Changing a Culture with the 8 Step Model

The Role of Leadership in Shaping Organizational Culture

Introduction

Leadership is instrumental in shaping an organization’s culture: it provides the solutions to challenges and paves the way for success. Setting the right tone, bringing people together to work as a team, and maintaining positivity are essential. So too is the need to manage change and ensure that productivity and engagement are monitored. This paper discusses the case of Dr. Marsh and the challenges he faces in his organization. It describes the leadership style that would best help in his situation, the change model that could be used to guide change, how he can infuse positive social change into the organization’s culture, and how to mitigate obstacles. Finally, it concludes with a description of the key concepts that should be included in his vision statement.

Dr. Marsh’s Challenges and Their Influence on Organizational Culture

Dr. Marsh faces three challenges specifically: the first is that he needs to introduce a culture of engagement; the second is that he needs to establish an effective process for performance management; the third is that he needs to create a leadership structure that fits in with the management of hundreds of virtual contractors. Because his workers are from all over the world, there are many different ethnicities and cultural backgrounds among his virtual workers. It is difficult for team members to build trust and work together. Because they are not legally employees but rather contractors, he has the additional challenge of leading them without treating them as employees. In short, he must get the contractors to buy into the vision he presents them and motivate them to work together while at the same time establishing a structure of leadership and a tool for monitoring performance that will foster self-actualization among the contract workers that he is tasked with leading.

Leadership Style to Influence Culture

When change is required, the best leadership style for guiding change is transformational leadership. Transformational leaders are adept at presenting a vision to followers; they communicate that vision and motivate followers to buy into it using sound logic and reasoning skills. The focus on using reason and logic to show why the change is needed is helpful because people want a reason for believing in change. If they feel the change is simply arbitrary and unfounded, they will not agree to it. But if they are given a good reason for why the change is needed, and if they are presented with a clear vision that gives them a goal to work towards, they are more likely to accept the basis for the change and take efforts to achieve the vision. At the same time, the transformational leader will provide support to followers so that they can overcome whatever obstacles they face and implement the change. The transformational leader will use an effective support network to help bolster the change and keep teams moving in the right direction (Warrick, 2011).

Transformational leadership style emphasizes excellent communication skills, emphasis on vision, articulation using logical arguments for change, supportive encouragement to facilitate buy-in, and the importance of developing a support network in which other workers can act as ambassadors for change to promote the vision of the leader among peers (Atkin-Plunk & Armstrong, 2013). The transformational leadership style is oriented towards promoting change. This is a style of leadership that would best be of utility to Dr. Marsh as he attempts to address the challenges and obstacles that he faces in his organization.

Change Model

A change model is a model of managing change, like a template, that allows a leader to take the necessary steps that will support change and facilitate the achievement of desired outcomes. One of the most well-known change models is Kotter’s 8 Step Model of change management. The 8 Step Model details all of the most important steps that a leader should take to guide change within an organization.

Kotter (2012) explains that the first step in managing change according to the 8 Step Model is to create a sense of urgency among workers. In other words, the leader has to give workers the sense that change is needed now and cannot be put off. By creating a sense of urgency, followers realize that they must take action now to right a situation rather than continue to languish in the same mode.

The second step according to this change model is to establish a guiding coalition. This is important because it involves obtaining feedback from followers and selecting those that buy into the vision to help promote that vision among their own ranks. The guiding coalition also allows the leader to give followers a voice and to have input in the change process.

Third, the model prescribes that the leader present a vision for change. This vision is what will serve as the guiding light for the workers. The vision should be clear, simple to understand, and achievable. It should be something that the workers are inspired to want to work towards, and it should be ever-present as the change is implemented. The vision has to provide the workers a sense of where they should be to help the organization achieve its aims.

Fourth, the vision has to be communicated. This will be something that the leader does and that the support network helps to spread. The leader is mainly responsible for communicating the vision and getting everyone on the same page. However, he also needs help from followers who can serve as his messengers when they are working with their own team members.

Fifth, obstacles to change must be removed. Sometimes workers can be reluctant to change because they prefer the old ways or they find change difficult. Or they may feel that they have not been consulted or heard so they can throw up resistance. Leaders have to find ways to remove obstacles by listening to workers, hearing them out, and helping them to buy in to the vision. Resistance is often a cultural problem, so one way the leader can help to break down resistance is to use skills and methods like the laughter advantage to help ease tension and create a more positive and light-hearted atmosphere where everyone is engaged and accepting of the change (Francis, 1994).

The sixth step is to promote short-term wins; this means that for every small victory there should be a celebration. By honoring and supporting progress towards change, workers can feel more confident about moving in the right direction. They can feel more supported as they take the necessary steps towards the vision. Small celebrations are helpful in cementing the change over time.

The seventh step is to consolidate improvements. This means that as the workers progress in accomplishing the change, the leader should help to affirm the institutionalizing of these changes. It is important that the workers realize that the group is not going back to the old ways but is effectively changing and growing in the necessary manner.

The final step is to make sure the changes are anchored. They should be permanent and become a part of the processes and systems used by management. From this point on, they are no longer theoretical and ideal but rather practical and part of the everyday life of the organization.

Infusing Positive Social Change into a Leadership Style and Culture

Positive social change can be infused into a leadership style and culture by emphasizing respect for persons, inclusivity, and the positive aspects of diversity. The leader, for instance, can explain why having a diverse group of contractors is actually helpful for the organization’s aims and vision. The more diverse a group of contractors it is, the more likely they are to bring different beneficial perspectives that can help teams to achieve solid success. Promoting inclusivity can help the group to be more welcoming of others, and demonstrating respect for all people can show to workers an example of the right kind of attitude that should be adopted when interacting with people who are of different backgrounds.

The leader has to set the tone for respect by demonstrating good will towards everyone and showing trust for each person who is operating as a contractor. Good relationships are based on trust, and if the leader does not show trust for contractors they will not in turn trust in the process or buy into the vision that he presents them. The leader must embody good will and foster solid working relationships by being open with others, listening to what they have to say, accepting their perspectives as valid, and supporting communication through interaction, follow-ups, and honesty. In a workplace where diversity is rampant, positive social change will only come about when the right tone is established by the leader and supported by a network of followers who buy into the vision and process.

Incremental Steps

Using Kotter’s 8 Steps Model, the incremental steps to be taken begin with the importance of convincing contractors that change is required. This should not be done in a negative way but rather in a positive way, by first complimenting the workers on their successes so far and thanking them for their service. Second, the leader should explain that the organization is trying to be even more successful and needs the contractors to focus on pulling together even more so that team work can improve and the organization can achieve its goals. The more that they succeed, the more the organization succeeds and vice versa. It is imperative to keep the urgent call for change framed in positive terms.

Second, the leader has to understand that these are not employees. They see themselves as doing a job for the organization, i.e., as the organization as a customer of theirs. Their goal should be to please the customer and make sure the organization is satisfied with their efforts. Because of the diversity of the group, and the fact that these are virtual employees, the ability to interact is limited. The leader has to provide a digital space where rapport can be built, where discussion can be had, and where interaction can be fostered. This might include building out a digital forum where contractors can pose and answer questions, give advice, supply helpful instructions, or give shout-outs to other team members. The goal here should be to promote positivity and to build stronger relationships.

Third, the leader should use a message board to help provide updates, celebrate small victories, and give the support network a place to promote the vision. The message board can be a way for team members to stay on the same page with one another even though they are all over the world. The tools for change begin with taking practical small steps like this, wherein the vision can be communicated, wherein feedback can be received, wherein team members can make suggestions and obtain information in return, and wherein direction and encouragement can be found. This would also allow for a better method of engagement and performance management: the leader and managers of the support network could see how actively involved in messaging and communication various team members are, which would give them a better of idea of how well engagement goals are being met.

How the Steps Influence the Challenges and Mitigation Plan

These steps would influence the challenges of performance management and engagement by giving the workers a platform whereby they could interact, communicate, establish trust, and build better relationships. As virtual workers they do not have access to face-to-face communication, so having a message board is the next best step to addressing the challenge of promoting diversity, inclusivity, and respect for persons. Workers will see one another as essential elements of success and will learn to respond to questions and support one another in their work. The mitigation plan for eliminating obstacles to change involves promoting the use of feedback through this kind of message board portal. Feedback is an effective way to encourage understanding, and the more insight workers have the more likely they are to feel knowledgeable about the tasks at hand. The goal here is to facilitate self-motivation and self-actualization so that the contractors are properly motivated (Gerhart & Fang, 2015).