Leadership Roles and Changing Contexts

Name: Leadership Roles and Changing Contexts
Author: Laura Portolese

Learn to lead your team through change.

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Course: On-Demand

How are leadership roles affected by different circumstances? Let's discuss the different types of change that occur in organizations, the context of change and how the leaders role affects change implementation. Do you know the importance of first order and second order change? Understanding the difference between the two will help you identify what types of strategies you can use to implement the changes your organization needs. First order changes are changes that don't really affect the end result, but they may affect a process or method of doing something. For example, if you were to change the type of information technology system that your accounting department uses, this would be a first order change. This is because you aren't changing the end result, which would be the output of the accounting information. You're simply changing the process that gets the task done. A second order change is a much larger change than a first order change. And often it's more difficult for the people to accept. This type of change might involve changing the organization's vision or maybe changing its structure to meet business needs. It can also involve going in a completely different direction with the business model or strategy. This is often called transformational, revolutionary or radical change. There may be times when leaders will implement first order changes to solve problems when a second order change would actually be the best solution. If that happens a lot of time and money is wasted in an attempt to solve problems that actually need a bigger change, a second order change. Let's look at an example of a second order change. Suppose a company sold a product that had declining demand over the past few years. To slow this decline, the company leaders implemented the following measures, lowering the item's price, spending more of their marketing budget on social media marketing and switching product manufacturers to produce a better quality item. Let's assume that the product only saw small increases in demand with these changes, but the company also saw lower profit because of the lowered price and the additional funds spent on their marketing budget. All these changes are first order changes. That is changes that didn't really stick or solve the problem of lowered product demand. This company needs a second order change, a big change to help solve their problem. A second order change is needed when, the solution doesn't actually solve the problem. There are multiple reasons why the problem is occurring and other problems are caused by implementing the first order solution. The organization now needs to implement a second order change to solve the problem. Maybe they drop the product from the product line, or perhaps they innovate and completely change the product. Now that you know the difference between a first order change and a second order change, let's look at how the change determines the context of leadership.

Advanced Provider : Laura Portolese 4 Lessons · 13m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese

Course Description

This course explores how leaders help to shepherd change within an organization. It discusses different types of change and presents examples of how to implement strategies for a team to effect change. Finally, it spotlights the crucial role of leaders in making sure that organizational change is a success.

What You'll Learn

Identify the types of changes that occur within organizations, including first-order and second-order change
Understand why people may resist change
Explain the leader's role in effecting change within a team
Examine how the nature of change determines the leadership context
Recognize how context shapes the role a leader must play
Apply strategies that enable a team to bring about change

Key Takeaways

Leaders play a crucial role in shepherding change and ensuring that organizational change is a success.
Organizations experience different types of change, including first-order and second-order change.
The nature of the change determines the leadership context in which a leader must operate.
The context in turn determines the specific role a leader is required to play.
A single leader may need to fulfill multiple roles when guiding a team through change.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this course cover?

It explores how leaders help shepherd change within an organization, discussing different types of change, presenting examples of strategies for a team to effect change, and spotlighting the leader's crucial role in making organizational change a success.

What will I learn by the end of the course?

You will be able to identify the types of changes that occur within organizations, learn why people may resist change, and understand the leader's role in effecting change.

What topics are included in the lessons?

The lessons cover First-Order and Second-Order Change, how Change Determines the Leadership Context, how Context Determines the Leader's Role, and Multiple Roles, One Leader.

Who is this course best suited for?

It is aimed at leaders who help guide change within an organization and want to understand their role in making organizational change successful.

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Professional Development Units (PDUs): 0.25

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