Change initiative frameworks and implementation strategies

¶ … shared leadership directly impacts the innovation process within organizations and how defining and executing an effective management vision is critically important to an organizations' success. Shared leadership requires a highly transformational leadership style if it is to be effective (Mancheno-Smoak, Endres, Potak, Athanasaw, 2009). The essence of transformational leadership is the ability to earn respect and trust and continually prove those attributes are warranted over time (Kouzes, Posner, 2005). To the extent any leader has the ability to create an exceptional vision and execute to it is the extent to which they provide subordinates with the opportunity to personally identify with the vision and see their role within it (Kouzes, Posner, 2009). The intent of this paper is to analyze these two dynamics of leadership, underscoring how critically important they are as catalysts of significant change throughout organizations.

Shared

Creating and Sustaining Shared Leadership in the Innovation Process

The difference between leaders who are capable of consistently delivering exceptional levels of innovation and performance in their organizations relative to those that are not rests on their credibility (Kouzes, Posner, 2005) and the trust others have in their ability to do what they say they will do (Kouzes, Posner, 1990). For leadership to be effective then there must be an exceptional level of honesty, accountability and transparency associated with any leader if they are to be effective in making innovation a regular occurrence or event in their organizations. Studies by Dr. Kouzes and Dr. Posner in the formation of their Kouzes-Posner Model of Leadership (Posner, Kouzes, Schmidt, 1985) indicate that these factors of trustworthiness, transparency and honesty are even more important than the areas of competency and technical skill. The ability to move away from the transactional styles of management, specifically concentrating on an immediate reward or punishment approach to managing subordinates is also critically important for innovation to occur. The need for nurturing the areas of autonomy, mastery and purpose in one's position can only be attained when there are transformational leaders seeking to bring these attributes out in their subordinates (Mancheno-Smoak, Endres, Potak, Athanasaw, 2009). The greater the levels of autonomy, mastery and purpose, the greater the motivation employees have to continually learn and improve themselves and also the greater tenacity they have in the face of stress as well (Lyons, Schneider, 2009). In those organizations where stress levels are reasonably to exceptionally high, there is a corresponding need for leaders to actively promote autonomy, mastery and purpose with their subordinates (Posner, Kouzes, Schmidt, 1985).

Only when an employee has a sense of ownership over their roles in an organization will their contributions get beyond the typical carrot-and-stick analogies of transactional leadership. What's needed for innovation to occur is for employees to take an active level of ownership over their jobs and apply their own unique creative skills to solving them. This has been shown in empirical studies over and over again to only occur when transformational leadership sets the foundation for task ownership (Mancheno-Smoak, Endres, Potak, Athanasaw, 2009). Once autonomy, mastery and purpose have been set as foundational objectives for managing an organization, leaders must also continually pursue transformational leadership as a career objective to make the entire process work. The extent to which autonomy, mastery and purpose are used successfully for the development of employees' ownership of their roles is the extent to which continually innovation will occur (Mancheno-Smoak, Endres, Potak, Athanasaw, 2009). Above all, leaders must maintain their credibility through a continued focus on being honest, accountable and transparent with their subordinates to ensure their leadership over time will lead to innovation and continual improvement (Kouzes, Posner, 1990).

The second leadership attribute analyzed in this paper is that of creating and sustaining a shared vision. Of all attributes of any leader this is one of the more challenging to continually achieve as it requires the continual focus on aligning the vision of the organization and the skills required to accomplish them with the unique skill sets of individuals and their talents (Kouzes, Posner, 2009). What a sustainable vision implies is the ability to continually keep the changing landscape the organization competes in aligned with the abilities of the organization to execute. A shared vision must be defined through transformational leadership to be effective, as it must have the trust and buy-in of subordinates (Kouzes, Posner, 2009). In addition there is the need for continually reinforcing how each team members or employees' contributions make the attainment of the vision possible (Cangemi, Burga, Lazarus, Miller, Fitzgerald, 2008). In short, a leader who can successfully define and execute a vision is one that has a sufficient level of emotional intelligence (EI) to create a climate in their organizations where task ownership is sought out and taken on by employees (Momeni, 2009). This ability to create a culture that embraces the respective roles each member of a team has in the developing and executing of a vision is also directly linked to the EI levels of leaders as well.