0.1 2. change leadership competencies  (Page 2/4)

The rational leader . This leader focuses on how to constrain and control change with logic and linear, sequential, recipe-like execution. “Rational leaders tend to see life as a binary experience in which things are either good or bad, right or wrong, on track or off. They view organizational change as something to be implemented in as unemotional a fashion as possible. Good planning and carefully worded announcements are the keys to the rational leader’s change strategy.” (p. 3)

The panacea leader . The Panacea Leader believes that the way to respond to pressure for change is to communicate and motivate. “These senior officers have reconciled themselves to the fact that unforeseen, disconcerting transitions have become an inevitable part of their organization’s life. It is their contention that negative emotions about change impede its progress and should, therefore, be either prevented or converted into positive feelings. These leaders place a high premium on a ‘happy’ workforce.” One sign of this style is a high degree of emphasis on building enthusiasm for a change with little or no effort to address the deeper human issues.” (p. 4)

The bolt-on leader . This leader strives to regain control of a changing situation by attaching (bolting on) change management techniques to ad hoc projects that are created in response to pressure for change. “The Bolt-on leader’s approach to change recognizes the importance of addressing the human dimension of change ‘whenever we have the time and resources to do so.’ While these leaders see change management as an important component of the change initiative, they maintain the belief that only a cursory review of people issues may be necessary.” (p. 4)

The integrated leader . The Integrated Leader searches for ways to use the structure and discipline of what Harding and Rouse (2007) called “human due diligence” (the leadership practice of understanding the culture of an organization and the roles, capabilities, and attitudes of its people) as individual change projects are created and implemented. “The cornerstone of this style of change leadership is the respect and emphasis placed on the psycho-social-cultural issues associated with accomplishing important initiatives. These leaders move beyond operating as if the intellectual power of their ideas alone can compensate for the lack of careful diagnosis and skillful navigation. Instead, they blend a balanced concern for both the human and technical aspects of orchestrating change into their decision-making process as well as their execution tactics.” (p.4)

The continuous leader . The Continuous Leader works to create an agile and quick-responding organization that can quickly anticipate threats and seize opportunities as change initiatives are designed and implemented. Continuous Leaders believe that to drive success during turbulent times they “…must deal with ongoing disruption… For Continuous Leaders, what is paramount is not whether their organization can execute any current, singular change efforts, but whether it can sustain an endless avalanche of dramatic, overlapping alterations in its key success factors.” (p. 5)