For this discussion, respond to the following:

All of our readings this week suggest that successful leaders communicate in ways that add clarity to chaos. This practice is often termed “crisis comms” when it is in response to a particularly negative event, but it can also be the work of a visionary spokesperson who wants to lead their workplace (or society) in a new and exciting direction. What techniques from our previous units – modes of inspiration, critique, etc – might be most successful when you are encouraging change in a workplace (or in a culture)? Give examples.

Your initial post must be at least 250 words. You will also need to post a response to at least two of your classmates’ posts.

Response 1: With there being several techniques to introduce and implement change in the workplace, a leader must know what technique is suitable for the given situation. A look back tells most observers that the past decade has been characterized by rapid change, intense competition, an explosion of new technologies, chaos, turbulence, and high levels of uncertainty (Black & Bright 2019). The direct approach encourage change depends on the success status of the organization. A leader should first ask if the organization is at the state of low or high performance. If the the organization faces lower performance issues, a deficit-based approach should be taken. This approach influences employees to change with the idea of knowing that there will be a negative impact otherwise. If an organization is higher in performance an abundance-based change approach should be taken. This approach influences employees to aim higher than their current, successful state.

After determining the approach based on the performance status of the organization. A leader shall then determine how this change will be constructed and implemented, top-down or bottom up. The top-down approach gives the decision making to a small group, where in contrast the bottom-up approach allows employees to make decisions in the change process. I feel that employees are more likely to adhere to changes when they are involved in the decision making. When employees are given the opportunity to introduce their concerns and ideas, they are more welcoming to change. This gives the employees a voice, and helps the leaders better understand the needs of the organization.

Response 2: There are many great techniques, models to use when it comes to change in a workplace. It all relies on how you use the different techniques and models to make changes. You have to figure out which model would be perfect for the strengths and weaknesses of the employees. As a leader, you have to narrow down the changes needed to understand what approach to take. Such as, if a leader is looking for a change that can change a negative consequence, they would take the deficit-based change. This change allows them to fix serious problems that may cause problems in the company and penalties towards the employees. If you’re a company leader with a huge organization, you have no choice but to choose a change requiring excellent performance. The abundance change technique inspires leaders to “aim for greater degrees of excellence in their work( 16.3 Managing Change.) Once leaders figure out what change management they need in the workplace, they can figure out what model approach to use. The model that would be an excellent use for the changes above would be Lewin’s change model.

The Lewin change model is broken down into three phases which are

Unfreeze

• Examine status quo
• Increase driving forces for change
• Decreases resisting forces against

This phase allows a leader to act on changes figure out what needs to be changed. They can work on them without resisting. This phase encourages them to ask now and not at all.

Move

• Take Action
• Make Changes
• Involve people

This phase tells the leader to act on the changes. This phase involves the leader communicating the vision of the changes to the employees.

Refreeze

• Make changes permanent
• Establish new ways of things
• Reward desired outcomes

This phase allows the leader to know how to stick to the changes if they occur again. This phase tells the leader not to make the changes temporary, but makes them permanently, so the workplace can stay successful. This phase allows the leader to act on different changes techniques as well as a different model. Also with this change, it will enable the leader to reward the employees for the proficient outcome.