Janetta Waterhouse presented the program “Leading Transformational Change in Technical Services” at the 2019 ALA Annual Conference in Washington, DC. The presentation focused on four themes: overview of change management, overview of leadership, closer look at competencies, and leading change.
Waterhouse began by describing change management as “an approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations to a desired future state.” She then summarized Kurt Lewin’s three stages of change (freeze, change, refreeze) and the corresponding dimensions of change (drivers, types, levels). Incremental change involves continuous, developmental, or procedural change, while transformational change is radical change that permanently alters the person or organization. The three types of change affecting technical services are technological, organizational, and cultural.
The next part of the presentation focused on leadership, which was defined as “getting work done through other people, or motivating others to accomplish work directed toward a goal.” Waterhouse then stated that leadership needs to have “intentionality” and gave an overview of some leadership theories. In particular, she drew upon Ralf Müller and J. Rodney Turner, who described several different schools of thought about leadership:
- Leadership is comprised of innate traits.
- Leadership consists of behaviors that can be developed (whether task-oriented or relationship-oriented).
- What makes a good leader is contingent upon the situation.
- Leaders are visionary or charismatic. Some charismatic leaders are more transformational (concerned with relationships), while others are more transactional (concerned with process).
Waterhouse concluded this section of the presentation by stating that “what differentiates leaders is their emotional response to situations” (emotional intelligence) and “different profiles of competence are better in different situations” (competency).
One important part of competencies is emotional intelligence, which includes self-management and relationship management components. Self-management includes self-awareness, self-regulation, and motivation, while relationship management entails empathy and social skill. Waterhouse declared that anyone can grow their emotional intelligence. She next summarized various theories of competencies including leadership styles by Daniel Goleman, nine components of emotional competence from Kenneth A. Shaw, management competencies from Gary Yuki, and leadership competencies from Müller and Turner. Another important competency is social intelligence, or the capacity to know oneself and to know others. Waterhouse recommended focusing on the team’s strengths and declared “leadership is a subset of management.”
Managers often need to deal with conflict resolution, which sometimes can result in avoidance or confrontation. Waterhouse recommended managing conflict via negotiation and described some basic management competencies: active listening, giving direct feedback, motivating by giving credit for positive behavior, and being a coach while also having a coach. She then suggested using the human resources position evaluation to deal with conflict.
Leading change provided an overview of various ways to improve the change process. Waterhouse began by summarizing John Kotter’s eight-step process of leading change and the images of change leadership from Ian Palmer, Richard Dunford, and David A. Buchanan. She then explained the difference between incremental change (when the destination is known) versus transformational change (when the destination is unknown). Incremental change improves or adapts while transformational change “alters leadership and culture in significant way.” Waterhouse also stressed the importance of communication to lead change. To manage organizational change, she provided examples of “resistance to change” and “attraction strategies” from Palmer, Dunford, and Buchanan. These techniques identified the real reason for resistance and some alternatives to attract people to accept change. Leaders should be aware of what is outside their area of influence, have positive change narratives, and allow people to participate in the change process. Waterhouse concluded the presentation by summarizing how to be a change leader and providing additional resources.
Presentation slides, audio, and video are available to registered ALA Annual 2019 attendees.
