Administrative Change Leadership: The Dialogic Change Model
Why is the dialogic change model so relevant to Change leadership in Outdoor recreation?
When the great American outdoor activist John Muir began exploring the vast expanses of land that lie in the north of California he knew that these extraordinary lands needed protection. Muir’s reverence for the wild places in our country was a guiding light by which he worked to help solidify the protection of land that would eventually pave the way for the future of the National Parks. When dissecting his approach to leadership in his MPA administrative leadership coursework, Andrew found it helpful to represent his form of leadership using the dialogic change model. This model breaks down leadership, and more importantly change-leadership, into four cyclical stages of development that all flow around an important understanding of stakeholder engagement. The first, “Exploring and Engaging” finds the leader building an understanding of what they and others would like to accomplish. This includes research into the need for change and engagement of the public to better understand the fundamentals by which the organization and its members (stakeholders) will be built upon. The second stage is that of “Building and Formalizing” which finds the leader creating the structures of communication, culture, professional norms, and the financing/funding of the organization. Third, the leader moves on to “Implementing and Evaluating”, where they implement methods for change through administrative policy and then create time and purpose for project reflection to better their scope and practice with regards to public interest. Last is the final stage of “Developing Further, Replicating or Institutionalizing” where the leader and the organization take the knowledge gained from reflection to modify and improve before the replication and institutionalizing of the policy for future opportunities.
When Andrew researched this model last summer, he had no idea how the dialogic change model would come to bear such importance on his soon to be role as a leader within a non-profit organization. As a founding member of the Morgantown Area Mountain Bike Alliance (MAMBA), Andrew found himself applying the dialogic change model in almost every aspect of his leadership style. He sought to explore and engage the public about the inherent need for more shared usage and mountain bike friendly trails and infrastructure in the Morgantown area. Once MAMBA had solidified their base and created a mission and purpose, Andrew helped to construct by-laws, articles of incorporation, budget and financial frameworks, and formalized regular board meetings and organizational norms for the organization to follow. In the last three months since the non-profits creation, MAMBA has been implementing and evaluating their efforts through trail work, social media messaging, and direct public engagement in parks and riding areas around Morgantown. The feedback and constant messaging that they receive will help them as an organization in the coming months as they look forward to being an active partner with the city of Morgantown and West Virginia University’s strategic Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative the dialogic change model will be a constant focal point for Andrew’s leadership style within the organization.
