Leadership_Change

Running head: IMPLEMENTING A LEADERSHIP CHANGE Implementing a Leadership Change University of Phoenix LDR 531/Michael Plesko April 12, 2010 Implementing a Leadership Change “Change is the only dependable constant in life as well as in business. This being the case, the manner in which change is administered or managed can play a detrimental part in the success or failure of an organization. Change management is defining and implementing procedures and/or technologies to deal with changes in the business environment and to profit from changing opportunities (TechTarget, 2007-08).” Gene One, a biotech industry company has been on the cutting edge of technology for a company that is relatively young. Only having been in existence for eight years, the gains that have been made with eradicating disease in tomatoes and potatoes has been groundbreaking. However, a much needed change needs to come if they want to continue to grow. Don Ruiz, the CEO, feels in order to be viable in years to come the company needs to become a public corporation. There were two goals that as a company were set; annual growth targets of 40% each year for the next three years and finding additional funding in order to introduce new products. Along with the two goals that as a company were set, the end vision that all of the siblings can agree upon are: involve the key stakeholders, identify strategic objectives with wide appeal, identify relevant elements in the old ideology, line the vision to core competencies, evaluate the credibility of the vision, and continually assess and refine the vision. “Life is change. Growth is optional. Choose wisely.” As siblings of Don Ruiz, we all share differing opinions on whether the company should go public. Tim feels that the company is not ready to go public because all the “leaders” of the company are not all on the same page. Tim feels that Michelle is apprehensive due to corporate compliance issues, Teri is a little nervous due to having demands placed on her for the next breakthrough technology and Charles and Greg are good team players since they do not have any personal involvement in how the business began and would not be a bias opinion and could help to implement change. Marjory is of the opinion also that going public is not what is needed at this time. She feels that Michelle has an emotional attachment to the company and this may be a hindrance to the advancement of the company. Teri is very analytical and this helps with decision making in favor of the company, but Greg could be detrimental to the company due to his lack of proper training in gaining valuable employees. Marjory feels that the strong personalities and leadership styles need to be addressed if moving forward is the end result. Kevin is kind of on the fence and feels that with some changes being made initially, the company may be able to go public. He states that since Michelle has been successful in securing funding and her realistic views of the company is helpful, while Charles has an excellent reputation of smart risk taking and has strong connections, but he does not have experience with the IPO process, which could hurt. Teri has a world-renowned reputation and this in itself puts Gene One on the map to more success, but she does not like the idea of working for Wall Street, so Don will have to make sure that he works closely with her to maintain her loyalty and stay on board. Finally, Christa feels that going public at this point is not beneficial to the company and agrees with most of the issues that Tim and Marjory have also shared, but does suggest that maybe hiring an outside consultant and changing the leadership style could be helpful if change is to happen anyway. Since I am the middle child I have always had a differing opinion from the others all of our lives and this is still the case. I feel that Gene One is a company that has been innovative and they indeed have prospered in a relatively short time of eight years and this feat deserves a lot of credit. Don began the company with a vision and he stuck to it and he has seen the fruits of his labor. He now wants to continue to grow and he stated that this growth should be looked at as “bumps, not walls.” I feel that change is a constant and that the issues that have been raised by my siblings can have a plan of action and change can come to get to the next level of vision for the company. “Change starts when someone sees the next step.” As the oldest, I believe that Don is a visionary, but in the past has used the participative leadership style. This style is a happy middle between over controlling (micromanaging) and not being engaged in all aspects of the company. I feel that the leadership style change that will need to happen in order to promote growth is the transformational leadership style. Don has lofty goals that he needs and wants to accomplish in the next three years, which means he will have to become a transformational leader. Don will have to inspire his colleagues to implement new ideas, stay flexible and adaptable and make them aware of the constant change that may have to take place. Don has already expressed to his team that as individuals they have all made great strides and stated that as a team, they can be awesome! Don is a charismatic leader and if he continues to use those skills, he can inspire with his words as well as actions. He already knows what he wants to change and it is his job to successfully complete the change with others help. I do agree with Marjory that communication will be an important part of this change. The communication needs to focus on trust and respect. A transformational leader cares about others and wants all to succeed and has to demonstrate giving respect and creating trust among the team. When respect and trust are shown this is a powerful tool that the others can follow. Don will have to be the leader of this new culture of the organization and rebuild his team for his next challenge. “Growth means change and change involves risk.” How can you make a change if the ones who will directly make the change are not supporting the change' Gene One will have to make some tough decisions to put people in key positions. Don is aware that a CFO or CPA is needed immediately to be in compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and this decision will be one that needs to be made intelligently and quickly in order to proceed with the major change that is to take place. This step will need a person or persons who will be committed, have the vision and the ability to support the change and communicate it effectively. With change can come risk and that may mean “out with the old, in with the new.” “There is nothing wrong with change if it is in the right direction.” Change must be created, developed and implemented. After having placed employees in key positions; Michelle is to deal with the financial aspect, Charles with the marketing/branding plans, Teri is to give updates on her new technologies and a timetable for completion, while Greg is to get a handle on internal and external communications, it is time to lead the change. Action plans will have to be created, procedures will have to be developed and the change is to be implemented. “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” All the initial work has been done and begun, progress and changes are being monitored, but there will be setbacks, mistakes, obstacles, growth and achievement during this change, but perhaps the most important lesson is how these changes are perceived. Some of the changes will be done by actually doing and until the process is complete many modifications may have to be made at any given moment. This is when leadership is at its most critical. A transformational leader has the qualities that are needed to keep an organization focused and on track. They have to create and maintain the end vision for all involved to keep them committed to the goal. Once the leader has created their wonderful picture of the future, it is their job to continue that same level of inspiration to those around them. Finally, what Don was born with and will benefit him well to complete this change is charisma. He is inspirational, passionate, energetic, driven and successful according to news articles and all of those characteristics will be needed to make a change. When a leader can transform others to follow them by leading by their example of commitment, drive, and focus, this is priceless. Transformational leaders show new ways of looking at old problems and they challenge the existing boundaries that people have at times unconsciously put themselves into. Perhaps being a transformational leader is best stated by John Porter, “People underestimate their capacity for change. There is never a right time to do difficult things. A leader’s job is to help people have vision of their potential.” (thinkexist.com) References Thinkexist.com. (2010) Finding quotes. Retrieved April 12, 2010. from http://thinkexist.com TechTarget, (2007-08). What is Change Management' Retrieved July 6, 2009 from website: http://searchcio-midmarket.techtarget.com/ Yukl, Gary, (2006). Leadership in Organizations (6th Edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.