The Influence Of Leadership On Change And Innovation

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

GRADUATION PAPER

THE INFLUENCE OF LEADERSHIP ON CHANGE AND INNOVATION

Advisor:

Assistant Professor Brînduşa POPA

Author:

Maj Eugen SOARE

(TIMES NEW ROMAN 14)

(TIMES NEW ROMAN 14)

(TIMES NEW ROMAN 14)

(TIMES NEW ROMAN 14)

BRAÅžOV

2013

CONTENTS

Introduction.............................................................................................p. 3

Change Management.....................................................................p. 4

The concept of change............................................................p. 4

The objectives of change .......................................................p. 5

Attitudes and behaviors in the process of change..................p. 6

Innovation Management...............................................................p. 8

Innovation content and dimensions............................................p. 8

Key ingredients for innovation..............................................p. 9

Stages of innovation.............................................................p. 10

Change and Innovation in the Military Organizations..................p. 11

The individual & the group: promoting critical thinking.........................p. 12

The leader: promoting new ideas.......................................................p. 14

The internal environment: an enabler or/and constraint the process of change...............................................................................................p. 16

Conclusions...........................................................................................p. 17

References.............................................................................................p. 18

INTRODUCTION

Organizations must initiate change processes to meet market requirements, to enhance shareholder value and to fulfill government strategies. Often must initiate and implement change processes to maintain organizational stability and to support balanced economic growth and sustainable development. Change management is a process that allows an organization to modify any part of its structure in order to cope effectively in a constantly changing environment. It includes activities designed to provide support, acceptance, approval for the necessary changes and amendments agreed. The goal is to control changes while maintaining the integrity and quality of the production environment. The concept and practice of change management has become increasingly popular among organizations in recent years.

Similar to business world, military organisation is in the midst of unprecedented transformation. The way of thinking the military action, in the way of fighting and in developing new strategies, and most important, people, are the focus of the Army’s future change. The most recent approaches to transformation point out a more complex framework, in which the military transformation process itself undergoes transformations under the pressure of the experiences in the theatres of operations, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The dynamics of the global and regional security environment has had a major influence on the Romanian Armed Forces transformation process, on their structure as well as on the nature and content of their missions. The events in December 1989 found the Romanian Armed Forces engaged in combat preparation, with a view to fulfilling the missions assigned for the country’s defence, as well as in carrying out tasks in the national economy, in keeping with the requirements of the policy of the communist regime of that time.

With a strength of more than 250 000 troops and a broad structure at the level of the entire country, with the equipment and procurement level that met the quantitative requirements, yet, mostly outdated in terms of technology and performance, the Romanian Armed Forces started, right after the events in 1989, a thorough process of reform.

The main determinations that lay at the basis of the Romanian Armed Forces

transformation were:

to join the general reform process of the Romanian society;

to radically change the overstaffed structure of the Romanian Armed Forces, approximately 250 000 active troops, in order to meet the requirements of NATO;

to change the role of forces from exclusively proper territorial defense in expeditionary forces, certified and made available to NATO to act anywhere in the world.

These changes were embodied in most cases by implementing models by western countries but their success depended largely on their perception of the individual, of how leaders changing structures involved were able to adapt to new , to improve, to innovate to customize the new requirements to the specific national, without prejudice to the traditions and values ​​but consciousness of belonging to the elite corps of the Roman army.

THE CONCEPT OF CHANGE

The concept of change

Changes happen when are triggered by internal or external stimuli and each aimed at delivering some sort of marked improvement in performance. Changes can be incremental or radical; sometimes the gap between the current and future state is small and other times that gap is large. Changes can impact processes, technologies, systems, tools, structures, job roles or any combination of these factors. Some have little or no structure around them, but they still cause changes in the organization. Others take the form of policy declarations. Others are formal projects (with associated project managers, project codes, project charters and work breakdown structures), while still others are programs made up of numerous projects. Regardless of the reason, type or structure of the change, each ultimately impacts how individual employees do their jobs.

There are three basic definitions of change management. The first and most obvious definition is that the term refers to the task of managing change. Managing change is itself a term that has at least two dimensions: The first dimension refers to making changes in a planned, managed systematically. This is to effectively implement new methods and systems in an ongoing organization. The changes to be managed in here and are controlled by the organization. However, these changes could come from outside events. The second dimension of change management covering response to changes over which the organization exercises little or no control, changes resulting from activities such as legislation, social and political unrest, actions by competitors, changing economic currents and so on. First and second dimensions are usually characterized as pro-active and reactive. Change management can also refer to an area of ​​professional practice and this is the basis for the second definition of the term. Independent consultants can act as change agents to help customers manage change facing, or to help them take a proactive approach to change by taking the burden of inevitable change management. In almost all cases, the change is treated separately from the specific situation. Professional agents of change assumes the task of managing the change process by working with managers and users to meet specific organization. The third definition of change management based on content or subject matter. It consists mainly of models, methods and techniques, tools, skills and other practical knowledge involved in change management. These bodies of knowledge are linked and integrated through a set of concepts and principles known as General Systems Theory (GST).

The objectives of change

Organizations change for a cause, whether that is to be more competitive in the market, improve business processes, cut costs or all the above. Clear and deep perception of the need for change is essential. No matter the size of the organization, no matter the size or nature or type, the goal is to improve the performance in some significant way. Organizational change requires individual change - if individuals do not embrace, adopt or become proficient at the required change, then benefits will not be realized. Therefore, one of the most important aspects is to understand for the organization's staff, managers and subordinates, need for change. Organizational outcomes are tied to the change being realized as a result of individual change; after all, individual employees are the heart and soul of organizations, without them to do the work, the work will not get done. The change may be to fix a problem or to seize an opportunity. This can lead to customers and internal competitive pressures. It may be incremental in nature or may be a radically new operating system. This can affect several workgroups or may affect the entire organization. This can affect the behaviors, processes, tools, technology, organizational structures and job roles. But whatever the nature of change, organizations implemented projects and initiatives to improve performance - to achieve a future state, which is better than the current situation. For a change to be the real return "success" is significantly improved, which has been designed. There are several terms used to describe this, including:

- Benefit realization

- Value creation

- Return on Investment (ROI)

- Results and outcomes

The objective of any change is this: to realize profit and generate value. To operate, the manager must be familiar with the problem situation to another.

The bottom line of change management is this: to ensure benefit realization and value creation by addressing the people side of change and by driving required adoption and usage of change solutions. Change management drives project benefit realization and is necessary whenever a project's results and outcomes depend on individuals adopting and using a solution.

Attitudes and behaviors in the process of change

If you ask employees what they think about change, you will normally find that most people have negative attitudes and perceptions towards change. They have fears of losing their job, their status or their social security, or they are afraid of a higher workload.

  In many cases, first effects of change on employees, leaders, and on performance levels are negative. These effects include fears, stress, frustration and denial of change. Most employees tend to react with resistance to change rather than seeing change as a chance to initiate improvements. They are afraid of losing something, because they have incomplete information on how the change processes will effect their personal situation in terms of tasks, workload, or responsibilities. Managers need to keep in mind those negative side-effects of change initiatives in order to achieve the expected positive results. The success of change projects depends on the organization’s ability to make all their employees participate in the change process in one way or the other.

In order to successfully understand people’s behavior in change process, it is necessary to analyze the phases of this process. Managers need to know in which phase they have to expect what types of situations and problems. Most successful organizations are those that are able to adjust themselves to new conditions quickly. This requires planned learning processes that lead to improved organizational effectiveness. Ideally, employees are able to reflect their own behavior in relation to the organizational context (e.g. processes, products, resources, customers).

 Normally, people perceive change processes in seven typical stages.

  

 The seven phases of change .[2] can be described as follows:

Shock and Surprise. This can happen ‘by accident’ or planned events people realize that their own patterns of doing things are not suitable for new conditions any more. Thus, their perceived own competence decreases.

Denial and Refusal. People activate values as support for their conviction that change is not necessary. their perceived competency increases again.

Rational Understanding. People realize the need for change. According to this insight, their perceived competence decreases again. People focus on finding short term solutions, thus they only cure symptoms. There is no willingness to change own patterns of behavior.

Emotional Acceptance. This phase, which is also called ‘crisis’ is the most important one. Only if management succeeds to create a willingness for changing values, beliefs, and behaviors, the organization will be able to exploit their real potentials. In the worst case, however, change processes will be stopped or slowed down here.

Exercising and Learning. The new acceptance of change creates a new willingness for learning. People start to try new behaviors and processes. They will experience success and failure during this phase. It is the change managers task to create some early wins (e.g. by starting with easier projects). This will lead to an increase in peoples perceived own competence.

Realization. The new acceptance of change creates a new willingness for learning. People start to try new behaviours and processes. They will experience success and failure during this phase. It is the change managers task to create some early wins (e.g. by starting with easier projects). This will lead to an increase in peoples perceived own competence.

Integration. People totally integrate their newly acquired patterns of thinking and acting. The new behaviours become routine.

 

Only if change managers understand these phases of change, and only if they act accordingly, they will be able to successfully manage change processes without destroying people’s motivation and commitment.

 

.[2] The seven phases of change is adapted from:

Colin Carnall: Managing Change in Organizations.  and

Claudia Kostka & Annette Moench: Change Mangement – Sieben Methoden für die Gestaltung von Veränderungsprozessen.

INNOVATION MANAGEMENT

Innovation management describes the decisions, activities, and practices that move an idea to realization for the purpose of generating value. It is managing the investment in creating new opportunities that are needed to sustain and grow the organization. Generally, innovation focuses on the development of new product (good or service), process, technologies, and new organizational method, workplace organization or external relations. The types of innovation can enhance organization outcomes and go well beyond these. Identifying and making these investments successfully and repeatedly constitutes the key objective of innovation management.

Innovation content and dimensions

According to Merriam-Webster, innovation is:

1: the introduction of something new

2 : a new idea, method or device

One component of modern management - understood as the art of leadership, as a process of rationalization and efficiency - is the one related to innovation in the creative act that way to ensure the existence of any social community, adapting to new demands upon them every the development stage.

Innovation is defined, usually like "a transformation resulting from the initiative of one or more individuals and affecting, as appropriate, the economy, politics, science and culture.

Innovation management focuses on the factors that must be activated to achieve the objectives of each type of organization, it seeks the individual human personality with his creative attributes, inclinations, availability, motivation and willingness to seek and identify new solutions, ways and improved ways effective human and material cost and smaller and both group, whose valences such as flexibility, responsiveness, active interaction and positive climate and cohesion can create atmosphere for innovation.

Meanwhile, innovation management has its own philosophy containing a set of guiding principles that need to be known and considered by every leader eager to notable successes, such as:

- Progress is only possible through innovation, increase moral and spiritual values ​​out of change are impossible;

- Innovation is pervasive, there area, sector, side or aspect of the work of an organization that you do not have and can not be subjected to a process of change;

- Innovative capacity of creative potential, are to each man, even if in different proportions;

- "Production" of ideas, in order to be continue and adequate for the change needs to be organized and deliberately conducted, managed like any other resource;

- All staff should be motivated and encouraged to reach their ideas to formulate new solutions;

- Risk taking, possible failures are inherent in any attempt to change components.

Innovation needs time and is based on trial and error. There are many different theories of innovation: breakthrough, incremental, open source. There are arguments stating innovations have to be disruptive to qualify; others argue that any change - as long as it is measurable - qualifies as innovation. Some people want innovations to be open and available to all as a means of challenging even more growth and ingenuity; others believe that new discoveries and paths need to be developed privately and secretly. Many of the most enduring innovations have required long term investment and staying power. This must be addressed as part of the organizational decision making approach if an innovative environment is to be sustained. The desire to create long term competitive advantage will often lead to intellectual property and innovation being closely connected. As a result, innovation processes will often have requirements for generation of intellectual property that can protect advantages created by an innovation investment.

Key ingredients for innovation

"My job is to listen to, search for, think of, and spread ideas, to expose people to good ideas and role models…When selfconfident people see a good idea, they love it."

John Francis "Jack" Welch, Jr., former CEO of General Electric

The responses to a recent poll ran on LinkedIn revealed that people have very different ideas about the key ingredients for successful innovation. The next time you want to make real change happen in your organization, get ready to experience this sequence:

1. How many deny that the innovation is required.

2. How many deny that the innovation is effective.

3. How many deny that the innovation is important.

4. How many deny that the innovation will justify the effort required to adopt it.

5. How many accept and adopt the innovation, enjoy its benefits, attribute it to people other than the innovator, and deny the existence of stages 1 to 4.

Psychology studies highlight the potential of innovation, of change. It is estimated that there are individuals whose behavior shows tend to reproduce, just to apply what they have learned, without express keen interest in the initiative and renewal. The reproductive type manifests responsiveness to what set others, he proves himself reserved, even fearful when to walk on untrodden paths. Other persons are strongly internalized, imagine new things but do not reveal their views, did not even have enough initiative. In environments where leadership is excessively authoritarian - a situation common in military system - his tendency to closing is more emphatic. If only one approach, a proven understanding with calm and confidence can to manifest its true resources. Highly creative people are characterized by power of generalization and abstraction. People with these traits are found in each group. They should be identified and encouraged to highlight the availability creative to overcome some states inhibition. Factors that favor creativity intellectuals:

- Intelligence (the ability to think in a purpose to solve problems, not always are intelligent and creative people - the opposite, right);

- Ability to solve problems;

- Imagination (combining images, using ideas from other fields in the area that you are interested in, using complex and dynamic images)

- Sensitivity to implication;

- The ability to use associative processes (the combination and recombination of separate elements)

- Fluidity of ideas, association, verbal and even graphics;

- Flexibility (ability to change);

- Originality;

- Development - ability to establish stages of problem solving

People can be motivated by the desire to become creative self-improvement, promotion, to assert a collective increase of the social ladder, getting some rewards etc. There may however and bottlenecks constraining creativity: lack of resources, fear of ridicule, public attitudes superiors, etc.. They must overcome some obstacles such as fear of failure that blocks the availability of creative individuals and collectivities, paralyzing inventiveness and creativity.

Stages of innovation

Peter Drucker, American economist, also the author of concept known as management by objectives, believes the existence of seven sources that drives companies to achieve innovation. Sources are classified into two groups: internal (4) and external (3) company.

1) Internal sources:

- Unpredictable - success or failure as you can have companies calling to innovation;

- Incongruity or discrepancy between the theoretical aspects of innovation and true reality;

- Need product - many products capable of renewal;

- Changes in scope and markets;

2) External sources:

- Demographic changes and that no age group;

- Changes in attitude

- New knowledge in other fields may find applications in existing products or new products

Successful innovation process depends on completing the steps that it requires:

1) gain innovation commitment - the man noticed an area that can bring something new, defines its concerns in that area for gathering information to see if the problem has not been solved, formulate hypotheses;

2) discover new ideas - information processing in mentally, sometimes help with drawings, charts, develop many variants;

3) shape ideas into action - emergence of new ideas and original, the phenomenon is driven by a pleasant, quiet, solitude

4) implement and learn - idea is transformed into collective application or presentation, you can make a sketch of the project, expressed its advantages and disadvantages, cost estimates, estimate of how development practice.

CHANGE AND INNOVATION IN THE MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS

For Carl von Clausewitz, the father of modern military thought, military change were a simple matter: "if in warfare a certain means turns out to be highly effective, it will be used again; it will be copied by others and become fashionable; and so, backed by experience , it passes into general use and is included in theory. "

Do military changes on their own or response to perceived treats, new technologies or change in the global system; or is some external stimuli required to force the organization and its leaders to "see the light" and adapt. If militaries are resistant to change, what does it take the influence their behavior from the outside? Under what conditions might efforts to force the military innovate succeed or fail? If, on the other hand, military do change on their own, what (who) influences the choices they make? Finally, whether the catalyst is internal or external, what explains the failure of militaries to change they need?

The process of reform of a complex organization such as the army can be understood in two ways, one may take either a specific political perspective; or a broader, sociological approach. Reform in the narrow sense of the word is the result of political and managerial decision-making, which includes: ideas for reform, the process of decision-making, and the implementation of the proposed reform itself. This approach is typically a ‘top-down’ interpretation based on the assumption that reform is a consciously controlled process which can actively intervene in and alter social reality. However, the study of reform as a strictly political and managerial activity can be misleading. The attempt to reform military institutions in the West showed, for instance, that in spite of the relatively benign political circumstances and the availability of sophisticated management skills, it has consistently proven to be an extremely complex and difficult process to carry out. Social change is a complex and diffuse concept; which is the result of a multidimensional process on which active and passive factors (or ‘actors’ and ‘systems’) simultaneously intervene.

The individual & the group: promoting critical thinking

It is indubitable that to Romania, Romanian Army, the fundamental institution of the state is the main factor in ensuring national security and guarantor of internal stability of the Romanian society. Is the Romanian Army strong one, well equipped and well trained, with people filled in her job with prestige arising from specific military profession? They are endowed with strength of character, honor, and ability to overcome difficulties they have their own activity or initiative in seeking satisfactory justifications? Society is concerned to create a modern army. Can it be a modern army without an effective, one based on people skills, on their preparation? Army means order, discipline, responsibility, obedience, obedience is not initiative, to know how to quit driving, patriotism, fidelity that mindset that transcends personal interests, culture of respect, courteous attitude, elegance. Today is critically needed in the military feel like air. Nobody can forbid a soldier to think, to act creatively and with initiative. Ideas are not required by violent language, or by order, but by their value. Critical spirit yourself are part of the condition of being a fighter. To confront yourself and with others, to learn to fight for an idea, however simple exercises are not only courage, but also a chance to live up to the true condition of the military. The values ​​promoted by the system and military organization are closest to what we define civic reflected by: loyalty, selflessness, personal development, fair play, individual initiative, conscientiousness. Change imposed a natural create conflicts between traditional and new models. Old mentalities are changing slowly or partially, and new mentalities are bought, sometimes quickly, but not in positive terms. We want instant assimilation of new models, but at a satisfactory pace of acceptance and change the new.

It may be subject to change one component or another, and the entire system, from strategy, doctrine, tactics, the organizational structures, systems selection, training and evaluation, education, to scientific research, endowment, logistics, mentality, attitude, formal and informal relationships. Management provides a number of guidelines, principles of strategy and programs that actively treated, and promoted to facilitate necessary change the status quo, without much interruptions, waste of time, human and material energies, transforming every man has overall structures in real agents of change. a radical change in the organization cannot be achieved if its members do not understand and if, on the basis of understanding they need not consent to participate in its achievement.

Above assertion is of utmost practical importance given that the success of any change depends not only realistic goals, their opportunity, the funds allotted but also as people, that authors understand the transformation reasons, determination and impact now in the medium and long term. Moreover, they must win this battle, stating reasons and for the fact that at the individual level and subsystem intervenes resistance to change. Given the occurrence of such matters, customized from one situation to another, from one echelon to another, change management highlights the need for timely military leader to find out the true causes of resistance to change, its sources, using some forms and ways to remove or reduce retention. Beyond a set of principles, norms and criteria of theoretical and practical value appears indubitable master, military leader looked a double role: Reasons possessing certain qualities according to their personality or defects, which are reflected in the attitudes towards back <the decider, leading element of the upgrade, the leader of the group that achieves change

Who lead the change, the implementation of new methods of organizing, planning and action should himself have self-control, to examine their attitudes and behavior to refer to what extent they are favourable transformations, putting several questions:

- To what extent help boost search behaviour in formulating suggestions needed improvement activities?

- Consider, with proper understanding, periods of doubt, search their fights?

- Properly appreciate the personal views of the people?

- Assist them during the search, testing and materialization of new solutions?

- Share information that it holds for finding the optimum faster?

Change management is recommended to leverage the capabilities of creative people, those that are defined by a number of features such as:

- The ability to formulate alternatives to solve problems, to submit doubt obvious truths considered first;

- Passion, constant interest level of activity;

- Perseverance, independence and courage in thinking:  Looking forward to the ability to sense and correct grasp the evolution of processes and phenomena;

- Accelerated cognitive curiosity, permanent behaviour investigator intolerance towards preconceptions, favourable attitudes experimental use, check the solutions recommended in practice;

- Inclination to methodically examine any matter depending on the situation, context, cost implications.

The leader: promoting new ideas

In Romania, the military reform has experienced a natural evolution: firstly, in the field of concepts and attitude and then through the structural, operational and infrastructural. The Romanian Armed Forces transformation – from the ones organised, equipped and trained to be part of the Warsaw Treaty Organisation into the ones able to meet the new risks and threats of the contemporary world. Was this modification and adaptation guided, directed, and supervised by leaders possessing the necessary vision and ideals to see it through? How did these leaders understand the very nature of the transformation they were about to undertake? How did these leaders provide direction and purpose during periods of change?

My intent is not to determine which leadership style is more effective for the profession of arms, you must think about what kind of leaders will most likely are successful in a changing environment.

Transformational leadership

Leaders set the development direction of the organization - which involves developing the vision and strategy development, mobilize subordinates - informing them of the action directions, winning their devotion and support, motivates and inspires - that is to meet their needs and emotions, to highlight the values​​.

The makings necessary for transformational leadership may be summarized in many ways. One of the most important distinctiveness of a great leader is his capability to make sound judgments based on their internalized vision. Is this what is preferred in military leaders? People, who dare to think, are creative, come up with the solutions, don’t need to be closely supervised and realize what is just because it is the exact thing to do?

               Transformational leader is the kind of military leader who deeply understand the place and role of the military in society and in all international military forces, managing to build a perspective view of the goals of the organization, coordinating and controlling changes taking dynamic decisions, grasping opportunities and capitalizing. The existence of strong forces inimical to favorable changes represent a real change in any organization. In this military organization is materialized through reticent to respond efficiently to any assigned mission, through hard adapt to the new conditions in the environment in which they conduct their activity and to the requirements of the new missions they are required to carry out. Change at the individual disturbances, manifested by the appearance of internal conflicts, anxiety, restlessness due to fear of accepting new directions, low self-esteem caused by inability to find meaning new values. Transformational leader is facing this difficult situation that we have to resolve with tact and diplomacy, using empathic ability and intelligence, finding the fastest and most effective methods by which to influence the subordinates to give up attachment to the values ​​of the past. The transition to the new structure starts with a slight disruption, which causes disappointment, disorientation, deception in the sphere of subjective feelings of subordinates. This process can not be achieved without the existence of the leader who aims to mobilize subordinates to achieve change. To successfully change strategy it proposes leader should be logical, concise and persuasive, clearly delineating the problems, how it will work, its implications, concrete plan of achievement. Change subordinates is fundamental motivation this time of change is a process that makes it difficult and leaders must have certain physical traits, such as cognitive capacities developed at higher level, charisma, consideration and respect for the values ​​and military organization to subordinates, their inspiring enthusiasm, loyalty and trust. The importance of this complex process is responsive to the needs of subordinates leader. Individual consideration involves treating subordinates as individuals distinct leader showing concern for their personal development and serving as a mentor when necessary. The emphasis is on a perfect test directed to the needs of that person in the context of the general objectives. The military leader must be able to influence subordinates for them to share his point of view. It is an exceptional leader, charismatic, assertive and efficient, which is a professional and moral model for subordinates.

Charismatic leadership

The meaning of the term "charisma" varies in the literature and its connotations differ considerably. A common premise of most theories of charisma is that followers, not leaders, are the determinants of charisma's existence. Thus do followers substitute the "charismatic" leader for their own ideal. Organizational theory approaches are predisposed to emphasize the attraction that followers have for the person and abilities of the charismatic leader. The follower is depicted as being in admiration of the leader's

vision, communications skills, and ability to motivate and empower subordinates.

Ideas and orders of the leader are accepted without question merely because they were issued by the leader (not his office), and an emotional bond, approaching the irrational and not mandated by rules and regulation, is extant between follower and leader. Most charismatic leaders appear to emerge from crises, suggesting they are major agents of change. And charisma may coexist, however uneasily, with traditional and rational/legal authority.

In according with self-concept-based motivational theory of charismatic leader (Shamir, House and Arthur-1993), charismatic leadership has its effects by strongly engaging followers’ self-concepts in the interest of mission articulated by a leader.

In this respect, charismatic leaders make efforts and objectives meaningful for subordinates and use the motivational force of self-expression, self-confidence, self-esteem. This category of behavior rely on a leader’s communication and on simbolic devices (labels, slogans, flags, emblems) displaying high involvement in the task, angaging in self-sacrifice to show comittment to the mission. By demonstarte determination, optimism, and self-confidence, a military leder impowers followers (unit or subordinates) in sense of effectively manage the complex mechanisms of change especially for the values ​​and norms which guide human behavior in military organization. When they admire and identify with leader, they are likely to emulate the leader’s desire for doing changes.

The internal environment: an enabler or/and constraint the process of change

Among psychosocial factors that may stimulate or brake change, are the human relationships existing in military groups. Creative capabilities will block as long as certain psychosocial and environmental relationships within the team work are not favorable to change. Life provides sufficient evidence showing that those soldiers who conclude that supporting an original idea and its promotion are not supported by the collective, but rather is even a risk to their own person, adjust their behavior to avoid disappointment.

Creative elements can fade to reluctance or indifference of the collective, thoughts that have been the subject of numerous reflections and they asked for efforts may be canceled. To reject the ideas, proposals without proper debate, without arguments means to commit an immoral act, to hit in the dignity of the well-intentioned people. This would be a bad example for others, eager to bring improvement, they would actually prevent unhindered circulation of ideas, the opinions dealing with the rules of respect for different points of view, to the promotion of innovative ideas.

In a climate of suspicion that reigns in the absence of cooperation and trust between members of a team, launching a new idea offer to others occasion for unprincipled and destructive criticism. Heads full confidence in subordinates and vice versa is a psychosocial favorable factor for transformations. Any new idea may occur gradually, at first devoid of clarity, utopian. A closer analysis might generate new ideas or new optical. In knowledge, in the creative process, verdicts do not belong, are counterproductive.

The favorable spirit and actions for change, renewing the content and form of military activity, can occur only in an environment conducive to personal confrontation of views, which present elements such as:

- Ensuring a continuous flow of information;

- Intellectual risk taking as a necessary part of change;

- Communication ascending and descending;

- Adequate reward innovative behavior.

CONCLUSIONS

This study emphasized the importance of leadership, military organization in the particular case, looking from the perspective of change. Some ideas presented here are not new, but their application within the military as part of a more comprehensive approach to innovation suggests their adoption could benefit a broader audience.

Experience shows that a change effort requires a good start. Contact a correct judgment about what should be changed and shared responsibility is not enough. There must be people who have critical and innovative minds, who will love to experiment, to foresee the future, to have the belief that change is possible and to influence others not talking about change, but demonstrating what can be achieved. These "innovators", "men of the avant-garde", or "militants" as sometimes called, can work or not in leadership positions. Organizations interested in change must encourage innovation, experimentation and entrepreneurship. For driving it is not just to tolerate deviations from the routine and tradition and accept that this is not possible without some risk, but also deliberately attract innovative people, giving them a chance to work, observing them during activity and using them as examples to show that the organization can achieve. Individuals or teams plays a prominent role in the success of organizational change strategies. These are the main agents of change for the organization.

To sum, leaders must realize when they need to lead, as well as provide a coach who ensures organizational cultural changes is accepted and executed throughout the organization. It must be everyone’s objective in the group to provide a positive attitude, embrace change, and not allow any blocking obstacles to change achievement. By performing as a team that enables change, the self-esteem of the organization will remain high and the organization will grow.