Never before have strategic leaders been confronted with so much overwhelming change.
The traditional approach taken by the leader or leaders is to direct or control the
organization’s reaction on a monthly, weekly, or even daily basis.
This approach is stressful and overwhelming for executive leaders, makes middle
managers feel torn between honoring their senior leaders and listening to the demands of
frontline employees, and is alienating for frontline employees. This approach is hardly a
prescription for the pursuit of excellence, and does not enable the organization to be
suffi ciently agile or nimble to cope with the “white water” conditions in which the
organization typically fi nds itself.
This book offers an alternative to the traditional approach by focusing on
building the change capacity of the entire organization in anticipation of future
pressures to change.
An organization’s capacity for change is an eight-dimensional dynamic
capability of an organization or organizational unit to successfully adapt to the changing
organization-environment interface. In change-capable organizations, the strategic
leader’s role is more of an architect or designer of the organization in anticipation of
oncoming change, rather than a commander or controller reacting to change. This approach
unleashes the organization’s creative potential while maintaining accountability,
clarifi es the roles of each and every employee in the change process while enhancing
organizational fl exibility, aligns organizational systems to facilitate change, and
builds the organization’s leadership pipeline for the future.
Based on systematic research of more than 5,000 respondents working within more
than 200 organization or organizational units conducted during the previous decade, this
book offers a clear and proven method for diagnosing your organizational change capacity.
Building on my previous consulting experience and anecdotal evidence, you will also learn
how to enhance your organization’s change capacity. While building organizational change
capacity is not fast or easy, it is essential for effective leadership and organizational
survival in the 21st century.
This book provides guidance on how to do that essential work in the new millennium.
160 pages Paperback