Introduction
Today, organizational change is inevitable. Such line of thinking is influenced by the fact that organizations operate in a dynamic business environment. To survive in modern global economy, a company must be flexible and adapt to changes in the marketplace (Gibbons, 2015). Change management is not a simple, as it sounds. Resistance to change is arguably the biggest challenge facing change managers (Cawsey, Deszca, & Ingols, 2016). The people resist change due to many reasons, including fear of the unknown and loss of status (Olson & Simerson, 2015). Leaders play a crucial role in change management. Therefore, effective leadership is the key to successfully implementing change in any organization, as a good leader is a reliable change agent.
The Role of a Leader in the Change Process
Leader play a crucial role in the change process. The role of a leader in change management is to effectively engage employees, develop a simple change vision, motivate his or her followers to embrace organizational change, as well as introduce strategies aimed at effectively managing an organizational change (Gleeson, 2017). In the change process, a leader should create urgency around the need for change and convince other people that change is necessary (Gibbons, 2015). Moreover, he or she should also introduce a vision for change, communicate it frequently and powerfully, effectively address any resistance to change, develop strategies, and create an agile corporate culture (Kotter International). All in all, a leader should seek to be an effective change agent when it comes to the implementing organizational change.
Theories on the Role of Leadership
Servant Leadership Theory
Servant leadership theory is founded on the idea that a leader is a servant of his or her followers. According to it, the role of a leader is to serve his or her followers. In other words, such people should focus on empowering their followers by focusing on ways to help them achieve or meet their needs or desires. Concerning the change process, the servant leadership theory suggests that a leader should focus on convincing his or her followers on why the change is necessary, thus encouraging the followers to embrace the change (Gleeson, 2017). In the change process, a servant leader should act in a manner that ensures his or her followers understand that the change being implemented is beneficial to all stakeholders.
The Leader-Member Exchange Theory
The leader-member exchange (LMX) theory puts emphasis on the relationship between a leader and the followers. It is based on the premise that a good relationship between a leader and the followers can positively affect an organization (Schyns & Day, 2010). With regards to change management, the LMX theory states that the role of a leader in the change process is to ensure every employee understands why a specific organizational change is necessary.
The Path-Goal Theory
The path-goal leadership theory offers valuable insight into the role of leadership. According to it, the role of a leader is to do everything possible, including changing his or her leadership style to ensure a subordinate is productive. The framework states that the goal of leaders is to increase their followers’ motivation and satisfaction to ensure that they do not resist change (Farhan, 2018). With regards to change management, this theory states that the role of a leader is to motivate his or her followers to embrace organizational change. Therefore, the primary role of a leader in the change process is to adequately address any resistance to change.
How Leaders Can Evaluate the Impact of Change
Understanding the impact of organizational change is important. A leader can evaluate the impact of change by interacting with his or her followers (Olson & Simerson, 2015). Some organizational changes can yield undesirable results. The employees are a good source of information related to the impact of organizational change. A leader can also evaluate the impact of change by comparing the previous and new productivity levels before the organizational change was adopted and implemented. Leaders can also evaluate the impact of change by conducting an audit on operations. To do this, they should hire external auditors or consultants to provide an unbiased opinion about the impact of change that has been recently implemented.
Recommendations on How a Leader Can Improve the Change Process
Improving the change process should be a top priority for any leader. A leader can improve the change process by doing three things. Firstly, communicating with employees. Leaders should seek to ensure that employees understand why an organizational change is necessary or important (Gleeson, 2017). Equally important, a leader should seek to ensure that his or her employees understand the change vision that has been created. Secondly, a leader should closely monitor the change process to determine what is working and what is not (Gibbons, 2015). A leader should develop effective solutions for what is not working properly. Thirdly, a leader should demonstrate the attitudes and behaviors that are expected of everyone else in the organization.
Conclusion
Change management is both an art and science. Such reasoning is influenced by the fact that successful change management depends on a wide range of factors. Leaders play an important role in change management. The responsibilities of a leader in the change process include creating a simple but effective vision of change, convincing employees that a particular organizational change is necessary, motivating people to implement the change, and addressing any resistance to change. An organizational change can lead to undesirable results. For this reason, leaders should strive to improve the change process and take the time to understand the real impact of an organizational change once it is implemented.
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