Essay on Book Review of School Leadership that Works by Marzano

Change is a basic part of life. Leaders, whether it be the CEO of the company or you, must anticipate forces that will cause changes, identify opportunities that will require changes, react to unforeseen events that make changes imperative, and work with others to overcome the predictable reactions to change, which almost always include some amount of resistance, often to a significant degree.

Change isn’t a matter of well, we’re gonna change, you can like it, or leave. This my way or the highway type of leadership can become extremely painful to the attendees. How change is presented can often determine if it’s accepted or rejected. On many occasions change has been wrapped in statements that are maybe partially true, but not completely true. Covering a personal agenda with palatable words of enticement can quickly bring folks into the arena of accepting change, but over time agendas are revealed and opinions change.

“Organizational leaders, managers, and employees who do not – or cannot – use change to their strategic and operational advantage my see change as threatening and may resist efforts to alter a problematic situation” (Weiss, 2016, section 1.1). The eight steps are to establish a sense of urgency, form a powerful guiding coalition, develop a vision and strategy, communicate the change vision, empower others to act on the vision, generate short-term wins, consolidate gains and produce more change, and anchor new approaches in the culture. These eight steps are vital in implementing change into an

Throughout the Business Program, students learned how motivating and facilitating change can often be a challenging mission in an organization. MAN3240 Organizational Behavior highlighted the different types of leadership styles, emotional intelligence, motivational theories, team building, goal setting, and the importance of implementing change. Organizational change is not just making physical modifications within an organization; it can apply to business strategies, culture, and human resource management. Change is constant in the competitive business environment due to market trends, consumer demands, competitors, and the global economy, however it often met with resistance from employees. Leadership style is of the utmost importance

I have worked with and known leaders. Leaders who impacted change, leaders who hindered change, and leaders who have simply maintained. Having formed opinions on certain practices that can contribute to enhancing effective leadership, I had never deeply assessed or identified the practices that can promote, guide, and enhance organizational change and improvement. When I read, Implementing Change Patterns, Principles, and Potholes, by Gene E. Hall and Shirley M. Hord (2015) I was presented with two types of leadership that are essential for conversation and community work.

As defined by Katzenbach (1995), change leadership is “the process whereby individuals who lead initiatives that influence dozens to hundreds of others to perform differently—and better—by applying multiple leadership and change approaches.” Leadership alone is defined as setting a direction and developing the strategies necessary to move in that direction (Kotter 1995). Change leadership is critically important to the continuing success of organizations everywhere. An interview was conducted with a change leader to discuss and learn about her change leadership experiences. For the purposes of this paper, the interview questions will be shared, a summary will be provided, and five recommendations are made for Annelise Larson as a change leader.

Leadership and the Art of Change, gives an insightful look at how to lead change within an organization and most importantly do so with success. The author, Lee Roy Beach begins with a look at Wayne a young executive filled with desire to lead an organization on his own after several years of working closely with CEO’s. Wayne’s struggles are detailed by Beach as examples of how not to lead change in a struggling organization. In the end Wayne leaves the company for other opportunities knowing he had failed but not understanding how to correct his mistakes. This leads the reading into what Beach describes as leaders prime responsibilities in championing change.

The “Leading change” by John Kotter describes the process of managing change in an organization in eight steps which follows positive results. For all the organizations within the country as well as around the globe, this book is the foundation of how to manage change. A change is the basic necessity of every organization, without which it cannot achieve its goals. It also helps in identifying where, how and when the top leaders of the organization made mistakes while going through the process of change.

For this discussion post, I will be discussing why understanding and effectively managing change and innovation is an essential leadership competency. I will provide two examples in regards to rationale and how change has been successfully or unsuccessfully managed at my place of work. I will provide an example of what my place of employment could have done differently in managing the unsuccessful changes. Along with this, I will provide change theory elements used. Upon ending this discussion, I will end with a conclusion.

Change leadership, defined as, "the ability to energize groups who will be implements change projects that they may or may not fully embrace, or, the ability to understand the need for change and demonstrate a high tolerance for ambiguity and a positive attitude in the midst of change." (class lecture) CMS coaches leaders to use transformational change as well as transactional leadership to accomplish change.

This is a review of The Theory and Practice of Change Management, by John Hayes, which focuses on the myriad facets in Leading and managing people issues. It is imperative for the leaders to ensure that people issues are dealt with methodically throughout the change process. Many leaders err by neglecting these issues at a very initial stage. The essay serves up to be a pertinent treatise on how leaders should lead and manage people during change.

When leaders plan for change process, it is necessary for them to keep in mind the different barriers they may face. According to Scheid (2011), some of the common obstacles are: knowing who’s in charge, resistance, communication, amount of support or guidance for the team, and recognizing the different needs for change implementation. These obstacles happen when organizations and stakeholders miss the important elements, causing planned or expected changes to go awry (Scheid, 2011). To counterpart the enumerated obstacles the creative ways to lead change by Schlachter and Hildebrandt (2012) can be used. First strategy is to align individual priorities with organizational goals. Then, learn to live with ambiguity. Followed by understanding your leadership style first. Change what you can change, which is yourself and influence what you can’t change, which pertains others. Then, become an early adopter and ally for change. Create a community of peers. Followed by helping other employees cope with change. Encourage

Anderson, D. & Anderson, L., A. (2010) “Beyond change management: how to achieve breakthrough results through conscious change leadership” 2nd Ed. Pfeiffer, San Francisco, CA, USA

They are being forced to engage in areas of the business, that they may have never experienced or have the skill level to take on. Each organization needs to make sure to incorporate the value of personal development for all managers, allowing them to be equipped and prepared to manage change as well as to take on their leadership roles. Knowing how to lead and motivate employees through their workplace is a crucial part of the larger scope of change management and leadership development. It’s paramount to recognises that leadership and change management skills are not exclusive of each other. Leadership is especially important in senior management positions, whereas each level of change management can range from senior, middle and junior managers. By effectively planning and controlling your organization’s human capital and processes for which they are responsible, change managers can provide a positive and professional environment.

Tomlinson and Allan (2000) echoed Reeves (2009) argument when he declares, “leaders must also assess with diligence the readiness to change their organizations- and themselves” (p.7). Change is the number one in the author’s list about what leaders for differentiation need to know to create a coherent and