Implementing_Change

Implementing a Leadership Change Introduction The late Don Ruiz left Gene One to his five grown children: Rich, Cathy, Kathryn, Sue, and Syam with instructions they will choose one leader and that leader must implement a successful initial public offering (IPO). Syam has been out of town so the remaining four siblings made the decision without him. This paper will discuss the four members of the Gene One leadership team in which the siblings analyzed along with the findings and will announce who was chosen for the leadership position and why. A change strategy that will effectively pair the selected leadership structure and styles with the vision of Gene One will be discussed along with insights devised by the siblings. The siblings understand the resistance to change and this paper will describe sources of resistance and overcoming resistance. Four Members Analyzed The four members the siblings chose to analyze are Charles Jones – Marketing Officer, Don Ruiz – Former Leader, Teri Roberson – Chief Technology Officer, and Michelle Houghton – Chief Financial Officer Charles Jones, Marketing Officer: Has a reputation for being a “smart” risk taker. Charles is self-confident and moral with enough professional pride to motivate him into working hard at defining products that sale and creating a Gene One brand image. Charles likes to focus on the big picture. Charles was described as a marketing leader who knows how to make things happen (Learning Team C, 2010). Don Ruiz, Chief Executive Officer: Is the leader of Gene One and the one who is envisioning the change go public. Don is dedicated to the change and this makes him the perfect “change agent.” He states in the presentation that he is aware that everyone on the board has his or her reservations and there are problems and issues that need to be covered, but this company has grown substantially in the last few years. Dons untimely death has removed him from being chosen as the leader Teri Roberson, Chief Technology Officer: Teri realizes there are tremendous opportunities in Gen One’s area of expertise that has not been noticed. Teri is committed to develop breakthrough technologies as well as the innovative products to bring to the market. Teri has 15 years of experience in research and nearly a dozen patents. She recently received Chief Technology Officer of the Year award (Learning Team C, 2010). Teri’s area of expertise is developing breakthrough technologies, removing her from this position to move her into the leadership position would be devastation to Gene One. Michelle Houghton, Chief Financial Officer: Michelle has an excellent history of finding funding from both government and private investors. She is capable at building networks, teams and is a highly skilled Chief Financial Officer. She has proven herself as a negotiator and leader with a credible reputation with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) leadership and the executive board. Michelle is passionate about Gene One and has vested her time, money and energy into the company. Michelle is a founding member of Gene One and can easily be the change agent and leader. She is the one that identified the need for an additional board member with a different financial background. When a new member is added to the team, Michelle will have additional resources to expand and work with the entire executive board to lead him or her into the IPO (Learning Team C, 2010). Chosen Leader The two running tenders for the leadership position are Charles and Michelle. The four siblings were spit on which one to choose but ultimately went with Michelle. Kathryn and Rich were leaning toward Charles based on the fact he can focus on the big picture and he is a smart risk taker. Charles is a leader in his field and knows how to make things happen. Charles strong morals go a long way with the two siblings who chose him. However, his lack of experience and investment in the company makes him a runner up for the leadership position. Cathy and Sue chose Michelle as the leader because of her experience with the government and FDA. Michelle’s ability to net work and as a proven negotiation along with her credible reputation makes her a top pick. Michelle’s passion for Gene One and her vested time, money, and energy invites a leadership style. However, Kathryn and Rich are concerned about the fact that Michelle tends to put the horse before the cart and seems to stir things up. Change Strategy The IPO is a complicated and time-consuming process that involves a high degree of risk and requires an extraordinary level of management commitment. On the surface, the transformation from private to public company appears fairly straightforward. In reality, the process involves more than just a sale of securities, and the outcome of many of the other factors related to going public are not easily predicted. The first step toward a successful IPO is to honestly assess the interest the company is likely to generate in the public market (Deloitte, 2006). Resistance and Overcoming According to Robbins and Judge (2007), there are five individual sources of resistance to change and six organizational sources of resistance to change. Individual 1. Habit or programmed responses - accustomed ways becomes a source of resistance. 2. Security - change threatens feelings of safety. 3. Economic factors – Change in job tasks when pay is closely tied to productivity 4. Fear of the unknown - Change substitutes ambiguity and uncertainty for the unknown 5. Selective information processing – People hear what they want to hear. Organizational 1. Structural inertia - Acts as a counterbalance to sustain stability. 2. Limited focus on change – One subsystem can not change with out changing other subsystems or the larger system. 3. Group inertia – Group norms may act as a constraint. 4. Threat to expertise – Change in organizational patterns can threaten 5. Threat to established power relationships - redistribution of decision- making authority can threaten long-established power relationships within the organization. 6. Threat to established resource allocations - Groups in the organization that control sizable resources often see change as a threat. They tend to be content with the way things are. Robbins and Judge (2007) also came up with seven tactics used by change agents. 1. Education and communication – Reduce resistance by communicating with employees and helping them see the logic. 2. Participation – Bring the resistors into the decision process. 3. Building support and commitment – Give new-skills training, short paid leave, or counseling. 4. Negotiation – Exchange something of value for a lessening of the resistance. 5. Manipulation and cooptation - Twisting and distorting facts to make them appear more attractive and the leaders’ advice is sought, not to seek a better decision, but to receive their endorsement. 6. Selecting people who accept change – Select people who score high on positive self-concept and high risk tolerance. 7. Coercion – Direct threats or force on the resisters such as pay cuts, closure of plant, and threats of transfer. Conclusion Four out of five of Don Ruiz children chose to make Michelle the leader of bringing Gene One into the initial public offering. Michelle was chosen because of her experience and drive. Knowing there will be resistance to change the siblings prepared the team with insights on resistance and overcoming resistance. Four types of individual resistance are habit, security, fear, and selective information processing. There is also five sources of resistance for organizations as a whole organizational structural inertia, limited focus, group inertia, threat to expertise, and treat to established resource allocation. The siblings also discussed seven tactics used by change agents which are education and communication, participation, building support and commitment, negotiation, manipulation and cooptation, selecting people who accept change, and coercion.