Options_for_Implementing_Leadership_Change

Options for Implementing a Leadership Change The thought of change often brings up ideas and situations of chaos. Normally, the natural reaction to change is resistance. When such upheaval occurs within an organization, fear and uncertainty about job security and positions, is often the result. With the loss of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Don Ruiz, a massive re-structuring of the Gene One organization must take place. The purpose of this paper will be to examine the remaining executive team members to find the best candidate to implement a leadership change. After discussing a leadership selection, a strategy highlighting the leadership structure, styles and end vision will be examined. Seeing a massive amount of growth, the mission of the late CEO Don Ruiz was to make Gene One a publicly traded company. For the senior management team, the plan of how to make the company a public entity has caused many problems to arise. Even more, concerns over whether or not the organization is even prepared to complete the task have been brought up. For the end goal of a 40% profit increase by the end of three years, a rapid plan, starting with a change in the leadership structure must be implemented. Currently, the Ruiz family, the senior management team and board members are now meeting to finalize the steps needed to continue with the initial public offering (IPO). The first task is to find a new chief executive officer that could manage the change resulting from recent upheaval. Exploring the remaining executive team members, the choice to select from within the company was approved. According to Yukl (2006), leading change is one of the most important and difficult leadership responsibilities. To be effective, the chosen executive must be able to guide the transition of Gene One through the process of becoming a public success. Prior to his sudden passing, Don Ruiz realized that the executive team had no experience in IPOs; this needed to be explored. (Scenario, 2010) Even more, the Chief Financial Officer Michelle, had apprehension on whether this was the right time for Gene One to go public. She had expressed concerns about the organization being unprepared due to the lack of understanding about the importance of the Sabarnes-Oxley Act and proper financial record keeping. Furthermore, the potential backlash of an accounting scandal and how the company could manage the situation was also raised. Charles, the Marketing Director, although brilliant at managing public relations, did not understand the importance of proper financial record keeping. While able to look at the bigger picture, he seemed unable to focus on the smaller details that could cause the transition to fail. Terri, the Chief Technology Officer, was also resistant to change. She was willing go forward with the IPO but was worried about the pace at which she could produce innovative products at a “Wall Street” speed. (University of Phoenix, 2009) Greg, the Head of Human Resources, took it upon himself to open up discussion about what Gene One needed to move forward. He was willing to both learn and work with the other team members to find the best solution to the leadership style and recommend a possible strategy to reaching organizational success. Because of his positive attitude and action, the Ruiz family filed with the board members to have Greg chosen as the new Chief Executive Officer. In order for Gene One to make a smooth transition to completing the IPO, a strategy centered on managing organizational change needs to be utilized. The three-step model proposed by Kurt Lewin suggests that successful change in an organization should: unfreeze the status quo, move to a desired end state and refreeze the new change to make it permanent. (Robbins & Judge, 2007) This model suggests that the status quo, the proposed IPO, as the equilibrium of the plan. To make progress towards the new change, driving forces need to be increased to encourage advancement while restraining forces need to be decrease. A third alternative would be to combine both restraining forces and driving forces to overcome the resistance to the change. To lower fears and concerns about the impending organizational change, the new management team will have to keep constant communication with the employees of the company. Damage control stemming from any negative press will need to be managed as well. For the remaining employees to be more agreeable to the change, incentives should be implemented or increased to build employee trust and loyalty. Training for new policies and procedures should also be mandated. Employee concerns should be recognized and appreciated rather than left unheard. With the new management team encouraging the change in a positive manner, Gene One can be successful. Another step in the implementation of organizational change would be for Gene One to restructure its senior management team. The current leadership shows a more “people-oriented” style of leadership; the previous CEO was involved in all planning, decisions and implementations of both company direction and financial matters. While this may have worked in the past, it may not be possible for future operations. In their article, “Leadership Structure and Firm Performance”, Richard Fosberg and Michael Nelson propose that the role of the Chief Executive Officer should differ from that of the Chairman of the Board; by creating a division between decision management and decision control separating the Gene One senior management team would be more effective. (Fosberg & Nelson, 1999). An IPO board, built from a group of trustees and shareholders, would be better equipped to follow accounting regulations and manage the reporting necessary to comply with the Sabarnes-Oxley Act. Second, the senior management team should consist of the Chief Executive Officer, the Director of Products and Technology, The Chief Financial Officer, the Director of Human Resources and Employee Relations, the Director of Marketing and an executive secretary to record and organize meeting minutes. Gene One's end vision is to create new and better products that can change everyday living on a global scale. By going public with a progressive action plan, the desired goal of a 40% profit and growth increase can be achieved. Even more, a strong leadership team must be in place to encourage and motivate the change of the organization. While the process can be difficult, with careful planning and action, the hopes and aspirations of the late CEO Don Ruiz can be actualized.