Introduction
Leadership is the art of influencing people to work towards achieving organisational or group
objectives. There can be no leaders without followers and followers are influenced to follow the
leader and combine efforts to achieve the set targets. Effective leadership is an important factor
to achieving the organisational goals and objectives. Change management is the process of
continually renewing a firm structure, direction and capabilities to serve the every changing need
of internal and external customers. Organisational change is an ever-present feature of an
organisational life and this is at both strategic and operational level. This report will discuss
leadership and change management in relationship with Guy’s and St Thomas Hospital.
TASK 1
Identifying and analysing the situational variables within the organisation’s change
programme over its current and projected life-cycle, and evaluate how leadership
approaches have evolved/might evolve, to take account of the changing circumstances and
dynamics
Situational variables within the organisation
Herzberg’s (1964) Theory highlights factors that cause job satisfaction and dissatisfaction which
are classified into the hygiene and motivator factors. Herzberg concluded that existence of
specific job factors in relation to the job attitudes is fairly accepted. The most effective and
reliable way of retaining people in the workplace is centered on creating a challenging and
stimulating work environment and the use of participative management styles. Others factors that
ensure that organisations retain employees involves performance management, transfers and
promotions, compensation, training and development and benefit programs.
The following are the situational work related variables within Guy’s and St Thomas Hospital
change program.
Salary and monetary compensation – Employees are motivated by several factors and one of the
factor are the benefits that they get from the organisation where they work in. Guy’s and St
Thomas Hospital change program. The program provides a framework that redesigned the
workforce working at the trust. Teams that are working at the trust are provided with an
opportunity to explore new creative roles with clinical team and this has helped build a
sustainable workforce at the trusts. For example, the cardiology work stream at Dartford and
Gravesham has used community pharmacists by creating pharmacist-led hypertension clinics and
creating opportunities for cardiac physiologists to deliver scans in Dartford. Pay satisfaction is
associated with increased organisational commitment and greator intent to stay in the
organisation. The programme also recognises that employees are critical to the success of
change and recruiting the right people with the right skills to the critical roles is important to the
success of the programme.
Working conditions and job security- Guy’s and St Thomas Hospital change program creates
fear to the employees and therefore ensuring that the working conditions and job security of the
employees is safeguarded is a variable that should be dealt with. The change program has
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proposed change in the way employees work and encouraged flexibility in the workplace.
Employees that are working at the hospital are given an opportunity to manage work and family
and this has improved their commitment to the change in the trust. Division of employment is
core to Guy’s and St Thomas Hospital change program. Employees are allocated roles and
responsibilities according to their skills and qualification. Collaboration is encouraged and this
provides an opportunity to the employees to share ideas that improve the performance of the
trust. The personal traits of employees are monitored and this ensures that those in the leadership
have the required skills. Change brings fear to employees and exposure to job insecurity and job
loss may have a negative impact on the employees and affect the change process. Insecure
working environment creates anxiety and increases the level of risks to various work hazards for
example loss of job control and decreased workplace social control. Guy’s and St Thomas
Hospital change program proposes organisational restructuring and downsizing and this has
resulted to worse work conditions and loss of autonomy and control.
Learning and development- Learning and development enhance engagement with the workforce.
The change program Guy’s and St Thomas Hospital proposes learning and development and
creation of a culture of learning. This will ensure that employees are equipped with skills and
knowledge that will ensure they give quality health care services to the users of health care
services. The change is aimed at creating individual development plan for every employee. To
keep jobs interesting most employees want to acquire new skills and knowledge and apply new
approaches in their daily work life. The change that is proposed aims to provide opportunities to
employees to ensured that they are educated and develop them to meet future challenges and to
obtain sustainable advantage in today workplace environment. Learning and development will
change the employees trust and attitudes towards change management. The programme has
sought to improve joint working between employees in all the functions for example finance and
procurement. Staffs have reported that the change has enabled a line of communication
For example over the duration of the programme Guy’s and St Thomas’ and Dartford and
Gravesham have shared knowledge regarding commercial contracts, clinical coding, private
patient services and much more.
Prospects for promotion and aligned growth path- This is a situational variable within the
organisation change. The management understands that career commitment describes an
individual commitment to a number of work related targets. Development of affective
occupational commitment begins with occupational choices and changes that are based on past
experiences. Guy’s and St Thomas Hospital management understands that the degree at which it
provides career growth via the activities that meet the career goals develops employees
professional. The change programme proposes to provide workers with the activities that
enhance their emotional attachment to the firm.
Leadership- Leadership is the process of leading followers and ensuring that they are working
towards the same direction. Fair leadership support is simply the degree of support that
employees receive from the supervisors. A good leader should show employees the direction that
they should move towards and provide them with support. A good leader come s up with the
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vision of the firm and gives feedback to the employees. The organisational change programme of
the hospital aims to change the leadership style that is used by the Hospital. Supportive leaders
are employees and they have high competence, they treat employees good and with respect that
they deserve. They also encourage two way communications and provide an opportunity to the
employees to contribute their views. Leaders at the firm are required to ensure that staffs are
treated well.
Information technology- Information technology is critical not only organisations that provide
health and social care but across all organisations. Guy’s and St Thomas Hospital aims to make
changes in the IT work stream and this aims to improve efficiency. The change proposes that the
hospital use new methods of treatment that are innovative and that reduce the patients waiting
time. The program has highlighted aspects of IT that required to be updated and this has
improved service delivery. It has also played an important role in storing records both medical
and patients records.
Work related attitudes- The change program of Guy’s and St Thomas Hospital aims to improve
work related attitudes for example job involvement, job satisfaction and organisational
commitment. These are the important aspects that managers should enhance to improve the
performance of the firm. Managers are working hard to change the attitudes of staff and this is by
communicating and informing staff with the hospital values and this will change the behaviour of
employees towards change. Change in the organisational culture will improve service delivery.
Cultures are the shared assumptions, norms and values. The culture of an organisation is a source
of sustained competitive advantage. Organisational culture is linked to the employee’s
behaviours and attitudes.
Evaluate how leadership approaches have evolved/might evolves, to take account of the
changing circumstances and dynamics.
Leadership approaches have evolved and it is important for leaders to use the different leadership
theories or approaches to understand how the different situations that they encounter affect their
leadership style. This will ensure that they are effective when leading change in the organisations
where they work. Leaders are required to influence the actions, beliefs and the feelings of other
people. Effective leadership requires that a leader in an organisation has qualities and skills that
enable him to connect with the people and with their needs. The complexity of leadership is
reflected in the evolution of leadership in the past over 80years. The early leadership theories
focused on the qualities and behaviors of leaders. Leadership theory has evolved and has greator
understanding on the needs and expectations of employees at work. The impact of the leadership
style on followers and how attitudes, behaviors and competencies of the followers impact on
leaders. Effective leadership style is different in different situations that the leaders encounter.
Today leaders are required to understand the expectations of people that they lead and to be
consulted and involved in making decisions. At the same time to have the autonomy to achieve
the objectives set in the way that they see is effective. Change in leadership at Guy’s and St
Thomas Hospital has improved the decision making and employee’s commitment to the trust.
Leaders at the Hospital use various leadership styles depending on the situation. The trait
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approach of leadership states that leaders are born and that leadership consists of inherited
personality traits. The functional approach to leadership states that leaders can be learned and
developed. The approach focuses on the responsibilities of a leader and examines how leader’s
behaviour is affected by his followers. One functional approach of leadership is Adair’s Action
centred leadership that focus on what organisational leaders do to balance needs of individuals,
tasks and the team. The leadership styles focus on how leaders impact on those that they lead.
For example democratic leadership is where a leader allows people to participate in decision
making and their views are considered when making a decision. Leaders at Guy’s and St Thomas
Hospital ensure that employees participate in decision making and this provides an opportunity
for the employees to interact and share information. This improves employee engagement and
commitment and enables them to support organisational change. Situational and contingency
leadership also has enabled the management and leadership of Guy’s and St Thomas Hospital to
adapt to different leadership styles on different situations.
Transactional and Transformational leadership is an approach that looks at two levels of
leadership. Transactional leadership appeals to the self-interest of followers to achieve
organisational goals. This is based on the leader position in the organisational structure.
Transformational leadership takes steps and creates vision on transforming the performance of a
company and its appeal to the highest values of an organization. Leaders are supposed to use
different leadership approach to the changing dynamics in the workplace. This will ensure that
employees support change and are working towards achieving the organisational set targets
Task 2
Assess how the leaders of this organisation might influence the attitudes of its members to
support the proposed changes, using narrative and storytelling as a mechanism
Successful leaders are required to have good leadership skills to manage change and this will
ensure that they influence the attitudes of employees. Leaders are required to communicate
effectively with the people so that they influence them to support the change process. Managers
that have direct authority with people that are going through change should support and execute
change. They are required to influence members their attitudes towards change. Effective
organisational leaders acknowledge that their support is critical to the success of organisational.
The following is how organisations might influence the proposed change:
Sponsor-Leaders are required to act as advocates of change at the level of organisation. They are
required to communicate change to the employee and explain to the importance of change and
the impact it will have on them and on the organisational in general. Leaders as sponsors are
required to ensure that the change the attitudes and beliefs of employees and get the support that
they require from the employees. A leader as a sponsor is an individual that will not let change
initiative to die from lack of attention. He is willing to use the political capital to ensure that
change happen and as a sponsor of change leaders are champions. Leaders at Guy’s and St
Thomas Hospital are sponsors of change; they initiate change by analysing the operations within
the organisation and identify areas that require change. They also provide support to the people
that work at the hospital and these ensure that change becomes a success.
Role model- To ensure that change becomes a success in the workplace; leaders are required to
ensure that they act as agents of change. They are required to be role models and this is by
ensuring that they go first, they are required to demonstrate the behaviours and attitudes that are
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expected to support change and to be followed by everyone in the organisation. Employees
watch the way leaders behave during change and they watch the consistency that exists between
the words and actions of leaders to see of the leader’s belief in the change process. The leaders of
Guy’s and St Thomas Hospital support change by acting as role models of change. They act and
show certain behaviours that indicate that they support the change that is going down. They
ensure that they are aware of the change and this help influences the attitudes of employees and
other leaders towards change.
Making decision- leaders are required to ensure that the decisions that they make are relevant
and effective. They are required to influence employees in making critical decisions. This will
ensure that the input of employees is taken into consideration. Leaders usually control resources
for example people, budget and others equipment’s. They have the authority to make decisions
that will support or affect the change intatitve. Leaders at Guy’s and St Thomas Hospital have an
ability to say yes or no to change that affect their span of control. Leaders are required to
leverage their decision making authority and select options that will support the change initiative.
Leaders are decisive and they should set priorities that will ensure they support change.
Communicate- Leaders are the voice and face of change and they are required to communicate
often by sharing information that will change the attitude and behavior of people that are affected
by change. Effective communication will ensure that leaders share information and keep people
updated with the change. It will also improve commitment and encourage people to support
change. Guy’s and St Thomas Hospital leaders are effective at communication. They ensure that
employees are given all the information that they require using different communication
channels. Leaders should be able to interpret change and they should be transparent and
consistent with their communication. This will ensure that employees support the change.
Engage- Leaders of organisation might influence members to support change by engaging them.
Leaders for example at Guy’s and St Thomas Hospital provide motivation to change and ensure
that all members are involved. They create a sense of urgency and explain the importance of
change and show commitment and passion about getting things done according to plan. The
provide recognition to those people that participate in the change process well. Leaders also
realise that change can sometimes be difficult and understand the need for people to be
motivated to ensure that they step out of their conform zone.
Hold accountable- leaders have authority and they should use the authority to ensure that people
that are task with managing and overseeing change are held accountable. They uphold agreement
and make sure that members do the same. They work to ensure that people are supporting change
and try to remove the obstacles that affect the change process. Effective organisational leaders
recognise that change cannot take place without fulling their roles.
Practical examples of the narratives and stories that the organisation uses to influence a
range of stakeholders, in addition to its members
There are several stories that are used by the management of Guy’s and St Thomas Hospital the
burning platform story that explains why the ways of operations that were used in the past that
were successful are no longer successful now. For example there have been fundamental shift in
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the workplace where the nature of work has shifted from semi-skilled to knowledge work.
Knowledge work ensures that employees are able to meet the requirements of customers. The
needs of a company can be achieved if the knowledge workers contribute their talent and energy
towards innovation. As a result, the 20 th Century management system the goose that laid
America’s golden egg has stopped delivering and this indication that there is a need for change.
The other story that is used is the spring board story that is about the past or something that has
already passed , there is no need to invent anything because it has happened, it is believable and
because it is positive it spark action. In the year 1985 for example a health worker in a small
town in Zambia went to the Canters for Disease Control website to get an answer about the
treatment of Malaria. This is a simply store that has helped Guy’s and St Thomas Hospital
workers to envision different kind of future for a company. The other story that is used is the
story of the past that shows how a firm is operating today. This story is needed because much of
the knowledge is tacit and exists in unspoken assumptions and attitudes that are like the water
where the fish swims. Stories that are used also include the future stories for example comparing
traditional management with radical management. This enables employees understand where the
organisation is moving towards.
Conclusion
The report has demonstrated the role of leadership in managing change within an organisation.
Organisation change is inevitable and leaders should ensure that they manage the change process
to ensure that it is successful. There are several leadership approach that are used to manage
change for example trait approach, functional approach, leadership styles and behavioural
approach. The report has also evaluated several ways that leaders use to ensure that members
support change and influences their attitudes towards change.