Bus 370 wk 3 discussion 1
Read the Forbes article: Every Leader Must be a Change Agent or Face Extinction https://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2014/03/24/every-leader-must-be-a-change-agent-or-face-extinction/#68468a6d4e0f Given that change is interwoven in organizations today, a leader must be prepared for change in order to multiply growth opportunities. How can leaders remain ready for change and motivate their employees to embrace those changes? Respond to two classmatesā posts.
Response 1
Paulina
Change is unavoidable and if a leader wants to stay on the cutting edge, he/she must accept, promote, coach and mentor, adapt and even improvise throughout the change process. Over the years management for different businesses have developed a much better, more interlaced way of modifying changes. Established management that help empowers employees to achieve tasks daily shows they are willing to change if their employees are not showing progress. Preparation for change from the leaders stands point should be ānever forget about the customers that contribute to the growth of their business and must never grow complacent about understanding their changing needs and demands.ā Llopis (2014)
We are now dealing with a multi-generational society and that all like change but may not accept it, it is the leaderās job as the change agent to help them through that. Leaders can no longer be contented to just sit back and watch. The leader then must embrace diversity and act and innovate by providing collaboration among all teams and not just the immediate teams he/she is in charge of. Another way to motivate employees would be to create a solid ecosystem thinking ācourageously and challenging the old ways of doing things create a competitive advantage.ā Llopis (2014)
Response 2
Pamela
Leadership is challenging now more than ever, it requires more than what you know or who you are it requires the leader to embrace change and be mindful of adapting to the change around you. The successful leader canāt simply ignore what is around them or they will be left in the dust while those around them grow and advance. According to Llopis (2014) leaders need to āreinvent themselvesā to stay relevant and the most successful leader keeps on top of the technology demands by being knowledgeable about the latest enhancements in new technology. It is important to be aware of everything around you and be challenged. The effective and successful leader surrounds themselves with a team that only fills in the gaps of their weaknesses by working together with others to strengthen the team overall. There are no challenges too big or small for the change leadership, but those who stay stagnant will eventually go nowhere. I am trying hard not to regress due to boredom. I need to change so much right now and welcome something new. It just hasnāt come my way so every step I take right now needs to be forward, so I donāt get left behind waiting. Our team has dwindled for many reasons, so it is hard to forge ahead and lead. Iām working on the project right now which is a great diversion until our team is built back up where Iām hoping for some coaching or mentoring until a different position comes my way. It is reinventing myself to stay sane.
Bus 370 wk 3 discussion 2
Referencing this weekās lecture, assess the changes you have made in your personal or professional life and evaluate how well you maintained the change. Do you agree with the argument that change is easier to make than maintain? Why or Why not? Respond to two classmatesā posts.
Response 1
Tanner
After reviewing the lecture for this week, I decided to talk about my mental health. This for me is something Iāve had to change in both my professional and personal life. Professionally the first step was coming to terms with the fact that I suffer from depression and anxiety and that I needed to seek help for it. My anger, a result from my anxiety, has reared its ugly little head one too many times since my joining the Air Force. A lot of my anger comes from people having a lack of common sense and logical thinking that comes with my career. Another big issue is when our section decides to make a change, they give deadlines that are impossible to make. Lewin (1951) said it best in our lecture when he stated, āAttempting to expedite the change process will increase the risk of failure exponentiallyā (para 3). This has rung true more times than I can count with the current leadership that I have. In my personal life I took the change of seeking help by way of my professional life by going to an outpatient therapy group. I have been doing that since the beginning of this class and I feel that I have come a long way with being able to handle my depression and anxiety. It has also helped me get to the root of some underlying issues that play a major part in some of my anger. The change hasnāt been easy by any means, but itās better to make a change and maintain it. Itās going to be difficult at first because we as humans donāt like change, but over time it becomes the new norm and doesnāt really feel like a change was made.
Reference:
Lewin, K. (1951). Field theory in social science. New York, NY: Harper & Row
Response 2
Jayme
I have tried to put together an exercise regiment in my personal life and stick to it. While I had been able to maintain it in the past when I was training for something specific, I do find it harder to maintain when I donāt have a particular goal. Following Lewinās (1951) force field model, the unfreeze and change part seems to come easy; itās the refreezing part that plays a role in the failure of my change. For the unfreeze part, I understand that the change is necessary for being healthier, and I am ready for change. I typically will find a program that interests me, do the research, and make sure I have enough time to take on the change. During the change part, I start the process of executing my workout plan. I make sure to change my routine when I get home so that I donāt just get online and workout first to get it completed before I change my mind. I tend to be on a roll for a few weeks to a few months until I get bored and get back into my old routines. Refreezing seems to be the part of the equation where I have failed.
I do believe change is easier to make than maintain. Maintaining is difficult because it takes hard work and motivation. Each of us doesnāt have the motivation to continually do something, even if it is a benefit to our health. Some fixes could address some of my failures in refreezing and maintaining a permanent change. The goals that I have for myself could be unclear, which I could work on clarifying my goals to help sustain my change (Bierema, 2014). I could also work on sustaining my change by rewarding myself for any goals that have been hit. Either way, maintaining change is something that one needs to work on daily, not just when it is convenient. Understanding our failures from past changes could help us maintain better changes in the future.
References
Bierema, L. (2014). An introduction to organizational development. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
Lewin, K. (1951). Field theory in social science. New York, NY: Harper & Row.
