Free Strategic Organizational Leadership For Change Essay Example

Organizational leadership recognizes the need to implement change successfully without compromising the productivity of the organization at any point during the change process. Despite this recognition, change success in organizations surprisingly low. The reason for the failure might be that organizational leadership is unable simultaneously manage change and stability, meaning that change and continuity should be two coexisting states throughout the change process. The demands of change are so high that organizational leaders do not get time to maintain continuity to ensure that organizational performance is not compromised during the change process. It is against this background that Taylor-Bianco and Schermerhorn Jr. (2006) designed this review to develop a dispositional model for guiding strategic leadership for change. The methodology involved review of self-regulation literature, particularly regulatory focus, which considers promotion and prevention as two different strategies for self-regulation. The review suggests that strategic leadership or organizational change should consider continuity and change as co-existing states rather than two different components of change. This is an indication that strategic organizational leaders should ensure that individuals skilled in promotion and prevention strategies should form part of leadership teams.
I find this study as crucial because it has highlighted important issues to consider in order to improve organizational performance. Organizations want improved performance, and given that change is an ingredient of improved performance, the importance of managing change while maintaining continuity is necessary. Continuity and change require that change teams be made up of a combination of individuals skilled in promotion and prevention strategies. It is the responsibility of the strategic organizational leadership to ensure that all have enhanced self-awareness or promotion and prevention strategies. However, the study seems to have more theoretical than practical implications.
Although the authors insist that the model has important practical implications, I think the model is a little bit complex and probably difficult to guide practice. The model does not seem to identify a point in time during the change process at which organizational leaders can determine whether the change being implemented is facilitating organizational performance.

References

Taylor-Bianco, A. & Schermerhorn Jr., J. (2006). Self-regulation, strategic leadership and paradox in organizational change. Journal or Organizational Management, 19(4), 457-470.