Our Iceberg is Melting
Our Iceberg is Melting
Our iceberg is melting is a story about doing well in a world that is changing every time. The author uses the penguin colony in explaining 8 steps to successful change. This is a story about a group of penguins who have lived together for long, but one of them discovers that there is a devastating problem that is threatening their home. When the penguin raises the issue, no one listened to him. Fred who raises the issue is young and does not have then position of being listened to by others. Therefore, he seeks for help from Alice and explains to her what he has observed.
Alice is convinced and then decides to pull a team of penguins who will help them. Under Fred’s leadership, the penguins use their leadership skills and personality in creating a plan that will persuade the colony for a change. When implementing change, it is not usually an easy thing as there is a lot of disagreement and hesitation from the members (Kottler, J & Rathgeber, H 2006). This was the case in this story as there are some members who resisted change. This story has explained many was that the small group of penguins did so that to convince the other colony to change.
When planning to change, it is necessary for the leader to show the team members the reason for change. First, one has to create a sense of urgency. From the story, Fred was able to create a sense of urgency. He first saw the problem, and then figured out how to address it, and this created a sense of urgency. The second step is pulling together a team that is going to guide the needed change.
When leading a team through change, it is necessary to search for people who will help in implementing the change because a single person may not have all qualifications or knowledge required to fix a problem. The third step is developing the change vision and strategy. The team in this story realized that there was another way of living after they had talked to the Seagull. It is necessary to create a vision that every member of the team will be in agreement with so that to be able to understand the need for change.
After a vision is developed, the next step is communicating the message for understanding. When leading a team, it is necessary to communicate the message about change to people so that people can know what it is all about and there will be no resistance. When the message is passed, and everyone understand what it is all about, people get empowered and have a positive perspective about the change. The team leaders should always let every member feel empowered so that they can effectively participate in the change process. Producing short term win help in giving the members hope, and it help in making people not to lose hope, but to continue working hard to achieve the set goal.
The leadership approaches by Rathgeber’s and Kotter are similar to the leadership theory developed by Posner and Kouzes as they both suggest having a shared vision. A leader should be able to have a vision concerning the future and then paint a picture for the team members to comprehend (Kottler, J & Rathgeber, H 2006). According to the authors a leader is supposed to be committed and never view the past but look forward so that to accomplish the set goals.
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