Author(s): Mashilo David Mogale
This study assessed the role played by leadership in successfully managing change within a telecommunications company in South Africa. The study adopted a qualitative research method. The researcher used the purposive sampling technique to gather the participants and the relevant documents for review. As such, a sample size of 3 senior executives was used. Data was collected using multiple data collection methods such as interviews, media reports and the integrated report for the telecommunications company to eliminate bias. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. The findings showed that the telecommunications company implemented several changes such as a new strategy, business model renewal, leadership and organizational culture change. Additionally, the findings showed that the management indeed faced resistance to change from employees and other senior managers. Hence, they had to come up with an active and ongoing engagement strategy to educate organizational members about the change. Regarding the change process, the researcher found that the senior executives adopted a customized change process which was informed by their rich experiences in facilitating change. Essentially, it was found out that effective leadership played a crucial role in making the change management process a success. The senior executives reported that because of the new leadership and new strategy, the organization started performing well. The findings of this study are of value as they add new evidence to the body of knowledge regarding effective ways of handling change management within organizations. Organizations are encouraged to adopt flexible organizational cultures which make it relatively easier to implement change.