Leading & Managing Organisational Change: A Reflection
I. Value of Subject Experience on Capacity to Lead & Manage
The current business practice involves numerous complexities in organizational development and change areas. If anything, evolving practices, a more dynamic workforce and, of course, ever changing ICT implementations which enable collaboration and communication – all contribute and inform how organizational development and change are understood, adopted, maintained and sustained. Accordingly, proper knowledge of and practical experience in optimum organizational development and change strategies, policies and practices are most critical not only to survive in current business practice but also to sustain a healthy, if not innovative, organizational makeup. For current purposes, I believe that, having experienced a broad range of concepts, frameworks, models and approaches to organizational development and change, I have gained invaluable insights into history and current business practices in both areas.
Primarily, I have come to appreciate that organizations, when at a critical juncture of development / change, can be addressed at different micro and macro levels. That is, as all organizations seek to leverage performance, organizational development and change processes and approaches are performed at individual and functional (i.e. micro) as well as at group, department and company-wide (i.e. macro) levels. The actions made and approaches adopted depend, accordingly, on how much development / change is required. Predictably or not, each specific action / approach depends on each manager's / leader's vision, if any, in implementing / inspiring change. Thus, different management / leadership styles and approaches, aimed at introducing or deepening change in a given organizational setup (of which numerous examples have been offered over semester), have led, I have come to understand, to broader discussions about critical issues in organizational development and change. These include, most notably, individual- / group-level change; differences between management and leadership; leadership styles; leadership skills; roles in change process; differences between change management and leadership; role of organizational development practitioners / professionals; and corporate culture as a significant variable in change management / leadership.
II. How & Why Subject Experience Has Changed Thinking on Leading and Organizational Change
Informed by different leadership (e.g. people- and task-oriented) and management (e.g. participative) styles; leadership qualities (e.g. edgy catalyser, visionary motivator, measured connector, tenacious implementer and thoughtful architect); approaches to organizational development (e.g. Systems Socio-Technical and Checkland’s ‘Soft Systems’); and, not least, role of organizational development professional / practitioner (e.g. Internal vs. external, ability to straddle boundaries, use of knowledge and experience and emotional intelligence repertoire) – informed by all, my conceptualization of different issues raised and discussed over semester have experienced substantial change. The change I have experienced – and as I believe am likely to experience more of in upcoming years as a professional practitioner – can be attributed to how I have come to think about management and leadership practices not only in organizational setups but also in broader contexts in general. This is evident in numerous management and leadership practice areas.
Notably, in implementing change in organizational setups I have developed a different understanding compared to an earlier one. More specifically, change is not an automated process initiated by mere adopted of organizational development and change actions. Instead, change is a much more complex challenge which is inspired by leaders (TED, 2010), is encountered by resistance at differ organizational levels (Dr. John Kotter, 2011a), is performed in a dynamic cultural context (DianaSenichenko, 2012) and, of course, is differentiated along management / leadership dimensions (Dr. John Kotter, 2012).
This change can be attributed to how I have come to "read" management and leadership literature, let alone how I have changed plans for internship and professional opportunities. More specifically, in lieu of a merely academic understanding of management and leadership approaches and styles, I have come to better appreciate how practice in different organizational contexts can make one style or approach effective in one context and not so effective, if working at all, in another. Moreover, in shifting perspective from a universal management / leadership style to all contexts, I have reviewed my plans for internships and, over long range, career prospects. More specifically, I have applied to more "action-oriented" management consultancies which, over years, have continued to offer practical and sustainable strategic solutions for different businesses. This change in perspective is in a stark contrast to an earlier one by which search for internship opportunities and professional prospects has been informed by an idealistic view of management and leadership practices.
III. Subject Knowledge on Future Career Roles
As noted consistently above, management and leadership concepts, approaches and frameworks discussed over semester have had a major impact on changing my perspective. The change in perspective is not limited, however, to academic and learning context. Indeed, discussed issues and, for that matter, perspective change, have far-reaching impact on my professional career opportunities. Of particular interest is role of organizational development professional / practitioner. As I plan to join a prestigious management consultancy, information and practical insights into organizational development practices, shared over semester, are of particular significance for a planed internship at McKinsey & Company or Booz Allen Hamilton. If anything, current business changes are rapid enough as to require constant knowledge and practical updates to available repertoire, changes which generate much more practical and radical recommendations by established experts well beyond conventional organizational development and change concepts namely, successful change management blueprints (Cranfield School of Management, 2012) and continuous organizational transformation (Cranfield School of Management, 2010).
Given such complexity and dynamism, knowledge diffusion, of transfer, of my newly acquired knowledge and insights can be applied into future practice in numerous, innovative ways. For one, change remains a critical watchword upon which most, if not all, current corporate practice is centered (Paul Brown, 2011; American University School of Public Affairs, 2013; Dr. John Kotter. (2011b). To apply acquired knowledge and insights into future, I believe I can develop a line of professional career particularly focused on organizational agility. Indeed, organizational agility has come to assume an increasingly significance in recent years as companies, of all sizes and in different jurisdictions, attempt to adapt to rapid changes generated by internal or external factors. By developing a careful professional profile in organizational agility, I can apply basic learning and knowledge I have acquired into a future, expert area of professional practice. This can be performed, more specifically, by, first, refining my learning and knowledge repertoire by participating in more advanced workshops and/or information sessions provided by professional societies. This should ensure I am up to date to state-of-the-art practices. Few years into actual professional practice, I can opt to relocate into different practice jurisdictions, a common move made by professionals to offer management and leadership advice to different internal and external stakeholders.
A second course for diffusing acquired learning and knowledge is to pursue a career path with an aimed to establish an independent practice later. This course is, of course, not a novelty and is, in fact, a very common step for ambitious and entrepreneurial practitioners. As companies, particularly in ICT industry, experience radical and rapidly changing business environments, offering "niche" market management and leadership services via an independent practice is particularly important. As startups struggle to establish foothold in markets, navigating change in multiple operation environments is nothing short of an imperative. As a partner / business owner of a management consultancy, I will be able to cater for service needs of startups and SMEs whose comparatively lower budgets and lesser experience represent an ample opportunity for emerging consultancies such as ones I plan to start.
IV. Personal Approach to Leading & Managing Organizational Change
Given concepts, approaches and styles offered over semester, I am inclined to a more participative management / leadership style. This selection is based on numerous factors including, most notably, industry-wide practice and personal preferences (based on specific personal traits and characteristics).
For industry-wide practice, approaches to management / leadership practices are shifting from a more conventional Autocratic / Top-Down Model into a Participative / Flat Model (TEDx Talks, 2013). Indeed, a more participative approach is more likely, I believe, to engage a broader range of stakeholders well beyond immediate subordinates. By embracing more stakeholders, changing organizations can better collaborate and hence enhance organizational learning as more knowledge and learning repertoires are generated, developed and exchanged across networks of knowledge exchange.
On a more personal level, participative management / leadership style is more compatible to my own personal traits and characteristics. If anything, I am more inclined to "inspire" and "guide" as opposed to "direct" and "manage" people. More specifically, I prefer a more collaborative approach to managing / leading people since collaboration, above anything else, has shown to enhance organizational performance within and across organizational setups. That, combined by my personal characteristics as a potential leader, hopefully, converges on a more participative approach to management and leadership. This is not to mention, of course, that an increasing number of organizations are giving up conventional, hierarchical management and leadership styles in favor of a flatter, more collaborative structure in which conventional lines between management and subordinates blur.
References
American University School of Public Affairs. (2013, August 7). Bob Marshak: Making Sense of Organization Development [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31XAtMjVkos
Cranfield School of Management. (2010, June 28). Continuous Organisational Transformation [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGOW3Bssor0
Cranfield School of Management. (2012, May 16). Successful Change Management 10 Steps [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0siBRHKbIU
DianaSenichenko. (2012, January 8). Organizational Change by Woody Allen [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg8KNE_NVJM
Dr. John Kotter. (2011a, March 23a). John Kotter - Resistance to Change [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wdroj6F3VlQ
Dr. John Kotter. (2011b, March 23). John Kotter - The Heart of Change [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NKti9MyAAw
Dr. John Kotter. (2012, February 6). Change Management vs. Change Leadership — What's the Difference? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ssUnbrhf_U
Paul Brown. (2011, January 11). A Brief Introduction to Change Management [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Jk6clmMycI
TED. (2010, May 4). How great leaders inspire action | Simon Sinek [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0HIF3SfI4
TEDx Talks. (2013, February 20). Leading Change with Humble Audacity: Nancy Giordano at TEDxAustin [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26omaE1GaNc
