparing for the change, passing through the change, and after change. It is pointed out by the scholar that preparation for a change does not start after a vision is developed. Instead, the leadership should always be ready to face a change. For this purpose, the leadership should ensure that it has a healthy organization which is able to cope with changes. Also, a leadership which has long years of credibility as a result of useful decision-making will find it easy to earn employees’ trust during changes. This will ensure that the leadership’s decision to change will be accepted with trust as the employees do not doubt the ability of the leadership to successfully bring the organization through the proposed changes. Secondly, if the leadership have a history of trust, the employees will only be happy to listen to and support the plan to change without any fear of personal loss. In fact, the second stage, passing through the change, is the most troublesome stage. This stage is marked by issues like confusion, fear, lack of direction, poor productivity, and lack of clarity. So, it is necessary for a leader to focus on two things simultaneously. Firstly, the feelings and confusion of the employees should be addressed by the leader. Also, the leader should engage in open discussion with the employees to address their queries. Another important task for the leader is to develop a new vision for the new workplace. Here, the main task of the leader is to make the employees understand the nature of the introduced change. At this stage, focusing too much on employee feelings and concerns will result in the change losing its momentum. On the other hand, focusing too much on the new ways will make the employees feel that the leader is out of touch and uncaring. So, the effectiveness of leadership in this phase lies in managing both these factors simultaneously. Once the people are less emotional and more stable, one can say that the change has been properly implemented. It is at this stage that the leadership has to introduce strategies for new changes. By solving problems and showing success through short term gains, the leadership should promote the hope in employees that the organization is working towards even better situations. This will ensure that employees their roles in the changed circumstances. Works Cited Appelbaum, Steven H, St-Pierre, Normand & Glavas, Villiam. “Strategic organizational change: The role of leadership, learning, motivation and productivity.” Management Decision, 36. 5(1998): 289-301. Bridges, William. Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change. USA: Da Capo Press, 2009. Print. Dhondt, Steven., Kraan, Karolus and Sloten, Guurtje van. Work organisation, technology and working conditions. European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. (2003). Web. 2 August 2012. “Elements of Visionary Leadership”. (n.d). Web. 02 August 2012. Kaminski, June. “Leadership and change management: Navigating the turbulent frontier.” (2000). Nursing-Informatics.com, (2000). Web. 02 August 2012. Kotter, John P. Leading Change. USA: Harvard Business School Press, 1996. Print. “Leadership: Managing change.” Mind Resources Institute of Learning & Innovation. (n.d):14. Web. 2 August 2012 Macredie, Robert D, Sandom, Carl & Paul, Ray J. “Modelling for change: An information systems perspective on change management models.” Modelling for Added Value. Britain: Springer, 1998. Print. Ryerson University. “Change management leadership guide.” Human Resources: Organizational & Employee Effectiveness. (2011): 1-25. Read More