Key: Spot Test 2

(MGMT 244)

Guiding Coalition

A successful transportation plan requires a coalition of committed team who can spirit the process of
change in an organization. It starts with one or two people and grows over time and achieves a minimum
mass for things to happen.

In a successful transformation the chairman or the president or Divisional manager plus another team of
five ,ten, or fifty people get together and develop a shared commitment to excellent performance through
a 'shared vision'.

The group may not necessarily include all the seniors as some people may not buy the idea or they may
not have the same motivational drive. But in most of the cases the coalition is very powerful, in terms of '
titles, information and expertise, reputation and relationships.

In a successful guiding coalition there may be three to five people in the first year of the renewal effort.
But in large organizations the number may be higher and still further grow in later phases.

The coalition may well have a mix of top management, mid-career managers, and representatives of a
powerful union leader. It tends to operate outside of the
normal hierarchy .Reform generally demands activities outside of formal boundaries.

A high sense of urgency helps a great deal in putting a guiding coalition together. Someone needs to get
the people together, help them develop a shared assessment of problems and opportunities.

Off shore retreats are a popular vehicle to accomplish the task where the coalition members huddle
together for two three days and converge on a strategy.

Companies and organizations which do not have a history of team work are bound to fail. Leadership and
a sound communication mechanism is a pre requisite of success in this regard.