{"id":770,"date":"2019-02-24T13:08:03","date_gmt":"2019-02-24T21:08:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0057\/?p=770"},"modified":"2019-02-24T13:09:11","modified_gmt":"2019-02-24T21:09:11","slug":"leading-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0057\/leading-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Assignment 2: Leading Change"},"content":{"rendered":"

I inquired two professionals from two entirely different contexts about the change process, leadership\u2019s role in change, and the challenges.<\/p>\n

The first case: Technology program was transferred from face-to-face to flexible blended format. The change was inspired by the Mobile Learning Theory, that learners are on the move and learning takes place outside the classroom; the program lead considered the benefits of online learning for the community. \u201cAdaptive leaders [\u2026] carefully recognize potential changes in the external environment and consider the best path [to] positively affect the organization\u201d (Khan, 2017, p. 179).\u00a0 The environment was tailored for modern mobile learners, and some students choose to study mostly in-person and others mostly online. Students have expanded accessibility, can connect with instructors and each other in various ways including in-person or using collaborative tools such as Slack and Webex and still meet the same outcomes and requirements. Having the innovative idea was not enough, \u201c[c]arrying out the plan requires getting everyone involved who has a stake in the change\u201d (Biech, 2007, p. 1). The initial research and planning phase proved demand for more seats in the program and the proposed format could cater to the needs. Sheninger (2014) described public relations and branding the innovation the right way can take an idea a long way, and the program lead described that \u201c[t]his potential increase in the student numbers and the tuition fees, while no additional faculty expense is needed brought the management on-board immediately.\u201d Al-Haddad & Kotnour stated that the success of the change requires stakeholder satisfaction (2015). The only major hurdle to overcome was the slower classroom technology implementation, which made the first few months of instruction rather inconvenient for all parties. The team was pleased with the results of the first run. The change reduced unnecessary stress for students, as well as nurtured learner engagement in addition to the doubled seats.<\/p>\n

The second case: Telecommunication service provider\u2019s organizational change for more effective marketing, product and customer care directorates. The change did not go through well with the employees. The ideas and the plan came from the top-level management utilizing a transactional, top-down approach in initiating the change (Khan, 2017) without consulting the team members who needed to carry out the change. Kotter (2007) describes that the clear understanding of the goals and the \u201cwhy\u201d of the change are essential components of the change vision, critical to the change effort. The interviewed manager expressed that \u201c[t]he change management team should feel that they develop the change management strategy and plans, and they are an integral part of enabling the success of the project. They should not feel left out.\u201d The elongated process created an underground communication channel, where false information circulated. Weller and Anderson (2013) note that change can happen even with resistance, but \u201crequires strategic direction, leadership and is not done quickly\u201d (p. 4) but this mismanaged change created tension, caused resistance and frustration among the staff, and several key members of the mid-management team left the company. Kotter (2007) reported that over 50% of change initiatives fail already in the planning stage (Kotter, 2007, p. 97). The use of reflective leadership would have allowed for a more motivated workforce, renewed interest, and improved performance in moving towards the change (Castelli, 2015).<\/p>\n

The third case (ongoing): Collaborative learning environment for job readiness. A web developer program is transformed from old school \u201csage on the stage\u201d to a collaboration supporting format to serve market demand better and mimic real industry experience. The change process moves the traditional computer lab setup to modular furniture combined with \u201cbring your own device\u201d format for increased collaborative projects. The change impacts students, faculty and management and the larger the organization, the more complex the internal system structure where changes are often painfully researched and documented combined with long approval time. The use of change management frameworks and methods can help with the process of change and reduce negative effects; they provide structure to think about what is needed to create meaningful change across an organization, mitigate risk, and increase the likelihood of project success on time and budget. Biech (2007) sums up the essence of a successful process: \u201cyou must plan the work and work the plan\u201d (p. 1).<\/p>\n

The discussions, along with my experience leading change, is summarized in the infographic (Figure 1.) and lead to three lessons which will guide my future leadership endeavours: involving more communication, commitment, and adaptive and collaborative leadership.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Figure 1. Managing Change<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n


\nIllustrations are created by the author.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Infographic illustration references<\/p>\n

Leading change using Kotter\u2019s 8 step change method section: Illustration is based on John P. Kotter (2007) Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail article content in the\u00a0Harvard Business Review 85(1)<\/em>, 96-103.<\/p>\n

According to the Knoster model for managing change section: Adapted from Knoster, T., Villa, R., & Thousand, J. (2000). A framework for thinking about systems change. In R. Villa & J. Thousands. (Eds.).\u00a0Restructuring for caring and effective education: Piecing the puzzle together<\/em>. (pp. 93-128). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.<\/p>\n

Competencies for successful change efforts section: Illustration is based on Center for Creative Leadership (n.d). How to be a successful change leader [Blog post]. Retrieved from https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/successful-change-leader<\/p>\n

References<\/p>\n

Al-Haddad, S., & Kotnour, T. (2015).\u00a0Integrating the organizational change literature: a model for successful change.\u00a0Journal of Organizational Change Management<\/em>,\u00a028<\/em>(2), 234-262. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1108\/JOCM-11-2013-0215.<\/p>\n

Biech, E. (2007). Models for Change. In\u00a0Thriving through change: A leader\u2019s practical guide to change mastery.<\/em>\u00a0Alexandria, VA: ASTD [Books24x7 database]\n

Castelli, P. (2016).\u00a0Reflective leadership review: a framework for improving organisational performance.\u00a0Journal of Management Development<\/em>,\u00a035<\/em>(2), 217-236.<\/p>\n

Khan, N. (2017).\u00a0Adaptive or Transactional Leadership in Current Higher Education: A Brief Comparison.\u00a0The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning,\u00a018<\/em>(3), 178-183.<\/p>\n

Knoster, T., Villa, R., & Thousand, J. (2000). A framework for thinking about systems change. In R. Villa & J. Thousands. (Eds.).\u00a0Restructuring for caring and effective education: Piecing the puzzle together<\/em>. (pp. 93-128). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.<\/p>\n

Kotter, J. (2007).\u00a0Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail.\u00a0Harvard Business Review 85(1)<\/em>, 96-103.<\/p>\n

Weiner, B. J. (2009).\u00a0A theory of organizational readiness for change.\u00a0Implementation Science<\/em>,\u00a04<\/em>(67). 1-9. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/1748-5908-4-67<\/p>\n

Weller, M., & Anderson, T. (2013).\u00a0Digital resilience in higher education.\u00a0European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning 16<\/em>(1), 53-66.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I inquired two professionals from two entirely different contexts about the change process, leadership\u2019s role in change, and the challenges. The first case: Technology program was transferred from face-to-face to flexible blended format. The change was inspired by the Mobile Learning Theory, that learners are on the move and learning takes place outside the classroom; […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":772,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lrnt525"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0057\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0057\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0057\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0057\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/99"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0057\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=770"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0057\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/770\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":778,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0057\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/770\/revisions\/778"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0057\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0057\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0057\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0057\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}