System-wide changes that require transformational
leadership are never desired. They can be stressful to leaders and followers
alike and, if the leader does not make the correct moves, they could cause a
company to experience a downfall. Brown (2011) defined strategy as an action
utilized to achieve key organizational objectives. Transformational leadership
requires developing strategies and sticking to them to weather the change. This
week I had the opportunity to view two informative videos relating to transformational
leadership.
The first video consisted of an interview of Jim
McIngvale, who owns Gallery Furniture in Houston Texas (Gallery Furniture,
n.d.). Jim described his love for the furniture business and the hard times he
has faced in the 31 years of business. He described how in the 2008 recession
resulted in a drop-off of about 75% of new houses built in the Houston area
which caused less traffic in not only his furniture store but all furniture
stores in the Houston area (Gallery Furniture, n.d.). Unfortunately, business tragedy
struck yet again for McIngvale and company in 2009 when a fire resulted in a
loss of about 80 percent of their inventory or $30 million (Gallery Furniture,
n.d.). I can imagine the two events must have been devastating to McIngvale. How
does a company recover from two events that harmed the business?
After nearly 30 years of business, McIngvale decided
he must implement a new strategy to adapt to the changing times, so he turned
his attention to people. I love this! I have mentioned multiple times how I
feel about the role people play in organizational culture. They are the cogs
that allow the culture to be successful. Brown (2011) mentioned that one shared
value of organizational culture should be the sensitivity to the needs of the
customer and employees or “the degree of responsiveness to changing needs” (p.
404). The focus shifted to not only the customer but also the employees. The
employees were offered coaching and training in sales.
One training tactic implemented at Gallery was to
focus more on the customer. McIngvale and the other leaders of the company
preached customer contact after discovering that six out of ten customers left
the store without buying anything (Gallery Furniture, n.d.). The leaders urged
followers to build a rapport with the customers by emailing them or calling
them soon after they left the store. This tactic resulted in an increase of
about $300,000 (Gallery Furniture, n.d.). The training also involved teaching
the employees to use IPads. A wellness and incentive program was also created
at Gallery.
In my opinion, one of the best moves implemented at
Gallery was providing information. The employees were given information about
what sales tactics are working for each sales person. I believe information
creates empowerment. If I, as an employee, know what tactics make me successful
or unsuccessful, I can make the proper adjustments. I believe information and empowerment
are crucial in transformational leadership. The newly implemented training and
wellness systems allowed for lasting benefits to the employees, customer, and
organization.
Brown (2011) provided two informative figures
relating to building success in organizations. One figure described the
relative strength of corporate cultures, and the other described the strategy-culture
matrix. McIngvale created a strong culture with his strategy revisions after
the economic downfall and fire to his store. A strong culture is measured by a “strong
member commitment to values and a high number of members sharing the values” (Brown,
2011, p. 405). Gallery also resembles a company who is managing the change by
their “high need for strategic change and their high compatibility of change
with existing cultures” (Brown, 2011, p. 406).
I also watched a 2011 TED video by Stanley McChrystal
entitled Listen, learn ... then lead. McChrystal
began his speech discussing the struggles a 46-year-old Army General encounters
while jumping from a plane. He discussed the waiting game, the heavy equipment,
the uncomfortable uniform, and how the ground feels when you land. But, this TED
discussion was much bigger than a jump, because this particular jump took place
on September 11, 2001. McChrystal mentioned that his first thought after he hit
the ground was why do I do this? What is the point of all of this? But, then he
saw the young soldiers landing just as they were taught and putting the
parachute away just as they were taught and he knew that is why he chose this
profession. He wanted to teach soldiers what to do in battle. Little did he
know, all of the training and drills were about to become a reality.
McChrystal (2011) described his struggles of learning
to build faith, confidence, and trust via the web. He had troops in twenty different
countries, so his building confidence face-to-face was no longer a viable
option. He described the many factors that changed after 9/11. One aspect that
changed was people. This was an emotional and trying time for all people,
especially soldiers. He said he had to learn to lead by building consensus not
directing orders.
McChrystal (2011) described that relationships are a
driving force in combat. He also discussed the Ranger code “I will never leave
a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy” (McChrystal, 2011, n.p.).
He stated that every ranger is not making this promise to every other ranger,
but they are also being promised by every other ranger. There is power in that
much comradery and pledge.
My favorite antidote from McChrystal’s (2011) speech
was about a failed drill he once ran. He explained that his men were captured immediately
as if the other team knew exactly what he was going to do. He recalled the
emotions that made him feel like a failure. He was called in by his superior
officer and told what a great job he did. It was at that point he realized, “Leaders
can let you fail and not allow you to be a failure” (McChrystal, 2011, n.d).
Brown (2011) defined support as the degree of backing provided by leaders. I do
not see how his commanding officer could have lifted him up in support any
better than he did.
From the information I gathered from this video, I
would also say that the implementations made after 9/11 created a strong Army
culture. I ascertain that a strong member commitment to values and a high
number of members sharing values exists. I also believe that the army was able to
manage the change. The need for strategic change was high as no one could have
predicted the unfortunate events of September 11, 2001. The compatibility for
change with existing cultures was also high.
References
Brown,
D. R. (2011). An experiential approach to organization development (8th ed.).
Boston: Prentice Hall.
Gallery
Furniture: Case Study. (n.d.). Vital Smarts. Retrieved from http://www.vitalsmarts.com/casestudies/gallery-furniture/
McChrystal,
S. (2011). Listen, learn ... then lead [TED Global] from http://www.ted.com/talks/stanley_mcchrystal.htm
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