CMI Level 7 LO2.2 Introduction PDF

Level 7 Learning Outcome 2: Know how to propose a strategy for leading strategic change Learning Outcome 2.2 Introduction Reflect on how approaches to leadership can be appliedto deliver the strategy for change LO2.2 Introduction This part of the programme considers how approaches t...

Level 7 Learning Outcome 2: Know how to propose a strategy for leading strategic change Learning Outcome 2.2 Introduction Reflect on how approaches to leadership can be appliedto deliver the strategy for change LO2.2 Introduction This part of the programme considers how approaches to leadership can be applied to deliver a strategy for change. In a dynamic organisation, effective leadership is vital for delivering change successfully. This part of the course provides insight into various leadership approaches and how they can drive strategic change within your organisation. Leadership as a change agent is the starting point of our journey. Leaders play a crucial role in initiating, guiding and sustaining change. As change agents, leaders must possess the vision to see the need for change, the courage to challenge the status quo and the skills to engage and inspire others. You will explore how leaders can effectively champion change initiatives, create a compelling vision and mobilise resources and people towards achieving strategic objectives. LO2.2 Introduction Authentic leadership, characterised by transparency, integrity, and genuine interactions are essential in building trust and credibility. Authentic leaders are self-aware and have a strong sense of purpose and values. They encourage a culture of openness and collaboration, which is critical for successful change implementation. You will consider ways to cultivate authentic leadership qualities and leverage them to gain the commitment and trust of your team during periods of change. Entrepreneurial thinking is another key aspect of leading strategic change. Entrepreneurial leaders are innovative, proactive and willing to take calculated risks. They are adept at identifying opportunities for improvement and driving initiatives that create value. You will look into ways entrepreneurial thinking can be applied to develop and deliver change strategies, encouraging a culture of innovation and agility. LO2.2 Introduction Servant leadership focuses on prioritising the needs of others, empowering and uplifting your people to achieve their best. Servant leaders create a supportive environment that encourages growth, collaboration and high performance. Adopting a servant leadership approach can enhance team engagement and resilience, crucial elements for navigating change effectively. The role of management in supporting change is also crucial. Effective managers translate the strategic vision into actionable plans, allocate resources efficiently, and monitor progress to ensure alignment with the change objectives. You will explore how management practices can support and reinforce change initiatives, ensuring that day-to- day operations are aligned with the overarching strategy. LO2.2 Introduction Understanding the five change management styles is essential for adapting leadership approaches to different situations. These styles include directive, participative, coaching, delegative, and visionary. Each style has its strengths and is suited to particular contexts and challenges. You will learn how to apply these styles flexibly to meet your organisation's and team's specific needs during the change process. Ethical management is integral to leading change with integrity and responsibility. Ethical leaders consider the broader impact of their decisions on stakeholders and society, ensuring that change initiatives are conducted fairly and sustainably. You will feel the ethical management principles and how they can be integrated into your change strategies to encourage trust and long-term success. LO2.2 Introduction Systems management provides a holistic view of the organisation, recognising the interdependence of various components. This approach helps leaders understand the broader implications of change and how different parts of the organisation interact. Adopting systems-based approaches can enable you to design and implement change strategies that consider the organisation as a whole, ensuring coherence and alignment across all levels. Throughout this part of the course, you will gain insights into these diverse leadership approaches and how they can be effectively applied to lead strategic change. By understanding and integrating these principles, you will be better equipped to drive successful and sustainable change initiatives, positioning your organisation for continued success. Please now scroll down Copyright Academy of Leadership & Management Ltd 2024 ©  Level 7 Learning Outcome 2: Know how to propose a strategy for leading strategic change Learning Outcome 2.2 Part 1 Reflect on how approaches to leadership can be appliedto deliver the strategy for change Part 1 Leadership Approaches Approaches that support Strategic Change We know that change is a way of life now, but that doesn’t mean that everyone is comfortable with it. We work in an environment where we won’t have all the answers every time, but we will still need to create and manage change successfully in our leadership positions. We are all products of our past. The past is a rich source of experiences and achievements, and it is through these experiences that our leadership is developed. It is helpful to reflect on these experiences and build insight about: How they have shaped you as a leader What values or beliefs have you a formed as a result How these may influence your style and behaviour. There are choices in how we lead, and the following slides offer different approaches to consider, reflect on, and apply. Some questions to prompt reflection Have a sense of curiosity about your leadership style. Ask yourself: What assumptions do you hold about leadership? How is your definition of leadership progressing? How do you perceive your leadership style? Ask yourself what kind of leader do I want to be? What leadership style do I want to adopt? Evidence suggests that having just one style of leadership is restrictive and that you need a portfolio of styles from which to choose in different situations, learning how to calibrate your leadership style to a given situation: What particular strengths do you have? What about weaknesses? What unique challenges do you face? What is the context of your leadership role? What are your values? What drives you? What leadership style is admired and rewarded within your organisation? What impact do you have on people around you? How do you know? Leader as Change Agent: 3 levels of responsibility Leader as Change Agent: 3 levels of responsibility 1. Change Drivers (Organisation level) 2. Change Facilitator (Team/Unit/Function level) 3. Change Survivor (Personal Level) As a Leader, recognise that there may also be tension between these three roles, e.g. you may have some personal concerns about the change but still need to facilitate and/or drive it. Successful leadership and management of the people factor in any change scenario depend on you effectively managing all three roles. As a change agent, your leadership style may need to vary as you move between the roles and phases of any strategic change. Leader as Change Agent: 3 levels of responsibility A change agent lives in the future, not the present. Regardless of what is happening today, a change agent has a vision of what could or should be and uses that as the governing sense of action. To a certain extent, change agents are dissatisfied with what they see around them and favour a much better vision of the future. Without this future drive, the change agent can lose their way. A change agent is fuelled by passion, and inspires passion in others, Change is hard work. It takes much energy. Don't underestimate this. Leader as Change Agent: 3 levels of responsibility A change agent has a solid ability to self-motivate. There will be many days when everyone around does not understand and does not offer support. The change agent needs to find it within themselves to get up every day and come to work and risk being misunderstood and underappreciated, knowing that the real validation may be far in the future and may be claimed by someone else. A change agent must understand people. Change is about people. If you change everything but the people, I doubt you'll be effective as a change agent. Change will really "stick" when people embrace it. Can you be authentic as a leader during change? A leader who acts in accordance with their values and is true to self is defined as demonstrating Authentic Leadership (George, 2003; Avolio and Gardner, 2005; Freeman and Auster, 2011). What is Authentic Leadership? Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones of the London Business School, 2006, define it as having five dimensions: understanding your purpose, practicing solid values, leading with your heart, establishing connected relationships, and demonstrating self-discipline. The ABC of authentic leadership : A is for authenticity: being true to your values and yourself. B is for bravery: having the courage to lead and to do the right thing, especially in the face of danger or dissent, C is for compassion: leading with empathy and a concern for the physical and emotional well-being of others. Leaders must be situational during change Leadership is situational; ‘Right skills at the right time’ Goffee and Jones call such adaptive behaviour ‘situation sensing’. It requires a mixture of sensory and cognitive abilities. Leaders can tune in to the prevailing context on a day-to-day level by picking up on cues and signals from meetings, when walking about the organisation, and even from brief conversations in the corridor. Skilful leaders must use similar skills when tuning in to the strategic context and strategic change, particularly regarding decision-making. Goffee and Jones stress that the context a leader inherits is a starting point rather than something they are bound to. It is up to the leader to use their leadership qualities to re-frame the situation to their advantage and that of their followers as appropriate. Do you have followers? Leadership is relational - in other words, to be a leader, you need to have followers. Goffee and Jones (2006) believe that: ‘Good leaders manage relationships by knowing when to be close to people and when to be distant – to keep people focused on goals and address poor performance’. There are four key things that followers look for from their leaders: 1. Authenticity - Followers want leaders who are extremely good at what they do but have not lost sight of where they have come from or who they are. 2. Significance - Followers respond to leaders who make them feel their contributions matter. 3. Community - Followers also look for their leaders to create a sense of common purpose at work and a desire within the group to relate and interact with each other. 4. Excitement - Followers want to feel excited and inspired by their leader. It’s human nature to want to feel engaged and to be part of a success story. To become a more effective leader, you must be yourself – more – with skill. Entrepreneurial thinking Entrepreneurial thinking is a change in the mindset of how organisations see themselves. It is about thinking about what expertise and assets are within the organisation and how they can be utilised. It also means recognising the value of that expertise and assets. Entrepreneurial thinking enables the organisation to, individually or collectively, spot and exploit opportunities as they emerge or pre-empt such opportunities to gain commercial advantage and improved service provision. Entrepreneurial thinking Which are you? Servant Leadership Robert K. Greenleaf's Servant leadership (1970 ) focuses on other people's needs – not their feelings. As a servant leader, you're a "servant first", and you focus on the needs of others, especially team members before you consider your own. You acknowledge other people's perspectives, give them the support to meet their work and personal goals, and involve them in decisions where appropriate and build a sense of community within your team. This leads to higher engagement, more trust, and stronger relationships with the team members and other stakeholders. Servant leadership is a way of behaving. Please now scroll down Copyright Academy of Leadership & Management Ltd 2024 ©  Level 7 Learning Outcome 2: Know how to propose a strategy for leading strategic change Learning Outcome 2.2 Part 2 Reflect on how approaches to leadership can be appliedto deliver the strategy for change Part 2 Management Models Getting a perspective on the role of management in support of change No single article, research or book has a definitive answer to optimising the management resources needed to support change. There is also no definitive strategy or change management model you can easily apply to your organisation. If change is necessary, it must be introduced systematically to minimise the adverse effects on the people involved and to ensure that the changes introduced are right. Why is change management tricky at times? We don’t change easily, and there are many reasons why people resist change at work, such as mistrust, misunderstanding, insecurity, fear, exclusion, and imposition. The following slides explore different applicable change management models when planning change. Five styles of change management Johnson, Scholes and Whittington identified five styles of change management: Education and Communication - this style is based on persuasion, in which the reasons for change and how it will be achieved are explained in detail to those affected. It is useful when change is incremental. It is a top-down approach and depends on a willingness to accept management plans as appropriate. Management may have to negotiate if the desire to change is initially missing. Collaborative / Participation - brings those affected by strategic change into the change management process. E.g. drawing them into problem identification or creating new routines to implement the change. This ethical approach nurtures a positive attitude, building readiness and capability for change. Five styles of change management Intervention - is undertaken by a change agent who delegates some aspect of the change process to teams or individuals, providing them with guidance and retaining overall control of the change. Direction - is a top-down style in which managerial authority is used to establish and implement a change programme based on a clear future strategy. It is suited to transformational change. It can trigger resistance, and success depends partly on the quality of the strategy. Coercion/edict - an extreme form of direction based on using power to impose change. It is likely to provoke opposition due to the lack of participation or consultation. It can be a practical approach in times of crisis or confusion. Ethical Management When organisations evaluate a potential strategic change or significant investment, they often ask questions from an economic point of view, such as how attractive the profit margins are. How much will we have to invest, and what will be the return? And then decide to implement a change. Management writers (Paine Compass) promote the idea that ethics should have a clear place in managing change. Harvard ethics professor Lynn Paine ‘it’s important to give attention to the moral dimension of routine and non-routine decisions’. A 4-point guide can ask all Managers to think about Purpose, Principle, People and Power in decisions. Purpose - This seeks to focus on the means and the ends, including the quality of our goals and the efficacy of the methods we choose to achieve them. Example questions: Will this change serve a worthwhile purpose? What are we trying to accomplish? What are our short- and long-term goals? How do they contribute to people’s lives? Ethical Management People - like stakeholder analysis, we can ask questions such as who is affected by what and how we change, the claims of those affected parties, what interests are at stake in this change, and whether we have taken full advantage of opportunities for mutual benefit. Principle - laws, standards, essential obligations and ideals. Some questions to consider: What norms of conduct are relevant to this change? What are our duties linked to this change? What are the best change practices? Is the proposed change consistent with our standards and ideals? Power - is the change within the scope of your authority, ability and resources. Some questions to consider: Do you have the legitimate authority and the ability to act? Are we within our rights to pursue the proposed change? Do we have the resources required to change well? Systems Management If we want fundamental and transformational change in a complex system, consider interactions and changes in three elements: Structure, Processes, and Patterns. How do I recognise that a'systems'' solution is necessary? We would say you need a systems solution when: a satisfactory solution would benefit other teams and organisations as much as your team a variety of ideas have been tried, but the problems never seem to go away ideas you have tried in the past have given rise to complaints from others, your challenge always seems to fall into the too difficult to do'’ box and feels impossible because you think it requires agreement and cooperation from too many people Identify the potential for improvement - Define your system, Get the right people together, Assessing the level of relationships, Engaging the right people Getting a perspective on the role of management in support of change Why is change management tricky at times? Change at work is a significant decision for all involved. Models can help guide you through the planning and implementation. As a manager, keeping the Organisation on track used to involve just looking after strategy, business plans, vision, and finance. But that is no longer the case. How you manage change matters, and the values displayed along the way are noticed. Take time to identify your perspective and views on managing changes at work. What works well, and what could you enhance further? Please now scroll down Copyright Academy of Leadership & Management Ltd 2024 ©  Level 7 Learning Outcome 2: Know how to propose a strategy for leading strategic change Learning Outcome 2.2 Conclusion Reflect on how approaches to leadership can be appliedto deliver the strategy for change LO2.2 Conclusion You have considered how leadership approaches can be applied to deliver a strategy for change. Your grasp of change leadership should now incorporate a clear understanding of various leadership styles and methodologies essential for driving successful change initiatives. By recognising the role of leadership as a change agent, you have observed the importance of vision, courage and engagement in steering organisational transformation. The principles of authentic leadership have underscored the value of transparency, integrity and trust in building a supportive environment for change. Embracing entrepreneurial thinking has highlighted the need for innovation, proactivity and calculated risk-taking to identify and seize opportunities for improvement. LO2.2 Conclusion Servant leadership has shown how prioritising the needs of your team and fostering a collaborative culture can enhance engagement and resilience, which are critical during periods of change. You have also examined the crucial role of management in translating strategic visions into actionable plans, ensuring that everyday operations align with the broader change objectives. By exploring the five styles of change management — directive, participative, coaching, delegation, and visionary — you have seen the importance of flexibility in adapting leadership approaches to different situations and challenges. The emphasis on ethical management has reinforced the importance of conducting change initiatives with integrity and responsibility, encouraging trust and long-term success. LO2.2 Conclusion Lastly, the principles of systems management have provided a holistic perspective on organisational change, ensuring coherence and alignment across all levels. With these insights and tools, you are now well-prepared to lead and manage strategic change effectively. You should now be able to: Assessment criterion 2.2: Reflect on how approaches to leadership can be appliedto deliver the strategy for change  You have now completed all the online learning for Learning Outcome 2.2 - Please now test your knowledge below. Copyright Academy of Leadership & Management Ltd 2024 ©