Leaders as change agents necessarily drive change in an ever-evolving ecosystem. Navigation of organizational change requires leadership competencies in change management, new approaches and tools to increase leaders’ understanding of transformation, and formal organizational strategies, such as structure, business processes, management systems, technology, products, services, culture, and the like. This course will explore change in the context of people and processes. “People” refers to the human dynamics that either influence the change or are triggered by it. These dynamics include dealing with people’s emotional reactions, turning resistance into commitment, motivation, engaging people in shaping the change, learning new behaviors or skills, changing mindsets, dealing with politics and relationships, and addressing cultural implications of the change. “Process” refers to how the organization will transform and the decisions and action steps it will take along the way.
This course is a study of successful change processes and the leader’s role in creating a culture conducive to change; establishing a vision, buy-in, and purpose among the influencers, and implementing sustainable, transformative change within an organization. Through the examination and discussion of change theory, case studies, and change agents, this course considers effective approaches to confronting resistance and to leading change both vertically and horizontally.