informal coalitions

Leadership or change management?

On the CSR @ Intel blog, Intel's Director of Corporate Responsibility, Dave Stangis, asks "Is leadership or change management the more valuable skill in driving tangible improvements in CSR performance?"  The original post is here.

This is an interesting question that has implications for practice beyond the Corporate Social Responsibility agenda.

The dynamics of continuity and change in organizations - an analogy

Later today, Derby County play away at Manchester United in the English Premier League. Currently, Derby are languishing in 20th place in the table (out of 20!), with Manchester United second.  One possibility is that the match will run true to form and that United will win the game. At the same time, it is also possible that Derby will upset the odds and collect all three points.  In the words of one of football's (soccer's) well-worn clichés: "On the day, it's just eleven men against eleven - anything can happen".  As a Derby supporter, I can but hope!

Whilst it's true, of course, that anything can happen, current form suggests that Manchester United will win the match comfortably.  Both outcomes are possible in the everyday heat of the local 'battle' but it is much more likely that United will come out on top - and probably by some margin.  In football matches, as in life, established patterns tend to channel interactions and outcomes down well-trodden pathways. Despite this tendency, though, they also hold the capacity for an upset (i.e. something new) to occur. Which brings me on to the dynamics of continuity and change in organizations ...