BOOK RESOURCE:



BOOK RESOURCE:

Leading In A Culture of Change, Michael Fullan, Jossey-Bass Publishing, 2001

Michael Fullan quotes one of his sources (Homer-Dixon) who says, “We demand that [leaders] solve, or at least manage, a multitude of interconnected problems that can develop into crises without warning; we require them to navigate an increasingly turbulent reality that is, in key aspects, literally incomprehensible to the human mind; we buffet them on every side with bolder, more powerful special interests that challenge every innovative policy idea, we submerge them in often unhelpful and distracting information; and we force them to decide and act at an ever faster pace.”

Does this sound familiar to you? If so, you might want to read Leading In A Culture Of Change. The book jacket notes below might also whet your appetite.

“Business, nonprofit, and public sector leaders are facing new and daunting challenges—rapid-paced developments in technology, sudden shifts in the marketplace, and crisis and contention in the public arena—”[and] “if they are to survive in this chaotic environment, leaders must develop the skills they need to lead effectively no matter how fast the world around them is changing.”

“Author Michael Fullan—an internationally acclaimed expert in organizational change—shows how leaders in all types of organizations can accomplish their goals and become exceptional leaders. He . . . reveals a remarkable convergence of powerful themes or, as he calls them, the five core competencies.”

“By integrating the five core competencies—attending to a broader moral purpose, keeping on top of the change process, cultivating relationships, sharing knowledge, and setting a vision and a context for creating coherence in organizations—leaders will be empowered to deal with complex change.”

Below is Michael Fullan explanation of the five:

He says that moral purpose means “acting with the intention of making a positive difference in the lives of employees, customers, and society as a whole.”

Author Fullan then adds the second competency—understand the change process—with the following caution, “Moral purpose without an understanding of the change process is moral martyrdom.”

His third competency—relationships—he simply explains by saying, “If relationships improve, things get better.” Hard to argue with that! He adds that leaders must be “consummate relationship builders”.

Next—knowledge creation and sharing—“reflects an amazing congruence” with the above competencies. He says what he’s discovered is: people won’t share information unless they feel a moral commitment to do so, that they won’t share if the dynamics of change don’t favor the exchange, and that without relationships, all this data simply causes an information glut. He reminds us that turning information into knowledge is a social process, one that requires relationships.

Last of all—creating coherence—Mr. Fullan tells us that all this change keeps people on edge and that leadership is difficult in such a setting. He says that effective leaders tolerate enough ambiguity to keep the creativity going, but also know when to seek congruence. So, organizational “disequilibrium” can be valuable so long as patterns of coherence can be formed.

When combined with a set of more personal leadership characteristics—energy, enthusiasm, and hopefulness—Fullan says that leaders can increase their effectiveness and “more good things will happen” and “fewer bad things will happen”.

Each of the five competencies is discussed in its own chapter before Fullan ends by relating his material to the story of the tortoise and the hare. He says, when leading on the edge of chaos, we need to slow down rather than speed up. He cites another of his sources (Claxton), who says, “Recent scientific evidence shows convincingly that the more patient, less deliberate modes are particularly suited to making sense of situations that are intricate, shadowy or ill defined.”

A few copies of Michael Fullan’s book are available through the training program. Contact Kathy Williams at 717 795 9048 if you would like to borrow one.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download