Leading Cultural Change

Filled with case studies from firms such as GT Automotive, GE Healthcare China, Vale, Dominos, Swiss Re Americas Division, and Polar Bank, among others, this book (written by Dan Denison and his co-authors) combines twenty years of research and survey results to illustrate a critical set of cultural dynamics that firms need to manage in order to remain competitive. Each chapter uses a case as a means to illustrate an important aspect of culture change focusing on seven common culture-change dilemmas including creating a strategic alignment, keeping strategy simple, and more.

"At the very time the need for effective leadership is reaching critical proportions, Michael Fullan's Leading in a Culture of Change provides powerful insights for moving forward. We look forward to sharing it with our grantees." --Tom Vander Ark, executive director, Education, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation "Fullan articulates clearly the core values and practices of leadership required at all levels of the organization. Using specific examples, he convinces us that the key change principles are equally critical for leadership in business and education organizations." --John Evans, chairman, Torstar Corporation "In Leading in a Culture of Change, Michael Fullan deftly combines his expertise in school reform with the latest insights in organizational change and leadership. The result is a compelling and insightful exposition on how leaders in any setting can bring about lasting, positive, systemic change in their organizations." --John Alexander, president, Center for Creative Leadership "Michael Fullan's work is remarkable. He masterfully captures how leaders can significantly improve their learning and performance, even in the uncontrollable, chaotic circumstances in which they practice. A tour de force." --Anthony Alvarado, chancellor of instruction, San Diego City Schools "Too often schools and businesses are seen as separate and foreign places. Michael Fullan blends the best of knowledge from each into an exemplary template for improving leadership in both." --Terrence E. Deal, coauthor of Leading with Soul Business, nonprofit, and public sector leaders are facing new and daunting challenges--rapid-paced developments in technology, sudden shifts in the marketplace, and crisis and contention in the public arena. If they are to survive in this chaotic environment, leaders must develop the skills they need to lead effectively no matter how fast the world around them is changing. Leading in a Culture of Change offers new and seasoned leaders' insights into the dynamics of change and presents a unique and imaginative approach for navigating the intricacies of the change process. Michael Fullan--an internationally acclaimed expert in organizational change--shows how leaders in all types of organizations can accomplish their goals and become exceptional leaders. He draws on the most current ideas and theories on the topic of effective leadership, incorporates case examples of large scale transformation, and reveals a remarkable convergence of powerful themes or, as he calls them, the five core competencies. By integrating the five core competencies--attending to a broader moral purpose, keeping on top of the change process, cultivating relationships, sharing knowledge, and setting a vision and context for creating coherence in organizations--leaders will be empowered to deal with complex change. They will be transformed into exceptional leaders who consistently mobilize their compatriots to do important and difficult work under conditions of constant change.

With coverage of the major theories and concepts alongside diagnostic tools and a practical framework for implementation, Leading Cultural Change will help the reader analyse and diagnose their current organizational culture, become aware of the key challenges and how to overcome them and learn how to adapt their leadership style, ensuring they are fit to lead a cultural change programme. Taking in core topics such as change context, language and dialogue as a key cultural process and the change team process, it uses a longitudinal case study of Cordia, a public sector organization transitioning into an LLP, to enhance learning and understanding. Leading Cultural Change is a unique text, rooted in behavioural sciences, which explores the topic as an organizational necessity to achieving sustained competitive advantage.

Leading Culture Change: What Every CEO Needs To Know is a practical guide for top leaders who are faced with the challenge of shaping their culture to create long term, sustainable value. Culture is changeable—but only with CEO sponsorship and a methodical, best practices approach. Author Christopher S. Dawson draws on 25 years of experience as an organizational consultant in a variety of industries to delineate five critical success factors, without which culture change is unlikely to occur. He offers practical tools and approaches to facilitate culture change, in addition to an overall framework that acts as a yardstick for seasoned and new top leaders. The book provides a "red-yellow-green" level of urgency tool for determining the degree of organizational effort required to address the gap between strategy and culture; a roadmap for culture change; and more. After describing how to effect change, the text describes frequent scenarios, providing guidelines, an in-depth case example, and lessons for top leaders. Finally, the book outlines four essential leadership competencies—dual-horizon vision; self-awareness; team leadership; and source of inspiration—based on the requirements for leaders of any transformation. This book is an ideal guide for today and tomorrow's top leaders—as well as a valuable supplement to management consultants' and human resource executives' professional training.

Cultural Change and Leadership in Organizations discusses ways in which organizations are able to implement successful strategic change; inspirational and conceptual material is combined with practical examples and concrete interventions for planning and implementing cultural change within organizations. Cultural Change and Leadership in Organizations is targeted toward professionals, including organizational psychologists, consultants, senior managers, and human resources professionals, as well as advanced-level business school courses.

Culture transformation expert Siobhan McHale defines culture simply: “It’s how things work around here.” The secret to the success or failure of any business boils down to its culture. From disengaged employees to underserved customers, business failures invariably stem from a culture problem. In The Insider’s Guide to Culture Change, acclaimed culture transformation expert and global executive Siobhan McHale shares her proven four-step process to demystifying culture transformation and starting down the path to positive change. Many leaders and managers struggle to get a handle on exactly what culture is and how pervasive its impact is throughout an organization. Some try to change the culture by publishing a statement of core values but soon find that no meaningful change happens. Others try to unify the culture around a set of shared goals that satisfy shareholders but find their efforts backfire as stressed employees throw their hands up because “leadership just doesn’t get it.” Others implement expensive new IT systems to try to bring about change, only to find that employees find “workarounds” and soon go back to their old ways. The Insider’s Guide to Culture Change walks readers through McHale’s four-step process to culture transformation, including how to: Understand what “corporate culture” really is and how it impacts every aspect of the way your organization operates Analyze where your culture is broken or not adding maximum value Unlock the power of reframing roles within your company to empower and engage your employees Utilize proven methods and tools to break through deeply embedded patterns and change your company mind-set Keep the momentum going by consolidating gains and maintaining your foot on the change accelerator With The Insider’s Guide to Culture Change, watch your employees go from followers to change leaders who drive an agile culture that constantly outperforms.

Cycling from practice to theory and back again, this concise book provides the skinny on motion leadership, or how to “move” individuals, institutions, and whole systems forward.

This book addresses the role of communication in cultural change efforts within organizations, especially during periods of transition, mergers, technological innovations and globalization.