LS 607 Managing Organizational Change chapter 7

1. 7-1
Implementing Organizational Change:
Theory and Practice
Bert Spector
Chapter 7
Leading Change
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

2. 7-2
Learning Objectives
 Define effective leadership.
 Explore the difficulty of enacting effective
leadership.
 Delineate the tasks associated with
leading change.
 Analyze the requirements for developing
future leaders in an organization.
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

3. 7-3
Building a Vocabulary
 Leadership: actions that mobilize adaptive
behavior within an organization
 Formal leader: an individual who is granted
authority, usually based on hierarchical position,
in an organization
“Think of leadership as an intervention into the organization designed to impact
the behaviors of others.”
“Effective leadership can be exercised at all levels of an organization.”
“Effective change leadership mobilizes adaptive behavior on the part of
organizational members.”
“Formal leaders have important roles to play as decision-makers, resource-
allocators, and occasionally even company symbols.”
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

4. 7-4
Core Tasks
of Change Leadership
Develop and articulate clear and consistent sense
of purpose and direction for the organization.
Establish demanding performance expectations.
Enable upward communication.
Forge an emotional bond between employees and the organization.
Develop future change leaders.
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
“The exercise of power is not the same as leadership.”
“Strong, demanding leaders don’t always succeed at leading
change.”

5. 7-5
Building a Vocabulary
 Organizational purpose: a clearly
articulated and well defined ambition
for the organization
“A widespread and common understanding of
organizational purpose allows employees to exercise
greater autonomy in moving the change effort in its
desired direction. ”
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

6. 7-6
Shared Purpose Supports Change
Shared Purpose: How It Helps Change
Supports
decentralized decision
making
Common sense of direction and
goals allows employees at multiple
levels to make decisions that
further overall purpose of
organization
Supports enhanced
autonomy
Employees at all levels understand
purpose and goals and can
respond quickly and effectively to
dynamic environment
Supports coordination
Employees working toward a
common goal better able to
coordinate their efforts
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

7. 7-7
Building a Vocabulary
 Stretch goals: clearly articulated
and challenging performance
expectations
“Effective change efforts are built on a
drive to achieve outstanding
performance.”
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

8. 7-8
Building a Vocabulary
 Upward communication: the flow of
information from lower to higher
hierarchical levels in an organization
“Effective leadership involves listening, engaging, and learning as well as
communicating.”
“Particularly in situations of strategic renewal and change, formal leaders need
to learn about how their effects are proceeding by mutual engagement with
employees at all organizational levels.”
“Take specific steps to ensure that communications is moving both upward and
downtown.”
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

9. 7-9
Building a Vocabulary
 Emotional bond: a relationship between
individuals and their organizations based
on a deeply felt commitment to the
organization’s purpose and goals
“If employees are committed to their
organization emotionally as well as
instrumentally, they are more likely to engage in
required behavioral changes.”
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

10. 7-10
Organizational Barriers to Effective
Leadership Development
Practice Barrier
Rapid upward mobility
Prevents individuals from having to live with
consequences of their actions and learning
from their successes and failures
Movement within a single function
Individuals never gain knowledge of total
organization, particularly of how subunits fit
together
Short-term performance pressures
Individuals get better at tactical and
operational management than at long-term
strategic and visionary leadership
Recruitment for specific technical skills
Internal employee pool is
thin on individuals with real
leadership potential
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
“Inadequate attention to leadership development can ruin a company, even an industry.”
“Rapid upward movement of personnel through the hierarchy can work to hurt
an organization’s ability to develop effective leadership.”
“Dominating individual leaders can actually hurt an organization’s ability to change.”

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7-11