Ronald Heifetz Quote Analysis

“The images, metaphors, or frames that we hold, both of managing and of change, influence our ideas of what we think managing change is all about” (Palmer, Dunford, & Akin, 2009). As people we all see through our own eyes, we call see a different perspective and have a different reaction to what is coming next. As human beings we react differently to situations. Situations of change are transitions that some are able to adapt to quickly while others have a hard time. Being the leader of that change can be difficult and helping make a change does not come easily or effectively. Keep and Newcomer (2008)

As we all know, genocide is a ruthless thing that we have in this world. You may question yourself and say why would anyone ever want to hurt a mass amount of people based on their differences, well I am going to tell you why. In Elie Wiesels Night, we follow the story of a young Elie and his father living in the concentration camps during the Holocaust. In this essay, I will be comparing the Holocaust and my chosen genocide I have researched the Rwandan genocide. “Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes.”

This quote emphasizes the importance of embracing innovation and taking calculated risks, which underscores

We all recognize that change comes at a cost and that at each crossroad we have the opportunity to determine which road to follow. We can accept challenges, making them work to our benefit, or we can resist progress.

Elie Wiesel’s quote is important to me and many of my peers because he lets us know that it does not require a lot to be done for the right thing to happen or the best moral choice to be done. In the quote he says, “... there is always a moment when the moral choice is made. Often because of one story or one book or one person, we are able to make a different choice, a choice for humanity, for life”. For me, my grandmother, a woman who positively contributes to her city, country, and community, has influenced my ethical decision making. Anyone who knows my grandmother knows she is a woman who has strong morals. When I was young she gave me talks about doing the right thing just because it is the right thing to do.

With no power to annul the elemental evil in him, though readily enough he could hide it; apprehending the good, but powerless to be it; a nature like Claggart’s, surcharged with energy as such natures almost invariably are, what recourse is left to it but to recoil upon itself and, like the scorpion for which the Creator alone is responsible, act out to the end the part allotted it. (Billy Budd p 37) This quote from chapter 12 in the book alludes to Claggart’s innate evil. Claggart can understand goodness but is basically powerless to embrace it.

When took a look back at chapter eleven, the one line of information that still catches me eye every time is about

Change should be seen as a challenge and embraced with enthusiasm (Marquis & Huston, 2012). In my professional and personal life, I view and respond to change as a way to make improvements to existing regulations and circumstances. I embark upon the quest with determination to succeed at whatever task is presented to me. Life without change can become unchallenging and stagnant (Marquis & Huston, 2012). As society and technology advance, you must incorporate the necessary transformations that arise with it.

To begin understanding how organizations learn from and adapt to change it is important to understand the concept of systems thinking. “Systems thinking is the process of understanding how various systems influence one another within a complete entity (or larger system) (“Are You Living in a World of Chaos,” 2016). Senge uses the example of a rainstorm to explain these relationships because it is only when we consider the different events that occur before, during and after the storm will rainstorms make any sense (Senge, 1990, p. 6). Systems thinking is important for leaders to comprehend because it involves looking at the effects decisions might have across a business or organization. As I discovered during this 8-week course, there is a cause and effect relationships to our actions and it is important for leaders to pay close attention to the effect their decisions have across an organization.

The third error is leaders lacking a vision. A successful transformation according to Kotter requires “a picture of the future that is relatively easy to communicate and appeals to customers, stockholders, and employees.” A vision clarifies the direction of the company and helps to create motivation. The fourth error is then undercommunicating the vision by a factor of ten. In other words, Kotter suggests leaders must use every opportunity possible to communicate the new vision and strategies to the entire organization. This is followed by the fifth error of leaders not removing obstacles to the new vision. Organizations should allow members to make changes to their areas of involvement. People need to be empowered in order to be part of the process (Kotter).

Individuals when faced with any major change will be inevitably resistant and will want to preserve the status quo, especially if they think their status or security within the organization is in danger (Bolognese, 2010). Folger and Skarlicki believe that organizational change produces skepticism in employees which make it problematic and possibly even impossible to contrive improvements within the organization (as cited in Bolognese, 2010) Therefore, management must understand, accept and make an effort to work with resistance, since it can undermine even the most well-conceived change efforts (Bolognese, 2010). Furthermore, Coetsee states for organizations to achieve the maximum benefits from change they must effectively create and

However I have learned that goals and objectives of an organization are in continuous change and they suffer from a lack of adaptation, “our problems” evolve and we fail to perceive the subtle and not so subtle changes as well as not adjusting accordingly to the drift in direction (inertia).

As organizations change, leadership must find ways to adapt and adjust to those changes. Many times it’s the inability of being open-minded to new ideas, beliefs, thoughts and cultures that prevent individuals from moving forward. Saner (2004) states, “Increased globalization and integration of information technology have brought about a fundamental rethinking of how to conduct business and how to lead a complex organization for continuous improvement and reinventing of the organization” (p.654). In any organization, change brings resistance, but with positive managerial and leadership skills, accepting the challenges that come with diversity such as ambiguity, complexity, resistance and confusion, will give managers the foresight to effectively and efficiently implement processes that will benefit the organization as a whole.

The importance of managing paradoxes increases with the complexity of organizational environments. To successfully manage paradoxes organizational leaders must learn to deal with contradictions and embrace incompatible forces, rather than choose between them (Belasen). Three management paradoxes that Bjorn Gustavsson faces as Engineered Woods are the paradox of change and stability, the paradox of individuals and teams, and the paradox of direction and empowerment. This essay will discuss these three paradoxes faced by Gustavsson at Engineered woods.

Kegan explains that it’s in part due to the fact that leaders’ mindsets are not complex enough. They haven’t developed the capacities that would enable them to make sense of this new environment. He distinguishes two types of developments: horizontal and vertical. In metaphorical terms, horizontal development is like pouring water into an empty glass. The vessel fills up with new content (you learn more leadership techniques). In contrast, vertical development aims to expand the glass itself. Not only does the glass have increased capacity to take in more content, the structure of the vessel itself has been transformed (the manager’s mind grows bigger). (Petrie, 2014)