246 TRANSFORMING YOUR LEADERSHIP CULTURE
any of the major assumptions and beliefs that operated in the
organization.
During our efforts to support Dawson in unfreezing his team
and the organization, he was very open and personable. Yet in
the presence of the team, he glossed over whatever signifi cant
challenges were presented. He avoided challenges that he could
have used as an opening for engaging deeply with his team and
instead pushed that task to us. Whenever team members chal-
lenged our framework and process, Dawson reassured them
instead of standing up and creating some Headroom for change.
It became clear that Dawson used consultants as pawns in his
hide - and - seek game of avoiding serious change issues.
The senior team contained a few talented leaders ready to
make changes, but when these few risk - taking team members
confronted Dawson publicly about the absence of a real busi-
ness strategy, he became ambivalent and shifted the conversa-
tion to operational issues and emergencies. Thus, in public, his
Moderator leader logics undermined the change process that he
had consistently endorsed in private. At the same time, he shel-
tered team members who did not want to do change work, assur-
ing them that their wishes mattered.
Our View
Eventually we came to believe that Global Electronics was
largely incapable of change and transformation because neither
the team nor individuals on it were ready to lead change, and
we disengaged. The major obstacles were the CEO ’ s wavering
intentions about the need and focus for change, his capitulation
to the team around issues of control, and his constant activity
without much awareness of the need to think beyond the imme-
diate pressures of time.
A key insight from this case is that Dominators and
Moderators in powerful positions will do anything in their power
to block signifi cant change. Their logic demands ultimate control