Change Management: A Toolkit
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Lead From the Top → Create a respected leadership group to shape and promote
change
Lead From The Top
Principle: Leadership from the top is crucial
Create a respected leadership group to shape and promote
change: Cases
In their Report ‘Ministry of Defence: Through Life Management’
NAO identified that:
“Good practice in managing change recommends that:
Key leaders should form an effective coalition to give visible and
continuing support to the change. Without this high-level support,
change loses legitimacy and is vulnerable to resistance. Source:
Office of Government Commerce/RAND/National Audit Office.”
In their Report ‘Reducing Vehicle Crime’ NAO noted that:
“In order to deliver the target, the Home Office
established a Vehicle Crime Reduction Action Team comprised of
representatives from the motor industry, academia, Police, public
servants in local and central Government (including the Home
Office) and published its strategy in 1999. The Team has taken an
active role in overseeing implementation of the strategy.” In
addition “The Vehicle Crime Reduction Action Team has also proved
effective in bringing together different organisations to tackle a
difficult problem and the approach could be adopted for other
policy initiatives.”
In their Report ‘Joining Up to Improve Public Services’ the NAO comment on the
importance a visible leader of change:
“The
Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions
appointed a rough sleeping Director to take personal
responsibility for driving the initiative forward. The Department
chose someone with strong communication skills and drive to
promote the goal to the team and to partner organisations.”
In their Report ‘MOD: Implementation of Integrated Project Teams’
the NAO noted an example of the importance of the leadership
group:
“The report produced by McKinsey and Co. as part of the
Acquisition Organisation Review... outlined key areas that the
Department would need to address to ensure that the change process
was successful. These included: selection of a senior, full-time
management team led by a high-calibre individual at three-star
level, and including Industry involvement.”
In their Report ‘Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour’ NAO highlights
the potential risk of a lack of leadership where several agencies
are involved in delivering change:
“The government is seeking to
address these issues [antisocial behaviour] through the Respect
Action Plan. The Plan recognises that the necessary involvement of
many different agencies in tackling anti-social behaviour on the
ground can result in a lack of leadership, co-ordination and
responsibility. In particular it notes that there is a need to
address gaps in services and improve responsiveness – particularly
in terms of parenting provision, mental health and drug treatment
services.”
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