Sustaining Change: Leadership That Works - Hardcover

Rowland, Deborah; Higgs, Malcolm

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0470724544 ISBN 13: 9780470724545

Publisher: Jossey-Bass, 2008

Synopsis

This is a book destined for leaders who wish to implement change more intelligently and effortlessly. Drawing on a combination of rigorous research and extensive organizational experience, the authors present a framework for leading change, ?Changing Leadership?, that describes the specific leader practices they have found make the biggest difference between success and failure in implementing high magnitude change. In doing all of this, the leader works to make change happen in the day to day activity and conversations of the organization.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

This is a book destined for leaders who wish to implement change more intelligently and effortlessly. Drawing on a combination of rigorous research and extensive organisational experience, the authors present a framework for leading change, 'Changing Leadership', that describes the specific leader practices they have found make the biggest differences between success and failure in implementing high magnitude change. Indeed these four practices, when used in combination, determined 50% of the reason why the changes they studied either succeeded or failed. In this respect, organisational change efforts that ignore the leadership dimension risk reducing their chances of successful implementation by a half.

In essence, the practices richly illustrated in this book require the leader to give up their notion of control over complex and large organisational systems, and instead work to create the conditions within which the organisation will more naturally do its' own changing'. This requires the leader to adopt a less ego-centric 'shaping' aproach to change and in this place adopt an approach that creates a magnetic pull in the towards its purpose, disturbs the currently unhelpful repeating patterns in its culture, and doing so in a way that enables people to process their natural anxiety about change. In doing all of this, the leader works to make change happen in the day to day activity and conversations of the organisation. This is not therefore a book about how to launch and roll out massive change 'programmes'. However, the leadership practices described are equally applicable to very significant and extensive organisational changes - perhaps even more so given the costs of failure and prizes of success in such cases.

Overall this is a book that will take the reader on a journey to confront their current approach to leading change, examine the personal beliefs and assumptions that may underpin this, and provide practical advice on how to become more effective.

'Whether you are a CEO, an HR Director or a Change practitioner, this is the most valuable book you will read this year. Based on ground-breaking research and brought to life with numerous case studies, this is that rare entity: a business book which is accessible, insightful and thorough.' - Mick Holbrook

'A leadership guide both practical and research validated that explains what to do to achieve sustained change and at last a clear insight into why so many change attempts get stuck and fail.' - Lynn L. Elsenhans

'The who, what, why and how of change leadership...a marvellous manifesto for practitioners and consultants alike, derived from extensive workplace experience and deep consideration of key aspects. It's the definitive manual on successful change leadership in today's world - how to bring it about and how to make it stick.' - Adrian Loader

From the Inside Flap:

'This book is a challenge - not to the reader but to any leader. In Sustaining change Rowland and Higgs patiently unpick what it is that allows leaders of change to succeed. This book is much better than many 'academic' studies of leadership because it is borne out of real consultancy work with many different companies, teams and leaders. The authors' enthusiasm for their discoveries is infectious and their engaging yet through writing draws you n to the hidden world below the surface of business life. The light they shine is genuinely illuminating; every person reading this book will gain some value and those with the courage to do something differently as a result will gain most. Leaders themselves must be able to change and adapt in order to deliver change.' - Jeremy Newsum

'Leaders often see their jobs as "simplifying the complex", and many have followed the same axiom in leading change - often with disappointing or underwhelming results. Leading change, and leading change well, is a hallmark of modern leadership, but it isn't easy. Sustaining change sets froth an original, sophisticated, and powerful approach that is both practical and supported by research. readers will better understand why previous change efforts have fallen short, and how future change efforts can be much more successful...' - L. Kevin Cox

'Leadership and change are two of the key worlds of our time. Here is a book which gets beneath the theories to propose an approach which is realistic, earthed, yet buzzing with suggestions to help leadership at every level to be more effective. the basic message is that leadership can be more than achievement through projects and programmes: good leadership enables change to be owned by the organisation in an ongoing and enduring way. based on a wide range of experience and academic research, the essential leadership practices identified in this book will make it a key manual for leaders in every kind of organization.' - Dr. Alastair Redfern

About this edition

• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0470724544
• ISBN 13: 9780470724545
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 392