The leadership of organisational change

This project builds upon the earlier Investigating narratives of organisational change failure project, this time focusing upon the prevalence of leadership of organisational change narratives within organisations and societies. What evidence exists that when leadership is applied to organisational change successful organisational change will result? This project critically focuses upon reviewing the evidence, as well as, the ways in which this prevalent assumption has been maintained and encouraged.

Project timeframe

This research commenced in 2015 and is ongoing.

Project objectives

The aims of the research are:

  • to identify evidence informing the leadership of organisational change evident between 1978 and 2014
  • to critically review evidence informing the leadership of organisational change
  • to establish how dominant narratives of leading change and transformation have been constructed and assumptions which underpin these popular narratives
  • to take critical stock of what we currently know about leadership and organisational change.

Project findings and impact

The main dissemination of this project has been through a critical monograph entitled The Leadership of Organisational Change published by Routledge. The final chapter of the monograph offers the detailed findings which may be summarised as follows:

  • explaining leadership and organisational change is hampered by many problematic assumptions
  • the gap between leadership studies literature and organisational change studies literature is problematic
  • a mythology has been socially constructed that leadership combined with organisational change will result in successful change
  • leading associated with change has been privileged over management associated with stability
  • opportunities to lead in more collaborative and participative ways have been missed
  • belief in great leaders making change happen is a show that never ends
  • practices of leading organisational change need to selectively draw upon what is known and apply this knowledge in very different ways to each unique change scenario
  • collaborative change leadership is likely to be more fruitful than follow-the-leader change leadership.

The impact of this project relates to the highly applied nature of leading change and transformation and the considerable organisational and individual interest in how most effectively to lead such agendas. These debates feature prominently in postgraduate teaching and engagement with external clients, in which the findings reported here are used to both advance and inform these important debates.

The Leadership of Organisational Change book cover

The Leadership of Organisational Change is published by Routledge.

Conference presentations

The project is ongoing with conference presentations based upon the project testing out findings and developing further insights through such critical exposure and informed debate.

Brighton Business School hosted the British Academy of Management Symposium entitled Three perspectives on Leading Change and Transformation.

Dr Mark Hughes was invited to present at the Change Managment Institute on the perceived and real success of organisational change initiatives.

He was also invited to present on his book, The Leadership of Organisational Change, at the Bristol Leadership Centre at the University of the West of England. Both academics and practitioners were in attendance.

The event focused upon a critique of what is known about the leadership of organisational change, potentially informing how change leadership is taught and practices of change leadership.

Mark Hughes at the Bristol Leadership Centre

Dr Mark Hughes with Professor Richard Bolden Director of the Bristol Leadership Centre


Research team

Dr Mark Hughes

Output

Hughes, M (2016) The Leadership of Organisational Change presentation, Seminar at the Bristol Leadership Centre, University of the West of England, 19 May.

Hughes, M (2015) The Leadership of Organisational Change. Routledge, London.

Hughes, M (2015) Leading changes: Why transformation explanations fail. Leadership.

Conference presentations encourage debate and dialogue with regards to the leadership of organisational change.

Hughes, M (2015) How did Bernard Bass and John Kotter frame transformational leadership and leading change? 7th Developing Leadership Capacity Conference, Henley Business School, 15-16 July.

Hughes, M (2015) Reimagining leadership development: A Rostian perspective. 7th Developing Leadership Capacity Conference, Henley Business School, 15-16 July.

Hughes, M (2015) The decline of change management and the rise of change leadership. 29th Annual British Academy of Management Conference, University of Portsmouth, 8-10 September 2015.

Hughes, M (2015) Evaluating the inclusion of leadership and organisational change as a sub-field within leadership studies. 29th Annual British Academy of Management Conference, University of Portsmouth, 8-10 September 2015.

Hughes, M (2015). The perpetual motion of the change machines. 29th Annual British Academy of Management Conference, University of Portsmouth, 8-10 September 2015.

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