Organizational Change: Role of the Leader

Organizational Change: Role of the Leader

Being America's largest civil rights organization, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) largely concerns itself with the role of improving the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons "by advocating for equal rights and benefits in the workplace, ensuring families are treated equally under the law and increasing public support among all Americans" (HRC, 2014). Capitalist structures have facilitated the campaign's operations -- there has been a substantial rise in lesbian and gay identity in America, and corporations have been increasingly progressive in their practices towards such individuals (Githens, 2009). However, the same is not the case in many other countries. The HRC admits that millions of LGBT persons across the world still live in isolation and fear, and under the rule of administrations that criminalize their identities and sexual orientations. To this end, the campaign is seeking to expand its operations into the global front, and reach out to the public in those countries that are yet to show reception for LGBT identities through research, partnerships, fellowships, advocacy, and education.

This is a large-scale change that is likely to call for a complete overhaul of some of the structures currently in place. As expected, there will be more information discussions, education campaigns, training programs, and travels abroad, all of which are likely to affect the normal lives of employees, and cause uncertainty regarding, among other things, job security and acceptance/resistance in target countries. This, therefore, is a change that is likely to attract substantial resistance from employees, and ultimate success will highly depend upon the leader's effectiveness in dealing with the same (Brager & Holloway, 2002). The overriding role of the campaign's leaders will be to provide guidance, direction, and a listening ear to the employees, to create an atmosphere suitable for the adoption of change, and to avail resources (both physical and emotional) to ensure a smooth transition.

This, like any other change, will be executed through four action phases -- pre-initiation, initiation, implementation, and institutionalization (Brager & Holloway, 2002). As demonstrated in the subsequent sections of this text, the leader has a different role to play in each of the aforementioned phases to ensure that the change is executed effectively.

The Pre-Initiation Phase: in this phase, the leader sets "the stage for the introduction of the change" (Brager & Holloway, 2002, p. 154). His main role at this stage is to make the members of the organization aware of the intended change, and demonstrate the losses/costs that could accrue from maintaining the status quo (Cameron & Green, 2004). In other words, the leader promotes the change, showing how it would benefit the organization, as well as its relevant stakeholders (Brager & Holloway, 2002). The campaign's leader demonstrates why the change is necessary through the numerous real life cases of LGBT persons who fled their home countries for fear of persecution, and for instance, sought refuge in the U.S. The overriding aim is to get employees to welcome the change idea.

The Initiation Phase: in this phase, the leader's main role is to get the employees to be committed to the change idea. This he does by bringing the "change goal into conformity with the influence necessary to move its adoption" (Brager & Holloway, 2002, p. 154). The leader listens to the employees' views, responds to their concerns, and establishes coalitions or forums to neutralize opposition (Brager & Holloway, 2002).