Leadership has been described as a seduction. A counterbalance to this seduction is more open acknowledgement and discussion about the dark side of leading change. I highlight how academics encouraged coercive persuasion, manipulation and aggression in the development of leadership. Rather than practices to be avoided, these developments were seen as beneficial even integral to what was being prescribed.
This post focuses on how evaluating change and change agency debates lost their way. Three frames for thinking about these debates are introduced and differentiated.
Failing to acknowledge the origins of this debate.Biased/judgmental language frames thinking.Stereotyping employees as villains and managers/leaders as heroes.Neglecting relationships between readiness and resistance to change.Underestimating resistance as an organizational change resource. Failing to acknowledge the origins of this debate. The best practice is to go back to the origins of a debate, to understand what …
Continue reading "Overcoming resistance to change – Five common misunderstandings"
Post in 48 Words Business school academics frequently and repeatedly claim that organizational change tends to fail. Addressing these 'failures' informs university leadership and management courses for students and consultancy for organizations. Perversely I am now referenced as the missing change tends to fail 'evidence', this Notebook reflects my increasingly paranoid scream!!! In this third …
Continue reading "Notebook No.3 – Did I really claim that organizational change tends to fail?"
I recently enjoyed talking with Jane and James as part of their World of Work podcast series. It was good to take a break from gardening and my joy of composting and engage with another of my passions - organizational change. We talked about the scope of organizational change, my attraction to the field and …
Senior people refer to ‘leadership’ when what they are really talking about is ‘command.’
Creating urgency has become synonymous with leading change to the detriment of individuals, organizations, and societies.
Woodland Decay 