Leading Change Initiatives
The modern world of organizations is characterized by leadership and change programs aimed at initiating change within an organization. For most organizations, it has been duly noted that leaders categorize success as the percentage of the number of employees who underwent a specific course or program that encourages change within an organization. Furthermore, the idea of change has been so much commercialized to appoint where returns on investments put into realizing changes are not actualized in time. Therefore, as discussed in this paper, the idea of change had to be looked at and defined again through a set of activities that initiate actual change in a given working environment.
A leader in an organization has to acknowledge that change is action driven. One cannot teach changes as a course or a program involving employee workshops and seminars. Ideologically, there are many aspects that affect change and some drivers of change. Drivers of change tend to be initiated by a leader. It is, therefore, paramount that the employees have a leader whose leadership skills are undoubted. Therefore, the leader is responsible for ensuring that change is initiated by a firm or company.
For change to take place, the need for change must first be introduced into a working environment. A working environment that is deserving of change has to be dynamic in every way. If at all the need for change has been realized, then and only then can a leader in the organization communicate the vision that culminates as a result of the needed change (Whipple n.p). Trust-based relationships are crucial in the working place. For instance, if a leader does not trust certain individuals in an organization, he or she cannot be able to assign any significant tasks that aid in initiating change in an organization. Therefore, this would be a major drawback on most change initiative efforts.
Other important aspect that initiate change include the integration of new methods into a certain organizational culture. The importance attached to organizational culture is crucial to a firm’s success. It is, therefore, paramount that this culture should not become the employee’s comfort zone by allowing them to sulk in their effort of bettering the organization’s operations. Moreover, the integration of an organizational culture with the specific psychology of change chosen can enhance change initiatives to become successful in the foreseeable future. Therefore, defining a good culture works to improve the image of an organization.
It would be wrong to mention that leading from below is a tactic for change. Leading from below does not enhance the authoritarian nature of leader. Instead, it creates a form of peer perception of employees to their employer or managers, and the leader-follower form of relationship cannot be realized. Leading from below also entails concentrating on tasks that are on the employee-level in which a leader would only be supposed to interact through issuing instructions and providing guidance on various activities that have a profound effect on organizational operations. Thus, it is crucial to define the relationship between employees and employers while leading from below to avoid any confrontations.
Indeed, there has been proven to be specific ways that initiate and ensure change within an organization. Furthermore, these ways are enhanced through the participation of organizational leaders and the employees. The only way a leader can lead is from the top. Especially in the modern age of business, this can be accomplished by the leader illustrating different crucial things that employees ought to practice to achieve change. Then and only then would the needed change be realized within a given organization.
Work Cited
Whipple, Bob. “Leadergrow: Articles by Robert Whipple, The Trust Ambassador – Leading Change Initiatives.” Leadergrow: Developing Leaders, Building Trust – Training, Consulting, Keynotes, leadergrow.com/articles/53-leading-change-initiatives. Accessed 5 Apr. 2017.
