informal coalitions

Change-leadership agenda - challenging management orthodoxy

Change-leadership agenda

The informal coalitions view of organizations challenges conventional management thinking on a number of fronts, including: leadership communication, cultural change, organizational politics, coalition building, paradox and contention, and organizational vision.

The dynamics of informal coalitions

Viewing leadership, change and organizational dynamics from an informal coalitions perspective sees organizations as networks of ongoing, self-organizing conversations. This recognizes the power and impact of the a-rational aspects of organizational dynamics, which most conventional, so-called “common sense” approaches ignore.

Key influence #4 - Clough and Taylor

"SOS Bring Back Clough"

On Tuesday 16 October 1973, Brian Clough and Peter Taylor resigned as manager and assistant manager of Derby County Football Club.  They had been forced out of their jobs by a Board that lacked the vision to see what was unfolding before them, as the team scaled the heights of a European Cup semi-final only five years after finishing near the foot of the then Second Division. A small number of men, who were not prepared to live in Clough’s shadow and who were bolstered by their command of the majority of shares in the Club, successfully forced Clough and Taylor out of Derby County and ended the most successful period in the Club’s history. 

Silence is golden – creating conversational space

About a year ago, during the final throes of writing Informal Coalitions, I was invited to lead a two-hour discussion on this topic as part of a consultant conference. In preparation for this, I wrote and circulated a brief paper that outlined the dynamics of informal coalitions and identified the implications of these for leadership practice.

Kotter's eight steps and Informal Coalitions

John Kotter’s Leading Change and The Heart of Change (HBS Press) are probably two of the most popular examples of the ‘best-practice’ guides on organizational change aimed at practising managers.

His eight-step prescription for managing change fits well with established wisdom and seems like common sense. But it is a version of common sense that still sees the business world as ordered, predictable and ultimately controllable.

Key influence #3 - Robert Quinn

Robert Quinn is Distinguished Professor of Organizational Behaviour and Human Resource Management at the University of Michigan Business School. He is a researcher, analyst and writer in the field of organizational behaviour. I was first attracted to his approach in the book Beyond Rational Management, which introduced his "competing values framework" as a way of viewing the paradoxical nature of organizations.

Informal Coalitions is featured in the Spring 2007 editionof Cutting-Edge Global Publishingfrom Palgrave MacmillanBUY YOUR COPY OF THE BOOK ONLINEView the full catalogue (PDF File - 8 pages of A4)

Key influence #2 - Edward de Bono

Edward de Bono is internationally known for his work on creativity and as the originator of the concept of lateral thinking. His academic background is in psychology and medicine, and he has held faculty appointments at the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, London and Harvard. He is a prolific author and has taught thinking in both business and academic forums.

Taking de Bono's ideas laterally

De Bono’s work has had a significant effect on my thinking since the late 1960s. A key contribution has been his articulation of the brain as a self-organizing system; and, in my view, many of the more appealing theories on the dynamics of organizations (eg as set out by the Stacey school) are consistent with the ideas that he has been advancing for many years. The more that I have developed my thinking on organizations as networks of ongoing, self-organizing conversations, the more parallels that seem to exist with de Bono’s many writings on the brain and lateral thinking.

Don't give clients what they want!

 

Its funny - although de Bono would say perfectly natural - how incidental remarks and observations about one field of activity can stimulate new ideas, fresh perspectives and useful insights in another.

The context

One such example occurred as I was driving to the local rail station a few days ago, on route to a meeting in London. I happened to be listening to Victoria Derbyshire's morning 'phone-in programme on Radio 5-Live. The topic of the day centred on how best to raise children, given the concerns that had resurfaced in the previous day's news about the detrimental effects of youngsters' growing attraction to fast food, computer games and activities that offer instant gratification.  This conversation helped to crystallize my view on how consultants need to operate if they are to help clients to add real value to their organizations.

Key influence #1 - Ralph Stacey

Ralph Stacey is Professor of Management and Director of the Complexity and Management Centre at the Business School of the University of Hertfordshire. He is also a member of the Institute of Group Analysis. He consults at many levels across a range or organizations and is the author of a number of thought-leading books and articles on strategy and complexity theory in management. His work has had a significant impact on my approach to change leadership and organizational dynamics, as reflected in the pages of Informal Coalitions.