YouTube Video L1 - Craig A. Stevens Intro to Leadership

Summary of the article, "Tightrope: Be a leader for your employees, not a parent"

By Steve Sullivan (IBM and TNU 2007)

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          Employee motivation is a tricky subject. A manager must walk a fine line between motivating and de-motivating. As a manager, you must be careful not to over lead by treating your employees as a child or under lead by providing not enough directions. In an article in USA TODAY, Gladys Edmunds attempts to help manager dealing with just such an issue.

            Edmunds article, “Tightrope: Be a leader for your employees, not a parent” explains “each individual must come with his or her own stuff that motivates them” As our reading from the last week suggests, managers must figure out what motivates their employees individually. On Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, self-actualization - the use of talents, gifts and potential to realize your dreams is the highest need as related to drives and motivations. (Edmund)

            Edmund offers some help to this problem by answering the question, what can a manger do to help the self-motivated person.  Edmund offers the following six questions for managers to answer for them selves to help walk this tightrope.

1.     Do you hold regular staff meetings and invite suggestions and ideas from your employees?

2.     Do you use their suggestions and reward them fro their advice?

3.     Are you employees working in the jobs they were hired for?  Alternatively, did you promise one position and place them in a different one?

4.     Do you encourage them to set work goals and report their successes as those goals are reached?

5.     Have you established mutual trust between you and them? Do they feel like they can trust your judgment?

6.     Do they learn of an important business decision directly from you or through the rumor mill?

Edmund concludes the article by confirming the benefits of balancing such a tight rope. The employees that have learned by your example will be better managers for their employee. In addition, their motivation will sky rocket while under your charge.

Works Cited

Edmunds, Gladys. “Tightrope: Be a leader for your employees, not a parent.” August 13, 2007. USA TODAY, June 21, 2007. www.usatoday.com

“Frances Hesselbein, past CEO of the Girls Scouts of America, explained leadership eloquently, "Leadership is a matter of how to be, not how to do it...and... the ethics that works full-time."

Ralph Stogdill said "The most effective leaders…exhibit a degree of versatility and flexibility that enables them to adapt their behavior to the changing and contradictory demands made on them.”

Debbie Slocum (TNU 2005)

Effective Leadership Traits

By Ronie Karr, Allen McPeak, Lamar Hollingsworth, and Glenda Frierson (TNU 2006)

Introduction
 

An effective leader can possess many different character traits. The four characteristics mentioned below are a sampling of traits effective leaders demonstrate. Trusting subordinates, communication, encouraging risks, and expertise in particular field are important for an effective leadership. Out of all the valuable skills needed for an effective leadership, these four skills prove extremely helpful.
 

Trust Subordinates
 

Mutual trust between top management and employees is essential in order to be an effective leader. By recognizing employees’ potential and delegating authority when possible, employees will feel more trusted and valued. “The Seven Keys to Business Leadership,” an article featured in Fortune Magazine mentions one leader’s viewpoint on trust. Steven F. Dichter, a partner at management consulting firm McKinsey and Co. says: “You can no longer afford to manage for average performance, and if you want to get that extra margin from employees you have to loosen all the boundaries” (par 2). Leaders who want a high-commitment organization have to start relying more on the entire work force. This means pushing responsibility down the ladder. When employees’ efforts are recognized and rewarded, the quality and quantity of work will improve. Distributing work among subordinates is the only way this can happen. This act forces management to unleash their tight grasp on things and forces subordinates to take action.
 

Giving employees more responsibility and authority is an important step toward trusting subordinates. One way to give employees more authority is letting them have a voice in decisions. Donald E. Petersen, previous Ford Motor chief, was one of the first CEOs to establish this sense of teamwork. Petersen believed, “employee involvement requires participative management…anyone who has a legitimate reason, who will be affected by a decision, ought to have the feeling that people want to know how he or she feels'' (par 3). This type of attitude improved Ford’s quality of cars and improved the financial status of the company. Veterans of the industry say the change in employee attitudes was obvious. More freedom and input on decision-making enhanced employees trust. This change made employees want to work to the top of their abilities. Leaders who exude the quality of trust when dealing with employees can lead a successful company.
 

Communication

The effective leader must also have the quality of being a good communicator. He must be able to put forth his ideas clearly and concisely. If he fails in this, he will most likely fail in everything. His very life-blood depends on it.

If those who follow a leader do not receive clear instructions, the results can be disastrous. Many companies have failed because of bad communication. Lower management may not have completely understood what was required of them or their subordinates.

The good leader will not just communicate convincingly. He will communicate with authority and understanding because he has all the facts. He will also be able to answer any questions that arise. He will not be vague. Royce A. Coffin, in his book, The Communicator, says, “Don’t be vague. You may never know what misinterpretation or confusion you set in motion by not being clear and complete in what you say” (Coffin 8).

One area that people take for granted is a leader’s ability to communicate clearly while making a speech. Business communication is not just memos and policy statements. A leader must have the ability to deliver speeches in an effective manner. Social settings are another area where a leader will communicate among his employees. Even during these times, he must not remove his cloak of leadership and his ability to communicate. It is within the social scene that a leader can exert his communication skills. Socially he should be able to display the quality of genuine interest in his fellow workers. Unless a leader has a genuine interest in his fellow workers, his communications with them will seem shallow and insincere. Dale Carnegie, that great motivator of men, said it well in his classic, How to Win Friends and Influence People: “Be sincere. Do not promise anything that you cannot deliver. Forget about the benefits to yourself, and concentrate on the benefits to the other person” (Carnegie 246).

Encourage Risks

Another important factor in effective leadership is the ability to take risks. Having a certain outcome is comfortable but it does not prove to be rewarding. Taking chances builds personal growth and develops personal power within an employee and leader. Encouraging risks helps a company overcome fears, build confidence, and open new opportunities for the future.

Many leaders do not encourage risk taking among their employees. Some authority figures also never risk anything themselves because of concerns. “Fear of failure keeps many people from ever risking something new or unknown” (The New England Leadership Program par. 5). Overcoming these fears is the first step in taking risks. Provoking an employee to take on a task he is not accustomed to is intimidating. Leaders have to encourage facing fears to open creative thinking. Encouraging employees to take chances helps them overcome their fears and learn from past mistakes.

Promoting risks also helps one to build self-confidence. This assurance not only helps an employee personally but also makes a team stronger. Past mistakes even helps one with confidence by knowing what not to do. Leaders encourage risk taking because they understand that mistakes give hope to employees. Both leaders and their staff build confidence by pushing themselves to try new things. This confidence in taking chances helps everyone involved in a team become more creative.
Exploring new territory within a group develops opportunity for the future. When leaders drive their employees to take chances, the staff uncovers new ways to benefit their company. “Most organizations consider taking risks as an essential part of their success” (Simon Firth par. 6).

Encouraging risk taking can lead a company to new insights. Every risk is a success because even failures build character. When employees understand that risk taking is vital to a company, everyone in the company will benefit.

Expertise in Field

The last quality that an effective leader should possess is expertise in his or her field. Leaders in today’s market must empower themselves by knowing as much about business as possible. “Continuous Learning” is part of an ongoing process that keeps the company up-to-date. Leaders in management, owners, and supervisors need to know what is going on in the marketplace.
Leaders should have knowledge of products and services of their company as well as the competitions. These two areas are crucial for a company’s success. Leaders must recognize that customer relations are also a primary reason for the success of any company. Continual learning and improvement in these areas will be beneficial. Customer relations allow companies to be current with issues that relate to personnel and internal/external concerns. For leaders to be effective, attention to this area is critical. The novel, Geronimo Stone by Craig A. Stevens and Michael Moore discusses these issues: “If your people don’t learn incrementally, it is harder for them as the technological changes add up” (124). The book goes on to say, “Remaining competitive requires constant change and continuous improvement” (122).

Another area a leader should be educated in is marketing and research. By keeping up with the competition a company can stay proactive in its marketing. A leader must continuously study each aspect of the business in this global economy. If not, a leader may find his or her company falling behind the competition. All leaders should concern themselves with life long learning. Leaders at every level should be expected to know as much about the organization as possible. This should be a continual process, which in turn will keep the company growing.

Another goal of a leader should be to gain knowledge in order to share information with team members. Results happen when all parties share the outcomes acceptable to performance standards outlined by the organization. These goals should be common to all effective leaders. Results commonly occur through training and development. “Although training and development go hand in hand…training typically focuses on providing employees with specific skills while development is an effort to provide abilities that organizations may need in the future” ( Gomez-Majia, Balkin, & Cardy 288). The text Human Resource Management, by Gomez-Mijia, Balkin, & Candy discusses how individual standards can improve considerably. Simply put, supervisory development is an effort that enhances the learner's capacity to be a supervisor. Supervision often includes conducting basic management skills, decision making, problem solving, planning, delegation, and meeting management. This ensures conformance to personnel policies and other internal regulations. These are all critical skills for anyone who has the ability to manage their own learning. The highly motivated, self-directed leader can gain a great deal of learning through this method.
 

Conclusion

Leaders can guide companies through many different channels. Because of this, it is important to know which leadership qualities motivate employees the best. A leader that does not trust his subordinates or communicate well cannot be effective. Encouragement of risk taking and specialization in particular field is also a necessity for an effective leadership. Without these traits, a leader will have a difficult time motivating and encouraging employees.
 

Works Cited

1. Labich, Kenneth. “The Seven Keys to Business Leadership” Fortune Magazine October 1988. Money.CNN.com 26 October 2006.
   <http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1988/10/24/71165/index.htm>

2. Frey, Lois M., Duane, Dale, Bob Biagi. “Developing the Ability to Take Risks” Center for Rural Studies April 1998. CRS.UVM.edu 26 October 2006.
   <http://crs.uvm.edu/gopher/nerl/personal/risk/a.html>

3. Firth, Simon. “Afraid to Make Risky Business Decisions” HP Invent November 2005. HPL.HP.com 26 October 2006.
   <http://www.hpl.hp.com/news/2005/oct-dec/decision_insurance.html>

4. Carnegie, Dale. How to Win Friends and Influence People. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1936.

5. Coffin, Royce A. The Communicator. New York: Harper and Row, 1975.

6. Gomez-Mijia, Luis R., David B. Balkin, and Robert L. Cardy. Managing Human Resouces. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 2003

7. Stevens, Craig A., and Michael Moore. Geronimo Stone. FL: Llumina Press, 2006.

Filson, Brent. “Three Factors of Leadership Motivation.” Woopidoo! Articles: Business and Leadership. 1 September 2008. http://www.woopidoo.com/articles/filson/leadership-motivation.htm

Found by Sheila Sorrells (2008 TNU)

Leader Tips for Motivation.
http://humanresources.about.com/od/motivationsucces3/a/lead_motivation.htm.

Found by Glenda Frierson (2006 TNU)

Leaders have a choice to “Motivate or Inspire”
When we motivate, we serve ourselves first, when we inspire, we serve others first.

Lance Secretan, Inspiration by Action

Found by Allan Crooks, Darla Sansom, Callie Clark (TNU 2005)

THE KEYS TO LEADERSHIP SUCCESS
By: Karen Loso, Ruby Northcutt, Laura Smith, Mike Toney (TNU 2006)

Organizations need qualified leaders. Leaders who evolve to perform consistently within organizations must possess four key abilities to effect change. These important characteristics include applying leadership styles appropriately, communicating effectively, managing performance regularly, and developing associates responsibly. These keys, when applied skillfully, provide managers the opportunities to unlock excellence in leadership.

KEY 1: Appropriate Application of Leadership Style

Many scientific theories debate the principles that define specific leadership styles. The authors, Lee Bolman and Terrence Deal, note that agreement exists among the major studies regarding leadership (342). The conclusion reveals that there is no best leadership style (Bolman and Deal 342). One study by behavioral theorists Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard fully supports a contingency theory. Hersey and Blanchard believe that situational behavior based on contingency forms the basis of leadership styles (107). This simply means that a leader must assess situations before taking appropriate action. Progressive leaders need the ability to apply contingency or situational assessment in changing organizational environments. The contingency style of leadership is a model that provides leaders with a menu of choices of application.

Understanding Situational Leadership - Leaders who maximize effectiveness begin with the understanding of leadership style. The contingency style of leadership derives its credibility from a behavioral approach. Hersey and Blanchard define leadership style as the regular behavior patterns by leaders that create perceived influence (145). They realize that the variables of any situation in leadership are never the same. The theorists understand that leaders contend with a wide range of factors. Leaders therefore must consider contingencies such as the individuals involved and the environments of the situations (Hersey, Blanchard, and Johnson 145-173). Leaders base decisions on the amount of instruction and emotional support needed by others to accomplish tasks. Additionally, leaders must consider the attitudes and ability levels of followers to perform any designated tasks. Further, leaders use different styles of decision-making in order to motivate followers to perform well. Modification of the leaders’ behaviors takes place when followers reach needed skill levels to achieve goals (Hersey, Blanchard, and Johnson 173-188). Hersey and Blanchard call this type of leadership style Situational Leadership. Leaders using this model of leadership style must analyze each situation, applying the leadership style that best fits.

Learning The Application Process - The process of applying Situational Leadership style is a cycle that requires leaders to “diagnose, adapt, and communicate” (Hersey, Blanchard, and Johnson 144). First, leaders must determine what objectives need achieving and where to exert influence upon followers. Second, leaders must assess readiness levels for followers to achieve set goals. Third, leaders must apply the appropriate style of leadership to communicate and obtain the desired results from followers. The fourth phase or the assessment involves the analysis of the results from the leadership behavior. The final phase of application requires a follow-up assessment of the overall situation (Tubbs, Stewart L. 237-239). The chart below provides a quick overview of the Situational Leadership Model.

When leaders learn to apply task and relationship behaviors to influence others effectively, then Situational Leadership becomes successful. Task behavior is the way a leader defines roles for others. Relationship behavior involves how the leader communicates in a variety of ways. The combination of these behaviors forms subsets of situational leader behavior. The first behavioral combination, or S1, involves high task/low relationship. The next combination or S2 involves high task/high relationship behaviors. A third combination, or S3, behaviors include high relationship/low task. The last combination, or S4, behaviors include low relationship/low task. Decision styles for Situational Leadership application include telling (1), selling (2), participating (3), or delegating (4). These decision styles work in conjunction with the degrees and types of behavior that form a cycle of influential leadership (Hersey, Blanchard, and Johnson 173-190).

A successful application of Situational Leadership style must also include the abilities and willingness of followers. Hersey and Blanchard call this factor the “Readiness factor” (175). A scale rates the abilities and willingness of followers to perform tasks. Readiness, ranked in categories, includes high, moderate, and low. Rankings in these categories are from one to four. Leaders make decisions for appropriate applications of leadership style in combination with follower readiness rankings (Hersey, Blanchard, and Johnson 175-187). The table below reflects the Follower Readiness Rankings as designed by Hersey and Blanchard for Situational Leadership (236).

Followers Readiness

The readiness of a new employee requires a leader or manager to use specific rationale and behaviors. The readiness level of an experienced employee requires a leader or manager to use another combination of behaviors. For example, a new employee’s readiness level may be low to moderate. This requires S1 (telling) and S2 (selling) level leadership behavior that includes more contact with the employee. In contrast, the experienced employee’s readiness level may be moderate to high. This situation requires more S3 (participating) and S4 (delegating) leadership behavior with less contact (Hersey, Blanchard, and Johnson 171-191). The leader offers some assistance and more encouragement, but allows the employee to pursue work with less supervision.

The Necessity of Assessment and Follow-Up - The successful implementation of Situational Leadership style requires two important final steps. Assessment gives leaders the results of influence. The knowledge of results assists leaders in determining the followers’ performances as well as leadership performances. Additionally, leaders need to do follow-up procedures. This is to determine if any additional procedures are necessary to complete desired results. (Tubbs 237-239). The follow-up analyses of the situations allow leaders to address needed changes in the application cycles.

Foundation For Leadership Excellence - The first key of leadership, application of leadership style provides the foundation to leadership excellence. The concept of Situational Leadership provides adaptability to changing situations and assessment of readiness levels of followers. Further, the concept offers leaders choices of behavioral styles to achieve leadership that effects change. Moreover, this style provides a process for quantifiable results of application and follow-up. The Situational Leadership style gives leaders the needed flexibility to unlock the first key to leadership excellence.

Key 2: Effective Communications

Effective leadership requires good communication.. This communication has to be two-way communication. The results of good communication should be to gain associate alignment, agreement, and commitment.

One should keep words simple. Most people absorb about 80 percent of what they hear, so information should be broken down into small sections (Leadership, 7). Speakers often ignore their nonverbal actions. Nonverbal actions make-up the majority of communication and can determine how a message is understood. Visual, tactile, vocal, spatial, and images are all forms of non-verbal communications. A nonverbal action can be body language or even the tone that the speaker uses. Nonverbal actions can cause the receiver to interpret the message incorrectly or differently from what the speaker intended (Importance, 2).

Tips to Help Communicate Effectively
1. One person can only talk at a time.
2. Be quick to listen and slow to speak.
3. Remember, it is impossible to listen and talk at the same time.
4. Use proper body language.
5. Make eye contact.
(Jones,6)

Barriers are a problem in communication. Barriers are things that stand in the way of the listener understanding the message. Some of the more obvious barriers are noise and the misreading of the speaker’s body language.

Another important barrier is the listener’s language interpretation. For example, two listeners will interpret what a speaker says in two different ways and will come to two different conclusions. This is why language is the key to effective communications. A speaker needs to be careful with his words and try to enforce his meaning in more than one way (Importance, 4).

Finally, the speaker must know how to communicate. In order for communication to be successful, a speaker must try to understand and know the listener. Communication has as much to do with human relationships as it does with informing listeners (Winnett, 5).

There are four steps to follow when trying to communicate effectively. These steps are attention, apprehension, assimilation, and action. The first step is to eliminate interference or noise. The second step in communicating effectively is apprehension or understanding. Achieving apprehension is a major part of the communication process. One thing that a speaker should remember not to say is, “Do you understand?” This small question can undo everything that the speaker said by implying that the speaker does not believe the listeners is capable of understanding.

The third part of communication is assimilation. In order for assimilation to occur, a listener must not only understand the speaker’s message but also believe it. Belief of the message is essential to the implementation of new ideas or concepts in a company or organization.

The final step is action. Action only happens if assimilation has occurred. The speaker of the message plays a vital part of what occurs after assimilation. In order to accomplish the goals, the speaker must offer support as well as the tools that are needed (Winnett, 4-7).

All of these steps are essential if effective communication is to occur. For a leader to be successful, he or she must learn to master these steps. A leader must also learn to recognize the barriers to communication and become able to overcome them. The last thing a leader must remember is to use the proper nonverbal actions as well as the proper verbal actions.

Key 3: Managing Performance

Research concerning performance management indicates the importance of motivation involving employees. The task of managing employees to ensure challenges in their work, while enabling and motivating them to reach their highest performance potential is a difficult responsibility for management today (Frigo 10). The challenge for management is to ensure employees have appropriate skills for a particular job and are properly motivated to perform that job (Understanding 8). Motivation is a key factor in managing performance.

To manage performance properly, the Situational Approach to performance management is appropriate. Paul Hersey and Marshall Goldsmith developed the ACHIEVE method for leaders to use as a performance management tool to help determine specific performance problems and understand why these problems exist. According to Hersey and Goldsmith, the use of a situational approach is an effective way to address performance management. In the situational approach, the three steps of planning, coaching, and reviewing define performance management. Feedback is vital for followers. Without proper feedback from management, followers are unable to improve their performance. With proper feedback, followers are able to improve performance and attain new, higher-level goals (Hersey 350).

A.C.H.I.E.V.E:   The mnemonic device ACHIEVE uses seven variables: ability; clarity; help; incentive; evaluation; validity; and environment, to provide leaders and followers with the necessary tools to improve performance. By using these seven aides, management can identify performance problems and determine why these problems exist. Again, the benefit of using the situational approach is that it allows management to address needs for each employee based on their individual situation. Below is a more in-depth definition for each variable.

The letter “A” represents ability and constitutes the skills, experience, etc. possessed by an employee. Managers identify skills possessed by employees and set goals and tasks based on ability information. Management assesses each individual situation to determine if an employee has the ability to perform a particular task.

“C” represents Clarity and is the ability of an employee to clearly understand requested tasks and possess knowledge of what must be done in order to accomplish them. Problems with clarity in a situation may result in goals that are never accomplished. It is extremely important that managers clearly state goals and objectives up front to employees.

The “H” in the third variable, help, refers to support by the organization necessary for employees to complete goals and objectives. Support encompasses anything from monetary resources to equipment resources. It is the responsibility of management to aide the employee in obtaining necessary resources. If required resources are not obtainable, there should not be repercussions to the employee for inability to achieve a goal.

“I” stands for incentive. This refers to the motivation of the employee to achieve a task or goal. Managers must remember that employees are motivated in very different ways and address motivational needs based on the individual situation. Some employees may require elaborate forms of reward, including monetary rewards, while others require only a compliment or statement of “a job well done.”

“E” refers to evaluation and relates to the incentive variable discussed previously. Employees must receive periodic on-going feedback regarding their performance. Without feedback, employees “wonder” what is going on and can become unmotivated. Management should document positive as well as negative feedback.

“V” stands for validity. The validity of a situation includes the legalities of decisions by managers. Managers must consider laws and company policies when making human resources decisions. Managers should document any issues based on performance. It is the responsibility of management and human resources to ensure their decisions are valid.

The final letter “E” stands for the environment variable. Environment refers to all external factors that may affect performance. Some of these include suppliers, market changes, etc. Employees can only perform as their environments allow (Hersey 351-353).

Key 4: Developing Associates

There are four steps to ensuring the development of associates.

• Awareness

• Education

• Skill Practice

• Competence

Each of these steps builds on another. Each step is distinct and occurs in a specific order. This process applies to all learning situations. The process not only improves an associate’s performance deficit, but also helps him to develop competencies required to move to the next level, task, or promotion (Batesville Casket Company).

According to Paul Hersey, Kenneth Blanchard, and Dewey Johnson in Management of Organizational Behavior, “Before beginning the developmental cycle with an individual in a work situation the manager must decide how well that person is doing right now. What is the person’s readiness level right now in a specific aspect of the job” (234)? This leads into the first of the four steps to developing associates.

The first of the four steps is Awareness. This step requires the associate to be aware of where they are in the development process and where the gaps are. They also have to take ownership and be ready to improve. This awareness comes from many different avenues such as one-on-one discussions, 360-degree feedback, and formal skills/competency assessments.

The next step is Education. To start the education process, the leader must demonstrate the correct process to use and show associates how to do the job. After demonstrating or teaching the correct procedures, the effective leader will check to insure the understanding of procedures. Examples of educational development include assigned readings, specialized classes, seminars, and mentorship.

In Flipping the Switch by John Miller, he writes that we are learning when we ask the
Questions behind the Questions (QBQ):

1. What can I do to develop new skills?

2. How can I adapt to the changing world?

3. What can I do to apply what I’m hearing?

4. How can I be more productive today?

5. What can I do to be my best (17)?

The third step in this development process is skill practice. Skill practice allows the associate to put into practice the learning from the education step, which enables the skill to be internalized, or perfected. During this step, the leader must use coaching skills heavily. Neither the associate nor the company gain the full benefit of the education step when the skills learned do not include implementation and practice on the job in a short period. Examples of skills practice assignments are job rotation, special assignments, off-line training, and non-work related activities.

Competency is the final step in the development process. Demonstrated competency through skill mastery, full proficiency, and the ability to teach the skills to others reflects understanding of job requirements. The competency step is the pay-off to the associate, the team, the supervisor, and the company for the efforts and accomplishments of the previous three steps. An example of competency is winning the Tour De France and then writing a book to instruct others on the steps to take to win.

In summary, situational leadership involves the belief that there is not one way to manage all employees. Managers must consider the individual employee’s current knowledge level, skills, ability, and situation. Using these four keys to leadership success and a situational leadership approach, managers attain the complete concept of performance management.


Works Cited

1. Batesville Casket Company, “Keys to Leadership Success Training Manual” (Manchester
   Tennessee Facility). Batesville Casket Training Manual. Batesville IN.

2. Bolman, Lee G., and Terrence E. Deal. Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and
   Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2003.

3. Frigo, Mark L. “Strategy-Focused Performance Measures.” Strategic Finance. Sept. 2002: Vol.
   84, Issue 3, p. 10.

4. Hersey, Paul, Kenneth Blanchard, and Dewey Johnson. Management Of Organizational
   Behavior: Leading Human Resources. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. 2001.

5. “Importance of Effective Communication”  <http://www.cba.neu.edu/~ewertheim/interper/commun.htm>

6. Jones, Linda. “Communicating Effectively” http://4-h.k-state.edu

7. Miller, John G. Flipping the Switch. New York: Penguin Publishing Group, 2006.

8. Tubbs, Stewart L. A Systems Approach to Small Group Interaction. New York: McGraw-Hill,
   2004.

9. “Understanding Leadership’s Roll in Measurement Strategies.” Best Practice Measurement
   Strategies. July/Aug. 2001: Vol. 1 Issue 6, p. 8. Winnett, Azriel. “Communicating Effectively in the Workplace: Four Essential Steps.”  http://hodu.com/business-communication.shtml 

Leadership and an Environment for Motivating Employees

By Steven V. Scudder (TNU 2006)

Three different sources highlight leadership’s role in developing an environment for motivating employees at various levels.  All three sources concluded that fads did not get the results most leaders and managers sought in their work places.

     The article by Fredrick Herzberg looked past the minor boost in production or behavior achieved any time management pays attention to its employees.  Instead, the emphasis is on creating environments that truly provide employee motivation.  Herzberg writes, “but it is only when one has a generator of one’s own that we can talk about motivation,” (Herzberg 3).  The automotive analogy fits well in this discussion sense we are trying to find methods that really work and will not need constant replacing with the next management fad.  Herzberg shatters several myths about employee involvement in developing ideas or solutions.  Most solutions that come from work group teams fail to make lasting and significant change.  The employee quality circle fad shows little actual success compared to the investment of time and money.

     In the article, “Looking for Help Training Leaders,” Gerry Kraines, a manager, is having trouble locating worthwhile leadership training that is not just running the same old games that do not produce results.  These bad classes that claim to be the latest great craze in leadership training create unproductive leadership experiences that result in wasted time and money.  According to Sandberg, “some of those who do have an equally good excuse: lots of leadership development exercises fall far short of the mark,” (Sandberg par. 2).  There is plenty of good data indicating what works to produce leaders and provide environments for motivation in the work place.

     The first four chapters of Paul Hersey’s book, “Management of Organizational Behavior,” focuses on what is known and accepted about leadership, management, and motivating people.  Hersey tackles several of the myths that permeate many discussions about improving employee motivation and why it is important for management to make real change by understanding human behavior.  He demonstrates through research done over the years which kind of management involvement produces results in employee performance and how the world of work is moving toward the knowledge age.  Some people believe with the technology that is available today management and leaders may no longer be needed.  This idea does not standup to the scientific data available that indicates organizational problems revolve around leadership and management of human employees.  Hersey further writes, “the effective management of human organizations comes down to the one-on-one or one-on-a-group influence process,” (Hersey 10).  Therefore, leadership and employee motivation is still critical issues in the modern organization and require study to achieve effective results.

     These three sources look at how leadership and employee motivation affects the organizations ability to achieve goals.  Hersey starts by examining the definitions and exploring research to determine what the discussion of leadership, management, and motivation should entail.  While Herzberg focuses on getting results and avoiding what is just a fad.  Finally, the newspaper article pinpoints one manager’s frustration in finding leadership training that will actually be worthwhile and not just a weekend rafting trip to build fake teamwork that does not last past the end of the boat ride.  All three come to the realization that the human factor is intangible and that there is no one method for motivating and leading people in all situations.

1. Hersey, Paul, Kenneth Blanchard, Dewey Johnson. Management of Organizational Behavior: Leading Human Resources. 8th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2001.

2. Herzberg, Frederick. “One More Time: How Do You Motivate Employees?” Harvard Business Review vol. 81 Jan. 2003: 86-96.

3. Sandberg, Jared. “Looking for Help Training Leaders.” Courier-journal 24 Apr. 2006: D4. 

A manager is more effective if he is able to recognize the skills of his employees.  If an employee is not excelling in their current position then the manager should find a position better suited for that employee.  According to Ed Zimmer in his article from The Entrepreneur Network,

“Not all employees will like all jobs--or become competent in them.  From my experience, they will realize it about the same time you realize it.  Do not leave them there.  Move them on.  Just chalk it up as one job they cannot do, but do not look at it -- or them look at it--as “failure.” 

An effective leader will encourage his employees to make their own decisions and not ridicule them when they make a bad decision.  In a sense, you want them to make mistakes—people learn from their mistakes, not from their successes.”

Employee Empowerment Equals Ownership 

by Kathy Minor, Sonya Rafn, Dawn Summers, (TNU 2004) and Craig Stevens.

(Principles of Management, TNU 2004)

    One of John Maxwell's 21 irrefutable laws of leadership is "The Law of Explosive Growth (Maxwell, 2002)." Embedded in this concept is the fact that a company will grow if the company is full of good followers. However, the company will have explosive growth if the company consists of good leaders. You as a manager will experience growth if you lead good followers, but you will break all records if you lead good leaders. 

    "To lead good leaders," means one has to empower people and set them free to grow your company. When employees are free to handle minor and even difficult situations with customers, it sends the message that the organization puts the customer first. This empowers the employee, the customer, and the establishment. It empowers employees by giving them ownership of the position, and it says that their judgment and decisions are valued. It empowers customers because problems are addressed immediately. Customers are not made to feel like they are inconveniencing other customers while standing in line waiting to explain the situation to management. By allowing flexibility, the workload and some of the day-to-day responsibilities are spread throughout the workforce allowing management to devote their attention to the bigger picture and in order to stay focused on the vision of the company. 

    If the employee is given ownership, a win-win situation for the employer, employee, and the customer is created. However, for empowerment to equal ownership, management must build employees up as leaders capable of being empowered. It is not a one-day implementation; it requires a planned incubation in two phases. The first phase is people-centered and the second phase is a result-centered employee growth and development process. In the people-centered phase, the employee grows over time into a people-centered leader. Layers are built as the employee masters the art of relating to and leading others. 

1. To begin, the employer must be one hundred percent committed to empowering the employee, and the employee must be one hundred percent committed to becoming an empowered leader. If either side is not committed, empowerment will not happen. One cannot give another commitment. 

2. Once committed, the employee can start the process of understanding. An excellent leader must understand people, experience, and learn about motivators, dissatisfiers, and real life demands. Likewise, the employers should understand the employee's need to operate with a sense of empowerment. 

3. When one understands a situation or a concept, one becomes more sensitive to the nuances of the situation. Both employee and employer must become sensitive to the needs of the business, customers, subordinates, peers, and supervisors. Being empathetic to others will increase the level of effectiveness when dealing with people. 

4. The fourth step is respect. Respect only comes after one understands and is sensitive to others. This is a two-edged sword. For example, if the employer is sensitive to the fact that the employee is lazy, then the employee builds a disrespected reputation. 

5. Patience is the fruit that grows from respect. If the empowered employee understands people and is sensitive to others' needs, patience grows. The employer must give the employee time to develop and grow into the leader he or she can become. Upon completion of these steps, the employee has built the foundation for becoming a leader who can deal with people. To build on this foundation will be the layers required to obtain results.

1. The first step required when building on the foundation of leadership is the information layer. A leader needs correct and truthful information on which to build. If you do not trust your employees, then they are not really your people, are they? One must give a leader relevant information, set challenging goals, and have specific expectations before the leader will be effective. 

2. Trust only comes after one is given correct information over time. By providing truthful information, goals, and expectations to the employee, he or she will begin to trust their employers. Trust is essential for empowerment. Without trust, the employee will never believe the source or feel confident to act with empowerment. Results will never happen without trust. 

3. After trust comes openness to learning. You would never go to a university you did not trust; likewise, employees are not open to training and education unless they trust they will someday use the information. 

4. Now comes true empowerment and ownership. Every step leading to this step is essential if the employer is truly committed in establishing an atmosphere of empowerment, and for the employee to truly feel empowered. 

5. Evaluation and recognition comes at the end. One should never evaluate a person not empowered to make results happen. Furthermore, one should never give recognition to one not correctly evaluated. 

    The overall benefits of empowering your employees can be a life long commitment from your employees, which in turn is a cost savings for your company. Consider the following possibilities: 

• Empowerment gives employees a voice. They are able to take ownership by having some control over decisions related to their position. 

• Empowerment leads to pride, which can lend itself to ownership. Work is no longer just a place to go for eight plus hours a day. It becomes an integral part of who the employee is as a person. 

• Empowerment gives an employee focus. Rather than following the direction of the organization, empowerment gives control, and the employee has the freedom to make choices based on his or her decisions. 

• Empowerment gives the opportunity to be challenged. Employees are given the freedom to take the job as far as it can go. 

• Empowerment allows the employee to become self-employed. The position becomes their organization and they own it. 

    As mentioned at the beginning of the article, people can be empowered within limits, depending on the situation and the person. Allowing empowerment requires management to build their employees up so they will be capable of being empowered. Upon completion of these steps, the employee has a foundation for being a leader and has been molded into an empowered employee that is indeed a building block of success. 

John C. Maxwell; The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, Workbook, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2002

Calvin Pepper and Craig Stevens “Project Management - Maintaining Quality by Communicating,” Third International Waste Management Conference, ASQC, Las Vegas, Nevada, 92