Change the Way You Lead Change: Leadership Strategies That Really Work

Popular wisdom suggests that about 80 percent of all change initiatives end in failure. To discover why, Herold and Fedor examined more than 300 organizational changes---and they found that, while almost all advice about organizational change focuses on a few steps applied to a single change, few people actually lived in a "one change at a time" environment. Rather, they lived on a "roller coaster of change," with overlapping changes being driven by different events, led by different executives, and originating from different parts of the organization.

In response, Herold and Fedor have developed a holistic change model that takes account of both the abilities of those who will be asked to lead and carry out the change, and the context in which the change is to occur.

That model is presented in this practical book, which will be of use to anyone who is likely to lead change.

"Change the Way You Lead Change presents a refreshingly realistic viewpoint of organizational change---what it's like, what it takes, how many diverse players are involved---and argues that each change journey has the potential to be unique. What the book is really about is how most observers' mental models (or published models) of organizational change are overly simplistic. I could not agree more with its basic points."---Amy Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management, Harvard Business School

"This book tells the truth about the difficulties in bringing about organizational change. It provides a method for deciding whether entering into a change process is appropriate for your organization and outlines what you must consider to carry it out successfully. It is necessary to read this book the moment the thought of change enters your mind."---Walter Reichman, VP Sirota Survey Intelligence and Professor emeritus, Baruch College, CUNY

"Dr. Herold and Dr. Fedor take a topic that is relevant and Challenging to all businesses and distill it down to a practical, commonsense approach that is logical and applicable...truly a who, what, when, where, why, & how on adapting to change. Kudos to the authors...a wonderful book...the model of all models on leading change!"---Gary, Jones, former Managing Director, Donaldson, Lufkin, & Ienrette, Inc.

David M. Herold, now professor emeritus, was the Gary T. and Elizabeth R. Jones Professor of Management and Area Coordinator for Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management at the College of Management, Georgia Institute of Technology. His research has been published in the major management and psychology journals, and he is a popular educator with a variety of executive audiences. He has consulted for many organizations, including Lockheed Martin Corp, NASA, Ford Motor Co., and The MITRE Corp.
Donald B. Fedor is a retired Professor of Organizational Behavior in the College of Management at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He has worked with organizations such as General Motors, Milhken & Company, TBM, Corning, and The March of Dimes, and has received research support from the National Science Foundation, the Army Research Institute, and The Institute for Paper Science and Technology.