Leadership in turbulent times: Effective leadership during times of organizational change
| Published date | 21 October 2007 |
| Date | 21 October 2007 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14754390980000996 |
| Pages | 16-19 |
| Author | David Pardey |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
16
16 Volume 6 Issue 5 July/August 2007
ESPITE ALL THE pro-innovation
rhetoric … most [CEOs] still hold
the view that innovation is a rather
dangerous diversion from the real
work of wringing the last ounce of
efficiency out of core business processes. Innovation is
fine so long as it does not disrupt a company’s finely
honed operating model ... As change becomes ever less
predictable, companies will pay an ever-escalating price
for their lopsided love of incrementalism”.1
Peter Drucker described leadership as “doing the
right thing” and management as “doing it right”.2The
warning in the quote above from Gary Hamel is that
too many CEOs and other senior managers get
hooked into doing things right, “wringing the last
ounce of efficiency out of core business processes”.
instead of looking seriously at what really needs to be
done to respond to the increasingly unpredictable
environment in which they operate. This need for
innovation and change is what distinguishes the
successes from the also-rans in a world in which there
is little room for the second-rate, whether in the
private, public or voluntary sector.
In 1996, Dr Bill Coyne, senior VP for research and
development at 3M Corporation, described innovation
as the “successful implementation of novel and
appropriate ideas within an organization”.3It’s this
novelty and appropriateness that characterizes the most
successful change in organizations, but that also
demands truly effective leadership. Before getting into
the argument, however, let’s just be clear about the
relationship between leadership and management,
because debates about these two overlapping concepts
can get fraught and divert us from the real issues facing
organizations today.
“D
by David Pardey, Institute of Leadership & Management
Leadership in
turbulent times
Effective leadership during times of
organizational change
David Pardey,
development consultant
at the Institute of
Leadership &
Management (ILM),
explores why effective
leadership is so important
during times of
organizational change. He
examines two cases
where strong leadership
made the difference – the
first in achieving a
complete overhaul of
systems and processes,
and the second in moving
employees to a customer-
centric culture.
FEATURES AT A GLANCE
,
,
,
,
LEADERSHIP IN
TURBULENT TIMES
WHAT MAKES YOUR
LEADERS TICK?
COURAGE IN THE FACE OF
EXTRAORDINARY TALENT
TAKING A BOLD APPROACH TO
ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING
PLAYING THE WORKFORCE
GENERATION GAME
,
© Melcrum publishing 2007.For more information visit our website www.melcrum.com or e-mail info@melcrum.com
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