Options_for_Implementing_a_Leadership_Change

Organizational Leadership/531 June 15, 2010 Sharon Patterson   Gene One is making a move to release an initial public offer (IPO) to take the organization from a private company to a public company. With the tragic loss of the organizations chief executive officer (CEO), the organization needs to evaluate the leadership styles of each of the remaining leaders to determine the best course of action for the organization. Defining each leader’s style will help with developing a new leadership structure that will help the organization grow at the rate Wall Street and other investors are expecting. Gene One’s structure will assist in the end vision for the organization; through this dramatic change in leadership, the organization will need to ensure this leadership shift will meet the needs of the organizations goals. Leadership Styles The remaining four leaders for the organization have different leadership styles, each style will complement the others styles to create a leadership team that will take Gene One to the next level, a public company. Charles Jones is the current marketing officer for the organization. His mindset is to ask questions and analyze decisions prior to making those decisions. His strength is in critical thinking and making the right decisions for the organizations future. Charles is dedicated to branding the Gene One as the leader in innovative technology about gene research (University of Phoenix, 2005). Charles’ style will work well with a top decision maker position like CEO. Charles can gain the trust and buy-in of the rest of the leadership team, the organization, and the public, making him the perfect candidate for the top position in the organization. Charles’ focus is on the big picture for the organization, which attributes to his weakness of making decision more slowly than the rest of the leaders. Michelle Houghton is a dedicated financial leader whose efforts with the organization helped build the organization’s reputation. Michelle has invested her career into Gene One and she leads by example. Her style of leadership works well with other styles of leadership; however, she does not have the necessary components of leading from the top position of the organization. Her work as the chief financial officer (CFO) of Gene One keeps her emotionally attached to the organization, which will have an effect if she were to be making the ultimate decisions. She does have skills in finance, but she is leery about taking larger steps to improve the organization. When Gene One releases the IPO, the organization will need a leader who can make those definitive decisions in critical times to release the IPO. Michelle does not have the strength in her to make that move to a public organization. Greg Thoman is an innovative thinker that seeks out talent needed to complete tasks. Greg’s experience is in human resources (HR) makes him a leader who understands the importance of gathering the right followers for the job. Greg leads people by understanding the different needs and diverse nature of each individual. With the extensive growth of Gene One, Greg has made tremendous hires to help fulfill the organizations vision and goals. As a chief human resources officer (CPO), Greg has the right leadership style, knowledge, and connections to continue to drive hiring individuals into the organization that will make the company reach far beyond potential. Teri Roberson has dedicated her entire career to Gene One; she has developed breakthroughs in the gene research industry that has put Gene One at the forefront. Teri is currently the chief technology officer (CTO), her leadership style is defined by researching new technologies. Teri sticks to her principles and morals and will not deviate to appease anyone else. Her hard-nosed attitude is perfect for moving the organization to the next level once she buys-into the direction of the organization. Teri is the only leader of the organization whom is related to the late Don Ruiz, she also has a vested family interest in making this organization succeed. Her stake in the organization could also hold her back from taking the leap of faith necessary to put this organization at the top of the industry. Leadership Structure A team without a leader is a group of individuals who lack guidance. Therefore a strong group individual must emerge or hire an outside CEO experienced IPO to become the leaders for this organization. Gene One has an opportunity to restructure the leadership team in the passing of Don Ruiz. Appointing a CEO is the best option for the board of directors, without a CEO, the leadership team will have a power struggle with the employees and the research community to suffer the consequences. The CEO is the one person whom listens to all the feedback from the top leaders in the organization and compiles the ideas to make strategic decisions based on the needs of the consumers, employees, and the leaders of the organization with the end vision in mind. The main tasks the top leaders must recognize is the research the organization is dedicated to completing, hiring superior talent and retaining that talent, ensuring that financial reporting is accurate, and branding the organization as the top researcher of genes in the industry. With those ideals in mind, the structure of the organization will need to follow that footprint. Organizational structure must also take into account the six elements of structure vital to the success of any organization (Robbins & Judge, 2007). The six elements are work specialization, departmentalization, chain of command, span of control, centralization and decentralization, and formalization (Robbins & Judge, “p. 538”). The challenge for Gene One will be to ensure that through the new structure the organization will still be able to meet the expectations of the IPO. Much of this structure is already in place for the transition of leadership; however, some areas will need to be examined more than other areas. Gene One’s End Vision The board of directors and the late Don Ruiz want the organization to be the industry leader in gene research. Both thought the best chance for the organization to become the top company in the industry was to offer an IPO. Releasing and IPO would make the organization public, meaning they will raise the needed capital and bring aboard investors. The value of the organization would not be solely based on the research and productivity like a private organization, rather the value will be dictated by the market. Gene One’s end vision should remain on this focus because the top decision makers for the organization believe this strategy will work based on past experience and research. The values, hopes, and ideals of the organizations (Yukl, 2006) were set by the board of directors and the former CEO. Generally, sticking by a plan will yield desired outcomes; this vision is obtainable, realistic, challenging and is in the best interest of all parties involved; success is the only option. “Most of the evidence about the importance of a vision for successful change in organizations comes from leadership research that is focused more on the process of envisioning than on the content of the vision” (Yukl, pg. 297). Gene One organization can look passed the content and see the true vision. Structure and Styles Pairing with the End Vision The styles of the four executives remaining at Gene One are different, both with strengths and weaknesses that complement each other. While each individual of the leadership team has the best interest of the organization in mind, all focus on different aspects of the business. Charles big picture mind-set and ability to analyze decisions prior to acting is a style that will pull the other leaders together as a team. His style is indicative of a person whom should lead this team of executives into decisions that will satisfy the needs of everyone. With everyone protecting the organization in different ways, the four team members can lead this $400 million organization into an IPO that will propel the company to a higher level. Becoming the industry leader is the goal of Don Ruiz and the board of directors. The organization should stay with the plan Don has devised, but the plan may undergo some alterations based on the styles and new structure of the organization. Making these adjustments within the company allows Gene One to find a better position to enter the market with the IPO. Change Strategy Timing the change in the organization is critical when an organization is leading to an IPO. The death of Don Ruiz is reason enough for the organization to delay the offering. Making the organization public too soon after his death will make investors cautious about spending money backing an organization that fully has not recovered from the top leader. The organization would need to take years or even a decade to regain enough strength to go public if the IPO were to fail. By allowing the organization to offer the IPO a few months more, will give more time for investors to develop more confidence and start putting money into the organization. Timing the downturn for competitors will still be in place in a few months and subtlety re-releasing the CTO of the year results. Organizations that change with the changing environment generally succeed in the business world. The change Gene One is going through is a planned change, Gene One has been working on this change for some time now, and the time is right to start implementing some strategies to enhance education to those involved with the change. Developing information sessions with the employees and allowing a question and answer session for all employees is a start to helping everyone understand the change. Once the employees understand that this change is intentional and goal-oriented (Robbins & Judge, 2007), they are more likely to buy-in to the process. Conclusion The death of Don Ruiz was tragic and unexpected from a man 37 years old. The organization Don built must continue to grow to establish the legacy Don wants to leave behind. The leadership structure must change with Don no longer at the organization. Developing that structure is paramount in the success of the organization after Don. While the structure is being developed, the styles of the remaining leaders are critical components of the organization. With the change comes a process for implementing the change, planned change is the best option for changing within a company of this magnitude. All these elements are taking into account for the better of the organization, but none of the styles, structure, or planned change, is possible without a vision.   References Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2007). Organizational Behavior (12th ed.). Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall. University of Phoenix (2005). Gene One [Computer Software]. Retrieved May 31, 2009, from University of Phoenix, Simulation, LDR531-Organizational Leadership Course Web site Yukl, G. (2006). Leadership in Organizations (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.