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The Change Agent: The Strategy of Innovative Leadership
The imperative need for social change today has made almost everyone an agent of change, in one capacity or another. There are, however, two basic facts of life involved in planned social change which need to be recognized. First, relatively little is known about how to achieve predictable change. Second, much of what is known will not work.
With these facts in mind, Mr. Schaller advocates a systematic and anticipatory approach to planned social change which would emphasize the need for the change agent to know the potentials and the pitfalls of instituitional change and to build in a supporting group to carry it out.
The author considers all aspects of the process of change, including styles, tactics, and the nature of change, the place of power, the possible points of conflict, and the avoidance of polarization. Mr. Schaller also offers an introduction to the skills of organization development, teaching the effective change agent to identify and evaluate alternative courses of action so new purposes can be formed and effected.
For anyone who is striving for progress in human relations - community leaders, ministers, social workers, et al. - this lively and readable book provides a knowledgeable approach to the dynamics of change.
With these facts in mind, Mr. Schaller advocates a systematic and anticipatory approach to planned social change which would emphasize the need for the change agent to know the potentials and the pitfalls of instituitional change and to build in a supporting group to carry it out.
The author considers all aspects of the process of change, including styles, tactics, and the nature of change, the place of power, the possible points of conflict, and the avoidance of polarization. Mr. Schaller also offers an introduction to the skills of organization development, teaching the effective change agent to identify and evaluate alternative courses of action so new purposes can be formed and effected.
For anyone who is striving for progress in human relations - community leaders, ministers, social workers, et al. - this lively and readable book provides a knowledgeable approach to the dynamics of change.
207 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1972
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May 11, 2020
Always disturbing if a boss recommends a book to you that has the theme, "How to cut your own throat," as the title for the first chapter.
It was an interesting browse and overview on the topic of bringing about change. Specifically it highlights the unintended or not foreseen consequences of promoting change.
Observations book makes
Page 53 In talking of the effectiveness of those selling technology that fuelled change in the farming industry between 1935 and 1970 he notes, They did not try to “sell” radically new ideas to reluctant farmers. They responded with constructive suggestions to felt needs.”
Page 56 “One choice is between acting as an innovator and seeking to press for change through the introduction and implementation of new ideas or acting as a facilitator of change and seeking to increase the degree of openness to innovation in the entire organization. While the two are not mutually incompatible roles, they are distinctly different and since both are time consuming, it is unlikely one person will function effectively in both roles at the same point in history.”
(still reading)
It was an interesting browse and overview on the topic of bringing about change. Specifically it highlights the unintended or not foreseen consequences of promoting change.
Observations book makes
Page 53 In talking of the effectiveness of those selling technology that fuelled change in the farming industry between 1935 and 1970 he notes, They did not try to “sell” radically new ideas to reluctant farmers. They responded with constructive suggestions to felt needs.”
Page 56 “One choice is between acting as an innovator and seeking to press for change through the introduction and implementation of new ideas or acting as a facilitator of change and seeking to increase the degree of openness to innovation in the entire organization. While the two are not mutually incompatible roles, they are distinctly different and since both are time consuming, it is unlikely one person will function effectively in both roles at the same point in history.”
(still reading)
Displaying 1 of 1 review