After reading the following comments, please make a one paragraph responses.

Implementing change within an organization can be a difficult task for a manager. The lecture notes give some guidance into using power to implement change. As an organization becomes strong and productive, people become invested in the process that is set in place. Their performance becomes a habit after a while. So as habits are formed and people are familiar with the established processes, then management must expect the people to push back or resist change. To get the people to accept changes, there must be a good organizational structure in place. People must also trust leadership-this will help them adopt change more willingly.

The notes reassure us that resistance is not necessarily a bad thing- this is a natural reaction. Resistance is actually good and it keeps the change agent honest. This also allows the leaders to get peoples feedback on the change. There are different ways to implement change. One is to wait until there is pressure to implement the change- that the need is very strong and should be imposed right away. Another way (and the more sophisticated way) is to see the need ahead of time and make adjustments as necessary. This is a more proactive approach rather than reacting once change is necessary. I think it is important for leadership to be forward thinking and proactive to their approaches and should constantly be implementing changes as their organizations evolve. If change is implemented more frequently, people wont get so locked down into their old ways of doing things and wont be as shocked and resistant when change actually occurs. At least that is in my opinion!

The lecture notes also discuss power- where does it come from and how do you use it? I think this is a difficult concept for many leaders. People need to realize (as the article points out) power is not just held by the top person of the organization. Each employee has a certain level of power. In your role you have some degree of power- either over other people or over the work that you perform. There are two difference sources of power- borrowed power and owned power. Borrowed is what your organization gives to you and is based on your position. Owned is informal and it is your skills, reputation, and your network. This is important for people to realize. People may have more power than they think they have and you should be aware of your level of power. This affects how we interact with people at work and can impact how the work gets done. Power is reciprocal so there may be opportunities at work where working with someone is a good investment. Partnering with that person may allow you to get a task done more efficiently because of the other persons network or because of their expertise. Basically power should be used as a tool that you can invest, save or utilize. It is a way to get things done and make change. Once people master relationships like this and understand their power, then their power can develop into good leadership.

I see this utilized at my own organization as I work in program management. My organization is a matrix organization and often I have to interact with people in different functions to get their advice or assistance on the project. This is a very interesting and effective concept. Do any of you have thoughts on using power within your organizations? What about how your organization adapts to change? Does your leadership do a good job with implementing change?