Forces for Stability and Change
FORCES FOR STABILITY AND CHANGE
Forces for Stability
Organizational forces exist that provide continuity in form and function over time for survival of our system. These forces produce institutional power.
Examples include:
• Specialization • Continuity of roles • Predictable results • Sophistication • Maturity of key parts of the organization • Confidence in taking risks with known problems
Clues that these forces are at work:
• People ask permission • Roles are clear • People get along • We replicate tasks easily
Forces for Change
Organizational forces exist that help to change the form and function of the system over time for survival of the system. These forces produce instrumental change in how things are done.
Examples include:
• Adaptability • Innovation • Growth • Creativity • Self-determination
Clues that these forces are at work:
• People do not ask permission • Roles change often • There is high access to others • There is constructive conflict
Tension – Tension is the predictable condition every organization finds itself in as it deals with the conflicting forces for stability and change. It is an important leadership issue to manage the tension so that the organization can change at an appropriate pace while maintaining its effectiveness in producing consistency. You can provide leadership only if you talk about this tension and surface the issues that the staff inevitably faces in dealing with it. You are prepared to talk about these issues with the staff only if the leadership team has become clear about the direction they want to go and have considered for themselves some of the conflicts that might arise. The leadership team must continuously revisit the issues as they learn from their
Forces for Stability
Organizational forces exist that provide continuity in form and function over time for survival of our system. These forces produce institutional power.
Examples include:
• Specialization • Continuity of roles • Predictable results • Sophistication • Maturity of key parts of the organization • Confidence in taking risks with known problems
Clues that these forces are at work:
• People ask permission • Roles are clear • People get along • We replicate tasks easily
Forces for Change
Organizational forces exist that help to change the form and function of the system over time for survival of the system. These forces produce instrumental change in how things are done.
Examples include:
• Adaptability • Innovation • Growth • Creativity • Self-determination
Clues that these forces are at work:
• People do not ask permission • Roles change often • There is high access to others • There is constructive conflict
Tension – Tension is the predictable condition every organization finds itself in as it deals with the conflicting forces for stability and change. It is an important leadership issue to manage the tension so that the organization can change at an appropriate pace while maintaining its effectiveness in producing consistency. You can provide leadership only if you talk about this tension and surface the issues that the staff inevitably faces in dealing with it. You are prepared to talk about these issues with the staff only if the leadership team has become clear about the direction they want to go and have considered for themselves some of the conflicts that might arise. The leadership team must continuously revisit the issues as they learn from their