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Leading Change: The Argument for Values-Based Leadership

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It is extremely difficult to overcome what James O'Toole calls "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom." In Leading Change, he explains why. Organizations and their leaders must not simply change to accommodate new realities; they must transform themselves effectively. According to O'Toole, "today's executives believe they are struggling with an unprecedented leadership challenge to create internal strategic unity within a chaotic external environment....Executives know what needs to be done and even how to do it. Nonetheless, they are unable to lead change effectively. Explaining the sources of this paradox and offering a practical way to resolve it are the purposes of this book."

Leading Change is divided into two parts within which O'Toole addresses three separate but related questions:

1. What are the causes of resistance to change?

2. How can leaders effectively and morally overcome that resistance?

3. Why is the dominant philosophy of leadership, based on contingency theory, neither an effective nor a moral guide for people who wish to lead change?

For O'Toole, values-based leadership is provided by those he calls "Rushmoreans": They possess courage, authenticity, integrity, vision, passion, conviction, and persistence. To vary degrees, "Rushmoreans" listen to others, encourage dissenting opinion among their closest advisers, grant ample authority to their subordinates, and lead by example rather than by fiat, manipulation, or coercion. Granted, history produces very few Washingtons, Jeffersons, Lincolns, and Roosevelts. Nonetheless, according to O'Toole, there is much of value to learned from them by those who struggle with "an unprecedented leadership challenge to create internal strategic unity within a chaotic external environment...."

In Part One, O'Toole explains why values-based leadership is more effective than any other, notably "tough" or "amoral" leadership which is frequently (and inaccurately) characterized as being "realistic." For O'Toole, democratic leadership "is not about voting; it is about the democratic value of inclusion. There is nothing oxymoronic, chaotic, or ineffective about leadership based on that moral principle."

In Part Two, O'Toole shifts his attention to followers inorder to discover why we all resist change that would be in our self-interest to embrace, and, why followers so often resist the leadership they claim to crave. For O'Toole, Shakespeare had it right when explaining resistance to change: "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars/But in ourselves." In Chapter 7, O'Toole briefly examines 33 of the most popular hypotheses concerning the root causes of resistance. They include the usual suspects: homeostasis (i.e. change is unnatural), stare decisis (i.e. status quo is preferable), inertia (i.e. difficulty of altering course), self-interest (i.e. What's in it for me?), and fear (i.e. of unknown). Of course, there are exceptions to each of the 33; also, all are never present in the same situation; moreover, no single one can fully account for all forms of resistance to change.

Peter Drucker asks a very important question: "What is the environment ready for? One has to do it [i.e. seek change] at the right time." Hence the importance of timing as well as of having all of the Rushmorean values. But together, they are still insufficient if (for whatever reasons) there are no followers. In Chapter 9, O'Toole discusses J. Edwards Deming inorder to illustrate this "curious and troubling" aspect of human behavior: "...reasonable men and women often resist acting on social knowledge which will advance their collective self-interest." How ironic that Deming's managerial principles and methods which were so effective in helping the U.S. and its Allies to defeat the Japanese during World War II were then rejected by American industry but refined and and employed by the Japanese to dominate world markets. Then and only then were Deming and his managerial methods embraced by American industry in desperation to learn the "secrets of Japanese management."

In Chapter 10, O'Toole shifts his attention to Robert Owen (1771-1858) whose "paternalistic" treatment of his own employees earned an immense personal fortune for him. Meanwhile, however, he was widely reviled for mollycoddling the workforce (and thus not creating even greater profits) or for being a manipulative capitalist "in the government's pay." Alas, as O'Toole notes, "Owen never learned how to overcome the deeply rooted resistance to change, a skill that is a prime characteristic of great moral leadership." As a result, "humanity suffered for nearly a century from that singularly consequential flaw of one of history's gentlest souls."

In the final two chapters of Leading Change, O'Toole examines what he calls "the despotism of custom" and "the ideology of comfort." Anyone in any organization (regardless of size or nature) who has attempted to be a change leader is already familiar with both. The question remains, how to overcome them? Everything which precedes these two final chapters creates a frame-of-reference within which O'Toole correlates and galvanizes his key points. Obviously, he fully understands why there is such great resistance to change. Also, he fully understands why visionaries such as Robert Owen fail to attract the support they need. He concludes this brilliant book with a rejection of leadership by command, manipulation, or paternalism...insisting once again that only value-based leadership can be both moral and effective. "Once a leader makes that commitment, all the other pieces will eventually fall into place, bit by bit."

Author James O'Toole is definitely not afraid of creating controversy. His book is a refreshing approach to leadership in many ways. Stylistically and philosophically, Leading Change is a different kind of book about leaders and the natural resistance of the change process. O'Toole left a comfortable 20 year university chair in academia to begin working with the Aspen Institute. This experience was a major inspiration in writing this enterprising book.

Perhaps the most daring aspect of Leading Change is O'Toole's clear repudiation of the contingency theories so prevalent today in leadership research and coaching programs. He obviously did not come to this conclusion frivolously. This work includes his observations and experience from over two decades of working with both corporate leaders and with respected mentors such as Bennis, Drucker, Gardner, DePree and others! O'Toole loudly proclaims that the contingency theories so revered today simply don't work in the long run. He maintains that by their very design they typically destroy trust between leaders and followers. He then offers a values-based alternative, which is a primary focus of the book.

Leading Change begins with O'Toole drawing a number of deep analogies from a painting by James Ensor. He immediately draws you into the books theme by probing a number of profound leadership questions and scenarios analogous to paintings theme. As an author, he seeks to answer three related questions:

1. What are the major causes of resistance to change?

2. How can leaders effectively and morally overcome that resistance?

3. Why is the dominant philosophy of leadership, based on contingency theory, neither an effective nor a moral guide for people who wish to lead change?

To answer these questions O'Toole divides the book into two halves. The first half deals with leaders and the second half with followers. The main theme of his work is to seriously question the validity of contingency theory and propose the alternative of value-based leadership behavior. O'Toole writes, "Instead, values-based leadership is an attitude about people, philosophy, and process. To overcome the resistance to change, one must be willing, for starters, to change oneself. In essence, then, values-based leadership is "unnatural.""

If you want to read and digest a book that will challenge both you and much present thinking about leadership, this book is definitely for you!

It is extremely difficult to overcome what James O'Toole calls "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom." In Leading Change O'Toole explains the causes oif resistance. Only by understanding those causes can a leader overcome them. O'Toole insists that organizations and their leaders must not simply change to accommodate new realities. To do so would merely be expediency. Also, such accommodation could create other (perhaps even more painful) new realities Organizatiopns must transform themselves constantly and effectively while, and here is a key point, sustaining certain non-negotiable core values.

According to O'Toole, "today's executives believe they are struggling with an unprecedented leadership challenge to create internal strategic unity within a chaotic external environment...Executives know what needs to be done and even how to do it. Nonetheless, they are unable to lead change effectively. Explaining the sources of this paradox and offering a practical way to resolve it are the purposes of this book."

After many years of active involvement with all manner of organizations, O'Toole obviously understands why there is such great resistance to change. Also, he knows why visionaries such as Robert Owen fail to attract the support they need. However the magnificence of a given vision, only effective leadership can ensure that such a vision has a sustainable, enduring impact.

O'Toole concludes this brilliant book with a rejection of leadership by command, manipulation, or paternalism...insisting once again that only value-based leadership can be both moral and effective. "Once a leader makes that commitment, all the other pieces will eventually fall into place, bit by bit."

Those who admire this book as much as I do are encouraged to read the recently published Leadership A to Z in which O'Toole provides a "guide for the appropriately ambitious." It is a stunning intellectual achievement. Also, with the O'Toole wit in top form, it is also a joy to read.

By all means, I recommend you to read this book. However, since this book came out in 1995, a NEW VERSION is available in paperback. The new version includes an extra preface and some revisions to chapter 2 and chapter 8.

"Leading Change" is a must read (and know) for anyone who would be a leader in the post- industrial era when change is the only constant. O'Toole makes the cogent and eminently believeable argument that a morals-based leadership philosophy is the only way to succeed in any endeavor as we move away from an industrial paradigm. It marches in lock-step with reviews of the involvement modern generations want in their lives. No longer is it moral to treat followers as anything but co-equals in the process (if it ever was). . . command and control, the anything goes of contingency, and situational (leadership) ethics must die, or the organization that practices it will. This work of O'Toole fits perfectly with the last four chapters of Jospeh Rost's work on "Leadership for the 21st Century," Peter Senge's "Fifth Discipline," all of Max DePree's works, Collins and Porras' "Built to Last," and Greenleaf's "Servant Leadership." Any real leader will know these four books forwards and backwards as they go the heart of leadership in the real world of today, and certainly tomorrow.

The first half of this book is enlightening. The chapters on the "Rushmoreans" - Jefferson, Washington, Roosevelt and Lincoln - are provocative. Their leadership style is explored in detail, and connections are made to the effective management styles of many of today's best corporate leaders. After that, things go downhill. The second half is far too esoteric for its own good, including dense, highly detailed chapters on Robert Owen, John Stuart Mill and others. I skipped through these sections out of sheer tedium (although the sections on Drucker and Deming are somewhat engaging). In short, a difficult and challenging book (which is a compliment) but weighted down by too much dry writing and page after page of minutiae you'll be tempted to skip.

It is a popular tenet among managers and leaders that sometimes when circumstances are difficult, you are justified in being "tough." Not so, says author James O'Toole, director of the Corporate Leaders Forum at the Aspen Institute in Colorado. Abusive leadership, says O'Toole, is never justifiable. What's more, it's not effective in the long run. Leaders who step on the rights and sensibilities of their employees will find that they will not have their employee's support when they need it most. No CEO in today's world can go it alone. No matter what industry you are in, you need the skills, knowledge and experience of others to succeed.

To be a change leader you must be willing to listen to your employees and involve them in changes in the company. You must also have respect for your employees and be willing to compromise. Values-based leadership begins with a commitment to upholding integrity, fostering trust and doing what is best for your followers. There will always be resistance to change, says O'Toole, but acting "tough" will not help to change the minds of employees. More often than not, it will only make them resentful. You must, instead, lead change by inspiring it, and involving everyone in the process.

Change led by value-based leaders has the following characteristics:
· Top management support. Leaders must make a commitment to the change, including change of their own behavior.
· Participation in the change at all levels of the organization.
· Total coverage. You cannot change just one part of the organization. All parts of the organization are connected to each other, and must change together.
· Ongoing effort. A value-based leader tries to instill a culture of continuous change, innovation and learning.

I consistently use Leading Change in a class I teach on leadership and decision making. The author, James O'Toole, does a particularly good job of debunking the the popular myths of situational leadership -- and it should be a must read for that reason alone -- but he also does a great job of explaining why leading social and/or cultural changes are so much more difficult than leading technological changes. And in doing so, he explains why most of the popular books on business and leadership are no more useful than the plethora of diet books on the market.

This book will be very helpful for those leaders who desire to create an environment that draws the best out of people. While many leaders resort to top-down approaches of leadership (dog eat dog), O'Toole demonstrates how a leadership that seeks to find the best in people, encourage people and value their input, yileds both more satisfaction and better results in the long run.

Leading Change is divided into two roughly equal parts. Part one: Leaders Leading Change introduces the idea of "values-based" leadership. Values-based leadership is inclusive, enabling others to lead by sharing information and fostering a sense of community. Institutionalizing continuous change and renewal are hallmarks of values-based leadership. At the bottom line is the moral principle of respect for people. This philosophy of leadership is contrasted with a Realist-relativist-contingency school of leadership that is more authoritarian, tough, and less "democratic." These two schools of leadership are exemplified in an interesting way by means of several profiles of historical and corporate leaders. O'Toole concludes that amoral leadership ultimately doesn't work because it is based on a relativistic and situational ethic. It does not foster the inalienable right of the pursuit of happiness.
Part Two: Followers (and Leaders) Resisting Change, tries to answer the question: Why is change resisted? O'Toole presents a list of hypotheses to answer this question, all having some validity. Of interest is his examination of the reasons for the initial rejection of some very profound managerial philosophies and practices that ultimately attained great success and broad acceptance. Those reasons are summarized as fear, loss of power, and resistance to the imposition of the will of others. I recommend the book. It is accessible and interesting, offering a well reasoned argument for value-based leadership.
Author James O'Toole taught for over twenty years on the faculty of the Graduate School of Business at the University of Southern California. He is the author of twelve books and over seventy articles and is currently vice president of The Aspen Institute. SWS