Leading organizational change in the 'new' South Africa

This paper reports on a two‐pronged qualitative research study that used leaders’ life stories and the case research method to understand the leadership of change in 14 South African organizations. We describe how leaders led the changes required to balance the imperatives emanating from South Afric...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of occupational and organizational psychology 2011-09, Vol.84 (3), p.453-470
Main Authors: Nkomo, Stella M., Kriek, Drikus
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Inequalities
Inequality
Leaders
Leadership
Life stories
Management theory
Organizational change
Organizational culture
Qualitative research
Research methods
Social change
Social perception
Socioeconomic development
Socioeconomic factors
South Africa
Values
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Summary:This paper reports on a two‐pronged qualitative research study that used leaders’ life stories and the case research method to understand the leadership of change in 14 South African organizations. We describe how leaders led the changes required to balance the imperatives emanating from South Africa's socio‐political changes and return the country to the international business arena, as well as the challenges created by years of inequality and neglect of the socio‐economic development of the majority of its population. We found that the leaders’ life stories played a significant role in how they perceived and responded to the change situation. Four themes summarizing the actions of the leaders – namely, their efforts to embrace change, to provide hope, to connect change to African values and culture, and to champion diversity – are described. The results of the study suggest that leaders’ life stories can be an important source of information about how they perceive, interpret, and respond to change.
ISSN:0963-1798
2044-8325
DOI:10.1111/j.2044-8325.2011.02020.x