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Ethics

The organization's leadership wants to enact cultural and structural changes that will move the company from a command-and-control culture to a team-based, empowered organization. There is substantial resistance from the company's management from this plan. This resistance can be understood in the context of the difference between leadership and management. While neither term has a specific, clear definition, leadership is taken as providing inspiration and guidance whereas management relates more directly to task-based controls. Within the organization, leaders and managers play distinctly different roles (Kotterman, 2006).

The CEO to this point is trying to lead the change process, but is not managing it. The management function still rests with the managers. However, they are resisting in large part because it represents a major role shift for them. The managers have stated as much -- they are unprepared to shift their duties from managing to leading. In order to persuade the managers to shift their style, the leader must do two things. The CEO must inspire the managers to believe in their own ability to become leaders, and the CEO must convince them that such a change is worthwhile. This is the extent to which the leader can affect the way managers operate because the leader must be careful not to manage the managers -- they will never understand the concept of leadership if they themselves are managed rather than lead. The leader sees the rationale for the change -- they company is becoming uncompetitive. The managers do not see this, they simply see a threat to their comfort and authority. Thus, the leader must communicate the threat that the company faces, essentially manufacturing a sense of crisis among the managers. In doing this, it not only challenges the managers but gives them the tool that they need to further disseminate the change program within their units (Kotter, 2008).

The leader, having now provided the managers with leadership on the change, the motivation to make the change and the tool by which the managers can disseminate change throughout the organization, can now offer guidance to help the managers overcome difficulties, lest they lose their commitment to the process. Cynicism about change is a natural human tendency that must be combated with guidance and support, rather than acquiesced to. Acquiescence to cynicism breeds failed change programs, increasing the level of organizational cynicism, making future change programs more likely to fail as well (Reichers, et al., 1993). To give this guidance, the leader must understand the implications of the change process. Some of the managers and employees will struggle in the new environment. Thus, the company must be prepared to either let these individuals go, or be prepared to help them through the process. The leadership of the firm must therefore be available to help managers in crisis. Communications must reinforce the change plan and its necessity throughout the process, to keep up the momentum that has been built. The firm may even struggle financially through the early stages of the process -- the leadership must assume responsibility for such an eventually to help avoid the development of fear in the organization, which could cripple the change process.