Organizational Change and Personal Leadership: AMRAAM Project

This report analyzes the leadership strategies employed by Judy Stoleys in the AMRAAM project, a government initiative focused on the research, development, and maintenance of land-to-air missiles. The project faced challenges of overstaffing and financial burdens. The report details how Stoleys successfully implemented organizational changes, including staff retrenchment, by building trust among the project team, contractors, and stakeholders. It examines specific practices like open communication, leading by example, and addressing insecurities to foster a culture of trust. The report further outlines strategies for improving the project's culture, promoting mutual support between the government and contractors, and developing a personal leadership development plan for Stoleys to ensure continued success. The report also discusses the importance of shifting the focus from financial losses to project quality and performance and empowering contractors to make decisions, all of which contributed to the project's efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

9/10/2017
Student Name
Organizational Change & Personal Leadership Development

Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
Describe Specific Practices Project Managers Apply In Exercising Their Leadership and Management
Roles Overall...............................................................................................................................................2
3 examples of Judy Stoleys ability to develop a culture of trust on AMRAAM Program............................3
Inform Staff Regarding the Retrenchment and Offer Support.................................................................3
Confront Contractors Regarding Process Change....................................................................................3
Encouraging Remaining Staff to Multitask..............................................................................................3
3 Key learning and behavioural modification strategies used to gain trust of the Project team members....4
Lead by example.....................................................................................................................................4
Clear and open communication...............................................................................................................4
Discuss and resolve insecurities..............................................................................................................4
3 steps to change the project teams culture and promote trust, mutual support and framework between the
government and contractors.........................................................................................................................5
Placing Trust on Contractors without Suspicion and Need to Monitor....................................................5
Avoid Focusing On Financial Loss and Profits Related To the Project...................................................5
Trust Contractors Proposed Project Change and Improvement...............................................................5
Develop a Personal Leadership Development Plan for Judy Stoleys...........................................................6
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................7
References...................................................................................................................................................8

Introduction
Successful implementation of Organisations change is the true test of personal leadership skills
as it requires the individual to make tough decisions which may not be pleasant but be necessary
and beneficial for future business operations. Organisation change is especially important when
you need to re-organize the entire working system and cut down on unnecessary staff and
expenses that may be burdening the project or organization. This is the same scenario with the
AMRAAM Project which has over the years only seen more people being associated to the
project and not being retrenched (Aitken & Higgs, 2010). Over time this has led the project to
incur high expenses and dormant staffs that specialize in one role rather than multitask and
handle many roles. The case study analyses how Judy Stoleys reviews and manages the
ARMAAM Project and helps cut down the staff from 80 to just 18 and still maintain the projects
efficiency.
Describe Specific Practices Project Managers Apply In Exercising Their Leadership and
Management Roles Overall
For a manager to lead a team or department effectively they must follow a specific set of rules
which allows them to clearly outline of their goals. This is very important since it allows the
manager to retain their focus on their objective but also maintain the employees and stake holder
trust. In the private sector change management is easier to implement as compared to the
government sector due to stake holders having direct access to top management and quick
decision making. This has resulted in government projects taking a long time to adapt to changes
which has affected how the departments function and deliver on client needs (Schroeder, 2012).
The case study analysis the ARMAAM project, it is related to the research, development,
productions, and maintenance of land to air missiles. This is a government project which has
gradually seen more and more personal being involved in the project to monitor specific roles
which have led to the project being over staffed and being classified as a financial burden on the
defines department and taxpayer. Judy Stoleys then begins the project and helps re-evaluate the
project objectives and previous management approaches to reorganize the projects management
roles and make it more efficient. The case study discussed important project management

practices which must be utilized by a manager to exercise the overall leadership and management
roles despite their being pressure from higher authorities and officers against the move.
3 examples of Judy Stoleys ability to develop a culture of trust on AMRAAM Program
Trust is considered as being among one of the most important qualities and manager must gain
from their team mates so as to lead the team efficiently. Management and leadership are two
separate roles which require the individual to adopt very different strategies but they both require
the individual to gain the stake holders trust (Zak, 2017). Team mates, employees, contractors,
and suppliers must all feel secure while dealing with an individual or organization to help them
turn their attention from insecurity to focusing on their specific roles. This must always be the
case and should also be the same during staff retrenchments where the staff should still retain
trust in the leader and manager to guide them through the process in the best possible manner.
Judy Stoleys has managed to build considerable amount of trust with the staff thus allowing her
to execute the project and achieve success in the following ways
Inform Staff Regarding the Retrenchment and Offer Support
The most important point related to retaining staff strut is being open with them and informing
them regarding your plans. While this may not be pleasant at first, it demonstrates clarity a focus
and helps mature staff understand your direction. Judy Stoleys held a meeting immediately the
decision was made and informed them regarding the retrenchment plan and also mentioned the
time frame and ways the program would assist affected staff (Steele, 2012). This allowed
employed to be prepared and begin seeking alternatives and advises on losing their job from
Judy, senior members, and other sources. The organization also offered support to affected staff
to locate new jobs thus helping regain the staff's trust.
Confront Contractors Regarding Process Change
Other major issues related to project progress was related to the process followed by the
contractors while developing products on the ARMAAM project. As in all government projects,
each staff involved a considerable amount of paper work and this tool lots of time for approval
before proceeding (Harmon, 2014). To improve efficiency the process required to be simplified
but to simplify the process it was necessary for the contractors to trust the department and project
management will support their move.

Encouraging Remaining Staff to Multitask
Judy Stoleys was to improve efficiency and cutting costs and while this could be achieved by
reducing the staff members and building trust with the contractors to make the process easier it
also meant the remaining staff had to be open to multitasking (Crenshaw, 2010). This meant she
had to analyse and choose employees who were open to performing and perfect multiple tasks
making it important to select the staff who would remain very careful. It also required of them
have a general idea of all processes and be in their youth to help reduce the need for replacement
through retirement thus ensuring the project transition was successfully achieved.
3 Key learning and behavioural modification strategies used to gain trust of the Project
team members
Lead by example
Judy Stoleys would demonstrate a different approach towards leadership from the first day she
was appointed where by the problems had been clearly outlined and solutions needed
implementation. She took on the responsibility of spearheading the reform in the department
without considering the negative implications it would have on her reputation among the
employees (Baldoni, 2008). While this may have built negative sentiment at first, over time stake
holders begin viewing it as a positive trait towards the development of the project.
Clear and open communication
Open and clear communication must always be practiced by a leader so as to gain employee
trust. Back biting. Blame and critique should not be made against an individual to other without
their knowledge. It’s critical to confront the individual directly and inform them regarding your
intention (Melecio, 2014).
Discuss and resolve insecurities
Building trust among staff and stake holders also means inviting them to disclose their
insecurities. These can then be listed and analysed after which proposal developed to help to
resolve the insecurities. This has been observed in the case study on several occasions such as
when Judy Stoleys informs staff that the project will be experiencing a major retrenchment over
the next 12 months but the program heads will help affected staff resettles and secure other
employment opportunities. Another example is when she confronts the contractors regarding the

current process related to adopting and implementing change (Grant & Kirton, 2007). Mistrust is
the main reason that processes are prolonged but as Judy demonstrates that she can be relied on
and places her faith the contractor, they gradually begin trusting her word and processes
implementation and changes begin faster.
3 steps to change the project teams culture and promote trust, mutual support and
framework between the government and contractors
Placing Trust on Contractors without Suspicion and Need to Monitor
One of the biggest problems facing the ARMAAM project was the lack of faith and trust with
the contractors which led the project heads to hire multiple staff members to monitors different
ARMAAM project processes. This was mainly due to lack of trust while dealing with the
contractors leading to each process needed to be monitored. This also meant more approvals
where required and also instigated the contractor to take more precautions before making any
proposed changes to the project. Overall this leads the project to nurture mistrust and suspicion
among stake holders (Wrench, 2013). This needed to be eliminated by removing the requirement
to monitor the contractors every move which would allow her to build faith and trust in the
management of the project over time. This would also help speed up the projects change
implementation which would allow for more productivity and efficiency to be achieved.
Avoid Focusing On Financial Loss and Profits Related To the Project
Another major concern linked to the ARMAAM project was the management concern related to
monitoring and restricting the contractor’s budget and profits made on projects. This was a
wrong approach since the official was influencing the projects to progress by restricting finances.
This resulted in limiting profits associated to the ARMAAM project which limited the number of
interested contractors. Removing the restrictions would make the contracts more profitable and
attract more contractors which would help increase diversity and project implementation. It
would also encourage the current contractors to focus more on project quality and performance
due to the increased interest by other contractors who would act as competitors.
Trust Contractors Proposed Project Change and Improvement
Another major concern hampering trust is restrictions and limitations related to change and
improvements were again the proposals needed to be drawn and approved. Instead, Judy Stoleys

would propose leaving the decision on the contractors solely. This is due to them being the
professionals in the field and making them more knowledgeable regarding the required changes.
Rather than re-evaluate their proposed changes focus would be turned towards examining how
the costs can be limited and success rate increased by placing the contractors responsible for the
final outcome. This would mean the contractor was liable to answer questions related to quality
breach and failure thus instigating them to focus more on proposals which offer a higher rate of
when implemented. Failure would result in them needing to report and compensate the
government for the losses which would speed up the process and ensure quality was achieved.
Develop a Personal Leadership Development Plan for Judy Stoleys
For Judy Stoleys to successful register success on the projects, it is critical to develop a 4 step
leadership development plan which would allow here to evaluate the current scenario. Visualize
her goals and intentions, plans the implementation process and constantly monitors and evaluate
progress. This is important as it would allow her to maintain consistency with regard to the
progress of the project which is critical towards successful implementation of the proposed plan
(Timms, 2016). Only by maintaining a record of the plan will she be able to monitor her own
progress thus allowing her to focus more towards achieving the goals and securing success.
Metrics
Evaluate the Project and list
the current statisticss
Vision
Identify the future goals and
set targets to achieve
Plan
Develop a clear
implementation plan
outlining approaches to be
utilized
Evaluate
Monitored and
reported.Track of all changes
and document their
achievement
Leadership
Development Plan

Conclusion
Today many government projects have been identified to be very costly despite there being many
developments in technology and management which can assist managing the projects. This is
due to the lack of initiative and drives from the project managers who simply ignore the need to
implement change and make processes more efficient and cost effective. This makes it important
for leaders to change their perception related to their leadership roles with the goals of improving
effeminacy and process implementation as opposed to monitoring contractors and other stake
holders.

References
Aitken, P., & Higgs, M. (2010). Developing Change Leaders: The Principles and Practices of Change
Leadership Development. Berlington: Routledge.
Baldoni, J. (2008). Lead by Example: 50 Ways Great Leaders Inspire Results. New York: AMACOM Div
American Mgmt Assn.
Crenshaw, D. (2010). The Myth of Multitasking: How "Doing It All" Gets Nothing Done. John Wiley &
Sons.
Grant, C. H., & Kirton, R. M. (2007). Governance, Conflict Analysis and Conflict Resolution. Kingston: Ian
Randle Publishers.
Harmon, P. (2014). Business Process Change. Walthem: Morgan Kaufmann.
Melecio, N. (2014). Build Your Organization from the Inside-out: Developing People Is the Key to Healthy
Leadership. Lulu Press, Inc.
Schroeder, C. (2012). Leadership and Management - A closer look on Differences and Managerial Roles.
GRIN Verlag.
Steele, R. D. (2012). The Open-Source Everything Manifesto: Transparency, Truth, and Trust. Berkeley:
North Atlantic Books.
Timms, M. (2016). Succession Planning That Works: The Critical Path of Leadership Development.
Victoria: FriesenPress.
Wrench, J. S. (2013). Workplace Communication for the 21st Century: Tools and Strategies that Impact
the Bottom Line [2 volumes]: Tools and Strategies That Impact the Bottom Line, Volume 1.
Califonia: ABC-CLIO.
Zak, P. J. (2017). Trust Factor: The Science of Creating High-Performance Companies. New York:
AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn.