Leading Change Within An Organization

Step 2 is forming a powerful guiding coalition. Leadership will have to be on board and on the same page in regards to the change. Kotter and Cohen reveal the core problems people face when leading change. Their main findings are that the central issue concerns not structure or systems but behavior and how to alter it (Farris, 2008). The success of the changes will depend on the ability of the managers to show their commitment to change and motivate the employees to do the same. Without any process to track the implementation, the change can also fail.

Leaders change systems, structures and policies that have not yet been confronted. They hire, promote and develop employees who can implement the vision for change. In addition, they revitalise the process with a new round of projects or change agents.(Cengage Learning AUS, 2015)

The more active the participants are in the planning, the less resistance there will be later (Sullivan & Decker). If staff does not trust leadership, does not share the organization's vision, does not buy into the reason for change, and aren't included in the planning, there will be no successful change, regardless of how brilliant the strategy (Goman, 2000). How people react to change is important to understand. Change takes an emotional toll on people, some more than others. It is important not to underestimate that toll and understand who will have a harder time adapting to change. Fear of change has many roots. Those roots can be a lack of trust, fear of failure, fear of loss of income or a belief that the change is unnecessary (Sullivan & Decker). By understanding the reason for the resistance a manager can help the employee overcome his or her fear and become a supporter of the change. The last two steps are to provide feedback mechanisms to keep everyone informed of the progress of change and evaluate the effectiveness of change (Sullivan & Decker). People need to be kept informed of the change process to minimize anxiety. Sometimes there are unexpected consequences to the change, and it is important to have a system in place for those consequences to be discussed and if needed more changes made in order to accommodate those consequences.

For this reason, leaders are culpable for the perceptions of any potential alteration efforts. They should endorse the change as an occasion for employees to enhance their skills and offer guidance after implementation (Nelissen & van Sale, 2009). Not to mention if every meeting begins with communicating the vision of the company, it can advance ownership and pride that will lead to success.

Organizations must respond to their internal and external environment. Therefore, organizational success heavily relies on leaderships ability to manage change. Unfortunately, many leaders struggle to effectively lead change initiatives. In fact, Ashkenas (2013, para. 1) reported 60 – 70% of organizational change initiatives fail to meet their objectives.

Communication – Talk about the change vision, if people have anxieties then address these openly and honestly. Tie in the vision to all areas of the business from training to performance reviews

The book The Heart of Change shows the practical side of the theories that are taught in the course textbook. It presents stories of successes and failures based in the application of concepts discussed in Organizational Behavior and Management and in class. Although we talked about several different concepts the ones that are evident in the examples in The Heart Of Change are the more progressive and individual centered approaches. The leadership characteristics that are important to successful change in an organization are those that are espoused in the transformational theory of management. It makes sense that ideals in line with the transformational management theory

Leaders need to see more deeply into why it is so hard for our organizations to change, even when there is a genuine, collective desire to do so. More than just seeing why, leaders need to learn how to take action effectively to help our organizations actually become what they need and want to be.

You also must form a powerful coalition and create a vision for change. This begins with strong leadership and effective communication skills in order to communicate your vision. Another step in the process is to remove obstacle or barriers that may block or prevent change from happening. You must also motivate the team along the way by creating short term goals, building on change and anchoring the changes in corporate culture. Kotter put an emphasis on step one which is creating urgency for change. You must be convincing and open when presenting this change to your team to gain their support. It is important to give scenarios, show the benefits of making this change and the drawbacks of not making the change.

The most effective model for change is get every worker best contribution. According to Vickberg (2015), great leadership is about establishing surroundings that both empower and encourage people to give there very best. It is understanding what every work needs to be successful. Business chemistry is key in the success of the organization. Guardians need time to talk and to reflect. The leader make sure everyone has input without talkative worker drowning

This starts by earning the support from the CEO. Buy-in from the top is key to any successful change in an organization. The best outcome is when everyone involved understands, accepts and supports the change.

Leaders must communicate the need for change widely and how that change will help everyone. Leaders need to be proactive and talk to and listen to what the employees have to say, this will help them feel involved and important doing the process.

Number two is: You have to bring some individuals from outside the organization the individuals who have survived the change, you bring them and place them in the organization so they start to make the action of change. Also last component is: You select from the more youthful parcel who are not so established in that sort of mindset which resist the change, and request that they do things in a diverse way.

Most ideas geared towards change don’t come from the leadership; the ideas are initiated from the individuals actually doing the work that leads to the success of an organization. Leaders must listen to and consider the changes that are relative to the work process, from those out there doing the work. These individuals are the ones that attempt to find new ways to make the tasks easier and simplistic. Leaders must make things happen in the workplace by asking questions of the team and listening to the answers which will create innovative ways to improve a process.

During the implementation of change, there are bound to have resisters opposing the change. Communication is the crucial factor to convert the resisters with managers taking advantages of all the communication channels in the organisation to get the transformation effort across to all. It must be able to convey and explain the specifically how the vision will benefit them.