Strategic Change: Case Study

Introduction

Global organizations are increasingly breaking away from the traditional bureaucratic structures to a system of collaborative learning, empowered partnerships, and high involvement (Anderson, 2011). Corporations are finding it necessary to restructure their marketing or business plans in response to the prevailing market conditions. Leaders of the future are partners who create a shared vision and inspire others towards its achievement.

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Modern leadership disciplines sustain and promote a shift towards a genuine form of leadership that creates tangible outcomes. Leaders will display various traits such as translating the firm's purpose into the desired vision and creating a dialogue that leads to increased development. Many global corporations have displayed and maintained a creative attitude in their processes. Google is one of the corporations that are thriving due to creative leadership.

Google is striving to instill psychological safety into all its teams (Brown, 2018). The company conducted a study that found psychological safety as a positive boost to team members, which leads them to share ideas openly, trying new things, and being committed to work. Leadership comes from pursuing what the heart wants. A sense of purpose comes from within the soul, and it is not something that can be invented (Anderson, 2011). It allows the firm to tap into the numerous talents of the employees and further creativity. When Google campaigns for psychological safety, it shows that leaders understand what it takes to inspire creative thinking from within the staff members. When they feel safe and secure, team members will develop a sense of purpose without the inhibition that holds back total commitment. Part of creative leadership consists of understanding the fears and doubts of others (Anderson, 2011). When Google creates an environment without psychological insecurity, it is striving to dispel these doubts that cloud the minds of workers.

Having a choice is another part of creative leadership since it inspires the search for solutions. When people make choices, it is a leap into the unknown but accepting all the risks (Anderson, 2011). This ideology entrusts the solution of a problem to the creative mindset of the individual that makes a choice. When people do what they want, they are compelled to see it through to the end by putting in the required effort. Google allows its engineers to spend 20% of their time every week working on projects of their choice (He, 2013).

The path of development towards creativity involves the development of authentic and courageous dialogue. Google has cafes that are meant to encourage increased interactivity between employees and across teams. This kind of close interaction on the job, which allows people to spark up any conversations, creates an environment where people can talk freely. There is also the opportunity for employees to write direct emails to any of the corporation's leaders in case they want to communicate something. There are weekly meetings at the company and employees are free to ask direct questions to the top leadership on a myriad of topics. The act of stepping in front of employees and opening the channels for free questioning is a display of courage from the top leadership at Google. It shows that there is a culture of openness at the company that allows members to send messages and share information vertically and horizontally without much bureaucracy. It leaves time to engage in creative endeavors that propel the company toward the desired vision.

There has been a dramatic increase in markets, products, technology, and competition in a dynamic business environment (Mallinger et al., 2009). Companies that have managed to flourish in this century are the ones that are responding to the marketplace turbulence by effective change management. Organizational culture influences the probability of success of any change strategies implemented. Evidence shows that organization members will have the inclination to embrace change when the culture of the organization is in line with the goals and missions.

Organizational improvements cannot take place without a change in the firm's culture taking place first (Mallinger et al., 2009). The shared norms, values, and beliefs within an organization must change if there is to be any form of development. Culture change, however, is a difficult thing to pin down. Some companies will have to undergo lengthy interventions before they can switch to a new way of doing things. Employees are used to doing things in a particular way over a long period. These traits may take time to fade away while others are formed. Successful transformation is also problematic because it is time-consuming and too costly for certain companies (Mallinger et al., 2009. Organizations that have a massive workforce and many branches around the world will find it significantly challenging to implement a change in the culture. Changing certain aspects of the organizational culture, such as how staff members interact with the leadership, is a display of commitment towards the core objectives of the firm. Google's focus on improving interactivity among staff members results in increased dialogue among the employees. This new way of doing things then becomes embedded in the organizational culture and structure.

The lack of a thorough and accurate assessment of organizational culture will make it challenging for management teams and board members to initiate and implement strategic change (Mallinger et al., 2009. Businesses will only achieve their intended transformation if the employees believe in the mission and are have a firm understanding of how it is to be achieved. Google has tweaked its culture to allow for group sessions and overall openness in communication. The staff members understand that the culture of freedom is meant to improve collaboration and to brainstorm to come up with results and new ideas. An environment that fosters sharing and partnerships will create the basis for innovative change management.

There is a culture of freedom at Google that allows employees to make choices. Engineers spend 20% of the work week on projects that they want (He, 2013). It creates the opportunity for self-expression since people are pursuing passionate objectives. The company leadership understands that these are some of the programs that lead to innovation as they tap into the numerous individual talents, and abilities of the staff members. Google can ensure that it retains its position at the top by allowing for a culture change that initiates organizational transformation.

Conclusion

Companies around the world are finding it impossible to operate in a rigid format. The dynamic environment calls for consistent tinkering and innovating to remain competitive. Change in organizations will only occur if the leadership institutes variations in the culture. Google is one of the corporations leading in creative leadership as it has created a culture that is far-removed from the bureaucracy in most organizations. The existing company culture has been vital in the process of achieving innovative transformation.

References

Anderson, B. (2011). Mastering Leadership [Ebook]. The Leadership Circle. Retrieved from https://2y3l3p10hb5c1lkzte2wv2ks-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/08_Mastering_Leadership.pdf

Brown, T. (2018). This is the Way Google & IDEO Foster Creativity. Retrieved from https://www.ideou.com/blogs/inspiration/how-google-fosters-creativity-innovation

He, L. (2013). Google's Secrets Of Innovation: Empowering Its Employees. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurahe/2013/03/29/googles-secrets-of-innovation-empowering-its-employees/#f02aa9b57e7b

Mallinger, M., Goodwin, D., & O'Hara, T. (2009). Recognizing Organizational Culture in Managing Change, 12(1). Retrieved from https://gbr.pepperdine.edu/2010/08/recognizing-organizational-culture-in-managing-change/