c-suite session (12.27.18) · 2018-01-24 · empower women and millennial employees is critical for...

Center for Corporate Learning‐Clemson January 12, 2018

Dr. Susan R. Madsen, [email protected] © Susan R. Madsen 2018 1

Attract and Retain Talent by Leading Meaningful

Change

Prof./Dr. Susan R. MadsenOrin R. Woodbury Professor of

Leadership and EthicsUtah Valley University

Center for Corporate LearningClemson University

January 12, 2018

Employees Today



• Organization's mission and values: being authentic, altruistic, and motivating

• Multi‐generational effort: bringing the mission and vision to life

• Meaningful work: making a difference in their workplaces

• Meaningful life: being civically engaged and believing they can make the world and their communities better

• Change: restless; strong desire for organizational and social change with things that matter

Setting the Stage

I have not seen the plays in town

Only the computer printouts

I have not read the latest books

Only the wall street journal

I have not heard the birds sing this year

Only the ringing of phones

I have not taken a walk anywhere

But from the parking lot to my office

I Have Arrived



I have not shared a feeling in years

But my thoughts are known to all

I have not listened to my own needs

But what I want I get

I have not shed a tear in ages

I have arrived

Is this where I was going?

Natasha Josefowitz

I Have Arrived

• The State of the Global Workplace report stated that 85% of employees are either “not engaged” or are “actively disengaged” at work.

• Only 21% of employees feel they are managed in a motivating way.

• Just 3 in 10 employees strongly agree that their opinions count at work.

• 4 in 10 employees say they have the opportunity to do what they do best in their paid employment.

Gallup Research



A. Research on Women & Millennials

B. Corporate Social Responsibility

C. Other Critical Elements

D. Leading Change

Outline

• Women today comprise almost half of the United States labor force (46.9%) and The Millennial Generation is now the largest generational cohort in the U.S. workforce.

• Yet, women and Millennials often struggle to conform and thrive in traditional business structures that were not designed for their needs.

• Understanding the policies and practices that empower women and Millennial employees is critical for the future success of businesses.

A. Research on Women & Millennials

Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. (2017). Women, millennials, and the future

workplace: Empowering all employees.



• Psychological empowerment:

1. Meaning

2. Competence

3. Self‐determination

4. Impact

• Relational empowerment:

1. Respect

2. Value

3. Support

4. Trust

Workplace Empowerment



1. Flexibility

2. Leadership

3. Management

4. Diversity

Findings



• Has a wide spectrum of ranges.

• Increases their perceived levels of self‐determination.

• Shows employees that company leaders value their preferences and trust them.

• Is best enabled when employees have intentional conversations with their managers.

• Values task (actual impact) over time.

• Must be managed carefully to be successful.

1. Flexibility…



• Flexibility is empowering to both Millennials and women in the workplace because it provides employees with greater self‐determination in where and how they do their work.

• Flexibility enables and enhances other workplace policies and practices, such as parental leave.

• Work‐life integration empowers both Millennials and women.

Empowerment



Work‐Life Dynamics

Work‐Family Conflict

Work‐Life IntegrationApproach

Compartmentalization Approach

• Clearly outlined policies and protocols for how to ask for and use flexibility, is empowering to Millennials and to women; structure is necessary for flexibility policies to be successful.

• Millennials desire structure amidst increased levels of autonomy and flexibility. Women, too, benefit from structured policies that remove the ambiguity around using flexibility, parental leave, and disconnecting.

Structure



• Have clearly articulated policies and protocols.

• Create core hours and days.

• Discuss and set policies around communication requirements (24/7).

• Offer all employees flexibility and hold all employees to the same standards, regardless of whether or not they are parents.

• Create shared flexibility schedules where employees are on‐call on different days of the week (for tight deadlines and emergencies).

Recommendations

…can increase employee empowerment through:

• Being transparent and giving full and complete information.

• Helping them understand the “why” behind strategic decisions.

• Ensuring employees can see their impact and find meaning in their work.

• Providing a collaborative and cooperative environment.

• Engaging employees in collective decision‐making.

• Showing respect for their employees.

2. Leadership…



• Train managers to open communication between employees and leadership.

• Create reverse mentoring programs.

• Hold staff town halls for startups and larger companies.

• Establish diversity targets.

• Look beyond the C‐suite for board positions.

• Launch peer‐to‐peer mentoring initiatives.

• Establish formal sponsorship programs.

Recommendations

…can increase employee empowerment through:

• Granting them autonomy.

• Providing clear goals and objectives.

• Follow‐up with regular feedback (timely, on the spot).

• Asking for feedback from employees.

• Not micromanaging them (women managers do more than men; they may feel like they need to prove themselves).

• Structures that support them.

3. Management…



• Set goals with employees for each job responsibility.

• Schedule frequent check‐ins (task feedback, opportunities for development, solicit feedback from employee).

• Provide on‐the‐spot feedback when opportunities arise—the sooner the better.

• Let employees “fail fast” (try something, get fast feedback, and rapidly inspect and adapt).

• Manage your micromanagement.

Recommendations

• Recognizing the diversity and value of women’s leadership and their distinctive communication styles benefits both women and Millennials.

• Women’s leadership styles often provide greater transparency and collaboration than more traditional styles, which Millennials tend to desire from their organizations.

• Moreover, by taking women’s communication and leadership styles more seriously, companies will increase women’s confidence and encourage women to grant more autonomy to those that they manage.

4. Diversity



Kafka studied why millennials don’t want to run for public office and found that:

• They want to be more entrepreneurial, go into business for themselves, and don’t want to join the existing institutions.

• Women were more apprehensive, particularly women of color.

• They don’t “trust” organizations because of scandals.

• It is time intensive, money intensive, and they are watched 24/7.

Another Study

Kafka, A. C.. (2017). Why millennials don’t want to run for office. The Chronicle of Higher Education.

• Increase transparency.

• Improve communication.

• Create mentoring programs (include reverse too).

• Promote more women at various levels.

• Grant millennials autonomy.

• Assist employees in setting clear goals.

• Provide timely and specific feedback.

• Value various styles of communication, work styles, and leadership styles.

Overall Initiatives









B. Corporate Social Responsibility

CSR Frameworks



C. Other Critical Elements

Different Meanings

Career

Choice

Ambition

Who decides on the meaning of these terms?



• Equalizing the numbers does not necessarily result in true gender equality or gender balance.

• We need to arrive at a place where organizations can take advantage of the greater gender potential that lies in blending the best of what women and men can uniquely offer; there is great value in gender differences, not sameness.

• We can gain an understanding of and appreciation for the natural differences between men and women that goes beyond the biological and cultural to include variations in brain structure and chemistry that influence thoughts and actions.

Gender: “Same” vs. “Equal”

Annis, B., & Merron, A. (2014). Gender Intelligence. HarperCollins Publishers.

Leadership Purpose

• To make a difference• To positively influence• To serve the community and help others• To make things happen• To fulfill accomplishment and achievement needs• To fulfill drives and ambition• To do what I am meant to do in life• To have power • To do interesting, exciting, and meaningful work• To learn, develop, and grow (liked change)• To get great satisfaction from my work• To have challenges and important responsibilities



“Our deepest calling is to grow into our own authentic selfhood, whether or not it conforms to some image of who we ought to be. As we do so, we will not only find the joy that every human being seeks—we will also find our path of authentic service in the world. True vocation joins self and service, as Frederick Buechner asserts when he defines vocation as “the place where your deep gladness meets the world’s deep need.”

Parker Palmer, “Let Your Life Speak”

Calling & Vocation

1. Strike a careful balance between limiting defensiveness about unconscious bias, while communicating the importance of managing bias.

2. Structure the content around workplace situations.

3. Make it action oriented.

Unconscious Bias Training

Emerson, J. (2017, April 28), Don’t give up on unconscious bias training—Make it better. HBR.



• To Improve Financial Performance

• To Strengthen Organizational Climate

• To Leverage Talent

• To Increase CSR & Reputation

• To Enhance Innovation & Collective Intelligence

The Diversity Case

• Advisor

• Coach/Peer Coach

• Counselor

• Developer

• Encourager

• Executive coach

• Mentor

• Distance mentoring

• Group mentoring

Developmental Relationships

• Peer mentoring

• Structured mentoring

• Unstructured mentoring

• Role Model

• Sponsor

• Supporter

• Tutor



• Developmental experiences

• Developmental relationships

• Leadership development programs

• Seminars

• 360s/assessments

• Networking gatherings

• Other

Types of Development

5 Categories of Experience



5 Categories of Experience

Lessons of Experience Framework



Gender Differences in Experiences

Challenging Assignments



Developmental Relationships

Coursework & Training



Hardships

Personal Experiences



1. Establish a Sense of Urgency

2. Create the Guiding Coalition

3. Develop a Vision & Strategy

4. Communicate the Change Vision

5. Empower Broad-Based Action

6. Generate Short-Term Wins

7. Consolidate Gains & Make More Change

8. Anchor New Approaches in the Culture

Kotter, J. (1996). Leading change.

D. Leading Change

Behavioral Change Model



1. Self‐efficacy

2. Principal support

3. Discrepancy

4. Appropriateness

5. Personal valence

Bernerth, J. (2004). Expanding Our Understanding of the Change Message.

Human Resource Development Review, 3(1), 36‐52.

Readiness for Change Model

Confidence in individual and group’s ability to make the change succeed:

• Can we do this?

• Will this work?

• Do I (or we) have (or can get) the knowledge, skills, and abilities to make the change happen?

1. Self‐Efficacy



Key organizational leaders support this particular change:

• Is management walking the talk?

• Do organizational leaders believe in this change?

• Does my supervisor believe in it?

• Do I (if I am in leadership) believe in this?

• Will the leaders support in various ways?

2. Principal Support

A gap between the current state and an ideal state:

• Why change?

• Do I believe there is a gap?

• Do I believe there is a need to change?

• Am I dissatisfied with the way it is?

3. Discrepancy



The correct reaction to fix the gap identified by discrepancy:

• Why this change?

• Will this particular change be what is needed?

• Will it do the job?

4. Appropriateness

Clarifies the intrinsic and extrinsic benefits of the change:

• What’s in it for me?

• Is the work required for this change worth it to me?

5. Personal Valence




• Multi‐generational effort: bringing the mission and vision to life




Closing the Loop

Advice from Eleanor



“There are lessons in everything, and if you are fully deployed, you will learn most of them. Experiences aren’t truly yours until you think about them, analyze them, examine them, question them, reflect on them, and finally understanding them. The point, once again, is to use your experiences rather than being used by them, to be the designer, not the design, so that experiences empower rather than imprison.”

Reflection

“Each time a person stands up for an idea, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, (s)he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”

Dr. Susan R. MadsenProfessor of Leadership & Ethics

Utah Valley [email protected]

Robert F. Kennedy

c-suite session (12.27.18) · 2018-01-24 · empower women and millennial employees is critical for...

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