Development as Leadership-led Change

A Report for the Global Leadership Initiative

Matt Andrews, Jesse McConnell, Alison Wescott

• Publisher: World Bank
• Year: 2010
• Topic: Economics
• eBook ISBN:
  9780821383957
• Subtopic: Development Economics
• Index: Economics

Much of the work on reform and development has focused on the identification and diagnosis of problems and on the formulation of technically sound measures to address these problems. But the main challenge that often confronts policy makers in attempting to undertake reforms is not in the 'what', what is the problem and what are the remedies for it, but in the 'why', why does the problem persist, which some research has begun to address, and, more critically, in the 'how' given the why, how to manage the often complex process of change that accompanies any attempt at reform. It is in the latter where the rubber hits the road. Development involves change. But many development initiatives produce unimpressive levels of change in the countries, organizations, and outcomes they target and are disappointing in the final results. This is the case in social sector initiatives, core public management reforms, and even macroeconomic adjustment operations. Change is often limited even when countries adopt solutions in their forms, in apparently good faith and on time (or in reasonable time). This research paper aims to (modestly) contribute to such research by exploring what it takes to get change done; and particularly what role leadership plays in effecting change.

Table of contents

• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• About the Authors
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Development as Change
• 3. Leadership and Change: Theory and Propositions
• 4. Examining Our Propositions: A Method
• 5. Examining Leadership-led Change Propositions: Results and Discussion
• 6. Conclusions, and a Case for More Leadership Work in Development
• Appendixes
• References
• Table 4.1. Cases Selected for Inclusion in the Analysis
• Table 4.2. Interviewee Data and Concerns about Bias
• Table 4.3. Basic Details about Each Case and Intervention
• Table 4.4. Evidence of Change and Leadership ‘Impacts’ in These Extreme Cases (in %)
• Table 4.5. Descriptions of Change ‘Impact’ in the Afghan Civil Service Case
• Table 5.1. Was There a Leader? How Many Were Identified?
• Table 5.2. ‘Leaders’ as Individuals, Organizations, and Social Groups
• Table 5.3. ‘Why’ the Leaders Were Identified
• Table 5.4. Interviewees in All Cases Referred to a ‘Connector Function’ as Vital
• Table 5.5. How Interviewees Described Improvements in Acceptance
• Table 5.6. How Interviewees Described Improvements in Authority/Accountability
• Table 5.7. How Interviewees Described Improvements in Ability
• Table 5.8. Driving and Limiting Contextual Issues Affecting Readiness and Shape
• Figure 2.1. The Acceptance, Authority, and Ability (AAA) Model of Change Space
• Figure 2.2. Contextual Change Demands, Contextual Change Space, and Results
• Figure 2.3. Simplified Stages of Psychological and Learning Journeys for Change Targets
• Figure 3.1. A Policy Network Approach to Looking at CINDE’s Costa Rican Influence
• Figure 3.2. A Simple, Function-Driven Leadership Network
• Figure 3.3. What Leadership Does in the Change Process to Create Change Space
• Figure 3.4. Is There a Dynamic Interaction between Leadership and Change Space?
• Figure 5.1. ‘Who’ the Leaders Were in Various Cases, Preceding and Following Interventions
• Figure 5.2. ‘Why’ Interviewees Identified Their Leaders
• Figure 5.3. Proportion of Interviewees Perceiving Improvements to AAA
• Figure 5.4. Relational Mechanisms and Acceptance Discussions through the Change Process
• Figure 5.5. Leadership Creates Change Space by Stimulating AAA
• Figure A.1. Simplified Psychological and Learning Journeys for Change Targets