Art. 4 Higgs & Rowland

Question 1

Higgs and Rowland identified five broad areas of leadership competency associated with succesful change implementation

Answer 1

1. Creating the case for change: effectively engaging others in recognizing the business need for change
2. Creating structural change: Ensuring that the change is based on depth of understanding of the issues and supported with a consistent set of tools and processes
3. Engaging others in the whole change process and building commitment
4. Implementing and sustaining changes: developing effective plans and ensuring good monitoring and review practices are developed
5. Facilitating and developing capability: ensuring that people arre challenenged to find their own answers and that they are supported in doing this

Question 2

Higgs and Rowland identified three broad sets of leadership behaviors

Answer 2

1. Shaping behavior
2. Framing change
3. Creating capacity

Question 3

Shaping behavior is:

Answer 3

The communication and actions of leaders related directly to the change:

• making others accountable
• thinking about change
• using an individual focus

Question 4

Framing change is

Answer 4

• Establishing starting points for change
• designing and managing the journey
• communicating guiding principles in the organization

Question 5

Creating capacity is

Answer 5

Creating individual and organizational capabilities and communication and making connections

Question 6

What are the four new categories that appeared to capture behaviors exhibited by leaders combining framing and creating?

Answer 6

1. Attractor: Creates a magnetic energy force in the organization to pull it toward its purpose Leaders pull toward what the organization is trying to do, not towards them selves Establish an emotional connection to the change.

2. Edge and tension: The leader tests and challenges the organization; Amplifies the disturbance generated by the change process by helping people see the repeating and unhelpful patterns of behaviors in the culture while at the same time staying firm to keep the change process on course.

3. Container: The leader holds and channels energy, whch in unnerving times of change, procides calm, confident, and affirming signals that allow people to find positive meaning and sense in an anxious situation.

4. Transforming Space: The leader creates change in the “here and now” based on the assumption that the only thing you can change is the present moment.

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Question 7

which behaviors fall under framing and which under creating?

Answer 7

Framing: Attractor, Edge and Tension, and Container

Creating: Container, and Transforming Space

Question 8

What is Framcap behavior?

Answer 8

The combination of the four behaviors Attractor, Edge and Tension, Container, and Transforming Space

Question 9

In their research they also add Shaping behaviors. What is ment by this?

Answer 9

The most ‘leader-centric’ change leadership set of behaviors in which the individual leader tends to be the focus of attention (leader-centric behavior)

In total 5 behavior types

Question 10

Higgs and Rowland define four approaches. What are these?

Answer 10

1. Directive

2. Self-assembly

3. Master

4. Emergent

Question 11

What does the directive approach entail?

Answer 11

Change that is driven, controlled, managed, and initiated from the top. It operates on the basis of a simple theory of change or a few rules of thumb, together with clear recipes and tightly controlled communication. Challenge and deviation from the plans are not permitted. Overall, there is little or no involvement in the change planning.

Question 12

What does the Self-assembly approach entail?

Answer 12

In this approach, direction is tightly set at the top. However, accountability for change implementation rests with local managers. In essence, the strategic direction is set, but local adaptation at the implemen- tation stage is allowed. However, there is little involvement in the overall change discussions and an expectation that managers have the capability to work with the change.

Question 13

What does the Master approach entail?

Answer 13

In this approach, the overall direction is set at the top of the organization, but is open to discussion with, and input from others. The complex nature of change is recognized, and a wide variety of interventions are used to respond to contextual variations. Considerable emphasis is placed on build- ing line-leadership capabilities in change management.

Question 14

What does the Emergent approach entail?

Answer 14

In emergent change, the senior leadership establishes a broad sense of direction and a few “hard rules.” In general, there is a view that change can be initiated anywhere in the organization, but notably where there is high contact with client/customers. Rather than establishing specific initiatives, the leadership role focuses on helping others in the processes of sensemaking and improvization.

Question 15

How do the change approaches relate to the dimensions of standardization and complexity?

Answer 15

Question 16

Which approaches were identified in the less successful change initiatives?

Answer 16

The Directive and Self-assembly approaches

The more general view that programmatic change is largely unsuccesful holds.

Question 17

Which approaches were more used in more successful change initiatives?

Answer 17

The approaches Maser and Emergent

Question 18

In what way are the Framcap and Shaping behaviors visible in changes

Answer 18

Framcap was more dominant in successful change initiatives.

Shaping behaviors were more dominant in less successful change initiatives.

Question 19

What is the possible change leadership framework and what does it look like?

Answer 19

Question 20

With what way of the Framcap subcategories were successful changes associated?

Answer 20

With a broadly balanced deployment of all the four ‘Framcap’ subcategories.

Question 21

What tended to differentiate the succesful leaders from others?

Answer 21

1. They were very self-aware and appeared to be conscious of how to use their presence in the change process.
2. They were able to work in the moment, staying attentive to what was happening and to work with what arose. They demonstrated an ability to lay aside their own interests and impulses and focus their attention on what was happening.
3. They remained in tune with the bigger picture within which the change was positioned and ensured that their team considered their actions and plans in the light of this.

Question 22

Which of the four Framcap behaviors have a positive emotional feel to them and which a negative?

Answer 22

Positive: Attractor, Container, Transforming Space

Negative: Edge and Tension

Question 23

The four aspects of Framcap behavior contain elements of stabilization (order) and destabilization.

In what way?

Answer 23

1. Attractor: Sets and frames the context of how things fit togheter
2. Container: Makes it safe to say risky things
3. Edge and Tension: Holds people on course
4. Transforming Space: Putting self out there and allowing oneself to be vulnerable

Question 24

What is the overall picture of the study?

Answer 24

• Approaches to change that operate within a framework that posits change as a complex phenomenon (i.e., Master and Emergent) are more success- ful than approaches that adopt a more linear and sequential viewpoint (i.e., Directive and Self-assembly).
• It has been argued that in a more complex change paradigm, the role of leaders becomes significant, particularly in terms of making judgments in relation to change approaches to be adopted
• The more effective leader behaviors identified in this study tend to be more “enabling” rather than shaping the behavior of the followers. Others have commented that in the more complex context within which orga- nizations are now operating, effective leadership is that which enables others to implement strategic and related changes
• It could be argued that the findings provide support for the relevance of the transformational leadership model (Bass, 1996, 1999) as a link between the broader leadership theories and the role of leaders in the change process.

Question 25

What is ment by the ‘Dark Side’?

Answer 25

The “Dark Side” quadrant is in essence highlighting the possible structure of inauthentic or pseudo-leadership.

It is in this arena that the leader may be exploiting positive behaviors for their own ends, behaving inauthentically and, in essence, manipulating follower behaviors.