A Particular Type of Change Agent

Author:  

Publisher: Society for Organizational Learning

ISSN: 1536-0148

Source: Reflections: The SoL Journal, Vol.11, Iss.1-2, 2011-12, pp. : 25-33

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Abstract

During our investigation into learning in companies, we identified people who play a key role. They are vehicles for the momentum of change and stimulate organizational transformation, hence the term “change agents.” We could try to compile a portrait of a typical change agent, but these are not standard types. Each person has an individual profile, describing his or her personal and professional career, company, and business culture. To respect the wide variety in their profiles while highlighting what characterizes and distinguishes them, we will use six different spotlights to present change agents from six different angles:• The means through which they emerge and multiply• Their ability to act as “pragmatic humanists”• Their internal make-up and the type of leadership they embody• The particular characteristics of their personal journeys• The limitations of navigating by sight• An outline of their evolutionThe portraits will overlap, hopefully providing enough nuances and differences in emphasis to avoid simplistic clichés.