Author: Diana D Williams

Empowering Employees

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Organization Synergist (OS)

 

   
 

The greatest benefit of empowering and enabling employees is the increased productivity that empowered and enabled employees bring to an organization. The more employees are empowered and enabled, the greater is the cumulative and collective value of their empowerment.  Empowerment and enablement also create self-respect and satisfy self-actualization needs all people have.  When these needs are met, employees are happier and more satisfied.  The result of happier employees is increased productivity and profitability to the organization.  Learning organizations thrive on empowered and enabled employees because of the rapid environmental changes that require strategic decisions to be made at all organizational levels.

What is an empowered and enabled employee?

Empowered employees are employees who have the resources they need to be successful.  Those resources could be the authority to make a necessary decision within the capacity of one’s position.   An example would be an employee who works with major vendors of an organization.  That employee should have the power and authority to enter binding agreements with those vendors on behalf of the organization, at least to some degree.  Enabled employees are those who have the tools, which include information and knowledge that they need to successfully perform their functions within their organization.  An example would be providing employees with adequate training for their functions, and up-to-date technologies that enable them to be effective within their task environment.  The essence of empowerment is demonstrating to the employee the value you see in them.  The rewards are great!

Difficulties that can impede organizational transformation

Leaders can face a variety of difficulties that impede their ability to transform their organization into learning organizations with empowered and enabled employees.

First, they may not have created shared vision.  Shared vision is created through clarity, enthusiasm, commitment, and communication.  One problem is mistaking compliance with commitment, which are not the same.  Shared vision means understanding the needs and desires of the employees, and discovering ways to meet their needs and desires, and then showing them how their desires can complement the organization’s needs and goals.  Shared vision also means being honest about problems, and allowing employees to share in the responsibility of solving those problems.  Again, it demonstrates value.  Leaders must also use what Senge calls creative tension, which is the discrepancy that employees see between what is current and the future vision.  This discrepancy causes a certain degree of tension.  However, that tension can be the pulling force that energizes them towards the vision (Senge, 1990).

Another major difficulty that leaders can experience is a lack of systems thinking. Real solutions require having the ability to see the interrelatedness of each part.  When leaders fail to see the whole picture, they may solve one problem and create a whole new problem in another area, that may not surface until years later.  Senge calls this, “compensatory feedback” (Senge, 1990, p.58).  Leaders must have the ability to work and transition between several teams at the same time, switching hats with each team.  As Marquardt (2011) points out, it’s not just about managing the team; you have to become a trusted part of the team (Marquardt, 2011).  This means convincing them that you care about their welfare as well as that of the organization.

Personal mastery can also be a problem.  Senge defines personal mastery as, “. . . a process of continually focusing and refocusing on what one truly wants, on one’s vision” (Senge, 1990, p. 149).  He points out how many people do not know what they really want, which is the first step in personal mastery.  Knowing what one truly wants is the impetus that creates the energy to achieve one’s desires.  It involves understanding the distinction between vision and purpose.  Purpose alone is not sufficient.  Purpose is more of a direction, while vision is the destiny.  People must know what it is they really desire.  Leaders have to help people discover their own vision, and then help them see how their vision can complement the organization’s vision.

Mental models can also be a major block to organizational transformation.  Mental models involve the inner assumptions that people have about the way things are.  These powerful assumptions often dictate our actions and behaviors, even though they may be completely contrary to reality.   They may be the reason that leaders fail to be open to new ideas and innovations that need to replace old ways and methods of doing things.  Mental models can become sacred cows that leaders are unwilling to give up, despite the cost to the organization.  They must be uncovered, challenged, and corrected when necessary.

Another difficulty is team learning.  Teams have to learn at both the individual and collective levels.  Without individual learning, team learning will not occur.  Organizational learning happens as a result of team learning.  This requires a hands-on approach by  skilled leaders who know how to galvanize people and help them to all go in the same direction.  This creates synergy and what Senge calls alignment (Senge, 1990).  The leader has to function much like a concert conductor who coordinates all the pieces into a work of art (Senge, 1990).  This requires involvement at the organizational cellular level.

These are all examples of how transformational leadership must function.  A leader has to flow through the different parts of the organization in order to impart what is needed, and to monitor what is actually happening in each element of the organization. This is what enables systems thinking, and understanding how one element is affecting the other.  In this way, the leader is able to see the problem areas and deal with them before they create a systemic problem.

Marquardt, M.J. (2011). Building the learning organization. Nicholas Brealey Publishing, Boston, MA.

Senge, P.M. (1990). The fifth discipline the art & practice of the learning organization. Doubleday. New York, NY.

 

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How Your Values Will Impact Your Leadership

Leadership

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Our values are reliable and powerful predictors of our behaviors.  Even when we are not fully aware of what they are, over time they will increase in stability.  Their power lies in the fact that they form the basis for many of our responses to situations and circumstances we face throughout our lives.  From them we determine what’s right and what’s wrong, what’s good and what’s bad.  They also play a role in our priorities which means that they impact and guide our choices.  Even when we don’t like the values we have, they remain what Goleman (1998) calls an “inner rudder” with emotional power that moves us to act (Le Fevre, 1999, para. 4).

Hughes, Ginnett and Curphy (Hughes, et al.) define ethics as a branch of philosophy that deals with principles of right conduct.  Morality is defined as rules of conduct that are applied in actual behavior (Hughes, et al., 2012).  What’s important to remember is that both principles and rules are primarily taught and learned as a part of an educational process.  But values are different.  They switch from that which is taught to what is caught through the process of socialization, implying a totally different process for acquiring values (Hughes, et al., 2012).

Historical and cultural events play an important role in creating our values.  For instance, if you talk to people who lived through the Great Depression of 1929,  you will discover that they greatly value stability and what we might call the more traditional values.  It’s not hard to understand why.  Their lives were totally uprooted and interrupted for many years.  They saw everything they trusted and believed in fall apart.   Baby Boomers, those brought up during times of major social changes, such as the struggles of the civil rights movement, freedom and self-expression, they tend to hold values consistent with passionate change and making your mark on the world.  This is how those events impacted them.  Generation Xers, those brought up between 1960 and 1980, are products of the technology era where we saw significant changes in employment norms, social interdependence, and institutional hierarchies, they value opportunity more so than loyalty, independence, and little or no sacrifice.  Nexters followed the Xers, and are the products of the uncertainty and the dissolution of what was.  They were brought up during times when organizations that were considered foundational to our society began to fold.  As a result, the Nexters value the right to set new values, since in their minds, the established values didn’t hold up (Hughes, et al., 2012).

Medical advances and technology have enabled people to not only live longer, but to also continue as active participants in the affairs of life.  The end result is a world that consists of people with totally different values that are attempting to merge into one functional society.  This means that leaders today not only have to understand and tolerate different values, but they must also possess unique skill sets and wisdom to function effectively despite the differences.  To meet the new challenges will begin with awareness that it exists.

Contrary to what many people believe, value variances is not necessarily a negative.  The reason is that while values will change, principles and rules of conduct remain the same.  This means that when values differ, the unchanging principles and rules, will rule.  Since everyone has different values, we must rely on principles of right and wrong, good and evil.  This forces leaders to adhere to the same principles and rules of conduct, or face exposure and replacement.  It’s the same process that created the anti-discrimination agenda.  It’s the same process that is responsible for the recent uprisings in so many totalitarian nations.  The principles of human rights have outlived and outweighed the change and variances of social values.

As organizations continue to fail as a result of unethical leadership, those leaders will no longer be able to justify unethical behaviors by shifting blame to others, creating new buzz words to camouflage their actions, or other means of moral justification.   The demand for accountability will become the impetus for an increase of genuine authentic leadership that demonstrates consistency between values and actions.   The call for transparency will likewise give rise to more servant leaders, who are genuinely focused on developing others.  These will be the leaders who will harness the power needed to galvanize others to accomplish organizational goals.

References

Hughes, R.L., Ginnett, R. C., Curphy, G.J.   (2012).  Leadership enhancing the lessons of

experience.  (7th Ed.).   McGraw-Hill Irwin, New York, NY.

Le Fevre, J.  (1999).  Values and leadership.  Retrieved on July 13, 2012 from

http://www.magmaeffect.com/images/Values_and_Leadership.pdf

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Five Types of Power and How Leaders Use Them

Leadership

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FIVE COMMON TYPES OF POWER

Power is a tool that leaders use to influence the attitudes, behaviors, and even the values of subordinates to achieve organizational goals and objectives.  They may use it to change unwanted attitudes and behaviors, or to encourage attitudes they desire.  Most people have at one time worked with co-workers who had attitudes that were contrary to productivity and team unity.  Leaders attempt to discourage those undesirable behaviors through wise and appropriate use of power, hoping to extract some intrinsic value that can be found in all people, for the benefit of both the individual’s success and that of the organization.   Hughes, Ginnett and Curphy define power as, “the capacity to cause change” (Hughes, et al., 2012, p.119).  To be successful, leaders must understand the different types of power, as well as how and when it is appropriate to use each type.

Five Common Types of Power

Power comes from different sources.  Some power is given, and some is earned.  For example, Expert power is earned by achieving a high degree of knowledge or skill in a particular area.  Because it’s earned, it can be obtained and exercised by leaders as well as followers.  Expert power is also affected by situation since a person can be an expert in one situation and not an expert in another.  A primary source of expert power is often education, but it can also be attained by way of tenure and experience.  People typically listen attentively to the person they believe or know to have expert power.

Referent power is power that comes from the strength of interpersonal relationship.  Like expert power, it too is earned through consistency and faithfulness, and received in exchange for meeting certain interpersonal needs of one party in the relationship.  Typically, referent power is very influential because it is relational.  Just as we listen to those with expert power, we draw close to those who possess referent power.  Its relational nature makes it vulnerable to loss, as opposed to expert power.  Authority figures can demand a subordinate to do something, but they cannot demand the high degree of commitment that is typically associated with referent power.  It is most powerful when used in conjunction with legitimate power.

Legitimate power is formal authoritative power that one has as a result of their position or title within an organization.  Subordinates comply with legitimate power out of obligation, even when they don’t believe it is deserved.  Unlike referent power, where people commit and cooperate because of their admiration likes and dislikes are not a part of the legitimate power equation.  When you accept a position in an organization, you accept the legitimate power the organization has confers to certain positions.  Legitimate power is the most valuable type of power to use in times of crises, when quick decisions need to be made and fast action is required.  But it does not belong only to leaders.  Employees also have a degree of legitimate power conferred to them through labor unions and laws, and regulations.

Reward power is an effective tool and a very popular method of influencing people through the control of desired resources.  Leaders reward subordinates with praise and recognition, bonuses and promotions for doing well.  Followers also reward leaders with admiration, loyalty, and commitment to show their appreciation.  Reward power is most effective when the rewards are valued by the recipient, which means the giver has to have knowledge of what the recipient values.  It must also be used with caution, precision and consistency.  Leaders should decide on what performance they will reward, and how it will be rewarded across the board.

Coercive power is actually the opposite of reward power, and uses the application of negative experiences to influence others, such as fear of punishment, or threat of loss of something valued. It can be as simple as a parent withholding the allowance of a teen, or as severe as a judge pronouncing a jail sentence.  It can be very effective in managing behavior, but like reward power, it must be used with caution to avoid abuse (Hughes, Ginnett, and Curphy, 2012).

Hughes, R.L. (2012). Leadership enhancing the lessons of experience seventh

     edition. McGraw-Hill Irwin. New York, NY.

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Five Characteristics for 21st-Century Leaders

Leadership

leadership skills graph-thumbCharacteristics of learning leaders

There are five characteristics learning leaders of 21st-Century organizations must possess to be successful:  perception and insight, motivation, emotional strength, cultural innovation, and participatory influence.

Perception and insight

Cultural assumptions are unconscious beliefs and values that are shared by the members of an organization that determine behavior, perception, thought, and feelings of the members of that organization.  Because they are unconscious, the learning leader must learn to be perceptive in understanding the concept of cultural issues.  This includes how to analyze, impact, and/or change the dysfunctional elements of a culture.  Driskill and Brenton (2011) explain that cultural elements are not the culture itself; they only create the culture and reveal it.  This means that the leader must possess the skills to observe cultural elements, which could be symbols, stories, values, artifacts, rituals, or rules, and discern insightful meanings as to what those elements say about the underlying assumptions of its members, how those assumptions are manifested in the attitudes of its members, and the impact of those assumptions on the success or failure of the organization.  Driskill and Brenton call these elements, “surface manifestations of culture that offer insights into deeper layers of assumptions and values” (Driskill, Brenton, 2011, p.41).

Motivation

Learning leaders must be self-motivated purpose-driven people, motivated by their commitment to the well-being and success of the organization and its members. This commitment to the organization becomes the impetus for initiating the painful process of confronting cultural issues associated with one’s own organization, and beginning the arduous task of cultural and human behavioral changes that are accomplished through unfreezing, intervention, refreezing, and implementation (Daft, Marcic, 2011).  Schein states that these leaders must learn to skillfully communicate their dedication and commitment to the organization and to others, above and beyond their own personal success (Schein, 2010).

Emotional strength

People resist change for a variety of  reasons.  They may believe the change will conflict with their own self-interests in some way.  They may lack an understanding about the change and trust.  There may be levels of uncertainty regarding the change.  Some may worry that the change may differ from their own goals and plans (Daft, Marcic, 2011).  Attempts to change organizational culture will produce anxiety as predictability is removed, and subject the leader to be a target of member anger, discontentment, and criticism.  The leader must learn to be thick-skinned, capable of bearing the targeted abuse, and always ready to re-communicate the well-being of the organization as the primary reason for the proposed change (Schein, 2010).

Ability to Change the Cultural Assumptions

            Any cultural assumption that is being targeted for replacement, must be replaced or redefined by the learning leader, with a new innovative value or concept, which must be skillfully reiterated to its members.  The leader must therefore not only possess the ability to know what is culturally inadequate, but he or she must also have the ability of deciding what the proper assumption should be, and successfully ensuring that the new assumption is properly embedded into the organizational culture (Schein, 2010).

Participatory Influence

The learning leader must be fully engaged in the process with others in the organizational community, by learning to genuinely listen to their concerns and solicit their insights, ensuring them that their concerns are important to him.  Schein states that the end result of cultural change is that the assumption is redefined in the minds of its members, which will require full and active participation on their part.  This will require skillful relationship management on the part of the learning leader, and humility in recognizing that he or she does not possess all the answers (Schein, 2010).

References

Daft, R.L., Marcic, D.  (2011).  Understanding management 7th edition.  South-Western Cengage

Learning.  Mason, OH 45040.

Driskill, G.W., Brenton, A.L.  (2011).  Organizational culture in action a cultural analysis

      workbook 2nd edition.   Sage Publications, Inc.  Thousand Oaks, CA 91320.

Schein, E.H.  (2010).  Organizational culture and leadership fourth edition.  John Wiley & Sons,

Inc.  San Francisco, CA  94103-1741.

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The Learning Dynamics of Learning Organizations

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Diana D Williams, Leadership Specialist

The dynamics of learning organizations center around its core subsystem, learning.  To understand the concept of the learning dynamics of a learning organization begins with an understanding of what learning is, especially as distinguished from  acquiring of knowledge.   Learning is a proactive activity that is planned.  It occurs when we decide we want to learn.  It is reflective in that it requires us to think about the knowledge we have acquired from experiences, observation, or documentation.   The most distinguishing factor about learning is that it is creative.  When learning takes place, it enables you to do something you were unable to do prior to the learning; which means that learning is a cyclical process that changes based upon the type of learning that is taking place.

The three subsystems that encircle learning are:  learning levels, learning types, and learning skills.  In order for genuine organizational learning to take place, and for the organization to become smarter as a result of that learning, each subsystem must be fully operational and functioning (Marquardt, 2011).

Learning must occur at three levels within the learning organization, beginning with the individual level, to the group level, and finally the organizational level.  It begins at the individual level because organizations themselves are comprised primarily of individuals who must begin the learning process.  At this level of learning, key elements are the individual’s commitment and ability to learn.  Commitment takes place at the personal level.  Ability to learn involves available opportunities to learn, and personal learning skill and potential.

The second level of learning is group learning, which is extremely important for learning organizations who function and accomplish organizational goals as self-directed teams.  The teams are comprised of committed self-directed learners, who now bring their commitment to learning as a group, which includes learning to collaborate what they have learned with others, as well as learning collectively from others in the group.  Learning collaboratively and collectively releases creativity as learners reflect off of one another, and increases group effectiveness as suggestions of possible solutions are jointly evaluated.  The goals of group learning should be aligned with organizational goals to increase synergy within the team or group (Marquardt, 2011).

Organizational learning occurs through the sharing of experiential learning among employees at all levels, and the strategic application and documentation of the results of those experiences, which become organizational policies, strategies, and procedures.  The effectiveness of organizational learning is directly related to the effectiveness of individual and group learning.

The three types of learning are adaptive, anticipatory, and action learning.  Adaptive learning begins with an action that produces a result, which is reflected upon.  The learner adapts his or her actions in order to produce a more desirable outcome.  Anticipatory learning begins with a desired outcome, and moves to reflection on how to accomplish that outcome, and ends with an action.  Action learning begins with real and specific problems, which are evaluated based upon the reflection of available knowledge to produce the best solutions, which is implemented and assessed during and after implementation (Marquardt, 2011).

The third major learning dynamic of learning organizations are five specific skills that enhance the learning capacities of individuals and thus the organization as a whole.  These skills are: systems thinking, mental models, personal mastery, self-directed learning, and dialogue (Marquardt, 2011).

Systems thinking is a skill that enables individuals to visualize and understand the interconnectedness of phenomena.  This value of this skill is to see a clear picture of the problem to be solved, which increases the effectiveness of problem solving.  Mental models are the pictures that people have at both the conscious and unconscious levels about elements of life.  These pictures are developed from experiences and culture, and are powerful because they affect behavior, even though they may be inaccurate and contrary to reality.  Individuals must become aware of the mental models they possess, and be willing to change them when necessary, so that they align with reality.  Personal mastery is a personal commitment to continually learn and improve, to benefit self and organization.  Self-directed learning is accepting responsibility for our own learning.  It doesn’t mean we will not need help, but we acknowledge our responsibility to seek and get the help we need.  Dialogue is effective communication.  It means listening to learn and understand, as well as learning to express one’s own ideas to assist in the collective learning process which is at the core of organizational learning.

Marquardt, M.J.  (2011).  Building the learning organization.  Nicholas Brealey Publishing.  Boston, MA.

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Globalization: Good or Bad?

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Diana D Williams
Christian Leadership Coach (CLC)

The answer to this question depends on who you ask.  If you ask leaders and business people of some small and many medium to large-sized companies, they are likely to tell you that globalization is great!  Why?  Because it literally gives them the world as their marketplace, where they can discover new markets for their products.   Developing countries also serves as labor pools for them to access cheap labor that enables them to save millions plus each year.  Of course, this brings some monies to our economy, but it probably works better for the developing nation whose people get all of those low paying jobs.   For them, low pay is better than no pay.

The downside of globalization is that while the rich get richer, the poor are getting poorer.  In the U.S., the jobs that are now going overseas to some developing nation are the same jobs that our poor would have taken; that puts them out of work and dependent on government handouts.   But it also negatively affects our economy in other ways.  Think for just a moment about all of the services and products that are connected to the jobs that are now going overseas; they’re also gone.  That affects jobs that may be listed at a higher level like plant supervisors or production managers.   The greatest problem with globalization and more specifically outsourcing are the people in developing nations who don’t have the protection of labor laws and safety regulations to protect them from poor working conditions and safety hazards.   This means we can expect more labor exploitation of the poor in foreign countries.

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The First Step in Building an Effective Team

Teams

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How to Get Your Team to Commit and Buy-in to Your Vision

One of the first steps a leader does in building an effective team, is to rally employees around a worthwhile meaningful organizational goal.  To do this, the leader uses his or her legitimate power and influence to get a commitment — sometimes called a buy-in — from the members of the team to work toward certain goals.    To get this buy-in, the leader has to clearly articulate the purpose and goals for the team, establish performance standards, and make certain that the goals of the individual teams members are the same as the goals of the team.   This is an important and vital first step in building an effective team because commitment is the fuel that accomplishes goals.   The power of commitment lies in its emotional and psychological attachment and subsequent reward to employees who are committed to the same goals as the organization.

There are three components to organizational commitment:  affective, continuance, and normative commitment.  Affective commitment relates to the emotional attachment an employee has to the values and goals of his organization.   Affective commitment is impacted by job satisfaction and the personal values of the employee.   Continuance commitment is the degree to which an employee is determined to remain with the organization.   In other words, an employee who has plans to leave the organization will not be as committed as one who sees himself as long-term.  Normative commitment is the sense of obligation.  It’s a socialized commitment that is influenced by co-workers.

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The Impact of the Internet on Business

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Advanced technologies and the Internet have forever changed many of the fundamental ways that we as a society do business.   The availability of instant information has removed the element of time from the business process.   Information is what business leaders use to make major decisions.   Access to instant information means that their decisions are being made at record speed, with time no longer being a part of the equation.   Change is the product of decision.  With instant decisions also comes instant change.

Business competition has been exponentially increased as a result of the Internet and online marketing.  Now small vendors can reach markets in other countries, just like their larger counterparts.   Basically, understanding the needs and psychology of your market and how to reach them online has become more relevant to sales success than having a large marketing budget.   This has dramatically narrowed the competitive edge that many medium-sized firms  have had over smaller firms.  Smaller firms are now very capably competing for the very same markets.

The Internet has also created a interconnected global community.   The economy of our nation is intertwined with the economies of those with whom we whom we do business across the seas.   Just as the United States owns and operates businesses in foreign countries, those same foreign countries own and operate businesses right here in the U.S.  The impact of this interconnectedness means that as a nation, we must be concerned to some degree about economic conditions overseas.  It means that by necessity, we do business with nations with whom we may politically disagree.   This is the nature of a global economy.

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