leadership – leading to self-responsibility (module 2)

8/8/2019 Leadership Leading to self-responsibility (module 2)

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MTINewsletterCurrent projects ofMACHWRTH TEAM INTERNATIONALOrganisational and Personnel Development

MACHWRTH TEAM INTERNATIONAL Dohrmanns Horst 19 D-27374 VisselhvedePhone: +49 (0) 42 62 / 93 12 - 0 Fax: +49 (0) 42 62 / 38 12

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Leadership Leading to self-responsibilityThe last newsletter contained an article about leadership whichdealt with the leadership skills required in order to lead oneselfand others to self-responsibility. Part 2 deals with the relation ofcontrol and self-responsibility in the development of the leader-ship culture.

1. Contol und Self-Responsibilty

Monday, 10.00 am. As usual,the unit managers of an insur-ance company and their area di-rector are having a weeklymeeting. One of the topics is al-ways the discussion of theweekly figures. Each unit has toachieve certain numbers: num-ber of customer visits, numberof questionnaires, turnover.These figures are crucial for the

company in order to define aminimum level and they also in-fluence the salaries of the em-ployees. The area director readsout the figures and asks for ex-planations if the minimum re-quirements have not beenachieved. A strange atmospherein the room can be felt compa-rable with pupils who did not dotheir homework. The managerstry to explain what has hap-pened this week and assure that

next week will definitely be bet-ter. Or they accuse the sharedservices department of makingerrors in the reports. The areadirector gets more and morefrustrated about the bad figuresand the atmosphere in the roomgets worse.

I am present at the meeting inthe role of a coaching processconsultant and I ask the ques-tion who is responsible for the

controlling of the figures? Bothparties agree and explain that

the area director is in charge.The regional director (superiorof area director) tells me exactly

the same when I ask him afterthe meeting. My input that theunit managers should be theones responsible for the control-ling of their figures caused an in-teresting discussion. What doescontrolling mean and who con-trols what? It is impossible toseparate the question of control-ling from the responsibility. If aspecific responsibility (task) isdelegated, the person who took

the responsibility is also incharge of the controlling.

This is effective for each em-ployee and even more for em-ployees in a leading role, i.e. theunit manager is in charge ofchecking whether his figures arecorrect. If not he has to think ofa way to deal with the situationand to apply measures to solvethe problem. The area directorchecks whether the unit man-ager takes responsibility andwhether his action plans are

reasonable. He

does not checkthe figures buthow the manag-ers deal with theresults.

The differencemight be small atfirst glance but ithas a huge impacton the relationshipbetween theleader and the

subordinate. If thesuperior area di-rector assessesthe figures, he in-terferes in thedelegation area ofhis unit managers.How should theunit manager re-act? Obedient,closed, secretive?From the perspec-tive of the trans-

action analysis heis in the role of the

Dr. Helmut MeyerSenior Consultant

MACHWRTH TEAMINTERNATIONAL

Parent CaringWe are encouraging, helpful, giving.

Controlling

We act based on norms and regula-tions, jugde, assess and we are au-thoritarian.

Adult We appraise the reality objectively,

make decisions built on facts,

express ourselves clearly.

Child ObedientWe try to fulfill the expectations of oth-ers, we are obedient, anxious and shy.

RebelliousWe are rebellious by doing the oppo-site of what is expected.

Free

We act spontaneously; we are curi-ous, open and sometimes even care-less.


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20101980195019201890

kid and reacts as a child well-behaved, whining, sullen. Andhis boss is angry, scolds, moral-ises, threatens and acts as par-

ents usually do. Both parties arenot in the adult roles. The re-ciprocal relationship is stable butboth parties feel queasy but donot change anything.

A superior who emphasizes self-responsibility has to be awarethat the responsibility is limitedto controlling. The employeestarts to give up his self-responsibility as soon as the su-perior gets involved too much.On the one hand the role iscomfortable because one doesnot have to make a decision, onthe other hand it is very un-pleasant being criticized.

2. Hot topic: Security

Role play in a workshop. Theteam leader inexperienced inleading a team has to practicea feedback conversation. He istalking to an employee who hasnot followed the security guide-lines several times. He spoke tohim a few times already accord-ing to the script of the role playbut it has not helped. He agreesthat he made a mistake and im-proves his behavior but after ashort time he falls into the samesloppy style again. Now anotherconversation what about?Should he tell him for the fourthtime that the security guidelinesare very important or should hegive him an official warning? Isnot a warning too hard consider-ing the circumstances? O.k.,lets talk to him again maybe ithelps. The observing colleaguestell you that you wasted yourtime. He will definitely not im-prove and you will have tospeak to him again in a few

weeks. The problem of themanager is that he only knows

two options; either a uselessconversation or a warning. Hedoes not know how to make useof the levels of escalation in a

conversation.

The problem is not the securityguidelines. The employeeagrees that they are useful andimportant but it is boring to fol-low them and a task usuallytakes longer. It is very time-consuming for companies toconstantly observe the compli-ance of the security guidelines.It is important that the employ-ees act in a self-responsiblemanner. The sloppy employeedoes not have a problem withthe security guidelines but withthe self-responsibility. Theleader is now challenged to finda way to enhance the self-responsibility.

3. The development of aleadership culture

Self-responsibility and monitor-ing are important topics and in-fluence the development of theleadership culture from the be-ginning.

3.1 From an authoritarian/auto-cratic to a cooperative lead-ership style

During the industrialization inthe 19th century the idea of dif-ferentiated division of laborarose. Physical work was notpaid very well, therefore a lack

of motivation could be attributedto the worker. The superior was

in charge of instructing his em-ployees about their tasks. Hewas the one bearing the full re-sponsibility for the success or

failure of his unit. That is thereason why control plays a cen-tral role in his leadership style.He needed excellent profes-sional skills, courage to makehis own decision and assertive-ness. The subordinate was therecipient of orders and was ex-pected to be the extension of hisboss. The information they re-ceived was limited to their job ortask and they did not have anidea about the future strategy ofthe company. They could notdevelop any self-initiative andthey were educated not to takeany responsibility.This leadership style was con-sidered as ineffective at the endof the 60ies/70ies. Due to thetechnological progress and theincreasing complexity of corpo-rate processes the qualificationand competence of the employ-ees was more and more impor-tant. The implementation ofteamwork resulting in delegationof (part) responsibilities to theteam required a change in theleadership style. Influenced by achange of values which en-

hanced the humanity of the worklife and the workers participa-tion the cooperative leadershipstyle was developed in order tolead efficiently. The crucial find-ing was: not only the workingconditions influence the per-formance of an employee butalso the attention paid to them.

The characteristics of a coop-erative leadership style are:


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Involvement of the employ-ees in communication anddecision making processes

Cooperative relationship be-tween employee and supe-rior

Communication in a dia-logue

The manager is the processowner who is responsible for theresults but he can build on thestrengths and competencies ofhis employees. A cooperativeleadership style is based on atrustful relationship between theemployees and the superior.The aim is to enhance the self-responsibility and the personaldevelopment of the employees.This leadership style requiresemployees who are willing todevelop themselves, to take re-sponsibility and are motivatedand committed. The basis is agood communication and con-flict structure. The managersees himself as a part of theleading team and is also willingto learn from others.

3.2 Laissez-faire or directive?

What does participation mean?Who makes the decisions in theend? And who is in charge? Theinvolvement and participationalways leads to the question ofhow much autonomy should begiven. Can I trust my employeeto make his own decisions? Andcan I tolerate this decision andwhen do I get involved?

Laissez-faire means not gettinginvolved. The leadership style oflaissez-faire was soon rated asbeing no style at all because theleader could stay out of every-thing. But lets reflect doesntthis leadership style have a verymodern quality? The employeehas the opportunity to workautonomously. This would re-

quire the following:

Open communication ofcorporate strategy, cleardefinition of objectives foreach employee and com-

mitment of employee toidentify with objectives.

The employee has the re-quired competencies andresources in order to act in-dependently.

At this time nobody was readyfor this kind of leadership style.The problems were that theleaders were not strong and didnot like to take responsibility.Not only the press was askingfor a renaissance of the authori-tarian leadership style but alsothe companies which were look-ing for more directions. One wastalking about a directive leader-ship style in order to avoid thedisputed expression of authori-tarian and the question arose,whether the right leadershipstyle exists or whether it may bedependent on the situation?

3.3 Situational Leadership

In the 80ies an important focuswas to define criteria for leadingwell and successfully. Beyondgiving instructions and commu-nicating with the employees thesituation in which the employeewas at a specific moment wasconsidered more and more im-portant. In order to lead suc-cessfully and effectively it is cru-cial how the leader is capable ofadjusting his leading style to theparticular situation. HERSEY &BLANCHARD define the situa-tion according to the level of ma-turity of an employee:

The task-specific level ofmaturity depends on: pro-fessional skills, methodicalskills, time/task manage-ment, capability to changeprocesses

The psychological level of

maturity depends on: will-ingness and ability to learn,

taking responsibility, work-ing cooperatively and teamoriented, moral courage,conflict management

Four different leadership styleswere developed by the authors:

TellingEspecially for younger employ-ees, the leader has to give theminstructions about how to do aspecific task. Highly directiveapproach, control, high task fo-cus.

SellingWhen the employee can do the job then the leader has to ex-plain the importance of the con-tribution of the employee for thewhole company/process in orderto get his full commitment.

ParticipatingWhen the employee gets moreand more responsibility the ex-pectation of getting involved indecision-making processes in-creases. The leader has tocome up now with measures todevelop the potential and abili-ties of the employees.

DelegatingMotivated and competent em-ployees who can work inde-pendently do not need any di-rections for the daily work. Em-ployees at this level have lessneed for support or frequentpraise, although as with anyone,occasional recognition is alwayswelcome.

The right leadership style is nota fixed behavior pattern anymore but depending on anotherfactor: the level of maturity of anemployee. HERSEY &BLANCHARD do not deal withthe level of maturity of theleader hence his ability of lead-ing situationally. An immature

leader might use the Telling ap-proach whereas Selling would


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be the appropriate style. Thesuccessful practice of the situ-ational leadership depends verymuch on the culture of the com-pany and strong learning anddevelopment initiatives are re-quired in order to enhance theindependence of the employee.

The situational leadership stylewas considered very attractivebut the implementation was ex-tremely difficult. The questionhow do we do it was raised andin the 90ies the management-by-techniques promised to showexactly how leading can bedone effectively.

3.4 Management by Objective

The most popular management-by-techniques are managementby objectives (MBO), manage-ment by delegation (MBD) and

management by exception(MBE). MBO describes a lead-

ership practice showing clear in-struction for delegation and con-trol. In a nutshell MBO works asfollows: the leader defines andagrees upon specific objectiveswith his employees. The rela-tionship between them is coop-erative and the expectations areclarified as well as an agree-ment on the objectives is made.The performance of the em-ployee is assessed on the basisof these agreements. By reach-ing his goals and subsequentremuneration the employee iscommitted to maintain the qual-ity level of his work. On theother hand the employee isasked to adjust his performanceif the objectives could not bereached. Feedback conversa-tions are hereby an extremelyimportant tool.A lot of companies adapted themanagement by objectives lead-

ership style in the 90ies and theimpact was twofold:

MBO was a good concept atthis time of the beginningglobalization, technologicaldevelopment, rapid devel-opment of the markets,breaking with traditions andstructures, management ofcomplex projects: the an-nual definition of the objec-tives reduced the complexityof leading. Supported by aseries of tools and instru-ments for the definition ofthe objectives becoming asuccessful leader seemedto be a process that couldbe trained and understoodeasily.

MBO was at the same timea challenge. The consult-ants involved in the imple-mentation could feel imme-diately whether the com-pany was mature enough.Some managers had diffi-

culties to deal with the newsituation of taking responsi-


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Leadership

CharismaIdealisedinfluence

Inspiringmotivation

Intellectualstimulation

Individualappreciation

Agreeing on objectives

Agreed objectives

Remuneration(depending on

results)

expectedeffort

expectedperformance

Increased motivationto reach planned results

(extra-efforts)

Performancebeyond expectation

The impact of Leadership

* Source: Bass & Avolio

bility for the achievement ofthe goals. Even the topmanagement was strugglingto focus on the objectives

and to overcome old hierar-chical barriers. It was com-mon that the agreements onobjectives were an annualritual with no consistency.Individual training alone wasnot sufficient to equip theleaders with the necessaryskills to apply the MBOleadership style. The wholecompany had to go througha change managementprocess in order to createthe basic conditions.

Managing by objectives hasbeen established as a success-ful concept but it also has somenegative effects. The agreementon objectives is sometimes lim-ited to numbers only what mayresult in the employee workingfor his bonus only or giving hima feeling of not being personallyimportant for an organization.The MBO leadership stylecaused a certain degree of de-personalization by giving majorimportance to the bonus.In times of crisis, high changesand turbulences the MBO lead-

ership style reaches its limitsbecause fast change cycles,ambivalent objectives and un-predictable developments are

required and the motivation toreach the agreed goals dropsbecause it just becomes impos-sible. Companies should be ableto build on employees who arecapable of dealing with thedaunting situation. A high de-gree of self-responsibility andpersonality is required again.

3.5 Leadership

The leadership concept trans-formational leadership (TL) hasbeen developed in 1990 and isdefined as leadership that cre-ates valuable and positivechange in the followers. A trans-formational leader focuses on"transforming" others to helpeach other, to look out for eachother, to be encouraging andharmonious, and to look out forthe organization as a whole. Inthis leadership, the leader en-

hances the motivation, moraleand performance of his followergroup. The personality of aleader builds the focus of theleadership concept. The most

important characteristics arecharisma and ability to motivatepeople. The status of this leaderis not built on power and hierar-

chical position but on trust andpersonal relationship. The lead-ership style of TL is very partici-pative and the objectives deter-mine the general direction butnot the way of how to achievethem.

The leader considers himself(herself) as a coach. He tries tostimulate his followers by show-ing and explaining them differentapproaches for example forsolving a problem. He createschallenges and enhances inno-vation and creativity.

The most challenging task is theindividual development of thefollowers. The leader recognizesthe specific abilities and needsof the employees and enhancessupports and advises them.

Whereas management by objec-tives rewards results and per-formance, TL mobilizes the po-tential and abilities of the em-ployees trying to get them to astage to walk the extra-mile.


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Guide for self-reflection for managers

The following checklist supports you in reflecting about your processes and responsibilities in your own team

1. First step please name the 10 main processes and allocate the responsibilities according to the hierarchylevels. Do not consider how the process should be but how it is in reality.

Main processes / tasks Responsibility of my superior My responsibility Responsiblity of my employees1.2.3.4.

5.6.7.8.9.10.

2. Now, please check the current situation. Is it reasonable and efficient? Are the responsibilities allocated in areasonable way? Are the responsibilities clearly defined? If you are not completely satisfied with the currentsituation please develop the desired target situation.

Main processes / tasks Responsibilities which shouldbe accepted by my superior

Responsibilities which shouldbe accepted by myself

Responsibilities which should beaccepted by my employees

1.

2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.

3. Compare the current and target situation. What has to be done in order to achieve the desired situation? Whodo I have to talk to? What kind of new agreements have to be made?

4. Please have another look at the list with the main processes / tasks and fill in who controls/checks which ac-tivities? Please consider the current situation.

Main processes / tasks What is controlled by my supe-rior? How does he do it?

What is controlled by myself?How do I do it?

What is controlled by my employ-ees?

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.

5. Please compare the controlling process with the current situation of the responsibility. Where does re-

sponsibility and control match? Are there any discrepancies/gaps? What are the reasons?6. Please compare the controlling process with the target situation of the responsibility. Which controllingmeasures have to be changed, developed and agreed?

7. What are the next steps?

The next newsletter will deal with the development of leadership qualities. Established conceptsabout leadership development are not always appropriate. An extensive self-reflection is recom-mended in order to get an assessment of the current situation.

leadership – leading to self-responsibility (module 2)

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