Organizational Leadership and Resistance to Change in Commercial Banks in Kenya

Abstract

Organizational change in commercial banks within Kenya has become significant since it has helped a number of banks in realizing their shared goals and objectives to become more profitable. Organizational change has enabled Kenyan banks to grow their branch networks thus increasing shareholders value whilst at the same time diversifying earnings from enhanced business opportunities and improved product and services offerings to customers. Organizational change has also facilitated the sharing of expertise through constant learning and development of new skills and knowledge across the banking industry. However, these benefits are a consequence of effective organizational leadership in managing human resistance to change. The objective of this study was; to determine the nature of organizational leadership, establish the nature of resistance to change, and discover the significance of organizational leadership in managing resistance to change in commercial banks in Kenya. Primary data was collected through a structured questionnaire and summarized using descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. The results of this study indicated that the most essential function of organizational leadership was the interpersonal function in which participation, involvement, support, negotiation, agreement, effective education and communication strategies between organizational leaders and their employees were significant in managing resistance. Organizational leadership facilitated employee engagement, commitment and motivation to adapt to change thereby leading to successful implementation of change. Resistance to change was also found to be valuable during change since it provided a vital foundation for creativity and innovation whilst eliminating unsuitable aspects of change. Resistance stimulated organizational stability particularly where change was unfavorable.