Leading Change
18 Pages Posted: 21 Oct 2008
There are 2 versions of this paper
Abstract
This note presents an overview of some fundamental characteristics of managing change. Such classic change models as those of Lewin, Beer, and Kotter are introduced. A general model of change is presented, together with predictable stages in the change process and predictable responses to change. Managing change is highlighted as an important part of the skill set of an effective leader so that students are encouraged to become familiar with a model of change and with skills at managing it in order to become better leaders.
Excerpt
UVA-OB-0648
LEADING CHANGE
It's not the critic who counts. It's not the man who points out where the grown man stumbles, or how the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who actually is in the arena, who strives violently, who errs and comes up short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who if he wins, knows the triumph of high achievement, but who if he fails, fails while daring greatly, so his place will never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
—Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States
Leadership is nothing if not about change. If there is no change, one could argue there is no leadership; we don't talk about leadership for the status quo, or maintenance leadership. Change and its related concepts and principles are inextricably intertwined with leadership and its concepts. In a world that continues to change rapidly, effective leaders are masters of the change process; they understand, embrace, and lead change. Ineffective leaders struggle with change and find that many of their efforts at managing change fail. It behooves every aspiring leader, therefore, to understand his or her own attitudes toward change and to become a master of the change process and how to manage it.
A General Model of Change
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Keywords: change, management of, leadership, alternative business issue or setting
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