SlideShare a Scribd company logo
1 of 20
Download to read offline
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP IN
LOOSELY COUPLED
ORGANIZATIONS
Mimi L. Zemmelman, Ph.D.
Purpose of the study
Espoused beliefs of leaders in 4 courts and 4 hospitals:
 What it takes to form and sustain an effective leadership
coalition
 What their organizations can do to support the leadership
team’s success.
Considered through lenses of organizational theory and
organizational systems theories
Why does this inquiry matter to court and hospital leaders?
1. The public wants fair and user-friendly access to justice and healthcare
2. The public wants trustworthy, cost effective, and transparent institutions
3. Social and economic climates are extremely dynamic
4. Few LCO leaders have training or experience in coalition leadership
5. Core professionals struggle most to collaborate across disciplines
6. Leadership coalition members enter and exit at different times
Definitions:
 Tightly coupled organization
 Loosely coupled organization
 Multiple hierarchies
 Core professionals
 Leadership coalition
If there is responsiveness without distinctiveness, the
system is tightly coupled.
If there is distinctiveness without responsiveness, the
system is decoupled.
If there is both distinctiveness and responsiveness,
the system is loosely coupled.
(Orton and Weick, 1990, p. 205)
Hierarchies are brilliant systems inventions, not only because they
give a system stability and resilience, but also because they reduce
the amount of information that any part of the system has to keep
track of.
In hierarchical systems relationships within each subsystem are
denser and stronger than relationships between subsystems.
Everything is still connected to everything else, but not equally
strongly.
(Meadows, 2008, p. 83)
Administrative, professional & support staff
CEO
Tightly coupled organization
Presiding Judge,
Chief Medical Officer
Court Executive Officer,
Chief Medical Officer
Administrative, professional & support staff
Leadership coalition
Loosely coupled organization
Loosely coupled organizations are densely networked & permeable
Success of leadership coalition is predicated on a partnership within the
“heterarchy of hierarchies” (Stephenson, 2009, p. 3)
Interdependent, semi-autonomous hierarchies (neither can deliver
signature services without cooperation of the other)
Core professionals often identify more with profession than with host
organization
Core professionals’ ability to perform job can only be assessed by
similarly trained professionals
Executive Leadership in loosely coupled organizations
Executive Leadership in loosely coupled organizations
Strengths of loosely coupled organizations:
 Adapt to a knowledge-based economy
 Foster creativity and experimentation with change
 Resilient in the face of rapid change
 Support increasing specialization among the professions
 Dampen the impact of failed initiatives launched in one part of the
organization
 Allow subordinate groups to maintain hierarchies headed by those with
similar skills
(Banathy, 1996)
Weaknesses of loosely coupled organizations:
 Difficult to navigate
 The organization has reduced ability to exert influence or control over its
subordinate units (especially core professionals)
 Inherent tension between the core professionals’ drive to convene and
deliver organizational resources one case, customer, or patient at a time
and the administrator’s need to achieve economies of scale as a way to
maximize limited resources
(Fusarelli, 2002)
Leaders’ perceived challenges:
 The existence of strong ties and allegiances outside of the organization
 The different and disparate skills and abilities of individuals in different
subordinate groups
 The existence of multiple hierarchies within the organization
 Prevailing tensions between achievement of economies of scale and
customization of services to match individual needs
Findings based on participant responses:
Leaders know their organizations are loosely coupled
Alignment within leadership coalitions and organization is critical
Critical to value each other’s role, responsibilities, and skills
Core professionals need lots of help to understand administrative issues
CEOs (more than core professionals) cannot favor any constituency
Core professionals must view their work as part of a larger whole
Recommendations from organizational theory:
 Develop and focus on shared goals
 Help subordinate groups value each others’ contribution
 Expedite the integration of core professionals in administrative issues
 Build power-sharing and collaborative decision making skills
 Implement leadership succession planning initiatives
 Increase ways consumers can help maximize organizational goals
 Strengthen core professionals’ “investment” in the organization
Recommendations from organizational systems theory:
 Vary the strength of organizational coupling
 Strengthen internal networks
 Integrate external networks productively
 Embed learning organization principles (Senge, 1990)
 Construct fractal leadership models (Wheatley, 1999) throughout
Tightly Coupled Organizations Loosely Coupled Organizations
Governance
Organizational and resource allocation
decision made by a single individual (may
or may not be subject to ratification by a
board)
Regardless of qualifications of named figurehead,
governance resembles a coalition of leaders from
distinct and semiautonomous subordinate groups
Leadership
Structure
Single hierarchy reporting to a single
career CEO
At least two identifiable, semiautonomous
subordinate divisions, each with its own hierarchy:
core professionals rotate leadership by peer election
every year or two; administrative and operational
services are appointed to career positions
Decision-Making
Single individual with full authority over all
decisions (may or may not be subject to
ratification by a board)
Single individual with substantial input and
cooperation of leadership coalition (may or may not
be subject to ratification by a board)
Accountability
Most organizational employees are
accountable only to the CEO and host
organization (as long as those required to
maintain a license do so)
Core professionals are accountable to their host
organization as well as to their licensing boards or
professional association and whatever external
appointing authority (legislatures, governors, voters)
may exist
Conclusions:
The differences between loosely coupled and tightly
coupled organizations are significant, so leadership mindset
and strategies must be adjusted
Many, if not most, leaders in loosely coupled organizations
have had little preparation for coalition leadership
Core professionals find it hardest to “work across the
professional divide”
Leaders need not bear full responsibility for their coalition’s
success, organizational structures can and should be
arranged to help
References:
Banathy, B. H. (1996). Designing social systems in a changing world. New York, NY,
Plenum Press.
Fusarelli, L. D. (2002). Tightly coupled policy in loosely coupled systems: Institutional
capacity and organizational change. Journal of Educational Administration, 40(6),
561–575.
Meadows, D. (2009). Leverage points: Places to intervene in a system. Solutions for a
sustainable and desirable future, 1(1), 41–49. Retrieved from
http://www.thesolutionsjournal.com/node/419
Orton, J. D., & Weick, K. E. (1990). Loosely coupled systems: A reconceptualization.
Academy of Management Review, 15(2), 203–223.
Senge, P. M. (1990). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning
organization. New York, NY: Currency Doubleday.
Stephenson, K. (2009). Neither hierarchy nor network: An argument for heterarchy.
People and Strategy, 32(1), 3–7.
Wheatley, M. J. (1999). Leadership and the new science. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-
Kohler.

More Related Content

What's hot

Power And Politics
Power And PoliticsPower And Politics
Power And Politicskarthiga3
 
Organisational Development (OD) Models
Organisational Development (OD) ModelsOrganisational Development (OD) Models
Organisational Development (OD) ModelsRahul K
 
Organisational transformation
Organisational transformationOrganisational transformation
Organisational transformationRanjeet Singh
 
Managing Leadership and Influence Processes
Managing Leadership and Influence ProcessesManaging Leadership and Influence Processes
Managing Leadership and Influence ProcessesICAB
 
Organizational Change and Innovation
Organizational Change and Innovation Organizational Change and Innovation
Organizational Change and Innovation majhapa
 
Responsible leadership by Siara Johnson
Responsible leadership by Siara JohnsonResponsible leadership by Siara Johnson
Responsible leadership by Siara JohnsonSiara Johnson
 
Leadership styles and theories
Leadership styles and theoriesLeadership styles and theories
Leadership styles and theoriesKarthikaeya P
 
Principles of Supervision
Principles of SupervisionPrinciples of Supervision
Principles of Supervisionnuackt
 
Theories of management
Theories of managementTheories of management
Theories of management03368214172
 
Social system and organizational culture
Social system and organizational cultureSocial system and organizational culture
Social system and organizational cultureUniversity of Cebu
 
Managing Organisational Change
Managing Organisational ChangeManaging Organisational Change
Managing Organisational ChangeAnirudh Kotlo
 
Change management – principles and process
Change management – principles and processChange management – principles and process
Change management – principles and processCharles Cotter, PhD
 
Leadership In Organization
Leadership In OrganizationLeadership In Organization
Leadership In OrganizationSabih Kamran
 

What's hot (20)

Bolman & Deal's Four Frames for Organisational Analysis
Bolman & Deal's Four Frames for Organisational AnalysisBolman & Deal's Four Frames for Organisational Analysis
Bolman & Deal's Four Frames for Organisational Analysis
 
Power And Politics
Power And PoliticsPower And Politics
Power And Politics
 
Leadership and change
Leadership and change Leadership and change
Leadership and change
 
Organisational Development (OD) Models
Organisational Development (OD) ModelsOrganisational Development (OD) Models
Organisational Development (OD) Models
 
Leadership types
Leadership typesLeadership types
Leadership types
 
Organisational transformation
Organisational transformationOrganisational transformation
Organisational transformation
 
Managing Leadership and Influence Processes
Managing Leadership and Influence ProcessesManaging Leadership and Influence Processes
Managing Leadership and Influence Processes
 
Systems
SystemsSystems
Systems
 
Organizational Change
Organizational ChangeOrganizational Change
Organizational Change
 
Change Management
Change Management  Change Management
Change Management
 
Organizational Change and Innovation
Organizational Change and Innovation Organizational Change and Innovation
Organizational Change and Innovation
 
Responsible leadership by Siara Johnson
Responsible leadership by Siara JohnsonResponsible leadership by Siara Johnson
Responsible leadership by Siara Johnson
 
Leadership styles and theories
Leadership styles and theoriesLeadership styles and theories
Leadership styles and theories
 
Principles of Supervision
Principles of SupervisionPrinciples of Supervision
Principles of Supervision
 
Theories of management
Theories of managementTheories of management
Theories of management
 
Selected theories of leadership
Selected theories of leadershipSelected theories of leadership
Selected theories of leadership
 
Social system and organizational culture
Social system and organizational cultureSocial system and organizational culture
Social system and organizational culture
 
Managing Organisational Change
Managing Organisational ChangeManaging Organisational Change
Managing Organisational Change
 
Change management – principles and process
Change management – principles and processChange management – principles and process
Change management – principles and process
 
Leadership In Organization
Leadership In OrganizationLeadership In Organization
Leadership In Organization
 

Viewers also liked

SDIN 2016 | Orchestrating ‘Strategic Coupling’: A Shared, Place-Based Leaders...
SDIN 2016 | Orchestrating ‘Strategic Coupling’: A Shared, Place-Based Leaders...SDIN 2016 | Orchestrating ‘Strategic Coupling’: A Shared, Place-Based Leaders...
SDIN 2016 | Orchestrating ‘Strategic Coupling’: A Shared, Place-Based Leaders...Miranda Ebbekink
 
Presentation1 - Wessel
Presentation1 - WesselPresentation1 - Wessel
Presentation1 - WesselNicole Wessel
 
Sense Making Theory
Sense Making TheorySense Making Theory
Sense Making Theoryadvarn
 
Dialogic Communication Theory
Dialogic Communication Theory Dialogic Communication Theory
Dialogic Communication Theory jdtanne
 
Sensemaking Theory
Sensemaking TheorySensemaking Theory
Sensemaking Theoryjdfergu
 
Karl weick's loosely coupled systems
Karl weick's  loosely coupled systemsKarl weick's  loosely coupled systems
Karl weick's loosely coupled systemsbarlosky
 

Viewers also liked (7)

SDIN 2016 | Orchestrating ‘Strategic Coupling’: A Shared, Place-Based Leaders...
SDIN 2016 | Orchestrating ‘Strategic Coupling’: A Shared, Place-Based Leaders...SDIN 2016 | Orchestrating ‘Strategic Coupling’: A Shared, Place-Based Leaders...
SDIN 2016 | Orchestrating ‘Strategic Coupling’: A Shared, Place-Based Leaders...
 
Presentation1 - Wessel
Presentation1 - WesselPresentation1 - Wessel
Presentation1 - Wessel
 
Sense Making Theory
Sense Making TheorySense Making Theory
Sense Making Theory
 
Dialogic Communication Theory
Dialogic Communication Theory Dialogic Communication Theory
Dialogic Communication Theory
 
Sensemaking Theory
Sensemaking TheorySensemaking Theory
Sensemaking Theory
 
Karl weick’s sense making model final
Karl weick’s sense making model finalKarl weick’s sense making model final
Karl weick’s sense making model final
 
Karl weick's loosely coupled systems
Karl weick's  loosely coupled systemsKarl weick's  loosely coupled systems
Karl weick's loosely coupled systems
 

Similar to Executive Leadership in loosely coupled organizations

4 Organizational Behavior—MacroLearning ObjectivesAft.docx
4 Organizational  Behavior—MacroLearning ObjectivesAft.docx4 Organizational  Behavior—MacroLearning ObjectivesAft.docx
4 Organizational Behavior—MacroLearning ObjectivesAft.docxtamicawaysmith
 
Leadership in business
Leadership in businessLeadership in business
Leadership in businessEka Darmadi
 
Organizational teams (chapter 11)
Organizational teams (chapter 11)Organizational teams (chapter 11)
Organizational teams (chapter 11)HelvieMason
 
Understanding The Contemporary Organisational Structure
Understanding The Contemporary Organisational StructureUnderstanding The Contemporary Organisational Structure
Understanding The Contemporary Organisational StructureJamie Boyd
 
Organisational design and development
Organisational design and development   Organisational design and development
Organisational design and development Dr. Trilok Kumar Jain
 
FOUNDATION OF GROUP BEHAVIOR AND UNDERSTANDING WORK TEAM
FOUNDATION OF GROUP BEHAVIOR AND UNDERSTANDING WORK TEAMFOUNDATION OF GROUP BEHAVIOR AND UNDERSTANDING WORK TEAM
FOUNDATION OF GROUP BEHAVIOR AND UNDERSTANDING WORK TEAMNISHA SHAH
 
Elements of Effective Organizations
Elements of Effective OrganizationsElements of Effective Organizations
Elements of Effective OrganizationsJoel M. Schrap
 
My Experiences After Attending The Practice Of Public...
My Experiences After Attending The Practice Of Public...My Experiences After Attending The Practice Of Public...
My Experiences After Attending The Practice Of Public...Julie Brown
 
Assignment 2 Discussion QuestionBased upon the assigned reading f.docx
Assignment 2 Discussion QuestionBased upon the assigned reading f.docxAssignment 2 Discussion QuestionBased upon the assigned reading f.docx
Assignment 2 Discussion QuestionBased upon the assigned reading f.docxkarenahmanny4c
 
The Impact Of Organizational Structure And Culture
The Impact Of Organizational Structure And CultureThe Impact Of Organizational Structure And Culture
The Impact Of Organizational Structure And CultureAmber Edmondson
 
Flat organisations
Flat organisationsFlat organisations
Flat organisationsBimal Antony
 
Dimaggio and powell 1983 - the iron cage revisited - institutional isomorphis...
Dimaggio and powell 1983 - the iron cage revisited - institutional isomorphis...Dimaggio and powell 1983 - the iron cage revisited - institutional isomorphis...
Dimaggio and powell 1983 - the iron cage revisited - institutional isomorphis...Yassin Boullauazan
 

Similar to Executive Leadership in loosely coupled organizations (20)

4 Organizational Behavior—MacroLearning ObjectivesAft.docx
4 Organizational  Behavior—MacroLearning ObjectivesAft.docx4 Organizational  Behavior—MacroLearning ObjectivesAft.docx
4 Organizational Behavior—MacroLearning ObjectivesAft.docx
 
Leadership in business
Leadership in businessLeadership in business
Leadership in business
 
Hrmd conceptual definition
Hrmd conceptual definitionHrmd conceptual definition
Hrmd conceptual definition
 
Organizational teams (chapter 11)
Organizational teams (chapter 11)Organizational teams (chapter 11)
Organizational teams (chapter 11)
 
OVER VIEW OF ORGANISATION AND ITS STRUCTURES
OVER VIEW OF ORGANISATION AND ITS STRUCTURESOVER VIEW OF ORGANISATION AND ITS STRUCTURES
OVER VIEW OF ORGANISATION AND ITS STRUCTURES
 
Understanding The Contemporary Organisational Structure
Understanding The Contemporary Organisational StructureUnderstanding The Contemporary Organisational Structure
Understanding The Contemporary Organisational Structure
 
Organisational design and development
Organisational design and development   Organisational design and development
Organisational design and development
 
FOUNDATION OF GROUP BEHAVIOR AND UNDERSTANDING WORK TEAM
FOUNDATION OF GROUP BEHAVIOR AND UNDERSTANDING WORK TEAMFOUNDATION OF GROUP BEHAVIOR AND UNDERSTANDING WORK TEAM
FOUNDATION OF GROUP BEHAVIOR AND UNDERSTANDING WORK TEAM
 
Elements of Effective Organizations
Elements of Effective OrganizationsElements of Effective Organizations
Elements of Effective Organizations
 
Formal & informal organisational
Formal & informal organisationalFormal & informal organisational
Formal & informal organisational
 
My Experiences After Attending The Practice Of Public...
My Experiences After Attending The Practice Of Public...My Experiences After Attending The Practice Of Public...
My Experiences After Attending The Practice Of Public...
 
Three Types Of Isomorphism In Business
Three Types Of Isomorphism In BusinessThree Types Of Isomorphism In Business
Three Types Of Isomorphism In Business
 
Assignment 2 Discussion QuestionBased upon the assigned reading f.docx
Assignment 2 Discussion QuestionBased upon the assigned reading f.docxAssignment 2 Discussion QuestionBased upon the assigned reading f.docx
Assignment 2 Discussion QuestionBased upon the assigned reading f.docx
 
The Impact Of Organizational Structure And Culture
The Impact Of Organizational Structure And CultureThe Impact Of Organizational Structure And Culture
The Impact Of Organizational Structure And Culture
 
Presentation on Strategy and structure
 Presentation on Strategy and structure Presentation on Strategy and structure
Presentation on Strategy and structure
 
Organization
OrganizationOrganization
Organization
 
DemingPaper
DemingPaperDemingPaper
DemingPaper
 
Flat organisations
Flat organisationsFlat organisations
Flat organisations
 
Chapter08
Chapter08Chapter08
Chapter08
 
Dimaggio and powell 1983 - the iron cage revisited - institutional isomorphis...
Dimaggio and powell 1983 - the iron cage revisited - institutional isomorphis...Dimaggio and powell 1983 - the iron cage revisited - institutional isomorphis...
Dimaggio and powell 1983 - the iron cage revisited - institutional isomorphis...
 

Executive Leadership in loosely coupled organizations

  • 1. EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP IN LOOSELY COUPLED ORGANIZATIONS Mimi L. Zemmelman, Ph.D.
  • 2. Purpose of the study Espoused beliefs of leaders in 4 courts and 4 hospitals:  What it takes to form and sustain an effective leadership coalition  What their organizations can do to support the leadership team’s success. Considered through lenses of organizational theory and organizational systems theories
  • 3. Why does this inquiry matter to court and hospital leaders? 1. The public wants fair and user-friendly access to justice and healthcare 2. The public wants trustworthy, cost effective, and transparent institutions 3. Social and economic climates are extremely dynamic 4. Few LCO leaders have training or experience in coalition leadership 5. Core professionals struggle most to collaborate across disciplines 6. Leadership coalition members enter and exit at different times
  • 4. Definitions:  Tightly coupled organization  Loosely coupled organization  Multiple hierarchies  Core professionals  Leadership coalition
  • 5. If there is responsiveness without distinctiveness, the system is tightly coupled. If there is distinctiveness without responsiveness, the system is decoupled. If there is both distinctiveness and responsiveness, the system is loosely coupled. (Orton and Weick, 1990, p. 205)
  • 6. Hierarchies are brilliant systems inventions, not only because they give a system stability and resilience, but also because they reduce the amount of information that any part of the system has to keep track of. In hierarchical systems relationships within each subsystem are denser and stronger than relationships between subsystems. Everything is still connected to everything else, but not equally strongly. (Meadows, 2008, p. 83)
  • 7. Administrative, professional & support staff CEO Tightly coupled organization
  • 8. Presiding Judge, Chief Medical Officer Court Executive Officer, Chief Medical Officer Administrative, professional & support staff Leadership coalition Loosely coupled organization
  • 9. Loosely coupled organizations are densely networked & permeable Success of leadership coalition is predicated on a partnership within the “heterarchy of hierarchies” (Stephenson, 2009, p. 3) Interdependent, semi-autonomous hierarchies (neither can deliver signature services without cooperation of the other) Core professionals often identify more with profession than with host organization Core professionals’ ability to perform job can only be assessed by similarly trained professionals
  • 12. Strengths of loosely coupled organizations:  Adapt to a knowledge-based economy  Foster creativity and experimentation with change  Resilient in the face of rapid change  Support increasing specialization among the professions  Dampen the impact of failed initiatives launched in one part of the organization  Allow subordinate groups to maintain hierarchies headed by those with similar skills (Banathy, 1996)
  • 13. Weaknesses of loosely coupled organizations:  Difficult to navigate  The organization has reduced ability to exert influence or control over its subordinate units (especially core professionals)  Inherent tension between the core professionals’ drive to convene and deliver organizational resources one case, customer, or patient at a time and the administrator’s need to achieve economies of scale as a way to maximize limited resources (Fusarelli, 2002)
  • 14. Leaders’ perceived challenges:  The existence of strong ties and allegiances outside of the organization  The different and disparate skills and abilities of individuals in different subordinate groups  The existence of multiple hierarchies within the organization  Prevailing tensions between achievement of economies of scale and customization of services to match individual needs
  • 15. Findings based on participant responses: Leaders know their organizations are loosely coupled Alignment within leadership coalitions and organization is critical Critical to value each other’s role, responsibilities, and skills Core professionals need lots of help to understand administrative issues CEOs (more than core professionals) cannot favor any constituency Core professionals must view their work as part of a larger whole
  • 16. Recommendations from organizational theory:  Develop and focus on shared goals  Help subordinate groups value each others’ contribution  Expedite the integration of core professionals in administrative issues  Build power-sharing and collaborative decision making skills  Implement leadership succession planning initiatives  Increase ways consumers can help maximize organizational goals  Strengthen core professionals’ “investment” in the organization
  • 17. Recommendations from organizational systems theory:  Vary the strength of organizational coupling  Strengthen internal networks  Integrate external networks productively  Embed learning organization principles (Senge, 1990)  Construct fractal leadership models (Wheatley, 1999) throughout
  • 18. Tightly Coupled Organizations Loosely Coupled Organizations Governance Organizational and resource allocation decision made by a single individual (may or may not be subject to ratification by a board) Regardless of qualifications of named figurehead, governance resembles a coalition of leaders from distinct and semiautonomous subordinate groups Leadership Structure Single hierarchy reporting to a single career CEO At least two identifiable, semiautonomous subordinate divisions, each with its own hierarchy: core professionals rotate leadership by peer election every year or two; administrative and operational services are appointed to career positions Decision-Making Single individual with full authority over all decisions (may or may not be subject to ratification by a board) Single individual with substantial input and cooperation of leadership coalition (may or may not be subject to ratification by a board) Accountability Most organizational employees are accountable only to the CEO and host organization (as long as those required to maintain a license do so) Core professionals are accountable to their host organization as well as to their licensing boards or professional association and whatever external appointing authority (legislatures, governors, voters) may exist
  • 19. Conclusions: The differences between loosely coupled and tightly coupled organizations are significant, so leadership mindset and strategies must be adjusted Many, if not most, leaders in loosely coupled organizations have had little preparation for coalition leadership Core professionals find it hardest to “work across the professional divide” Leaders need not bear full responsibility for their coalition’s success, organizational structures can and should be arranged to help
  • 20. References: Banathy, B. H. (1996). Designing social systems in a changing world. New York, NY, Plenum Press. Fusarelli, L. D. (2002). Tightly coupled policy in loosely coupled systems: Institutional capacity and organizational change. Journal of Educational Administration, 40(6), 561–575. Meadows, D. (2009). Leverage points: Places to intervene in a system. Solutions for a sustainable and desirable future, 1(1), 41–49. Retrieved from http://www.thesolutionsjournal.com/node/419 Orton, J. D., & Weick, K. E. (1990). Loosely coupled systems: A reconceptualization. Academy of Management Review, 15(2), 203–223. Senge, P. M. (1990). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. New York, NY: Currency Doubleday. Stephenson, K. (2009). Neither hierarchy nor network: An argument for heterarchy. People and Strategy, 32(1), 3–7. Wheatley, M. J. (1999). Leadership and the new science. San Francisco, CA: Berrett- Kohler.