Driving Strategic Change at The Junior League (A)

Abstract

“Driving Strategic Change at the Junior League (A)” describes a troubled organizational environment. Challenges included a dissatisfied membership, declining membership numbers, a large diversity among local leagues, and limited resources to meet the organization's overall objectives. The case describes a “participatory roadmap” approach, drawing on the insights of comprehensive research, and highlights a strategic-change approach that focuses on participation and local-level flexibility.The (B) case examines how the Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI) took initial steps to implement the participatory roadmap. Through a purposeful messaging strategy that involved many targets and various modes of communication, AJLI leaders sought to influence and inform active members, sustainers, and their local leaders. Further, through the use of design teams, AJLI gained deep insight into the ways that implementation might vary across local leagues. Finally, these design teams enabled AJLI to make initial gains in membership and develop a cross-league learning community.After reading and analyzing the (A) case, students should be able to: Describe the challenges of leading organizational change in a federated membership nonprofit Appraise different forms of data to determine the types of changes needed in a large-scale nonprofit transformation Identify ways to unfreeze the organization, encouraging individual members' readiness for change Formulate a plan for collaborative, large-scale organizational transformation, as opposed to a coercive strategy