CREATING POSITIVE CHANGE:

The Ultimate Test of Leadership

Don Stepherson V. Calda, Ma.Ed. Leadership and Management of Change

Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Management

Department of Graduate Studies

Divine Word College of Calapan

Infantado St. Calapan City

(043) 288-8686 local 108 / (043) 441-0553

+63917-558-3645

March 2012

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―Leadership means making a difference, creating a positive

change; providing the impetus that creates an atmosphere of

change that improves the world, or at least the small part of

the world around us; leadership is characterized by sustained

action over time. Leadership is the stretch of changing things

that can be changed, of providing new thinking, new energy, to

the current situation‖. These are the words uttered by Dr.

Marjorie Bowman (2010), a famous medical doctor and professor in

Pennsylvania when asked about her definition of leadership.

These words are also my main theme is exploring the idea of

leaders being change makers. Leaders acting as change makers

creating positive change in the society are best exemplified by

their subtle actions that lead to positive changes or

differences in the community where he or she belongs. But let us

first discover the value of leadership.

It is said that few things are more important to human

activity than leadership. Effective leadership helps a nation

through times of peril and confusion. In a larger sense, it

makes a business organization successful. It enables foundation

and different agencies to fulfill its mission. Parent’s

effective leadership enables children to grow strong and healthy

and at the same time productive and responsible members of the

society (Mills, 2005). The absence of leadership then is equally

dramatic in its effects. Without leadership, organizations move

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too slowly, stagnate and lose their ways. Companies will move

without any sense of direction. Much of the literature available

about organizations stresses decision-making and implies that

decision-making is timely, complete, and correct, then things

will go well. Yet, a decision by itself changes nothing. After a

decision is made, an organization faces the problem of

implementation – how to get things done in a timely and

effective way. Problem of implementation are really issues about

how leaders influence the behavior of the people and workers

around him. Leaders’ task should change the course of events and

overcome resistance so that the organization will move forward

with a sense of direction. Leadership, in this sense, is crucial

in implementing decisions successfully.

Each of us, members of the society recognizes the

importance of leadership when we vote for our government and

political leaders. We realize that it matters who is in office

so there will be equal participation in government affairs. With

this, we participate in elections to choose the best candidate

that would definitely impart change in the society. In business,

investors recognize the importance of business leadership when

they say that a good leader can make a success of a weak

business plan, but that a poor leader can ruin even the best

plan (Mills, 2005).

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Generally, we define leadership as a process by which one

person influences that thoughts, attitudes and behaviors of

others. Leaders set a direction for the rest of the members;

they help the members to see what lies ahead; they help the

members to visualize what the organization or the community

might achieve; leaders encourage and inspire the members. But

the definition does not stop there. After setting direction and

encouraging people to move and support the aim of the group,

then leaders will definitely create positive changes and will

make the group progressive. If these happen, then leaders are

then underwent the true test of leadership.

Without leadership, a group of human beings quickly

degenerates into argument and conflict, because they see things

in different ways and learn toward different solutions.

Leadership helps to point out in the same direction and harness

our efforts jointly (Bass, 1985). Leadership is the ability to

get other people to do something significant that they might not

otherwise do. As creators of positive change, leaders energize

people toward a goal. But the ability of a leader to create

positive change is highly influenced by his followers. Daft

(2005) posits that without followers, leaders are not leaders

although followers may only come after a long wait. True

leadership is sometimes hard to distinguish from false

leadership, which is merely a form of pretending. Let us take

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the example of Winston Churchill. During the 1930s, Sir Winston

Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874-1965) was the foremost opponent

of appeasement of Germany. At the time, with fresh memories of

the First World War, the public did not wish to listen. However,

by September 1939 Britain was at war with Germany and in May

1940, Churchill became Prime Minister. His Premiership brought a

new energy to the organization of the war effort. His stirring

speeches and public visits helped galvanize public opinion to

continue the fight against Nazism. His leadership was

particularly vital in 1940-41, the period between the Nazi

conquest of much of Europe and the entry into the war of Russia

and America (United Kingdom Parliament, 2012). Churchill urged

his fellow Englishmen to face the coming threat from Hitler’s

Germany. Most of the Englishmen preferred to believe that Hitler

could be appeased – do that a war could be avoided. They were

engaged in wishful thinking about the future and denial that the

future would be dangerous. They resented Churchill for insisting

that they must face danger. They rejected his leadership. He had

very few followers. But finally, reality intruded – Germany went

too far and war began. At this point, Churchill was acclaimed

for his foresight, and became prime minister of the United

Kingdom during the Second World War. During this period, almost

all of Englishmen accepted his leadership willingly. Churchill

was a real and great leader. He established positive changes in

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the life of the people during the time of peril. But there are

also people who wish to appear to be leaders, but are not

actually. Many people, even in our world today, say that they

are leading others; they posture as if they are setting

direction and inspiring others. Yet often they are merely

pretending. Mills (2005) cited the old saying that the way to

become a leader is to find a parade and run to the front of it.

We often refer to a person ―leading‖ a parade, but walking at

the front is not really leadership unless the person in front is

actually choosing the direction! If the person in this situation

is not choosing the direction, Mills (2005) said, and then being

at the front of the line is merely a way to pretend to be a

leader.

Leadership can be used for good or ill. In the Second World

War, Hitler seemed to be a leader of the German people, but he

set an evil direction. He had great leadership skill, but put

them to terrible uses. Sometimes people in business use

leadership skills to exploit others. Sometimes, people in

charitable organizations and foundations use leadership skills

to benefit themselves rather than the people who are needy,

helpless and are supposed to be helped. Leadership skills can be

perverted to pursue bad ends. Then if this is the case, what is

the ultimate test of leadership? We will now go back to the

definition of leadership by Dr. Bowman (2010):

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―Leadership means making a difference,

creating a positive change; providing the

impetus that creates an atmosphere of

change that improves the world or at least

the small part of the world around us;

leadership is characterized by sustained

action over time. Leadership is the stretch

of changing things that can be changed, of

providing new thinking, new energy, to the

current situation‖

This definition will give us the idea that leadership does

not only rely on talents, skills, potentials or initiatives.

Leadership tends to create positive changes – tangible results

towards the betterment of the community. Leaders then, aside

from being the frontier, should be change-makers.

Heraclitus, a wise man from antiquity, once said that the

only thing remains constant is change (Alkahtani, 2011). In this

age of social confusion and conflict, the society’s needs keep

changing. This issue keeps arising at present. The world has

become faster-paced now more than before. Kotter and Cohen

(1996) mentioned that the rate of change is not going to slow

down anytime soon and he added that the competition in most

industries will probably speed up more in the next few decades.

In this situation, the requirements for being leaders have also

changed. Leaders should be able to adapt to changes, and at the

same time, implement change. Daft (2005) points out that the

management and leadership environment has changed from stability

to uncertainty. In this relation, Yukl (2002) stated the

definition of leadership nowadays is a process of interaction

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between leaders and subordinates where a leader attempts to

influence the behavior, actions and attitudes of his or her

subordinates to accomplish the organizational goals positively.

Krause (2004) also mentioned the leadership is described as the

selection of bases of positive influence. With these novel

definitions of leadership, there is only one noticed variable –

leaders are creators of positive change.

For true leaders, creating positive change can be

disorienting (Badaracco, 2002). Most people tend to dislike

change because it deviates from patterns of stability and can

breed uncertainty and fear. How leaders manage change in an

organization speaks volumes to how change is accepted by the

members, subordinated or stakeholders. Acknowledging the

characteristics of change are vital, however, and it must first

be noted that change is inevitable, non-linear, must come from

the top down and the bottom up as a shared responsibility and

change involves important personal dimensions that cannot be

overlooked (Goodwin, 2006). Adaptation to change has become a

common agenda for leaders today. The later decades of the

twentieth century will go down to history as an ―era of

perpetual change‖ (Noer, 1997). According to Bainbridge (1996),

change is no longer an irregular outing, an inconvenient

upheaval to be undertaken once every ten years. Change is

something we have to learn to live with, to structure and to

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manage. Change is here to stay, and the winners will be the ones

who cope with it. This has been the challenge for modern

leaders: create effective change.

One of the most common and potentially divisive topics in

work organizations centers on change. There are people who think

their work organization is too changeable while others think

their organization is too complacent (Bruhn, 2004). Change is

considered good when it has beneficial effects. When change

threatens the position of security, then this change is

destructive and unnecessary. Because of this, many people tend

to become critics of change that leaders that manages change.

Leaders of change, who in one way or another imprinted positive

change become experts in growing their organization. Thus, they

create and lead change. Other leaders see change as an intrusion

and try to minimize its effects on their organization.

Nevertheless, leaders should be able to initiate positive change

in their respective line of work.

In our society, we consider leaders as role models who keep

their eye on their organizations’ mission while they adapt to

changing environment and maintain a forward momentum (Bennis,

1997). Leaders who lead positive change and those who manage it

have the same objective i.e. achieve organizational goals.

Leadership is accepting responsibility to create conditions that

enable others to achieve shared purpose in the face of

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uncertainty. Leaders accept responsibility not only for their

individual ―part‖ of the work, but also for the collective

―whole.‖ Leaders can create conditions interpersonally,

structurally, and/or procedurally. The need for leadership (a

need often not met) is evident when encounters with the

uncertain demand adaptive, heuristic, or innovative response:

past practices are breached, new threats loom, a sudden

opportunity appears, social conditions change, and new

technology changes the rules, and so on (Heifetz, 1998). With

such work scenario, leaders’ primary goal is to lead change to

avoid such uncertainty.

We have already established the role of leaders in creating

positive change towards success. The next question is how do

leaders initiate positive change? The initiatives will be the

ultimate test of leadership and its result.

The key process in the success of initiating positive

change for organizational and group leaders is understanding and

insight about the process of change and the key drivers that

make for successful change in practice. The presence of change

knowledge and initiatives of leaders do not guarantee success,

but its absence ensures failures (Barber & Fullan, 2005). It is

not easy to rectify this deficit. Policy makers who are leaders

in their own rights do not want to be slowed down by knowledge

of change. It takes time to address this knowledge — even

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though, ironically, they are eventually slowed down even more by

failed implementation. Leaders believe that change is

disruptive, messy and complicated (Wilson, 1992). Even with the

best laid plans, events rarely occur as they were predicted.

Nadler (1998) argued that real change in real organization is

intensely personal and enormously political. Change processes

entail not only structures and the way of doing tasks but also

the performance, expectations and perceptions of all involved

parties. Change has become widespread and unpredictable, but

still manageable. Leaders who really wanted to introduce change

to create positive result must be able to live in this

principle.

To effectively adapt change, leaders have a daunting task

ahead of them in a variety of operational ad procedural areas.

Processes involving change must be redesigned and redefined and

adapted to certain geographical and cultural settings. In this

way, leaders will be able to understand the structure being

changed. Leadership styles and management procedures must also

shift and adapt, and ways of customer and stakeholder relations

should be in parallel with the desired change. Technological

advances and capabilities must also be introduced, and

preparation of workforce to with the new systems is needed

(Bainbridge, 1996). The creation and design of change processes

within the organization is most often a role of leaders within

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it. Change processes which encompass human resources,

information technology adoption and upgrades, tools and

techniques as well as basic rules and controls within the

organization are the mandate of leaders engaged in the

management change. Thus, a leader who proposed for change should

be able to look at the entirety of the processes before

initiating change. Leaders must be able to study, refine and

execute changes in such a way that it would be beneficial not

only to the organization but to all its members. It is up to the

leaders to make these changes initiatives tangible rather than

abstract and to awaken the enthusiasm and ownership of the

proposed changes within the structure and workforce of the

organization. To use the words of Bainbridge (1996), a myriad of

details and effects must be acknowledged and addressed for

successful adaption to change in all sectors of an organization.

Nadler (1998) emphasized the importance of leaders in

organizing and maintaining a climate of change within the

organization. Although participation of all the members of the

organization is needed, the role of leaders in the change

process and creating positive result out of it is crucial.

Dubbed as the ―champions of change‖ (Nadler, 1998), it is the

leaders, - the top management players who keep the change

process moving while maintaining the operational integrity of

the organization anchored towards tangible results. Leaders

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promoting change provide direction, protection, orientation,

conflict control, and the shaping of norms while overseeing the

change process within the corporate structure (Conger, et al.,

1999). Furthermore, Conger et al. (1999) identified steps in

creating change and transforming an organization namely: a)

establishing a sense of urgency; b) forming a powerful guiding

coalition; c) creating a vision; d) communicating the vision; e)

empowering others to act on the vision; f) planning for and

creating short-term wins; and h) institutionalizing new

approaches. These approaches should be learned by leaders who

wanted to adapt change.

Bainbridge (1996) outlined a five-step process of redesign

for leaders undergoing and initiating planned change. The five

steps included: a) the design stage to determine overall

requirements; b) the definition stage where the design is

specified and documentation of the design stage requirements

occurs; c) the development stage, where new capabilities are

cultivated through training, education and restricting; d) the

dismantling stage, where redundant parts of the organization are

removed or converted into new capabilities; and e) the

deployment stage, where new capabilities are introduced into the

new organizational movement, both internally and externally.

This design process should be accomplished by leaders within

carefully arranged process architecture. Bainbridge (1996) added

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that this design process includes the link to strategic

objectives, the definition of measures and the production of the

high-level design itself. The vision of change must be expressed

as clearly as possible and used consistently to spearhead every

step of the change design process, including the specification

of design principles. Pettigrew (1988) pointed out the wisdom of

considering the content, the context and the process of change

within the organization. For leaders, Pettigrew (1988) added

that the need to explore the content, context and the processes

of change must be done in due time.

Amid all the advances and advantages for leaders to create

change, Noer (1997) still cautioned leaders not to rely too

heavily on external tools for change. The leader, as a person,

is the most important tool for change. The leader’s spirit,

insight, wisdom, compassion, values and learning skills are all

important facets in the capabilities to lead others to embrace

change. To be lasting, deep change must only be made amidst

organizational layers, but within each of the players themselves

(Noer, 1997). Deep personal change can be uncomfortable, yet the

need of each member of the organization, not only the leader, to

become empowered and internally driven is essential for the

success in this era of change and involvement.

The leader who instigates change within an organization

desire positive result, though, often subject to speculative

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suspicion. Nadler (1998) agreed that implementing change faces

resistance and crossroads. The transition stage introduced by a

leader, where the change process is instigated must be handled

expertly and with enthusiasm. Leaders must own and align the

proposed changes, setting expectations, and modeling and

communicating the rationale to all members of the organization

who, in one way or the other, will affect by the proposed

changes.

Quinn (1996) enthused that we are all leaders – thus, all

potential change agents. Leaders discipline their talents;

deepen their perceptions about what is possible. Having

experienced deep change in them – metanioa – leaders are able to

bring deep change to the systems around them, thus, creating

positive change towards the accomplishment of the goals set.

Leaders who have embraced deep change personally are able to

design change processes that reflect a heroic yet enlightened

leader stance, one that imparts enthusiasm and vitality into the

other members and creates a new perspective of the logic and

wisdom of moving with the flow of change.

To survive the effects of continuous change, leaders need

to accomplish three major tasks namely: a) to shape the

political dynamics of the change process; b) to motivate change;

and c) to manage the transition period (Nadler, 1998).

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In conclusion, leaders are responsible for setting the

context of change within the organization. A culture and vision

must be cultivated to support the planned change and at the same

time, deal with unplanned change. Leaders must be able to

counsel, teach and coach all the people to be affected by change

so they may be able to properly adapt to the flow of change. For

lasting change to occur, the general identity of the

organization must be congruent with the vision and goals

inherent in the change process proposed. To use the words of

Conger et al. (1999), leaders should share fundamental

characteristics that allow them to enable organizational members

in the change process.

In the end, leaders who create positive change are adjudged

not only with the result but also overcoming the limits brought

about by the introduced change. Leaders should have the vision

for the greater potential of the organization. The litmus and

ultimate test then of a true leader is his ability to create

positive changes in an organization and the lives of the people

relying in it.

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