SUSTAINABLE LEADERSHIP OF CHANGE FOR EFFECTIVE ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Keywords:
Leadership of change, change management, change model, employee engagement, employee commitmentAbstract
To keep pace with the dynamic and complex business environment, organizational change has become an integral part of the organizational life cycle, thus forcing organizations to respond effectively in order to survive, grow and remain competitive. However, most change initiatives fail mainly due to: lack of strategy and vision, lack of management commitment and support, lack of trust, ineffective communication, lack of change management skills and strong resistance to change. The orientation towards change differs among change agents, the implementers and the recipients of the change, which is attributed to their divergent views and ideas, with the real problem lying in the absence of an effective and efficient leadership of change. Given the critical nature of change in the global economy, the value placed on leading change is increasing. The study brings together significant theoretical and practical findings in order to identify the key variables in the effective change management process: organizational culture, leadership, employees and sustainability. This study demonstrates the perceived importance of specific leadership skills and abilities necessary for successful organizational change. The effective and efficient leadership of change is essential to leading change towards sustainability, by identifying and supporting the individual competencies of the members of the organization and by defining the behavior and culture necessary to realize the vision and mission, thus integrating the future and current organizational goals. The leadership directly affects employees’ readiness for organizational change. In line with this, leadership is a crucial factor in enhancing followers’ attitudes and actions toward the development or achievement of organization’s objectives, by inspiring and motivating them to feel committed and to actively contribute to the change. Hereby, the developed model indicates the importance of approaching change from a person-centered perspective, hence organizational leaders who address issues of motivation and communications are more likely to successfully implement change in order to reap the benefits of the long term sustainability. Therefore, sustainable leadership of change that will encourage the participation of all members of the organization, through their training, motivation, promotion of teamwork and encouragement throughout the process is the key pillar of the effective organizational change. This is especially evident аs the pace of change quickens and market demands increase, thus urging organizations to transform processes and systems quickly and smoothly. Leadership must effectively communicate with a multi-generational, global, diverse, and mobile workforce, transform the attitudes and behavior of the employees and lead them towards organizational development and sustainable growth.
References
Armenakis, A. A., & Harris, S. G. (2002). Crafting a change message to create transformational readiness. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 15(2), 169–183.
Avery, G. C., & Bergsteiner, H. (2011). Sustainable leadership practices for enhancing business resilience and performance. Strategy & Leadership, 39(3), 5–15.
Bass, B. M., & Riggio, R. E. (2006). Transformational leadership, 2nd Edition, Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Baumgartner, R. J., & Rauter, R. (2017). Strategic perspectives of corporate sustainability management to develop a sustainable organization. Journal of Cleaner Production, 140, 81–92.
Belias, D., & Koustelios, A. (2014). The impact of leadership and change management strategy on organizational culture. European Scientific Journal, 10(7), 451–470.
Burke, W.W., & Litwin, G.H. (1992). A causal model of organizational performance and change. Journal of management, 18(3),523–545.
Burnes, B., & Jackson, P. (2011), Success and failure in organizational change: An exploration of the role of values. Journal of Change Management, 11(2),133–162.
Caldwell, S.D., Herold D.M., & Fedor D.B. (2004). Towards an understanding of the relationships between organizational change, individual differences, and changes in person-environment fit: A cross-level study. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(5), 868–882.
Carter, M.Z., Armenakis, A.A., Feild, H.S., & Mossholder, K.W. (2013). Transformational leadership, relationship quality, and employee performance during continuous incremental organizational change. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34(7), 942–-958.
Ford, J. D., Ford, L.W., & D'Amelio, A. (2008). Resistance to change: The rest of the story. Academy of management Review, 33(2), 362–377.
Fugate, M., Kinicki, A. J., & Prussia, G. E. (2008), Employee coping with organizational change: An examination of alternative theoretical perspectives and models. Personnel Psychology, 61(1), pp.1–36.
Gerard, L., McMillan, J., & D’Annunzio-Green, N. (2017). Conceptualising sustainable leadership. Industrial and Commercial Training, 49(3), 116–126.
Gilley, A., Gilley, J.W., & McMillan, H.S. (2009). Organizational change: Motivation, communication, and leadership effectiveness. Performance improvement quarterly, 21(4),75–94.
Green, S. E. (2004). A rhetorical theory of diffusion. Academy of Management Review, 29(4), pp. 653–669.
Guy, G. R., & Beauman, K. V. (2005). Effecting change in business enterprises: Current trends in change management, The Conference Board.
Hargett, T.R., & Williams, M.F. (2009), Wilh. Wilhelmsen Shipping Company: moving from CSR tradition to CSR leadership. Corporate Governance, 9(1), 73–82.
Herold, D.M., Fedor, D.B., Caldwell, S., & Liu, Y. (2008). The effects of transformational and change leadership on employees' commitment to a change: A multilevel study. Journal of applied psychology, 93(2), 346–357.
Hill, L. A. (2004). New manager development for the 21st century. Academy of Management Executive, 18(3), 121–126.
Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading change, Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Lewin, K (1947). Frontiers in group dynamics: concept, method and reality in social science. Human Relations, 1, 5–41.
Oreg S. (2003). Resistance to change: Developing an individual difference measure. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(4), 680–706.
Ouedraogo, N., & Ouakouak, M. L. (2018). Impacts of personal trust, communication, and affective commitment on change success. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 31(3), 676–696.
Uhl-Bien, M., & Arena, M. (2018). Leadership for organizational adaptability: A theoretical synthesis and integrative framework. The Leadership Quarterly, 29(1), 89–104.
Yue, C. A., Men, L. R., & Ferguson, M. A. (2019). Bridging transformational leadership, transparent communication, and employee openness to change: The mediating role of trust. Public relations review, 45(3), 101779.
