Mgt 506 - Change Management Leadership

Trident University International

Travis Martin

Change Management Leadership

MGT506: Strategic Leadership

Doctor Coto

July 31, 2016

Change Management Leadership

Leadership growth and change management tend to be top priorities for many organizations.  In spite of their efforts, a majority of organizations end up falling short of their goals for both.  One major reason organizations fail to meet their targets is because they handle both leadership development and change management as unconnected entities as opposed to interconnected challenges.  Changes within an organization cannot take place without positive change management leadership, and efforts to make these changes serve as the crucible in which the leader is developed.  This paper will analyze the critical characteristics of change management leadership and contrast this method with a traditional leadership style In addition, Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft Corporation will be studied as it relates to successful change management practices.

Critical Characteristics of Change Management Leadership

Change leadership can be defined as the capability to influence and motivate others through personal advocacy, vision and ambition, as well as accessing resources to construct a solid structure for change (Higgs & Rowland, 2010).  This idea helps to explain why prosperous and maintainable organizational developments are contingent on effective change leaders who know how to generate and disseminate a vision in addition to overcoming resistance to change and handling conflict.  Change management leadership requires leaders and organizations as a whole, to cultivate beliefs and attitudes in order to foster the practices and behaviors that aid followers in acclimating to change.  Within this mode of transformation, there is also an emphasis on structures, techniques and methods to facilitate such change (Gill, 2003).

         One of the most prominent and successful systems for implementing change is Dr. John Kotter’s eight-step change model.  Though there are many ideas about how to achieve change, many are derived from Kotter’s 8-step process.  A professor at Harvard Business School and notorious change connoisseur, Kotter introduced his eight-step change process in his 1996 book, Leading Change (“Kotter's 8-Step Change Model,” n.d.).  The following discussion further outlines and discusses the eight steps, as it will prove useful in later analysis of CEO Satya Nadella.

Kotter’s 8-Step Change Process

        Step 1: Create a sense of urgency.  For change to occur, it is useful if the whole organization is on board.  Developing a sense of urgency around the need for change may aid the leader in sparking the initial motivation to get things moving.  Additional things that one could do to achieve a sense of urgency is identify potential risks, develop situations showing what could happen in the future, and examine opportunities that could be exploited (Kotter, 2012).  Starting honest conversations like these and giving convincing reasons for change help in getting followers behind the cause.  Requesting support from customers, independent stakeholders and industry experts can help strengthen the leader’s position.  Kotter proposes that for change to be effective, 75 percent of an organizations management needs to "buy into" the change.  In other words, the leader has to work diligently on Step 1, and spend substantial time and energy building urgency, before moving onto the next steps (“Kotter's 8-Step Change Model,” n.d.).