Leading strategic change
Abstract
Most strategic change initiatives are never implemented. While one cannot guarantee a strategic result, two steps are essential for reducing risk and improving outcomes in Leading Strategic Change: firstly, adapting a strategic mindset that is open to more than just incremental change; secondly, execute, execute, execute. In the author’s experience, most strategic initiatives fail not for their poor strategic choices but for being unable to expand on prior mental models and for poor execution. This paper examines four common mental model pitfalls and proposes means of overcoming them, from frame narrowness to confirmation bias, groupthink and finally attribution bias. Execution depends on clear priorities; understanding stakeholder needs; and clear, simple, consistent communication.
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Author's Biography
Jim Austin , a former senior executive at Baxter Healthcare, combines business strategy and organisational development theory with extensive industry experience. As a Consultant at the Aresty Institute of Executive Education at the Wharton School, he tailors senior-level seminars to a number of leading entities, including CUES, SIFMA, McKesson. Boston Scientific, Coca-Cola, Lincoln Financial, GE, GlaxoSmithKline and China Minsheng Banking Company. Jim is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Brown University, where he teaches Leadership & Marketing in the School of Professional Services. In his consulting work, he developed scenarios of the future for the League of Southeastern Credit Unions, a new vision/priorities at RAND Corporation, and strategic priorities for the Board of Unity Medical Center, ND. Jim has written two books (Transformative Planning; and Leading Strategic Change). Jim holds a BA in Economics and Politics from Yale University. He was a Special Student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Urban Studies Department and received a joint Master of Public Affairs (MPA) and Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) from Princeton University.
Citation
Austin, Jim (2022, June 1). Leading strategic change. In the Management in Healthcare: A Peer-Reviewed Journal, Volume 6, Issue 4. https://doi.org/10.69554/RVVO5027.
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