MSM DF6

 The article “Real Change Leaders” by Jon Katzenbach is a really great article that addresses some roles that a leader must take to initiate change within an organization. “Change leaders might not be who you think they are. While most good managers try to keep things under control, real change leaders are determined to shake things up” (Katzenbach, J. 1996. Real Change Leaders). In order to create change a leader must be willing to shake things up in an organization and do things in a different manner to get a different result than they have been doing in the past. One type of leadership that this article touches on that I thought was really good was to be able to have a Switch-hitting leadership capacity. The leader of their organization needs to realize that their favorite style of leadership is not always the best one to get the result they want and they need to be able to change things up. Just like a switch hitter has the ability to bat from the other side of the plate, a great leader needs to be able to look at a problem from a different approach in order to get the desired outcome for their organization.

                A leader with a switch-hitter style is one who is authentic because they have to have the ability to hold themselves to a higher standard and genuine character to realize that their own style is not working in a given situation and they need to take a step back, look around at the team they are working with, and change their style to fit the current situation for the desired outcome. “Authentic leadership has an introspective quality that allows leaders to reflect on whether their actions are consistent with who they are” (Lussier, R. N. 2013 p.374). Authentic leaders are trying to focus on what is the right thing to do and changing their style in a given situation to fit the team’s needs would be the best action. This leader is using this particular method because they are self-aware that they need to stay true to themselves and true to the team to change their own personal style to fit the needs of the team and having a leader that is versatile in leader can be a huge benefit to any organization. Also the leader being open to the team on the style that they are using allows the followers to have more trust in their leader.

            A leader who is using the model transformational change or servant leadership has different attributes than a leader who has a switch-hitting style. Transformational leaders are looking to make drastic changes and have a strong vision in which they are trying to have the organization follow where servant leaders is one who holds the followers in high regard. Servant leaders are ones who have effective listening, serve other’s self-interest, help others discover their spirit, and are working to earn other’s trust. These are two different leadership styles that would result in a different outcome than someone who has a switch-hitter leadership style because transformational leadership style is more aggressive style whereas servant leadership is more relaxed and service to others. Switch-hitter style is somewhere in the middle where the leader is working with the team and has the ability to change their style as needed.

References:

Katzenbach, J. (1996). “Real Change Leaders.” McKinsey & Company. NY.

Lussier, R.N., & Achua, C.F. (2013). Leadership: Theory, application, and skill development. 5th ed. Mason, OH: South-Western.