Systems leadership for sustainable change

BackgroundHealthcare organisations are increasingly placing the onus on care providers to lead change initiatives to improve patient care. This requires care providers to perform tasks in addition to their core...

Roger Southall and Henning Melber, eds. Legacies of Power: Leadership Change and Former Presidents in African Politics. Cape Town: HSRC Press/Uppsala: Nordic Afrikainstitutet, 2006. xxvi + 350 pp. Tables. Notes. References. Index. $24.95. Paper. Drawing on case studies from Anglophone sub-Saharan Africa, Legacies of Power: Leadership Change and Former Presidents in African Politics is a definitive compilation about the role and status of former African presidents by African scholars, mostly political scientists and economists. Their findings both support and challenge the notion that African politics is centered on patronage systems, headed by what Chabal and Daloz (1999) refer to as Big Men. For example, the contributors conclude that during the second wind of change, or the transitions from authoritarianism to democracy in the late 1980s, some African leaders successfully rode the tiger and managed to stay in power by manipulating new rules of the game, which now usually included imposition of limits on the length of time a president could stay in power. Yet others were compelled to bow out, some far less gracefully than others. But the outcome was that an increasing number of rulers were displaced, and new regimes and former presidents were compelled to seek some answer to the question of what the role and status of former heads of state should be. (xvii) A useful starting point is a set of proposals suggested by Mazrui (1994) that former heads of state should be honored and saluted for having served their countries, and can also be coaxed into leaving office if they get the opportunity to take up prestigious international positions. This proposal, as argued by Mazrui, had a potential of not only defusing political tensions but also of discouraging the former leaders from attempting to make an unconstitutional comeback. Though Mazrui's proposal may be helpful, the idea of dictators like Robert Mugabe transmuting into international statesmen is clearly limited, because of their poor leadership record. Many had abused human rights or looted state treasuries, and some left their countries war-torn (5). This situation poses a challenge to African democracies. As they continue to grow, they must define the status of former presidents and lay down ground rules for their behavior. The extent to which they will continue to be active and relevant in the state and beyond will depend not only on the manner of their departure from office and the kind of regimes over which they presided, but also on their skills and experience and how they can use these skills, particularly in relation to conflict mediation and reconciliation activities (303). According to the authors, any role for former heads of state appears to be shaped by three factors, which are presented in proposition form. First, the role of former heads of state in liberal democracies is largely determined by the differences between presidential and parliamentary systems. In hybrid political systems (defined by the authors as neither ambiguously presidential nor parliamentary) typical of postindependence Africa, new leaders are inclined to the view that former presidents should withdraw from politics in presidential systems, while former presidents themselves may choose to emulate those leaders in parliamentary systems who seek to regain power. …

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop an infrastructure and leadership capacity for a sustainable approach to collaborative change in a complex health-care system.Design/methodology/approachAn infrastructure for system change and a mechanism to build capacity for change leadership was developed. This involved (1) using a community of a practice model to create a change community, (2) developing an iterative engagement and change process and (3) integrating collaborative change leadership skills and knowledge development within the process. Change leadership was evaluated using Wenger's phases of value creation.FindingsA change community of 62 members across 19 organizations codeveloped a change process that aligns with Cooperrider's 4D Cycle. The change community demonstrated application of change leadership learnings throughout the change process.Originality/valueA tailored approach was required to support sustainable transformational change in the Toronto stroke system. This novel methodology provides a framework for broader application to systems change in other complex systems that support both local and system-wide ownership of the work.

Purpose– There is research evidence emerging to show that Chinese principal leadership appears to have a limited effect on the large-scale and deep school changes, but reasons for this have not been well explored. The purpose of this paper is to offer a conceptually framed explanation. By using China as an illustrative case, the authors propose using a macro-institutional framework to examine how principal leadership is mediated institutionally and why the leadership of change is especially difficult for Chinese principals.Design/methodology/approach– In order to facilitate a contextualized understanding, the three institutional pillars developed by Scott's (2001) were used as a macro-institutional framework to explain difficulties confronting principal leadership in China when making deep and sustainable school changes from regulative, normative and cognitive perspectives.Findings– The appeared change inertia and school changes on surface can partially be attributed to the cultural and institutional contexts of Chinese principal leadership. For principals, professional incentives and their change initiatives are institutionally and culturally constrained. Consequently, Chinese principals are left with very limited professional space to focus on making visible and endurable student-centered school changes.Originality/value– This is a first macro-institutional application to address principal leadership of change from the context of China. The regulative, normative and cognitive aspects are analytically useful to differentiate and manifest the institutional complexity and intricacy which are mediating principal leadership impact on school changes. This also illuminates the exploration of context sensitive leadership research to capture context features and understand context-embedded logics.

Despite over 40 years of research and writing about how to lead educational change, we still can't get it right. Although we keep fine tuning our present ways, we are yet to come up with an approach that enables educational change to happen successfully and sustainably. Although this book acknowledges the importance of learning from our past, it also highlights a key deficiency that has consistently compromised these efforts. To date, our approach to leading educational change has mainly focussed on trying to come up with the perfect practical strategy or plan. In contrast, this book argues that leading educational change successfully is not about following a clearly defined process like following a recipe, but it is an improvisational art more like driving down a busy main street during peak hour traffic. The successful leadership of educational change is an improvisational art because although the leader needs to have an overarching strategy, a guiding plan, what they actually do from moment to moment cannot be scripted. The leader has to move back and forth from their plan to the reality currently being experienced so that the plan is being achieved but any adverse effects on those involved are being empathically and immediately attended to as well. This approach to the leadership of educational change emphasises the need of the leader to be able to cope with the unforeseen, the unexpected, and the idiosyncratic. Moreover, this approach to the leadership of educational change emphasises the relational as well as the rational requirements. While such views might be familiar to many, what is new and unique about this book is that it describes how it all can be achieved. It provides clear, research supported, guidance for those who wish to finally lead successful and sustainable educational change.

This research empirically investigates the impact of operational changes on employee satisfaction in private universities in North-Central Nigeria, focusing on academic restructuring, administrative adjustments, leadership changes and policy reforms. Utilising a descriptive survey research method, 539 participants from seven private universities responded to a structured questionnaire. The collected data underwent multiple regression analysis to explore the relationship between organizational changes and employee satisfaction. Findings indicate that academic restructuring notably enhances employee satisfaction (β = 0.385, p = 0.008), as it leads to well-managed curriculum and faculty changes, fostering professional development and job security. Additionally, adjustments in administrative procedures positively affect satisfaction (β = 0.472, p = 0.003), as improved operations and reduced bureaucratic barriers boost employee motivation. Leadership changes also significantly contribute to employee satisfaction (β = 0.289, p = 0.004), highlighting how effective leadership transitions promote institutional stability and motivation. Policy shifts show a positive correlation with employee satisfaction (β = 0.315, p = 0.011), indicating that inclusive and transparent policy reforms encourage fairness and job security. The model accounts for 69.1% of the variance in employee satisfaction (R² = 0.691, F = 25.997, p<0.001), confirming that operational reforms significantly enhance employee experiences. These results support the Psychological Contract Theory, underlining the importance of fulfilling expectations, fairness and trust in organisational change management. Consequently, it is recommended that private universities implement systematic pedagogical reforms, streamline administrative processes, adopt participative leadership transitions and engage in open policy-making to ensure sustained employee job satisfaction amid changes.

In this research paper is analysed the role of leadership in organizational change and is identify the main approaches that leaders implement during organizational change. The leadership role in process of organizational change is very necessary and the responsibility of leadership is due of continuous development of organizational environment and evolutions of internal and external environments in organizational change. The process of change is associated with different difficulties and during process of change, leadership is challenged from these difficulties and in same time they have to create sustainable organizational change through their authority in decision making, experiences, educations and interpersonal relation within organization. In process of change, leadership has different approaches and in this research paper is used effective approach of leadership and transformational leadership approaches. Then, as main objectives that are defined in this research papers, are as following: What is the main features and challenges in process of change? Which is the role of leadership in organizational change? What is the impact of leadership toward outside development and ethical behaviour in process of change? Which are the main actions that leaders need to have in process of change? Which are the main approaches of leadership in process of change? DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2015.v4n3p65

This article explores the processes of change that enable corporations to move towards sustainable practices, focusing on the human resource and business strategies that support rather than diminish global ecology and human/social capabilities. We argue that this unified approach is necessary to bring about a change in the interpretation of corporate sustainability and to support the activities of change agents (managers, consultants, and community activists) in managing the massive corporate change needed to move corporations toward sustainable practices in a systematic way. We propose a schema in the form of an integrated phase model for understanding how corporations move from compliance modes to the attainment of strategic sustainability and beyond to the ‘ideal’ or sustaining corporation. We discuss the leadership of change and the roles and strategies that corporate change agents can employ to bring about both incremental and transformational change for sustainability.

PurposeIt is challenging for small health-care facilities to implement changes when human and financial resources are limited for day-to-day operations. This paper aims to propose an integrated model for small- and medium-sized health-care facilities to integrate sustainability in their day-to-day operations, which have been derived from the leadership and change theories.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on previous research on leadership and change theories, the paper first critically reviewed the approaches to implementing changes and how applicable they are in the context of small- and medium-sized health-care facilities. Next, it proposes an integrated model with an execution plan.FindingsThe first part of the paper discusses how either the planned approach or emergent approach for change may fail in facilitating the implementation of sustainable initiatives, as incorporating sustainability into operations require both leadership of change and open learning systems. The second part outlines the four-phase combined approach, which includes phases of “exploration”, “planning”, “action” and “integration”, and discusses how change readiness is ensured through such approach.Practical implicationsThe authors propose an integrated model as a framework for integrating sustainability into the operations of small health-care facilities. The clearest possible steps at various phases are proposed. Potential barriers and risks are highlighted and the coping strategies proposed to maximise the chance of successfully transforming organisations.Originality/valueApplying the “how to” ideas based on the integrated model for change management will help leaders of health-care facilities gradually integrate sustainability into their day-to-day operations.

Today’s 21st century education systems have been working hard to achieve a sustainable change required for their institutions to help them improve and grow. Educational leaders should realize that change is becoming more challenging and that the conventional approach to organizational change is no longer neither efficient nor adequate. Despite the improvement achieved in the educational system, in general, and in the development of educational leadership as a key input, in specific, there are still challenges and difficulties facing educational change leadership. Consequently, the researchers propose an educational administrative model for change leadership in light of the ADKAR model and the employee engagement factor for school leaders. To achieve the objectives of the study, the Synthetic-Analytic Approach is followed, through reviewing and analyzing educational change leadership concept via the literature and previous relevant studies. Accordingly, the researchers recommend that educational leaders in schools would adopt this model and apply it in different change practices, to develop and improve the educational process continuously.

Individuals with obsessive compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) attempt to maintain a sense of control through painstaking attention to rules, trivial details, procedures, lists, schedules … to the extent that the major point of the activity is lost. They are excessively careful and prone to repetition and … oblivious to the fact that other people tend to become very annoyed at the delays and inconveniences that result from this behavior. (APA, 2000, p. 725) TOXICITY SUMMONS The need to assess and respond to the dysfunctional organizational system and destructive leader becomes particularly pressing when toxicity sets in and threatens workplace stability (e.g., see Goldman, 2006a,b; Hirschhorn, 1988; Kets de Vries, 2006; Kets de Vries & Associates, 1991; Lubit, 2004; Korzybski, 1950; Minuchin, 1974). At Johnstone-Mumford International Bank a change in leadership signaled ensuing turbulence. Upheaval came in the form of an expatriate senior manager, Dr. Raymond Gaston. Abruptly hired from a competitor without a thorough background check, Johnstone-Mumford became increasingly perplexed by the obsessive perfectionism of the new leader. Colleagues and subordinates debated behind closed doors whether his seemingly destructive behavior was deeply embedded in the personality of Dr. Gaston or whether it was more a function of a discombobulated organizational restructuring and a traumatic and failing expatriation. Fully committed to hiring leaders from within the ranks of their own organizational system, the hiring of Dr. Gaston marked a complete departure from Johnstone-Mumford protocol.

The work of the Menzies School Leadership Incubator suggests we need a new approach to leadership that supports school leaders to better manage transformational change and deepen collaborative capacity necessary to cultivate collective efficacy to improve student learning outcomes. This paper provides a description of the work of the Menzies School Leadership Incubator (“the Incubator’) and insights generated so far. The Incubator has identified five leadership domains which underpin the leadership of Collective Efficacy: Understanding Collective Efficacy; Systems Leadership; Change Leadership; Team Leadership; and Collaborative Capacity.

Information systems (IS) leadership roles have undergone fundamental changes over the past decade. Despite increased interest in recent years, little empirical research on IS managers has been done. This article presents results from a survey in Norway. The survey collected data on general leadership roles such as informational role, decisional role and interpersonal role, as well as on specific IS leadership roles such as chief architect, change leader, product developer, technology provocateur, coach and chief operating strategist. The empirical analysis indicates that strategic responsibility as well as network stage of growth influence the extent of informational role, while the extent to which the chief executive uses IT influences the extent of decisional role, and the extent to which subordinates use IT influence the extent of interpersonal role. IS managers with greater operating responsibility will be chief architects. The role of a change leader is positively influenced by the number of years in IT, the extent of IT use, the extent of strategic responsibility and the organisation’s revenue, while it is negatively influenced by the number of years in the current position. Product developer can be predicted by strategic responsibility and chief executive’s IT use, while technology provocateur can be predicted by the extent of IT use. Coach can be predicted by the extent of subordinates’ IT use, and chief operating strategist can be predicted by the extent of strategic responsibility. Although several significant predictors of IS leadership roles were identified in this research, the search for more significant explanations should continue in future research.

Information systems (IS) leadership roles have undergone fundamental changes over the past decade. Despite increased interest in recent years, little empirical research on IS managers has been done. This article presents results from a survey in Norway. The survey collected data on general leadership roles such as informational role, decisional role and interpersonal role, as well as on specific IS leadership roles such as chief architect, change leader, product developer, technology provocateur, coach and chief operating strategist. The empirical analysis indicates that strategic responsibility as well as network stage of growth influence the extent of informational role, while the extent to which the chief executive uses IT influences the extent of decisional role, and the extent to which subordinates use IT influence the extent of interpersonal role. IS managers with greater operating responsibility will be chief architects. The role of a change leader is positively influenced by the number of years in IT, the extent of IT use, the extent of strategic responsibility and the organisation’s revenue, while it is negatively influenced by the number of years in the current position. Product developer can be predicted by strategic responsibility and chief executive’s IT use, while technology provocateur can be predicted by the extent of IT use. Coach can be predicted by the extent of subordinates’ IT use, and chief operating strategist can be predicted by the extent of strategic responsibility. Although several significant predictors of IS leadership roles were identified in this research, the search for more significant explanations should continue in future research.

Information systems (IS) leadership roles have undergone fundamental changes over the past decade. Despite increased interest in recent years, little empirical research on IS managers has been done. This article presents results from a survey in Norway. The survey collected data on general leadership roles such as informational role, decisional role, and interpersonal role, as well as on specific IS leadership roles such as chief architect, change leader, product developer, technology provocateur, coach, and chief operating strategist. The empirical analysis indicates that strategic responsibility as well as network stage of growth influence the extent of informational role, while the extent to which the chief executive uses IT influences the extent of decisional role, and the extent to which subordinates use IT influence the extent of interpersonal role. IS managers with greater operating responsibility will be chief architects. The role of a change leader is positively influenced by the number of years in IT, the extent of IT use, the extent of strategic responsibility, and the organization’s revenue, while it is negatively influenced by the number of years in the current position. Product developer can be predicted by strategic responsibility and chief executive’s IT use, while technology provocateur can be predicted by the extent of IT use. Coach can be predicted by the extent of subordinates’ IT use, and chief operating strategist can be predicted by the extent of strategic responsibility. Although several significant predictors of IS leadership roles were identified in this research, the search for more significant explanations should continue in future research.