1. T HE EFFECTS OF CHANGE LEADERSHIP IN PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS : L INKING TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP STYLE AND RED TAPE Joris van der Voet NIG conference 28 th November 2013

2. C HANGE LEADERSHIP Two common assertions in change management literature: 1. Successful change is difficult to achieve 2. Leadership is crucial for organizational change ‘Heroic’ perspective on change leadership  There is little evidence concerning the actual effects of leadership, especially in the public sector The effects of change leadership are likely to be dependent on the public sector context: Public organizations are arguably bureaucratic 2

3. T HE EFFECTS OF CHANGE LEADERSHIP 3 Commitment to change Quality of change communication Degree of participation Commitment to change Quality of change communication Degree of participation Articulate a change vision Stress the urgency of change Build a guiding coalition Empower employees Monitor progress Give individual attention

4. T HE EFFECTS OF CHANGE LEADERSHIP I N A PUBLIC ORGANIZATION 4 Commitment to change Quality of change communication Degree of participation Commitment to change Quality of change communication Degree of participation

5. C ONCEPTUAL MODEL 5 Commitment to change Quality of change communication Degree of participation Commitment to change Quality of change communication Degree of participation Red tape Transformational leadership style Change leadership

6. D ESIGN AND METHODS Case: Separation of the City Works Department of the Dutch city Rotterdam Online questionnaire: 515 respondents (35,5%) Measures of employee perceptions concerning the leadership of their direct supervisor Analysis: Structural Equation Modeling using AMOS 18 6

7. R ESULTS Quality of change communication Degree of participation Affective commitment to change Change leadership.487*** (.036).377*** (.041).252*** (.041) Transformational leadership style n.s. Red tape-.102** (.033) n.s. Change leadership * Red tape n.s.-.084** (.028) n.s. Change leadership * Transformational leadership style n.s..094** (.028).088** (.029) R-square.43.33 7

8. R ETURNING TO THE HYPOTHESES H1: Supported Change leadership is positively related to commitment to change, communication & participation H2: (Partly) supported Red tape mitigates the positive relationship between change leadership and participation H3: (Partly) supported A transformational leadership style strengthens the effect of change leadership on participation and commitment to change 8

9. C ONCLUSIONS / CONTRIBUTION 1.Change leadership may positively stimulate the implementation of change but the public sector context matters! 2.Red tape makes it more difficult for change leaders to stimulate participation during change 3.Leadership styles may affect the effectiveness of change leadership transformational leaders may be especially effective change leaders 9

10. Thank you for listening! vandervoet@fsw.eur.nl www.jorisvandervoet.com 10