solution

1. Using Figure 14.3, analyze the Project Leader’s leadership style and approach to change, and the degree to which these were appropriate to the situation he faced. (250 words)

Key points:

• In using Figure 14.3 to understand the challenges facing the Project Leader, students should firstly focus on quadrant Q2, which addresses issues to do with large-scale structural change. This would suggest that the approach necessary for Midshires’ situation would be the sort of ‘Bold Stroke’ transformational change advocated by Kanter et al – see Chapter 10. Kanter et al also advocate that such an approach would need to be followed by a ‘Long March’ in order to be successful in the longer term.
• Students should, therefore, compare the Project Leader’s leadership style and approach to change with Kanter et al’s recommendations. They should then use the outcome of this comparison as the basis for determining the appropriateness of the Project Leader’s approach to change.