How leaders can manage organizational change through transformational leadership

¶ … Leaders Can Manage Change

Transforming the Client Organization:

From Transactional Management to Transformational Leadership

Staying in step with customer and client needs is more than fulfilling their requests on a periodic basis and meeting their basic expectations, as any company that excels in client management understands. It is the ability to align every aspect of an enterprise to the needs and expectations, experiences and requirements of clients. Often internally-based organizations including those that are given the objective of being client-focused, end up paradoxically being the most myopic and inward-focused, resistant to change. Any organization that is experiencing this is in danger of losing the most valuable relationships and trust they have with customers. As leaders must continually push accountability, ownership and a clear sense of responsibility for results to the front lines of their enterprises, when traditional management and leadership strategies fail to deliver results, change is required. The intent of this analysis is to provide prescriptive guidance on how leaders can manage this level of disruptive change, defining how managing and leading are vastly different. It is often said that a manager is what one does, and a leader is who one is. The CEO attempting to lead this change management effort or strategy will have to contend with powerful political forces internally that managers who believe in command-and-control will use to subvert and force this initiative to fail. Managers who are accustomed to command-and-control will also fight for their political power base in the organization, despite the fact their often authoritarian and transactional leadership styles are highly ineffective in transforming organizations. The wealth of studies completed on change management indicate that a CEO with Emotional Intelligence (EI) and transformational leadership skills is the most powerful change agent there is in any organization or enterprise (Fitzgerald, Schutte, 2010) (Yarberry, 2007). The CEO needs to model the behavior that is needed to assist these managers in moving beyond their often highly charged political agenda of internal power to realize that by becoming more transformational as leaders they significantly open up their own potential professional growth in the process. The best transformational leaders can more focused on the win-win of personal and professional development also benefiting the organization (Lewis, 1996). These factors are all critically important for the leader looking to bring transformative change to their client organization. Implicit in the structural change of the organization is the even more powerful and potentially disruptive political one. For the leader to be effective in making these changes, they will have to exhibit a very high level of EI, transformational leadership and show a compelling vision of the future, all built on a strong foundation of trust (Wilbanks, 2011).

Confronting Resistance To Change, Not Ignoring It, Is Critical

For the leader to make the transition to a client-driven organization as thorough and effective as possible, resistance to change cannot be sidestepped or even woven into the actual implementation of the program (Lewis, 1996). It needs to be dealt with openly, honestly and as candidly and pragmatically as possible. Opponents to the change to a more client-driven organization might perceive lack of confrontation about change management as the willingness of the leader to ignore or worse yet, in fear, not confront others about the need to change (Warrick, 2011). Opponents to change management programs seek to capitalize on this silence and strive to make even a greater disruption in organizations by filling the void of leaders with their own options. This is one of the most disruptive and damaging areas of change management that can occur if a leader doesn't step up and take control of the situation and define the direction of the organization. For the leader bringing his organization forward to be more client-centric, this threat needs to be with open, honest discussion with those opposing the move. The managers who believe chain of command approach will need to be given a critical role in the change as well. In giving these managers more responsibility as part of the change management program, they will see that if the organization can grow due to better client support and sales, their careers may actually progress faster than they had though in the past (Yarberry, 2007). The leader needs to use the vision of change and growth of the company, and given these chain of command managers a very clear set of priorities and tasks to complete. By giving them not only a voice in the vision by a critical role in its attainment, the leader gives them a chance to have a much greater level of ownership (Stensaker, Langley, 2010). An exceptional leader will have the ability to explain to each and every person how their contributions are crucial to the new vision being attained, giving each a chance to see how they can also grow personally and professionally, in many cases, at the same time (Armenakis, Harris, 2002). The greater the depth and extent of change any organization faces, the higher the level of potential for employees, from front-line associates to managers and senior executives, to attain greater personal and professional growth. This is the finding of several studies on the impact of successful change management programs throughout organizations globally. With so many potential opportunities for personal and professional growth in successful change management programs, leaders need to include examples and stories of these for the benefit of their subordinates and peers. Transactional leadership skills, which are highly effective in short-term projects and getting immediate responses from subordinates, fail to deliver long-term change in behavior and can often to a stimulus-driven management style. Managers who are too transactional tend to create a dependency in their subordinates for continual rewards, either intrinsic such as praise or complementary e-mail or extrinsic, including financial rewards and perks (Wilbanks, 2011) . Transactional leadership cannot scale beyond the immediate time horizons that a myriad of studies show it is best suited for. Helping managers break through transactional leadership styles and become transformational is another reason to have them involved in defining the vision of becoming a more client-driven organization (Warrick, 2011). For the leader to excel with this transition to a client-centered organization, the managers resisting the change will also need to be shown that their transactional leadership styles will only take them so far in their careers. Paradoxically by limiting the growth of their subordinates, and empowering the front-line workers to be more client-focused, the middle managers will actually grow professionally as well. An insightful leader will be able to communicate this in the context of the managers' frame of reference while also opening up avenues for their future growth for those most troubled and concerned over the change (Fitzgerald, Schutte, 2010). That is one of the many traits of a truly transformational leader. The ability to use change as a powerful catalyst for employee development and growth too.

Making The Transition To A Client-Driven Organization Last

For the organization to get and stay focused on being client-driven, the series of change management initiatives as defined in this analysis need to be engrained into the culture of the organization. Any successful change management strategy must seek to embed the changed values and perspectives on client centrism deep into the company if lasting change is going to be achieved. Getting managers to change their style will be more dependent then on how the leader defines their opportunities to learn through the experience than any kind of extrinsic or intrinsic reward (Warrick, 2011).

The leader needs to immediately begin investing in a leadership development program and also give the command and control managers very challenging objectives as part of the organizational change. Included in the leadership program is a comprehensive series of programs on Emotional Intelligence (EI) concentrating on the five core components of this leadership behavior. By investing in a leadership program that concentrates on the five attributes of EI including empathy, motivation, self-awareness, self-regulation and social skill, the leader will also set the foundation for these leaders to move beyond their authoritarian and transactional leadership styles (Warrick, 2011) (Yarberry, 2007). The leader will be able to show these managers, who clearly are threatened by the change in organizational structure, to see how their futures are much more positive in an EI-driven client focused organization. The leader also needs to get programs in place that move these managers to being greater transformational leaders over the long-term. The four critical factors of transformational leadership include idealized influence, individualized consideration, inspirational motivation and intellectual stimulation. The leader needs to show that he sees their contribution as critical to the future of the company, so great that he is willing to invest in their continued growth and advancement.

Conclusion

Leading change within any organization requires an exceptional balance of skills in transformational leadership, strong emotional intelligence (EI) and the ability to quickly sense and response to threats and opportunities. In the case of the leader needing to change the organization to be more client-driven, the leader must differentiate between short-term transactional strategies to embrace transformational strategies over the long-term. The lead must also seek to get those most affected, and also fearful about the change involved in the strategies and initiatives as well. By seeking out their guidance and insight, and also showing them they have a future in the company, much resistance to change can be averted. Lastly the leader can quickly overcome these challenges by challenging the command and control managers to accomplish more in the new organization with their latest skills receive through training. This will bring autonomy, mastery and purpose to these managers to make the change successful.

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