Leader competencies, activities and successful change in the Royal Air Force

Two research questions are explored in this paper: what are the specific leader activities that contribute most to successful change in the Royal Air Force? And, what are the specific dimensions of leadership that contribute to successful change in the Royal Air Force? The results of a study into the part that leadership plays in successful change in the Royal Air Force (RAF) are presented. The Leadership Dimensions questionnaire was used to measure the dimensions of leadership and change contexts, and a 360° feedback questionnaire gathered data on leader activities and the success of change programmes. The sample population was senior management in the RAF with 360° feedback from colleagues. Hierarchies of the leader activities and dimensions of leadership are presented to identify the components that exert the strongest influence on the success of leading change in the RAF. Managing resources, engaging communication and empowering were identified as the three dimensions that contribute most towards successful change; and ‘creating a clear vision’, ‘adjusting the work culture to meet the long term needs of the change’ and ‘generating early successes’ were the three leader activities that exhibited the strongest influence on success. Recommendations are presented for future research in this area and for the RAF, based on these findings.