Unit VII Leadership Theory

LDR 7301, Leadership Theory and Practice 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VII At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

2. Formulate research-based leadership solutions for real-world issues. 2.2 Evaluate ways in which to build employee trust.

Required Unit Resources Chapter 16: Leadership and Change (ULO 2.2)

Unit Lesson Lesson: Change and Leadership (ULO 2.2) Change is constant and one of the most difficult challenges facing any leader is leading an organizational change intervention. There are various reasons organizations need a change intervention and the scope of change initiatives may be drastically different. Large-scale change initiatives require a leader’s focused attention on situational and follower factors in addition to tapping an advanced skills set that not many leaders possess. This unit builds on previous units and knowledge learned may be applied to workplace change initiatives.

Organizational Change Organizational change interventions occur for various reasons and may be well-thought out or simply pushed down by the upper echelon without a formal plan or process. The scope of change interventions varies depending on how many stakeholders are affected by change. Common types of organizational changes according to Hughes et al. (2022) include:

• Changes in organizational strategy

• Geographic or international expansion

• Mergers and acquisitions

• Divestitures

• Implementation of new IT systems

• Automation and technology changes

• Top leadership changes

• Organizational restructurings

• Culture changes

• New policies, procedures, and processes

• New product releases

• New service offerings

• Reporting and measurement system changes

• Compensation, benefits, or retirement plan changes

• Black swan events such as the coronavirus pandemic There are various approaches to organizational change, two of which were discussed in the Hughes et al. (2022) text: rational and emotional approaches. This guide will focus on the rational approach; however, it is encouraged to review the Hughes et al. (2022) text and current research for a broader understanding of change models.

UNIT VII STUDY GUIDE

Change and Leadership

LDR 7301, Leadership Theory and Practice 2

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE

Title

Beer (2021) noted the relative success of the proposed planned change is moderated by leaders’ motivation to lead change, openness to constructive conflict, and possession of human-centric values. Beer (1997, 2002, 2021) summarized five principles for rapid and sustainable organization change and development:

1. Systemic organization change and development requires a high-engagement organizational-wide learning process that enables truth to speak to power about the system of organizing, managing, and leading.

2. Six silent killers include undiscussable barriers to systemic organization change and development that must be overcome to enable rapid and sustainable organization change and development.

a. Unclear strategy and/or conflicting priorities b. An ineffective top team c. top-down or laissez-faire style of the CEO or general manager d. Poor vertical communication e. Poor coordination across functions, business, or geographic regions f. Insufficient leadership skills and development of down-the-line leaders

3. A structured five-step process that enables an honest, collective, and internally public conversation about the senior team’s strategic and values direction. The system’s alignment with this direction is essential for rapid and sustainable organization change and development.

a. Become dissatisfied with status quo. b. Advocate change—develop a strategic and values direction. c. Lead an honest conversation about organization align and direction. d. Execute systemic changes—roles, relationships, and responsibilities. e. Repeat the whole process periodically.

4. Large and complex corporate systems require leaders in the organization’s multiple subunits to lead the five-step process proposed in number 3 above.

5. Successful change usually requires collaboration with an organization development consultant(s) acting as facilitator and expert resource to the five-step process outlined in Number 3 above (p. 15).

Beer (2002, 2021) offered a rational approach to large-scale change that addresses issues and provides a road map for organizational change practitioners. According to Beer (2002) (as cited in Hughes et al., 2022):

C = D x M x P > R

C – change D – dissatisfaction M – model for change P – process R – resistance

Based on this model, (C) for change equals followers’ (D) dissatisfaction with the current status quo multiplied by (M) for model and is symbolic of the model for change that includes the leader’s vision of the future, the goals, and systems that need to change to support the new vision. This is multiplied by (P) that represents process and concerns developing and implementing a plan that articulates who, what, when, where, and how of the change initiative, which should be greater than the (R) for resistance of the people who fear a loss of identity or social contracts. Dissatisfaction Employees do not appreciate change when they are content and are likely to resist change to the status quo, however, they are more likely to support change when they are dissatisfied. A key ingredient to the change model is to increase dissatisfaction to the point in which employees are inclined to act (Hughes et al., 2022). A first step is to identify employees’ satisfaction level through engagement surveys, grievance records, turnover rates, complaints, conversations with peers or others within the organization, and reviewing Glassdoor or Yelp reviews (Hughes et al., 2022). Change leaders may talk about potential competition, technology, legal threats, or employee concerns about the status quo to increase dissatisfaction. Additionally, they may capitalize on economic or political crises, compare benchmarks to competitors, or increase performance standards, according to Hughes et al. (2022). All these activities encourage heightened emotions from employees to increase dissatisfaction to the point they invite change.

LDR 7301, Leadership Theory and Practice 3

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE

Title

Model There are four components to the model (M) variable in the change formula—environmental scanning, a vision, the setting of new goals to support the vision, and needed system changes (Hughes et al., 2022). Organizations remain competitive by constantly engaging in environmental scanning allowing them to remain aware of events, threats, opportunities, strengths, and weaknesses while having an ongoing conversation with employees’ concerns and ideas. Successful leaders encourage team building events along with strategic planning sessions that include establishing a vision statement and creating goals that will motivate employees to work toward achieving the vision. Finally, employees should guide system changes as they discuss the necessary changes needed to accomplish the goals to meet the vision. Process This phase of the process (P) change model is where the change initiative becomes tangible and actionable as it consists of the development and execution of the change plan (Hughes et al., 2022). A change plan should be thorough and outline the sequence of events, key deliverables, timelines, responsible parties, metrics, and feedback mechanisms needed to achieve the goals and keep parties accountable. Ongoing feedback should be encouraged to gauge anticipated resistance. Resistance Change requires time and the benefits of change may not be immediately realized. During a change initiative, employees may temporarily experience a reduction in performance or productivity as new systems and skills are being learned (Hughes et al., 2022). There is a difference between expectations and reality, referred to as expectation-performance gap and may be the source of considerable frustration and could lead to resistance, according to Hughes et al. (2022). According to Hughes et al. (2022), when dealing with resistance, leaders must do the following:

Figure 1: Dealing with Resistance

In addition to expectation-performance gap, another reason for resistance to change is the fear of loss (Hughes et al., 2022). Loss may be power, close relationships, rewards, a sense of identity, or concern for how peers perceive a change such as being incompetent. Fears are predictable and legitimate response to change (Beer, 2002, 2021). So, that leader must make the best of the situation and keep their followers aligned and focused. Zanin and Bisel (2020) discuss how leaders’ influence can be manifested in the absence of talking overtly or in leadership communication.

Trust

Trust is difficult to gain and easily lost. Trust issues can make or break a leaders’ success. Followers observe leaders. A leader must align what is said and done. A follower might pick up that a leader is saying one thing but doing another. Here are some ways a leader can build trust:

LDR 7301, Leadership Theory and Practice 4

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE

Title

A lack of trust can lead to resistance or conflict because we lose faith in our leaders. The case study from Iqbal et al. (2019) discuss the power of trust and the relationship between leaders and followers and specifically how trust can be the pivotal focus of developing the relationship between leader and follower. Trust is an integral part of research as well. Readers need to be persuaded and understand the research to establish trust with the topics and concepts covered within research. Mooijman (2023) states in his case study that there is a connection between trust and power; the more we trust someone, the more we might allow that person to gain power and advantage. This applies to both leadership and research.

Vision

Vision will come from strategy, planning, and goals. Sometimes leaders inherit a vision from their organization. Other times, a leader might have a different direction. Leaders need to know and understand that vision. Leaders cannot pass down a vision unless they themselves fully support and understand. Sibeko and Barnard (2020) discuss the steps for creating a vision and the links between vision and strategy. They note that visions need to include both a strategy and goals that can be measured and a vision might need restructured if the expected results are not met.

Conclusion

Change is a constant. This will not change. There are many reasons an organizational change intervention is initiated and various approaches to change. The rational approach to a change intervention leads to an increase in follower dissatisfaction by focusing on status quo problems, identifying needs for change, developing a vision of the future, and developing and implementing a change plan (Hughes et al., 2022). Ample evidence suggests success in the rational or emotional approach to change, however, the implementation process of the change leader coupled with the skillset and level of attention will determine the success.

References Beer, M. (1997, November). Leading learning and learning to lead: An action approach to developing

organizational fitness (Working Paper No. 98-035). Harvard Business School.

•Leaders make mistakes, but successful leaders hold themselves accountable for their mistakes.

Taking Accountability

•Leaders are often have many responsibilities; when a follower's task is unsuccessful, both the follower and leader must be accountable.

Having Responsibility

•Followers will easily pick up false statements - praise or otherwise.Showing

Honesty

•We all can make improvements but keeping messages clear and focused will help leaders better pass something along to others. Having Tact

LDR 7301, Leadership Theory and Practice 5

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE

Title

Beer, M. (2002, January). Building organizational fitness in the 21st century (Working Paper No. 02-044). Harvard Business School.

Beer, M. (2021). Reflections: Towards a normative and actionable theory of planned organizational change

and development. Journal of Change Management, 21(1), 14–29. https://doi.org.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/10.1080/14697017.2021.1861699

Conscious Business Institute (Producer). (2015). The key to employee engagement (Segment 2 of 5) [Video].

In Creating fulfilling relationships & great teams: Part 4—building great teams: The steps to make relationships work. Films on Demand. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=https://fod.infobase.com/PortalPl aylists.aspx?wID=273866&xtid=128575&loid=453379

Hughes, R. L., Ginnett, R. C., & Curphy, G. J. (2022). Leadership: Enhancing the lessons of experience (10th

ed.). McGraw Hill. https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781264071470 Iqbal, S., Farid, T., Khan, M. K., Zhang, Q., Khattak, A., & Ma, J. (2019, December). Bridging the gap

between authentic leadership and employees communal relationships through trust. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(1), 250–266. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?dire ct=true&db=mdl&AN=31905864&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Mooijman, M. (2023, October). Power dynamics and the reciprocation of trust and distrust. Journal of

Personality and Social Psychology: Interpersonal Relations and Group Processes, 125(4), 779–802. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?dire ct=true&db=pdh&AN=2023-61684-001&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Sibeko, M. S., & Barnard, B. (2020, June). Visionary leadership and entrepreneurial vision within

entrepreneurship. IUP Journal of Entrepreneurship Development, 17(2), 48–91. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?dire ct=true&db=ent&AN=146061459&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Zanin, A. C., & Bisel, R. S. (2020). Concertive resistance: How overlapping team identifications enable

collective organizational resistance. Culture and Organization, 26(3), 231–249. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?dire ct=true&db=ent&AN=142247228&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Suggested Unit Resources Video: The Key to Employee Engagement (Optional) This video segment explains ways leaders can increase employee engagement by building trust and goal setting. The closed captioning and transcript are available within the video. (4 minutes and 42 seconds)