PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to, first, establish the interdependency between the successful achievement of organisational change and the attainment of values alignment within an organisation's culture and then, second, to describe an effective means for attaining such values alignment.Design/methodology/approachLiterature from the fields of organisational change, organisational culture, philosophy, psychology, and values theory is reviewed in order to develop and test the hypothesis that successful organisational change can only occur when those affected by the change are able to willingly commit to an agreed set of values aligned with the accomplishment of the organisation's new outcomes. The paper then presents and reports on a trial of a simple and effective framework for achieving such values alignment in an organisation.FindingsThis paper supports the view that the currently acknowledged widespread resistance to organisational change is caused by a failure of current organisational change strategies to attend to a values alignment process for all those people affected by the desired change. Moreover, this paper proposes that values alignment may not just be an important integral part of organisational change strategies; it could well be the bedrock, the foundation, on which all truly successful organisational change depends.Practical implicationsThe values alignment process presented in this paper provides a very effective and efficient means for enabling people to discern, discuss, and actively support those values that will help the organisation to make desired changes. In essence, this process enables the alignment between personal and organisational values to occur and, thereby, allowing the organisation to evolve and remain viable.Originality/valueThe paper provides a unique perspective on the important process of values alignment within any truly successful organisational change strategy.
This article reports on research that explored the concept of authentic leadership with seven principals of Catholic primary schools in Brisbane, Australia. Recent developments in leadership theory have promoted the concept of authentic leadership for addressing the leadership demands associated with our seemingly ever-changing and unpredictable, if not chaotic, world. In particular, authentic leaders are said to act in accordance with their personal values and convictions thereby building essential credibility, respect and trust. This suggests that the development of authentic leadership is contingent upon the leader having explicit knowledge of their values so that they can readily act in accordance with these values. Hence, this research sought to determine whether or not it is possible to develop authentic leadership practices by increasing the leader's explicit knowledge of their personal values. A deeply structured process of self-reflection was used as the means for increasing this explicit self-knowledge. In the light of this research, it is proposed that there is more to authentic leadership than knowing one's values. Arguably, truly authentic leadership might only be possible for those leaders who have the commitment and courage to come to know and understand the full extent of the influential power of their whole inner Self.
The paper is informed by a research study exploring middle leadership as experienced by Chairpersons of Departments within one faculty in a university in Aotearoa New Zealand. It is argued that middle leadership in higher education needs to be understood as a highly complex relational endeavour, characterised by compromises that are negotiated amidst leadership structures, hierarchies and relations. The focus on leadership as first and foremost relational provides a frame for critically examining the nature and complexities inherent in the lived reality of middle leadership. Relational leadership is conceptualised as encompassing four inter-related dimensions. These are derived from data and respectively centre on structure and power; trust and credibility; learning; and discursive relations. We suggest that each dimension provides a productive lens through which the complexities and challenges of middle leadership can be explored. Throughout the emphasis is that for middle leaders, the relations that they have to navigate and negotiate are multi-faceted and multidirectional, involving relations up, down and across organisational structures and networks. Middle leaders are shown to be acutely aware that their decisions and the decisions of other staff variously impact upon the context and relations that they are working amidst.
PurposeThe purpose of this research is to report on research that explores the use of structured self‐reflection to nurture moral consciousness as a means of enhancing the moral leadership capacity of existing school principals.Design/methodology/approachGiven that this research focuses on each participant's subjective reality, the epistemology of pragmatic constructivism was chosen to guide this qualitative study supported by the theoretical perspective of symbolic interactionism. Furthermore, a case study was chosen as the appropriate orchestrating perspective and an opportunistic sample of six school principals formed the participants in this case study.FindingsData from this research support the view that the moral consciousness of each of the participating principals in this study was clearly enhanced by their experience of structured self‐reflection.Research limitations/implicationsDue to the demanding nature of structured self‐reflection this approach takes a considerable amount of time. Also, as the reflection process is a very personal experience, the amount of time taken will vary noticeably amongst the participants. In addition, the ethical implications in facilitating structured self‐reflection are an extremely important implication. Participants must be made fully aware of the nature of such an experience so that not only can they voluntarily choose not to participate but also that they avoid reflecting on past experiences that engender sadness or anxiety within them should they choose to participate.Practical implicationsGiven the strong moral expectations now demanded of contemporary leaders, which implies that this is not a natural trait, structured self‐reflection affords a clearly achievable means for nurturing a leader's moral consciousness as an essential step in their professional development in moral leadership.Originality/valueThe paper addresses the acknowledged blank spot in moral leadership research by providing a practical and effective way for positively influencing the leader's moral leadership development.
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