Fall Newsletter
Leading and Managing Change
by Heather Davidson,
Director of Leadership Development
There is an old adage that says “The only thing constant is change.” We continue
to hear from business leaders that managing and leading change remains a challenge.
Change comes in many forms: new ideas, new roles, new processes, new people, organizations
and even locations. And it certainly seems constant! We often experience change
in our work life. Our personal life may provide just as many changes; and sometimes
changes happen in both worlds simultaneously.
Some of the biggest challenges for today’s leaders come from helping others transition
through the change and adapt to new ideas, new ways of doing things, new roles.
Successfully navigating this transition is important – it can mean increased revenue,
increased efficiency, increased satisfaction and so much more.
Over the next several months, we’ll explore different facets of leading and managing
change through a three-part series published in The Soderquist Connection. It is
important that leaders consider both the people and process sides to change. Part
I will look at the Emotions of Change. What impact does change have on people? How
do leaders effectively deal with those emotions? Part II will address how communication
plays a critical role in making the change a success. Part III will discuss the
importance of equipping people to move past the change through Training and Development.
Join us, The Soderquist Center facilitators, as we share from our experience how
these three areas of focus are keys to successfully leading and managing change.
hdavidson@jbu.edu
Soderquist.org gets a face lift!
After months of collaboration with the guys from Rockfish Interactive, we are pleased
to unveil the new and improved soderquist.org. We’re excited about all of the new
features we have added. We have videos, a recommended reading list with a few of
our favorite books, and a blog where Andy, Tony, Les, Wendy & Gary will share some
of their insights into various leadership topics. But the section we are most excited
about is one that we created just for you – our Members Only section. Here you will
find forums to talk with peers about generational issues, how to manage change,
ethical dilemmas, stories of success, and so much more.
We have also developed online communities for past Milestone & ELS participants.
We hope that you will find Soderquist.org to be a useful resource.
Register today!
Book Review: Execution
Written by Chuck Hyde
The key to success of any organization is to close the
gap between results desired and results delivered. The difference between the two
is execution. Published in 2002, Execution, written by well-known business figures
Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan, explores a number of necessary components to formulating
strategy and operating accordingly.
Bossidy and Charan introduce three building blocks as prerequisites for strategy
development: essential behaviors for leaders, creating a framework for cultural
change, and having the right people in the right place. Whether creating or evaluating
a strategic plan, leaders must be able to address questions such as:
- What is the assessment of the external environment?
- Who is the competition?
- Are the short-term and long-term balanced?
- Can the business execute the strategy?
Such questions may appear elementary, yet they often are missed and can result in
failure to meet objectives. The authors assert, “An astonishing number of strategies
fail because leaders don’t make a realistic assessment of whether the organization
can [actually] execute the plan.”
Bossidy and Charan conclude the book by offering descriptors of how a strategy review
should look and feel, followed by how an operating plan links strategy and people
through budgeting, synchronization, assumptions, and trade-offs.
Click here
to learn more about how The Soderquist Center can help you turn your strategy into
results.
Click here to view and purchase the book Execution: The Discipline of Getting
Things Done by Larry Bossidy from Amazon.com
Thank You
Thank you to everyone who participated in our summer newsletter survey! Based on
your input, we have revamped our newsletter to include only the content you want.
Look for the new Soderquist Connect every quarter where we will discuss relevant
leadership topics, offer editorials on current articles and news stories, and include
book reviews as well as relevant statistics.
The Results
Total Number of Respondents: 110
Did you know...
•In 2005, 74% of employees had observed misconduct within a 12-month period.
•57% cited pressure to do “whatever it takes” to meet business targets as the root cause of misconduct.
•49% believed they would be rewarded for results, not the means used to achieve them.
KPMG 2005-2006 Integrity Survey
Let us know what you think!