TRANSFORMATIONAL STEWARDSHIP: A BALANCING ACT

To initiate change successfully, transformational stewards must balance a number of competing interests. In particular, they must work within structural bureaucratic limitations, satisfy (to the extent possible) the diverse, complex interests of stakeholders, and maintain appropriate political and board accountability. At they same time they must consistently move forward with a practical change agenda that enhances agency effectiveness. Leadership development approaches have traditionally sought to address the need for this balance by providing general collaboration, negotiation, and ethics training. We feel that a more complete understanding of the requirements and mechanics of change illuminates the need for a much richer array of skills and experiences.

Is a transformational stewardship approach the “best” approach to change? Because the extent and nature of change risks vary, leaders need to rely on those sources of power and influence that are best able to balance corresponding risks and opportunities. While in some cases the nature of the risk might suggest a leader-centered or follower-centered approach, in most cases, leaders will need to adjust their leadership approach to the nature of the risk—maintaining a balanced approach. Ultimately, this will likely entail transformational stewardship that encompasses both leader- and follower-centered approaches and relies primarily on building community and mutual trust with the various stakeholders in the change effort. Kelman’s experience with procurement reform in the federal government (2005) and our cases involving Fairfax County, VHA, and N Street Village demonstrate that this approach to leadership can work.

Public and nonprofit sector change initiatives involve multiple stakeholders and often high degrees of complexity. Thus, we believe that a transformational steward will best be able to mitigate the unique combination of the sociopolitical environment, stakeholders, resources, and types of risks that arise during public and nonprofit sector change efforts.