Introduction
Effective change management is essential for companies to adapt to changing market conditions and customer requirements. At the same time, the implemented innovations and changes in the work of the company should not adversely affect its productivity. Therefore, change management requires a thorough analysis of the environment, an assessment of the risks and potential benefits, and the development of strategies for innovating. Leaders and their management strategies play a significant role in this process, since they are the initiators of innovations and develop methods for the optimal implementation of changes. Therefore, this paper analyses leadership in the context of change management using the example of British Airways.
The Concept of Leadership
The concept of leadership is an essential component of effective change management. Since the main task of leaders is to build relationships with others, they must promote an understanding of the need for change by the employees of the organization (Singh and Ramdeo, 2020). Key stakeholders should understand the need for innovation in the work of the organization and contribute to its effective implementation. Leadership plays a key role in this as it aims to increase the motivation and commitment of employees to work together towards a common goal.
For change management, leaders must have strategic thinking and effective communication skills. The ability to explain to employees the reasons for change, to set specific goals, and to distribute tasks among team members to achieve them, are key factors for the successful implementation of innovations in a company (Bennett and Soylu, 2021). Moreover, this communication should be two-way, that is, an effective leader should listen to the opinion of employees about the changes being introduced and adjust the strategy if necessary. Properly constructed communication helps to increase the motivation of employees. Because people are often wary of change, it is the leader’s job to stabilize the work environment by promoting teamwork, initiative, and innovation (Singh and Ramdeo, 2020). Through this leadership approach, change management will be more effective, and innovation will have more positive results on the company’s performance.
Change Management in British Airways
British Airways (BA) is one of the largest organizations in the aviation industry of the United Kingdom. During the period of its activity, BA has repeatedly faced serious crises that required the implementation of innovations to solve them. One example of such changes is the complete restructuring of the company in 1981, which helped reduce the financial losses experienced by the company (Singh and Ramdeo, 2020). However, the successful introduction of these changes was only possible due to the well-planned actions of the then management of the company.
Another example is the improvement of the information technology used by the company. A few years ago, BA experienced a major IT glitch that resulted in flight cancellations and negative feedback from customers. As a result, BA has had to optimize and modernize the operation of systems in order to increase their resilience and reduce the risk of new failures. At the same time, the company began to apply new technologies for data collection and analysis (Jackson and Tozer, 2020). This helped not only to optimize the use of resources by automating processes but also to improve the quality of customer service. New technologies are focused on convenience for buyers. A specially developed algorithm “estimates whether a booking is for business or leisure travel” and recommends “destinations to customers based on their travel and browsing histories” (Jackson and Tozer, 2020, p. 18). This contributes to increased customer satisfaction and, as a result, provides a stable profit for the organization.
Thus, change is a necessity to ensure the stable operation of the company and increase its profits. British Airways management recognized the need for innovation to improve the company’s performance through organizational restructuring, business process automation, and improved customer service. However, these changes are quite significant and could be misunderstood by employees. Therefore, effective leadership and building communication with stakeholders was key factor for change management.
Leadership Style
During the period of activity of British Airways, several leaders have changed in the company. The current CEO and Chairman of BA is Sean Doyle (British Airways, 2023). In this position, Doyle adheres to the same principles as previous chairmen, focusing on improving customer service and their satisfaction with the company’s services. At the same time, the leadership style at British Airways is based on innovation and continuous development, which helps the company occupy a leading position in the industry. Doyle replaced his predecessor as CEO of British Airways during a period of crisis for the company caused by the Covid-19 pandemic (Shen, 2022). Therefore, in order to reduce financial losses for the company, several changes were introduced, focusing on improving the quality of customer service. According to Georgiadis and Hollinger (2020), Doyle’s leadership style is significantly different from the previous CEO, who left behind “a demoralized workforce” (para. 7). The new chairman managed to increase the motivation and involvement of employees in the work through the establishment of internal communication and a strategic approach to solving the problem.
Challenges of the Changes
During the introduction of changes in the work of the organization, the leadership of BA faced several challenges. Firstly, it is the need to build proper communication with employees. The optimization of the company’s IT systems and the automation of business processes have reduced the need for manual work, resulting in job losses (Jackson and Tozer, 2022). Therefore, the main purpose of the communication was to explain the reasons for and the need for change. The company sought to involve employees in the development of new processes and procedures by getting feedback and ideas from frontline employees who had first-hand experience with customers. Moreover, it was necessary to provide additional education and training for employees to provide them with professional skills. Necessary for work in new conditions.
In addition, in order to improve its reputation after the system outage incident, the company needed to improve the quality of customer service. This led to the emergence of some challenges, which consisted of the need for additional funding. Moreover, feedback from the company’s customers had to be collected and analysed to identify what changes would be most beneficial for BA (Bennett and Soylu, 2021). As a result of these actions, employees received additional training, and the airline’s aircraft were re-equipped for passenger comfort.
Leadership in Change Management
Leadership is crucial in change management since the behaviour of the leader and communication with employees determine the success of introducing innovations into the work of the company. In the case of British Airways, the replacement of the company’s management played an important role in the company’s recovery from the crisis. Sean Doyle was able to motivate employees by encouraging teamwork and collaboration so that all employees worked towards a common goal (Georgiadis and Hollinger, 2020). In addition, Doyle’s approach proved to be softer than that of his predecessor, Alex Cruz. He did not propose major changes, but listened to feedback from employees, adapting his management strategy. In general, Doyle’s approach can be described as quite soft and measured, but this is exactly what BA needed to reduce risks and losses during the crisis (Georgiadis and Hollinger, 2020). Therefore, leadership is a key factor in determining the productivity of the company and its readiness for development and innovation. Moreover, a successful leader must understand how to build communication with employees in order to increase their commitment to the company and motivation to work. The ability of a leader to quickly adapt, plan, decide and control the process is an important characteristic for the successful implementation of changes that will be positively received by employees. By understanding the intentions and goals of management and having clear tasks to accomplish, people can work more efficiently. Moreover, an important aspect is the encouragement of the initiative, as this guarantees the involvement of employees in the work.
Conclusion
In conclusion, change and development are necessary for the stability of the organization and increase its profitability. At the same time, leadership plays a crucial role in effective change management. A successful leader must not only come up with development and innovation strategies, but also be able to properly build communication with employees. This helps to increase staff motivation and engagement and promotes teamwork towards common goals. Moreover, the leader must understand what all key stakeholders expect from him and be able to adapt his communication strategy depending on the circumstances. In addition, they must ensure that the skills of the staff are consistent with the changes being implemented and provide staff training and development where necessary.
Reference List
Bennett, E. R., and Soylu, A. (2021) ‘Overcoming the obstacles in corporate change management’, Journal of Business and Social Science Review, 2(2), pp. 23-29. Web.
British Airways. (2023) About. Web.
Georgiadis, P., and Hollinger, P. (2020) ‘Sean Doyle: A soft-spoken insider to lead an airline in crisis’, Financial Times. Web.
Jackson, S., and Tozer, J. (2020). A vision for data science at British Airways. Impact, 2020(1), pp. 15-19. Web.
Shen, Z. (2022). ‘Analysis of British Airway’s Hedging Strategies’, 2022 2nd International Conference on Economic Development and Business Culture, pp. 307-311.
Singh, R. and Ramdeo, S. (2020) Leading organizational development and change. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan