Five Colors of Change and Inside the Box Leadership Theory

Introduction

Understanding the need to lead organizational change is important for all leaders because, without change, organizations become static and stagnant and will eventually fail from lack of innovation. As Vedenik and Leber (2015) point out, organizations must change if they desire to remain competitive. Therefore, leaders must be able to steer and facilitate change. To do so, they must present a vision of change that is logical and promotes buy-in, overcome resistance to change, and cement the change so that it holds.

There are many theories on how to manage change, but this paper examines two theoretical perspectives: the Five Colors of Change theory of De Caluwé and Vermaak (2004) and the Inside the Box theory of Boyd and Goldenberg (2013). The purpose of this paper is to provide a synthesis of these two frameworks to help one understand what it takes to lead an organizational change process. Key points include how to understand change using the meta-theoretical concept of colors, and how thinking within the structures of an existing paradigm—that is, inside the box—can help a leader unlock creative solutions that facilitate the change process.

Definitions and Context

It is important to proceed from a standpoint of clarity. For the purpose of this paper, leadership is defined as the ability to lead others to an envisioned end or through an envisioned process, and is defined by one's style—authoritative, delegative, or participative (Lewin, Lippitt, & White, 1939). Organizational change is defined as the transformation of the organization from one state to another, wherein a new culture, method, concept, or initiative is put into place (Walker, 2018).

Why Organizational Change Matters to Leadership

Organizational change is important to leadership because there are traits, talents, skills, styles, and perspectives that leaders must possess in order to lead change (Warrick, 2011). The purpose of change is always to improve effectiveness, efficiency, performance, production, or organizational culture. Change can provide fresh, innovative ideas that enhance production and prevent the organization from becoming stagnant. However, because employees can resist change—as it requires adaptation and transformation on their part—leaders must know how to engage workers and develop their willingness to accept and participate in positive change. The key to leading change is learning how to manage people and their reactions to it (Cameron & Green, 2015).

According to Lewin's change management model, the change process consists of three parts: the unfreezing phase, the change phase, and the refreezing phase. The unfreezing phase begins by explaining to workers the need for change, which helps to unfreeze them from their current attachment to the status quo. The change is then implemented, and once it is solidified and new processes are normalized, the refreezing phase is complete (Manchester et al., 2014). Throughout the change process, a leader must be sensitive to the thoughts, feelings, and actions of workers so that barriers to change are not erected. This is where humor and joy play an important part: the leader who is able to infuse a workplace with humor and joy will be able to transform the organization more easily than one who relies on punitive measures to enforce change (Carder, 2019; Van Wart & Moynihan, 2013).

Essential Elements of Organizational Change

The essential elements of organizational change consist of change management pre-work, the management of personal transitions, the change plan, and the implementation and monitoring of that plan (Sarran, Clark, & Mendonca, 2020). One cannot expect to unfreeze, change, and refreeze processes among workers without taking care to address each of these elements.

The first element—pre-work—consists of providing direction to those of whom change is required; creating a template for change; communicating the vision of change to stakeholders in a way that is logical and supported by reason; cultivating supporters and sponsors of change; conducting a stakeholder analysis and creating an engagement plan; assessing the degree to which the organization is ready for change; developing a behavioral change plan; and communicating with teams regarding that plan (Sarran et al., 2020).

One common element across change management models is that leaders must supply workers with the necessary motivation to accept change. Motivation can be dispensed using both intrinsic and extrinsic means (Gerhart & Fang, 2015). At the heart of motivation should be the elevation of the organization's core values. Best practices for leading change include communicating with stakeholders, obtaining feedback, incorporating that feedback into decision-making, and reinforcing the change with continuous reference to the vision. The use of humor can be complementary in the transformational process, as it brings people together in harmony, eases tensions, and fosters positive emotion (Kangasharju & Nikko, 2009).

References

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