“Opportunity dances with those who are
already on the dance floor.”
-
H. Jackson Brown
The ability to adapt and bend is important when
addressing change in this fast-paced marketplace. As H. Jackson Brown, the author who wrote
many of those Life's Little Instruction Books, said: "Opportunity dances
with those who are already on the dance floor." For those businesses that are out there in
the mix of the chaos, it is easier for them to move to another partner or
change the beat...so to speak.
The role and style of leadership is particularly
critical when facilitating change. A leader shares the “vision of what could be and speaks a
new organizational future into existence” (Lloyd & Maguire, 2002). Purposeful
dialogue, courage and vision allow for change to manifest and for those changes
to remain sustainable (Quy Nguyen & Mintzberg, 2003). A leader must be virtuous also. According to Cameron (2006), “when people are
exposed to virtuous acts, they are attracted to them and elevated by them."
Servant
Leader and Change
The servant leader is compassionate, shows integrity,
is trusting, yet, and has a vision. A servant leader promotes and encourages change by taking
the time to understand and serve the needs of others (Cameron, 2006). As the servant leader puts the subordinate
first, change is promoted and encouraged through understanding and
encouragement (Pajunen, 2006). The sustainability
of change is dependent on the relationship between leader and follower
(Pajunen, 2006).
Stewardship is foremost in the change
process as a servant leader wants to impact the lives of those they serve. By doing so, this impacts the corporation or
organization (Blanchard, 2010). The
values of the organization and its stakeholders need to be aligned in order to
effectively and efficiently respond to change. It is this authentic, valued and
trusted relationship cultivated by the servant leader that allows for stable
and effective change.
Author: Andree
C. Swanson, EdD
References
Blanchard, K. (2010). Leading
at a higher level. Upper Saddle River, NJ. FT Press.
Cameron, K. (2006, May). Leading change. Leadership Excellence.
p. 19.
Lloyd, M., & Maguire, S. (2002). The possibility horizon. Journal of Change Management,
3(2), 149.
Munduate, L., & Medina, F.J. (2004). Power, authority and
leadership. In Encyclopedia
of Applied Psychology.
Pajunen, K. (2006). Stakeholder Influences in Organizational
Survival. Journal of
Management Studies, 43(6),
1261-1288. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6486.2006.00624.x
Quy Nguyen, H., & Mintzberg, H. (2003). The Rhythm of
Change. MIT Sloan
Management Review, 44(4),
79-84.
