In the modern world of business, innovation has become the fulcrum point of the business enterprises which not only guides the diverse processes used by them but also the manner in which they manufacture the products or the services offered by them to the customers (Goodwin 2016). Furthermore, within the spectrum of the business world, it is observed that the amount of competition which the diverse organizations had to face has increased in an exponential manner keeping in pace with the emergence as well as the mushroom of the various new enterprises (Cameron and Green 2015). This trend observed with the business world has made it imperative for the organizations to not only take the help of different kinds of innovations but also integration these innovations within the framework of their organization so as to make the most of the business opportunities presented by these innovations (Bolman and Deal 2017). It is precisely here that the construct of leaders gains prominence by virtue of facilitating not only the identification of the innovation that an organization needs to integrate within their cannon but also for the purpose of the actual integration of the change (Hornstein 2015).
A leader is also required to identify the opportunities presented by the various innovations and weigh the pros and the cons of the diverse options which are available for the organization (Doppelt 2017). The leader also plays a pivotal role in helping the organizations to overcome the resistance that is normally associated with the process of change management and facilitate the implementation of the desired innovation –triggered change and help the employees or the followers to accept the change (Doppelt 2017). Al-Ali et al. (2017) are of the viewpoint that the process of change management and also the implementation of the various kinds of innovation-triggered changes depends to a great extent on the kind of leadership the concerned organization is following within its framework. This article will analyze the correlation between “Innovation-Triggered Change and the Critical Role of Leadership” in the same process.
Innovation and Business
Recent researches have shown that the business enterprises which take the help of various kinds of innovations and also innovative strategies have a better chance of attaining success rather than the ones which are still following the traditional style of business (Carnall 2018). The recent unprecedented success attained by the organizations like Amazon, Uber, Tribe and others through the effective use of the various kinds of disruptive innovations not only for the process of the services or the products that they offer to the customers but also for the management of their business operations is a case in instance (Carnall 2018). The effective usage of the various kinds of innovations for the process of business provides new windows of opportunities to the organizations which not only enables them to experiment with the kind of products or the services that they offer to the customers but also for the effective promotion as well as the marketing of these products or services (Hornstein 2015).
The technological environment of the world has changed in a substantial manner and more than 83% of the people are dependent on one form of technology or the other for the performance of their daily activities (Cai, Loon and Wong 2018). In the light of this changing trend in the usage of the various kinds of technologies or innovations, diverse kinds of smart products or services which enables the customers to perform various activities with one single product or service needs to be noticed. For example, the company Nike offers Fuelbands to the customers, which not only enables them to monitor the level of their fitness but at the same time offers them the opportunity to interact and discuss about the same with the other users of the same product from the diverse parts of the world (King and Baatartogtokh 2015). The unexpected success attained by this product of Nike clearly indicates that the customers of the modern-era are ready for the various kinds of innovative products or services and at the same time these innovative products or services have a better chance of attaining success than the conventional ones (King and Baatartogtokh 2015). In addition to these, the effective usage of the various kinds of innovations has drastically improved the manufacturing process used by the various enterprises and as a matter of fact has made it much more cost effective. The net result of this particular aspect is the fact that the organizations are able to offer products or services to the customers at a much cheaper rate. This has not only enhanced the profitability of the organizations but at the same time this aspect is beneficial from the perspective of the customers as well since they are getting quality products or services at affordable prices.
Disruptive innovation
The term “disruptive innovation” was used for the first time by Clayton M. Christensen and his associates in the year 1995 in the article “Disruptive Technologies: Catching the Wave” which was published in the Harvard Business Review (Christensen et al. 2016). The term is usually used to denote the kind of innovations which not only disrupt the business market of the already existing innovations but also create a new market for itself (Christensen, Raynor and McDonald 2015). A recent trend which is noticed within the cannon of the business world is the fact that the diverse organizations are increasingly taking the help of the different kinds of disruptive technologies for the process of their business. On the one hand, it is seen that the various enterprises are taking the help of the disruptive technologies of 3D printing and others to improve the manufacturing process that they have being using for the process of the manufacture of the products or the services that they offer to the customers (King and Baatartogtokh 2015). The recent emergence of the various kinds of smart products can be justified on the basis of this particular aspect. In addition to this, it is seen that various kinds of virtual reality products or services have at the same time gained much prominence within the spectrum of the business. The extensive usage of the disruptive technology of internet has helped the various organizations to improve the processes of promotion and marketing that they use for the promotion of the products or the services that they offer to the customers. The net result of this particular aspect is the fact that most of the organizations of the modern-era rely heavily on the processes of internet or online marketing for the promotion of the products or the services that they offer to the customers (King and Baatartogtokh 2015). Moreover, the various organizations since the traditional times have been used to following the “brick and mortar” system of business however the emergence of the disruptive technology of internet has helped various organizations like Amazon, Uber and others to take the help of the “omni-channel business strategy” (Neves and Schyns 2018). This helps these organizations to offer e-commerce business services to the customers which have been much appreciated by them (Neves and Schyns 2018). Thus, it can be said that the emergence of the various kinds of disruptive technologies or innovations has acted as a boon for the business world.
The process of change management is primarily related to the process of the effective management of the change or changes that an organization wants to integrate within its framework for its improvement of its functioning or for the resolution of the issues that it is facing (Alvesson and Sveningsson 2015). The process of change management is a complex and at the same time the effective management of the entire process of the implementation of the requires the organization to take into effective consideration various factors like resistance from the employees, the suitability of the desired change, the competency of the organization to accommodate the desired change, the change management model that needs to be used and others (Belias and Koustelios 2014). In addition to this, the role of the leader or the leadership style that the concerned organization is following within its mould also becomes very significant since the leaders are required to not only channelize the change but at the same time to facilitate it as well. Moreover, the effectiveness of the change which is being integrated depends on the conglomeration of all these factors and thus it becomes very important for the organizations to take into effective consideration these factors. However, it needs to be mentioned in this context that the effective integration of various kinds of innovative changes can not only help an organization to resolve or mitigate the various issues that it facing but at the same time can contribute in a substantial manner towards the growth of the organization (Alvesson and Sveningsson 2015).
The major job roles of the leaders of the modern-era is to not only motivate the subordinates or the followers who are associated with them but at the same time to inspire them in the most effective manner so that they are being able to meet the target which has assigned to them (Heifetz and Linsky 2017). The leaders of the present era are thus required to provide mentoring as well as coaching to the various subordinates who are associated with them. Shin et al. (2015) are of the viewpoint that the leaders of the present times are not only required to perform the kind of job roles which has been traditionally attributed to the various leaders but also the roles of the managers as well. In this regard, the role which the leaders before, after and also during the time of change management becomes an important one to note. For example, the leaders are imbued with the responsibility of analysis the key competencies and come up with the problems or the issues that the organization is facing and also provide suitable recommendations for the same (Heifetz and Linsky 2017). Furthermore, on the basis of these recommendations, they are also required to analyze the different change options which are available to them and recommend the one which will be most suitable for the organization. Moreover, they are always required to create the need for the concerned change, convey the relevant as well as required information to the employees regarding the same and also to mitigate the resistance that the organizations inevitably face during the process of the implementation or the integration of the change (Shin et al. 2015). Thus, it can be said that the leaders play a pivotal role within the mould of the various organizations of the present times.
The job role of the modern day leaders requires them to undertake a regular analysis of the organization in which they are working and also to suggest suitable ways through which the organization can improve its performance. This requires the leader to not only undertake a thorough analysis of the key competencies of the organization but also the business needs of the organization and the needs of the employees as well (Kuipers et al. 2014). Furthermore, one the problems or the issues have been identified by the leaders they often take the help of the process of “Innovative Value Chain” for the formulation of the desired innovation-triggered change which can not only suit the requirements of the organization but also help them to overcome the problems that they are facing (Kuipers et al. 2014). In the first stage of “Idea Generation”, the leaders are required to collect data from the other organizations regarding the innovation-triggered strategies or options that they are following within their organization (Holten and Brenner 2015). This is likely to provide the leader an overview of the kind of change that he or she needs to integrate within the organization to not only resolve the issues but also to improve its performance in a substantial manner.
“Idea Identification” is the second stage or the step in the process of “Innovative Value Chain” and it is at this stage that the leader is required to weigh the pros and cons of the innovation-triggered options that he or she has identified (Worley and Mohrman 2014). The leader, at this stage, is also required to analyze whether the required changes that he or she has identified for the resolution of the issues and also for the improvement of the performance of the organization would be compatible with the infrastructure, employees, technological landscape, organizational culture and other attributes of the organization (Worley and Mohrman 2014). The leader, at this stage, is also required to take the help of the “Disruptive Innovation Curve” and check whether the use of the innovation-triggered change that he or she has selected would help the organization to attain sustainability or not (King and Baatartogtokh 2015). Finally, the leader is required to select the kind of innovation-triggered which would help the organization in a substantial manner. Lastly, in the “Idea Diffusion” stage the leader is required to convey the information regarding the identified change to the higher management and also to the employees of the organization as well (Holten and Brenner 2015). In addition to this, at this stage the leader is also required to lay the ground work for the implementation of the selected innovation-triggered change.
The leaders are required to not only guide the entire process of the implementation of the selected change but at the same time to facilitate it as well. The leader for the process of the effective implementation of the desired change can take the help of various kinds of change management models like Lewin’s model, Kotter’s Model, ADKAR Model, McKinsey 7-S Framework and others (Cummings, Bridgman and Brown 2016). A common attribute among all these models of change management is the fact that all these models state that at the very beginning the organization and also the leader not only needs to create the necessity for the change but also to convey the relevant and also the important information related to the change to the employees (Cummings, Bridgman and Brown 2016). Furthermore, it is also seen that the leaders are also required to provide various kinds of training sessions to the employees of the organization so that they are being to not only cope with the innovation-triggered change which is being implemented but also to use it in an effective manner as well (Holten and Brenner 2015).
Kuipers et al. (2014) are of the viewpoint that one of the major responsibilities of the leaders during the process of the implementation of the change is to create the need for the change which is being implemented. This is important since until and unless the employees do not feel the need for the change which is being implemented they would not feel the desire to use it and are more likely to resist. Furthermore, the leaders are also required to monitor as well as supervise the change which is being implemented (Van der Voet, Kuipers and Groeneveld 2016). They are required to oversee whether the change which they have selected is being implemented as per the plan initially proposed by them and also the organization or not, whether the implementation is meeting the deadline stipulated by them or not and others. In addition to this, it is also seen that the various change management models like ADKAR Model requires the leaders to conduct a trial run of the change which they are trying to implement (Van der Voet, Kuipers and Groeneveld 2016). The leaders are thus required to implement the change on a short-term basis within the organization and monitor the impact the same (Algahtani 2014). Furthermore, they are required to modify the initial plan on the basis of the results that they have received from the short-term implementation of the same. These in short are some of the major responsibilities that the leaders need to perform during the implementation of the various innovation-triggered changes.
Al-Ali et al. (2017) have stated that one of the major challenges that the leaders face during the time of the integration of various kinds of innovation-triggered changes and the one which determines the success of the process to a great extent is the face of resistance. It is pertinent to note that the leaders and also the organizations face a significant amount of resistance from the employees during the implementation of various kinds of changes. This can be explained on the basis of the fact that the employees have been used to working in a set routine pattern however the integration of the various innovation-triggered changes requires them to use different methods for the completion of their normal job roles (Nandan 2017). Furthermore, it is also seen that the employees are not accustomed with the changes which are being implemented within the organization and thus it is normal for them to resist the process. It is precisely here that the role of the leaders becomes very important. In addition to this, as per the change management curve, the employees firstly first put up a significant amount of resistance to the change which is being implementation and after the resistance has reached to the highest possible point after that the acceptance of the change occurs (Al-Ali et al. 2017). The leaders during the time of change management are required to guide the employees from the phase of resistance ton acceptance. The leaders begin by creating the need for the change which is being implemented within the organization and also stating the benefits that the intended change would provide to not only to the organization but also to the employees as well (Goodwin 2016). At the same time, the leaders should provide various kinds of training, mentoring and coaching to the employees so that they are not only being able to accept the change but also to use it in an effective manner to improve their performance as well (Bolman and Deal 2017). In addition to this, the leaders are also required to conduct various kinds of sessions wherein he or she would address the problems that the employees related to the effective usage of the change which is being implemented within the mould of the organization (Cameron and Green 2015).
The leadership style which is being followed by a particular leader during the process of the implementation of change management decides to a great extent the success or the failure of the innovation-triggered change which is being implemented (Carnall 2018). Recent researches have shown that the effective usage of the situational style of leadership helps a leader in a significant manner during the process of change management (Cai, Loon and Wong 2018). For example, one of the most important precepts of the situational style of leadership is the fact that there is no suitable or adequate style which a leader can always resort to or follow rather the leader needs to modify his or her leadership style on the basis of the individual situations that they encounter (Van der Voet, Kuipers and Groeneveld 2016). The effective use of this particular leadership model helps a leader to address all the different situations that he or she is likely to encounter during the process of the implementation of the innovation-triggered change (Nandan 2017).
To summarize, the notion of change management has emerged as one of the most important in the spectrum of the business world. The world of business is a constantly changing one and thus the organizations are often required to implement various kinds of changes within their framework so that they are not only able to meet the industry standards but also the expectations of the customers whom they serve. It is precisely here that the notion of change management gains prominence. The effective usage of the concept of change management not only helps an organization to identify the required changes that they need to integrate within their organization but also helps them in the actual process of its integration. Furthermore, the leaders play a very important role in the entire process of change management. As a matter of fact, they are imbued with the responsibility of the analysis of the condition of the organization and recommend the kind of changes that would help the organization. In addition to this, they are also required to monitor as well as supervise the integration or the implementation of the change within the organization as well. One of the most important job roles of the leaders during the process of the integration of the innovation-triggered changes is to help the organization to overcome the resistance that the organizations normally face during the time of the implementation of various kinds of changes. Thus, it can be said that the leaders play a vital role in the process of change management.
References
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