Introduction
This report is a part of the course TEIO13 Leadership and organizational change with the purpose of analyzing a leader according to organizational and leadership theories. The aim of this report is to look at Ben Horowitz leadership when changing the direction of his company
Loudcloud. The theoretic framework is based on The art and science of leadership
(Nahavandi, 2015) and the autobiography The Hard Things about Hard Things (Horowitz,
2014).
1.1 Background
Leadership in startups is not a common study area but can show a lot about how being a leader in reality is like. The startup world, much like the real world, is full of changes and decisions that require a great deal of creativity and determination as a leader. Compared …show more content…
Could leadership styles be attributed to situations rather than to individuals?
2. If so, can leadership styles change as situation changes?
1.3 Purpose
The purpose of this report is to connect the theoretical framework of leadership to the practical instances which the empirical data describes.
1.4 Method
In order to gather empirical data, the autobiography of Ben Horowitz, The Hard Things About
Hard Things, was read and summarized. The analysis of the empirical data was based on frameworks from Nahavandi (2015).
1.4.1 Criticism
The lack of a second source on the empirical data can be considered lopsided and it is important to understand that the descriptions of real life events is undoubtedly biased from the authors perspective. But since the analysis is in large part based on the authors own theories, the perceived situation is enough to be valid for this report.
2 Theory
2.1 Change management
Change is stressful and usually met with resistance from stakeholders. Sudden change is more likely to cause stress and resistance while changes that has been planned and anchored in the organization are easier to cope. Performing changes as a leader requires different sets abilities depending what type of change it is. (Nahavandi, …show more content…
Nahavandi
(2015) also writes that different types of change require different actions. In the face of planned and evolutionary change, the ideal leader has a high ability to structure tasks and communicate the vision. When facing unplanned or revolutionary change, a leader’s ability to respond quickly and transformational leadership is required.
2.1.2 Lewin’s Model of Change
In Nahavandi (2015,) Lewin’s 1950s theory of the process of change is described. There are three stages of change, unfreezing, changing and refreezing. Unfreezing is the first stage which consists of realizing that a change is needed or imminent. By questioning existing practices new ones can be discovered. Unfreezing is also a preparation before doing a change, if stakeholders know that there are a change coming they will be more prepared and the chances of a successful change is higher. There are many examples from unsuccessful change processes where the actual change was operational successful but because the lack of unfreezing the changes never took hold.
The second stage, changing, is the actual process of performing changes, setting
This report is a part of the course TEIO13 Leadership and organizational change with the purpose of analyzing a leader according to organizational and leadership theories. The aim of this report is to look at Ben Horowitz leadership when changing the direction of his company
Loudcloud. The theoretic framework is based on The art and science of leadership
(Nahavandi, 2015) and the autobiography The Hard Things about Hard Things (Horowitz,
2014).
1.1 Background
Leadership in startups is not a common study area but can show a lot about how being a leader in reality is like. The startup world, much like the real world, is full of changes and decisions that require a great deal of creativity and determination as a leader. Compared …show more content…
Could leadership styles be attributed to situations rather than to individuals?
2. If so, can leadership styles change as situation changes?
1.3 Purpose
The purpose of this report is to connect the theoretical framework of leadership to the practical instances which the empirical data describes.
1.4 Method
In order to gather empirical data, the autobiography of Ben Horowitz, The Hard Things About
Hard Things, was read and summarized. The analysis of the empirical data was based on frameworks from Nahavandi (2015).
1.4.1 Criticism
The lack of a second source on the empirical data can be considered lopsided and it is important to understand that the descriptions of real life events is undoubtedly biased from the authors perspective. But since the analysis is in large part based on the authors own theories, the perceived situation is enough to be valid for this report.
2 Theory
2.1 Change management
Change is stressful and usually met with resistance from stakeholders. Sudden change is more likely to cause stress and resistance while changes that has been planned and anchored in the organization are easier to cope. Performing changes as a leader requires different sets abilities depending what type of change it is. (Nahavandi, …show more content…
Nahavandi
(2015) also writes that different types of change require different actions. In the face of planned and evolutionary change, the ideal leader has a high ability to structure tasks and communicate the vision. When facing unplanned or revolutionary change, a leader’s ability to respond quickly and transformational leadership is required.
2.1.2 Lewin’s Model of Change
In Nahavandi (2015,) Lewin’s 1950s theory of the process of change is described. There are three stages of change, unfreezing, changing and refreezing. Unfreezing is the first stage which consists of realizing that a change is needed or imminent. By questioning existing practices new ones can be discovered. Unfreezing is also a preparation before doing a change, if stakeholders know that there are a change coming they will be more prepared and the chances of a successful change is higher. There are many examples from unsuccessful change processes where the actual change was operational successful but because the lack of unfreezing the changes never took hold.
The second stage, changing, is the actual process of performing changes, setting