One of the purposes of this blog column is to extend ideas beyond their original formulation. In Chapter 3 of Rowitz, 2009, I presented the Management and Leadership Continuum(Figure 3-4). On the left part of the continuum(the first half) was the management activities of the leaders. These activities included the traditional management activities of planning, organizing, leading within organizations and controlling. These activities are described in detail in the classic textbook by Stephen Robbins and Mary Coulter(MANAGEMENT, 8TH Edition, Prentice-Hall, 2005). The center of the continuum addresses the major issue of building and maintaining relationships both inside and outside the organization. This part of the continuum was labeled Transactional Leadership. Reciprocity is a key component in transactional leadership. The right side of the continuum was all about change in the form of policy, new models of understanding the application of systems perspectives to the change process, and maintaining ethical standards. Transformational leadership is a series of complex issues that are required of systems change. Two other forms of leadership practice need to be added to the continuum. Managerial leadership blends the skills of management with the transactional skills of people development. Strategic leadership blends the needs of making transformational change work strategically and also in practice(transactional leadership and transformational leadership) .
THE LEADERSHIP CHANGE TRIANGLE
Change
MANAGEMENT TRANSACTIONAL TRANSFORMATIONAL
LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP
MANAGERIAL STRATEGIC
LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP
Change occurs at all parts of the continuum. The table above begins the discussion of understanding change at the managerial level where organizations change in ways that increase organizational effectiveness and efficiency . Change at the transactional level involves improvements in relationship-building as well as the impact of new relationships on strengthening external stakeholder involvement in public health. It is in the combination of strengths associated with managment tasks and building relationships at the transactional level that managerial leadership occurs. Relationships expand to include more community-based partners to ensure that all residents of a community have health access. It is at the transformational level that systems change, social justice issues, social determinants of health and health inequities are addressed. New policies get formulated and health impacts are addressed in order to monitor the effects of these systemic changes. At the transactional leadership level, actions plans to implement transformational change occurs. It is through managerial leadership that action plans are made concrete and lead to change within organizations.
Leadership is all about change and increasing the sense of urgency for change to occur( See John P. Kotter, A SENSE OF URGENCY, Harvard Business Press, 2008).
This column is an excerpt from Webinar Presentation by Dr. Rowitz for the California-Hawaii Public Health Leadership Institute on February 26, 2009
Rowitz On Leadership 