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...
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…
