Section 1

Question i. Visionary Leadership

Answer: A visionary leader refers to an individual who is influenced and driven by a vision of what a company or initiative can become in future. The fundamental agenda that drives visionary leaders is to usher in new eras of development and innovation (Daft, 2014). The term ‘visionary leader’ was first used by Daniel Goleman in 2002. In the context of contemporary organisations, visionary leaders serve the purpose of enabling others to realise their roles and how they can contribute to the attainment of a vision by interlinking follower performance and the vision collaboratively that assists the development of a shared goal or view towards the future. 

A visionary leader must have access to distinct resources to successfully visualise and initiate change in the context of an organisation. It must be stated in this context that a visionary leader must be innovative in their approach. However, to ensure that the change is implemented and the reasons for the change are identified adequately, visionary leaders must have sufficient funding to assess organisational performance and assess how a change could lead to the improvement of the organisation as a whole. Visionary leaders must also have access to a collaborative team environment in which all followers are interested or open toward innovation (Higgs and Rowland, 2000). Visionary leaders must have strategic thinking and decision making skills to respond to a wide range of situations including rising concerns, chances of improvement and to make decisions that can impact these situations in intended manners. Visionary leaders must also have excellent team-building skills and access to activities that can be performed in the context of an organisation to build on the collaboratives of an organisational team. Finally, a visionary leader must have access to resources that allow monitoring and controlling the different steps of the changes envisioned by the leaders to assess the orientation in which a change process is going and to evaluate whether or not any rectifications are necessary.

Question ii.

Answer: A leader can frame a vision that establishes integrity and excellence standards within an organisation along with linking the vision to the core values. Furthermore, strategic vision assists organisational members in realising the significance of their roles, contributions and responsibilities and keeps them inspired. Strategic action refers to the set of activities, as well as, decisions that are formulated and implemented by leaders for the attainment of a superior fit among an institution and the environment in which it performs for fulfilling the vision.

The leadership style displayed by Coleman within the case study reflects the attributes of a dreamer. In the advanced aviation technology sector, Coleman has strong skills and previous experience of leading with successful results. Coleman displays the ability to portray a strong vision for the organisation and shows great enthusiasm. Nevertheless, the style implemented by Coleman is more related to being a visionary than being a leader as the leadership attributes of Coleman are invisible (Weberg, 2013). The individual does not provide any support or guidance to the subordinates and colleagues. Furthermore, the case study reveals that Coleman significantly disregards the input of the subordinates and lacks directive skills. Thus, it could be stated that despite having the ability to rally and inspire the organisational team members, Coleman cannot provide adequate guidance to turn the vision into a reality which indicates a dreamer style of leadership.

Deacon, on the other hand, can be referred to as a doer. As opined by Shekari and Nikooparvar (2012), a doer refers to individuals that acknowledge and accept the idea(s) of a visionary and transform these visions into reality. The individual follows all instructions given out by Coleman and waits for the latter’s approval before initiating an initiative. Furthermore, Deacon also accomplishes deliverables within the provided timeline and is responsible for leading the transformation team. From the synopsis, it could be stated that Deacon’s professional approach further relates to a hands-on approach whereby the individual delegates tasks between team members and accomplishes them within provided deadlines. Thus, it could be stated that Deacon demonstrates the attributes of a doer.

Question iii.

Answer: To develop an effective strategy, I would communicate with Coleman as communication is key to clearing any concerns and doubts that may exist among team members and colleagues. Consistent communication ensures that all organisational members have a shared view of the activities that are being performed in the context of an organisation and whether or not they conform to the vision established by the leadership (Coombs, 2014). I would let Coleman know respectfully that due to the undelivered expectations in execution of his vision, employee morale is being diminished. While continuing to develop the project, I would be communicating ideas back and forth with Coleman at each stage. I would further insist that Coleman attends every meeting associated with the project and if absent, I would send him minute details of the discussions via email. It could be stated that the year-long efforts of Deacon and the team could have been more fruitful if, at each stage, the opinions of Coleman were sought for to ensure that the project being developed can match the level of change envisioned.

In the context of the aforementioned actions, the theoretical framework of ongoing communication could be applied. As per the framework of ongoing communication, organisations can function effectively if efficient communication schemes are used by them (Coombs, 2014). It is necessary and the communication schemes are established properly among all team members to share information consistently and design communication in a way that adapts to the organisational needs and necessities. As observed from the case study, the team's morale is suffering due to the lack of proper guidance as to how what Coleman envisions can be achieved as there is a significant lack of input from the individual. From the initiation to the closure of the process of development, therefore, Deacon must keep the organisational communication channels open. Furthermore, I would also ask Coleman to share some suggestions with the team for each step when they are being performed to ensure that the team's integrity to the vision is maintained.

Section 2

Introduction

Change leadership refers to the ability of individuals to enthuse, as well as, influence others through adopting different measures such as vision, drive, personal advocacy (Gill, 2002). In the context of business organisations, the purpose of change leadership is to access resources that allow the development of a consolidated platform that facilitates transformation. It could be stated that the success of change within any organisation is often associated with successful leadership. The current essay, in line of Kotter's 8 Stages of change Model, aims to discuss the qualities of a change leader, as well as, how leaders can serve as role models for change.

The Qualities of a Change Leader

Although there are various qualities, attributes and behaviour of change leadership that are associated with bringing about changes in the context of a business, three fundamental qualities that any change leader must have included excellent communication abilities, ownership, as well as, adaptability to different situations. As per Chesley and Wylson (2016), the ability of a leader in terms of establishing a shared comprehension regarding a vision or a change along with its impact is a pivotal element of the success of a leader. Hence, change leaders must have a variety of communication skills that can perform as the pillar for the leaders to articulate a clear vision to carry out efficient change leadership. In this context, Chesley and Wylson (2016) hypothesize that change leaders must convey the big picture behind an initiative or a change and allow the followers to comprehend the precise effect of the change on the organisation. 

An effective change leader must be also adaptable to different situations. As per the contingency leadership theory, the extent to which a leader is effective relies on the present link between the situational attributes and whether the leader demonstrates relations or task-oriented approach. As argued by Miller (2010), a successful change leader is an individual that can deviate from the natural orientation of their leading strategies and adopt the leadership style that best matches the situation or context under which the change is performed. As argued by Miller (2010), change leaders need to be flexible and their leadership behaviour is one of the differing balances rather than prescriptive absolutes.

Finally, change leaders must have ownership of their actions. Ownership is pivotal to the success of the power of a change leader to implement change. Daft (2014) argues that ownership of actions can be achieved with the ability of the leaders to assess two critical outcomes associated with the change that have equal implications including success and failure. Saleem and Naveed (2017) further argues there are often shortfalls along the way to change and hence, a leader’s ability to change must be driven by their capacity to maintain the transition for long durations for actualising ROIs.   

Leaders as Role Models

A leader must demonstrate that they have ownership of their actions. Being accountable for their actions and decisions allow leaders to demonstrate a strong image to followers that act as a guideline for followers for their behaviour. A successful leader also focuses on the needs of others first. To serve as a role model, leaders must demonstrate that they can meet the needs of both the followers and the consumers served. To be a positive role model for the followers, leaders must also be open to innovation to keep the followers motivated and inspired to generate new ideas, thoughts, opinions and concepts to keep up the spirit of organisational innovation.

8 Stages of Change

The Kotter’s 8 Stages of Change Model can be used by change leaders to thoroughly prepare for change (Brock et al. 2019). The first step of the model is creating an urgency for change. In this step, I would identify the need for change in the context of an organisation and first focus on developing a sense of urgency to ensure that other organisational members are on board with the change decisions to spark initial motivation among the members. I would thoroughly investigate how a change can lead to enhanced performance and share the benefits with the team members. The second step is a coalition that associates with convincing people to initiate the change. In this stage, I would focus on building a team of like-minded people that have high power and authority over the organisation to lead change. The third step is creating a vision which is necessary to allow all members to link themselves with the vision and realise what is trying to be achieved. The fourth step is communicating the vision in which I would be focusing on mitigating the doubts and concerns that organisational members may have regarding the change and improve their comprehension of how the change could benefit them. The fifth step is removing obstacles in which the obstacles and risks to the change must be identified and removed. A key obstacle that any change leader could face is follower resistance. I would address such resistance by recognising the follower needs and rewarding the people thoroughly for making the change occur. The sixth step is creating short-term targets to measure the orientation of change. I would establish short-milestones for the change that could be monitored and measured by all organisational members to assess where the steps are leading them. The seventh step is building on the changes. I would adopt the method of Kaizen to ensure consistent development within the organisation by setting further goals to build on the achieved momentum. Finally, the last stage is anchoring the changes in which I would focus on making the change a status quo for the organisation and remove the old process from to ensure that the change is maintained.

Conclusion

The 8-Steps of Change model acts as a fundamental framework as to how change is envisioned, communicated and applied in the context of an organisation. With the adoption of the framework, leaders can act as positive role models for the followers. The qualities that change leaders must have involved excellent communication, ownership and adaptability to changing situational attributes.