How leaders contribute to organizational change?

Change is a very frequent organizational incident. To express the inevitability of change, Dr.Alex Krauer stated that "Whether we like it or not, change is with us. We either actively participate in it or passively ignore it. In the latter case, the future will punish us." Mark A Morgan, managing director and head of Gulf onshore, Citigroup Private Bank, commented that "Leadership is about being adaptable to change and uncertainty”.



The ability of accepting and managing change is one of the most crucial roles played by today’s leaders. Being able to withstand change or adapt to change is one of those competitive advantages that none of the competitors can easily achieve without putting too much effort. Leaders endeavor to integrate the whole system to solve critical organizational problems and initiate the change process. To bring up the change process, leaders precisely differentiate the current and desired situation of the organization. Organizational culture is the major source of resistance. According to Schein (2004), "Organizational learning, development, states planned change cannot be understood without considering culture as the primary source of resistance to change."


Therefore, when planning the change process, managers keep the organizational culture in mind. Before coming up with a decision, leaders evaluate and ensure that the organization can employ required resources to achieve its goals. Before moving forward to the change process, leaders go through an experimental project to better understand the essential steps to take into account. Change processes are often implemented through transforming approach. Kotter (1996) opined that, “to cope with change, leaders have to fundamentally alter the way their organizations do business.” Leaders also take necessary initiatives to ensure that the succession planning becomes successful.


Reference:


Schein. 2004. Organizational Culture and Leadership, 3rd edn, Wiley Publishers, New York.
Kotter. 1996, Leading Change. Harvard Business School Press.


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