show leadership in the workplace€¦ · bsbmgt401 - show leadership in the workplace version 2...

ShowLeadershipintheWorkplaceBSBMGT401

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BSBMGT401 - Show leadership in the workplace Version 2

ElementsandPerformanceCriteria

1.Modelhighstandardsofmanagementperformanceandbehaviour

1.1Ensuremanagementperformanceandbehaviourmeetstheorganisation’srequirements

1.2Ensuremanagementperformanceandbehaviourservesasapositiverolemodelforothers

1.3Developandimplementperformanceplansinaccordancewithorganisation’sgoalsandobjectives

1.4Establishandusekeyperformanceindicatorstomeetorganisation’sgoalsandobjectives

2.Enhanceorganisation’simage

2.1Useorganisation’sstandardsandvaluesinconductingbusiness

2.2Question,throughestablishedcommunicationchannels,standardsandvaluesconsideredtobedamagingtotheorganisation

2.3Ensurepersonalperformancecontributestodevelopinganorganisationwhichhasintegrityandcredibility

3.Makeinformeddecisions 3.1Gatherandorganiseinformationrelevanttotheissue/sunderconsideration

3.2Facilitateindividual’sandteam’sactiveparticipationindecision-makingprocesses

3.3Examineoptionsandassessassociatedriskstodeterminepreferredcourse/sofaction

3.4Ensuredecisionsaretimelyandcommunicatethemclearlytoindividualsandteams

3.5Prepareplanstoimplementdecisionsandensuretheyareagreedbyrelevantindividualsandteams

3.6Usefeedbackprocesseseffectivelytomonitortheimplementationandimpactofdecisions

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Evidencerequirements

Thisdescribestheessentialrequirementsandtheirlevelrequiredforthisunit.

Knowledgeevidence

Tocompletetheunitrequirementssafelyandeffectively,theindividualmust:

• Explainhowtoidentifyanorganisation’sstandardsandvalueswhentheyare:

o Stated

o Implied

• Articulateorganisationalvaluesandexpectationsofbehaviour

• Explainbasictheoryofgroupbehaviour

• Outlinetheorganisation’sprocessforraisingquestionsaboutstandardsandvalues

• Give examples of behaviours and performance that would typically be considered

damagingtoanorganisation

• Explainconceptsincluding:

o Organisationalvalues

o Rolemodelling

o Integrityandcredibility

o Leadership

Performanceevidence

Evidenceoftheabilityto:

• Identifytheorganisation’sstandardsandvalues,whetherstatedorimpliedbytheway

theorganisationconductsitsbusiness

• Evaluateownbehaviourandperformanceagainsttheseandadjusttoachieverequired

standards

• Developandimplementperformanceplansandkeyperformanceindicators(KPIs)to

meetorganisation’sgoalsandobjectives

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• Useestablishedcommunicationchannelstoraisequestionsaboutstandardsandvalues

thatmaybedamagingtotheorganisation

• Ensureownbehaviourandperformancecontributestotheintegrityandcredibilityof

theorganisation

• Facilitateprocessestomakedecisionsthatarebasedon:

o Relevantinformation

o Examinationofoptionsandassociatedrisks

o Inputfromrelevantpeople

• Communicateaboutmakingandimplementingdecisionsincluding:

o Facilitatingagreementonthepreferredcourseofactionandimplementation

plans

o Monitoringandfeedbackontheimplementationandimpactofdecisions

Note:Ifaspecificvolumeorfrequencyisnotstated,thenevidencemustbeprovidedatleastonce.

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Introduction

Leadership has traditionally been recognised as a coremanagement function.Much has beenwrittenanddebatedon this issuewithingeneralmanagement literature.This tellsus that thetopicofLeadershipisnotonlyoneofcriticalimportancetoorganisationalsuccess,butcomplexinnature.

Themodernbusinessenvironmentisassociatedwithconditionsof:

• increasedcompetition• globalisation• scarceresources• increaseduncertainty,etc.

Giventheseconditions,theissueofeffectiveleadershiphastakenongreaterimportanceinmostorganisations.The leaderofanorganisation isexpectedtodemonstrateeffective leadership inmanydiverseandvariedsituations.

Thisunitaddressesanumberofimportantissuesandthekindofsituationswhereorganisationleadersmustbeable todemonstrate their leadershipeffectively.Theunit specificallyprovidesskillsandknowledgethatenablethelearnerto:

• alignandresourcegroupsandindividualstoorganisationalplans• motivateindividualsandgroups• supportinnovationandchange• makeeffectivedecisions• addressissuesintheexternalenvironment,and• communicateeffectivelyinsideandoutsidetheorganisation

“Leadershipistheartofgettingotherstodosomethingyouwantdonebecausetheywanttodoit.”

DwightEisenhower

“Thekeytosuccessfulleadershiptodayisinfluence,notauthority.”

KennethBlanchard

“Leaders aremore powerful rolemodels when they learn than whentheyteach.”

RosabethMossKantor

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Ensuremanagementperformanceandbehaviourmeetstheorganisation’srequirementsandensuremanagementperformanceandbehaviourservesapositiverolemodelforothers

When staff progress tomanagementwithin an organisation, theymust develop new knowledgeandskillsinordertofulfiltheirexpandedrole.

This usually involves completingmoremental (cognitive) tasks, as opposed to physical (psycho-motor)tasks.

Managers must analyse their own abilities as leaders, so they know what skills need to bedeveloped. Part of this is analysing their management style. There aremany different ways ofdescribingmanagementstyles– thevariety increaseswitheachbook/article that ispublishedonstaffmanagement.

However, there are four management styles that are traditionally discussed, and four othercontemporarymanagementstylesthatwillbeconsideredonthisworkbook. Thesestylesarenotexclusiveofeachother.

Manymanagerscanrecognisethemselvesincombinationsofstyles–dependingonthesituation,peopleinvolved,andtheworkrequired.

Thefourtraditionalstylesare:

• Dictator

• Authoritarian

• Democratic

• Submissive

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Dictator

Dictatorial leadersusethreats,punishmentandfeartopushstafftoperform.Thistypeofleaderusuallyobtainsexcellentshort-termresults,butthequalityandquantityoftheresultsarenotoftensustainable.

• Advantages: In some situations, a dictatorial style is very useful. For example: In an

emergency-staffmaynotbeabletomakeurgentdecisionsandneedtobetoldexactly

whattodo.Inaworkplacewheretherehasbeennomanagementorder,anewmanager

mayneedtotakeadictatorialapproachtogetthesituationbackontrack.

• Disadvantages:Adictatorpromotesunrestanddissatisfactionandhasahighstaffturn-

over.Thisresultsinlittlecontinuityintraininganddevelopmentwithinthebusiness.For

example, Staffmay perform their roles efficiently but are keen towork elsewhere, or

leavethebusinessassoonaspossible.

Authoritarian

Theauthoritarianleaderhasajob-centredapproach,usuallypreferringtomakeallofthedecisionsalone, and is unwilling to share decision-making and to delegate important functions. Theauthoritarian leaderworks largely on a “need to know”basis, and issues commands rather thaninitiatingdiscussionoraskingforstaffinput.

• Advantages:Anauthoritarianstylecanbeusefulwhenthereisnostaffwillingorcapable

ofcopingwiththerequiredresponsibilityorare immatureandneedclosesupervision.

ForexamplePeoplewhoareusedtobebeingtoldwhattodo,maynotrespondwellif

theyaresuddenlygivenchoicesandpersonalcontrol.

• Disadvantages:Thistypeofleaderusuallyobtainsgoodresultsintheshort-term,butthe

quality and quantity of results disappear dramatically whenever the leader is not at

work.Thisisbecauseotherpeoplehavenotbeengroomedorself-disciplinedtocopein

his/herabsence.Forexample,Storesalesmaybelowerwheneverthemanagerisnoton

thepremises.

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Democratic

Thedemocratic leader ispeople-centredandusesdelegation togroomcompetent staffwhocanadviseandparticipateindecision-making.

• Advantages: The staff members usually feel valued and are developed into capable

decision makers who can function well during the manager’s absence. For example,

There is a high degree of ownership of the company’s belongings and profitability by

staffmembers.

• Disadvantages: Poorly trained or unmotivated staffmay not respond to a democratic

leader because they do not have the motivation or self-discipline to participate. For

example,Staffmemberswhohavenothadpreviouspositiverole-modelsmaymakeno

decisionsorperformtaskspoorlyiflefttotheirowndecision-making.

Submissive

Submissiveleadersdonotreallyleadatallbutallowstafforaparticularstaffmembertomakethedecisions. They can facilitate decision-making and sometimes offer no leadership even if it isneeded.

• Advantages:Submissive leadersareuseful leadinghighlymotivatedand trained teams

whodonotneedleadershipinordertomakeandrespondtodecisions.Forexample,A

workteamofemotionallymatureemployeesmaybeabletouseappropriatedelegation,

prioritising,etc.tomanagetheirowndepartments.

• Disadvantages: Staff lead by a submissive leader can become sectionalised because

there isnotone leadershipplan for thebusiness. Thedifferentagenda candivide the

strengthoftheteamandstaffdonotalwayspullingtogetherinthesamedirection.For

example,Prioritiesmaybesetaccordingtowhatpeoplewouldliketodo,notaccording

towhatisinthebusiness’sbestinterests.

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Contemporaryleadershipstyles:

• Visionary leader

• Traditional

• Negotiating

• Charismatic

Visionaryleader

Visionary leaders are designers. They are architects of changewho are happy to designing newprojects,solvingproblemsandenjoytechnicalandadministrativeareas.

• Advantages:Theyaresupportive,andstaffwillfollowtheirvisionaryideas.Theyarenot

frightenedbyweightyproblemsbutwillanalyseandsolvethem.

• Disadvantages: They do not give praise readily and do not always tolerate people’s

mistakesverywell.

Traditionalleaders

Theyhavethecommitment,commonsenseandfollowthroughwithaction.Theyenjoytheofficialproceduresandformalityoftheorganisationandhaveastrongsenseofresponsibility.

• Advantages: Staffmembers feel that they can rely on the traditional leader. They are

verystabilisinginaworkplace.

• Disadvantages:Theyareimpatientwithpeoplewhodonotgettothepointquickly,and

theycanberesistanttochange.Theyarenotoftengoodcounsellorsormentors.

Negotiating

Theyarecompetentatcompletinga jobandareadaptable. Theyaregoodnegotiators,seekandwelcomechangeandwillnegotiatewithpolicies/procedures.Theygivesupportandappreciationtostaff.

• Advantages: They are flexible and able to take instructions from lower-level supervisors,

and are very good at keeping and developing teams.

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• Disadvantages: They may be carried away by a new plan and forget the current

requirements of the situation. Staff may find them unpredictable, and this can be

unsettling.

Charismaticleader

Theyhaveapersonalcharismaandfollowingbystaff.Theydisplayexcellentinterpersonalskillsandcannurtureanddevelopstaff.

• Advantages:Theyinspirehighworkoutputsandempowerstafftomakedecisionsand

contributions.

• Disadvantages:Theycanendupsappedofallenergy,andhavenosupportleftfor

themselves.

Managersmustcontrolandleadinmanyareasofthebusiness.Thiscanbebrokendownintoageneralskillscategoryandfourotherspecificcategories.

Eachcategorylistssomeoftheimportantskillsneededtofunctionproperly:

• Generalmanagementskills

• Planning

• Organising

• Staffing

• Directing

• Controlling

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GeneralManagementSkills

Theseencompassthefollowing:

• CommunicationSkills

o Bodylanguage;thisisapparentduringanyinteractionandshouldbepositiveand

non-offensive. Personal space and cultural sensitivity are important

considerations. Managersmust ensure that their body languagemirrors their

verbalmessages,ascontradictionscauseconfusionanddistrust.

o Verbal; thisoccurswith staff and clients, formallyor informally. The choiceof

language,theamountof jargonandthetoneandclarityofvoiceare important

considerations. Awareness of environmental and psychological barriers must

also be considered. The timing and the location of verbal communication can

affect successful outcomes. It can also affect future outcomes, as a positive

word,thanksorencouragementcaninspireteammemberswhilenoornegative

communication can lower morale and work outputs. Ensuring that verbal

communication is two-way by using feedback is essential to ensure complete

understandingbybothparties.

o Listening: this aspect of communication is often overlooked. Managers must

listen effectively and ensure that their team does the same, so the

communication will be effective. This includes focusing attention, showing

appropriatebodylanguageandlisteningtorememberandanalysethemessage

content.

o Written: memos, reports, emails, reports, etc.: Managers communicate

frequently in written form –manually and electronically and need to have the

requisiteskillstocommunicatewell.Managersmayneedtoreviseoraltertheir

writing style to produce appropriate workplace documents. All documents

should be clear and concise, and also, be grammatically correct and without

spellingerrors.Layoutandformattingshouldbeappropriateforthebusiness.

DecisionMakingManagersalsoneedtodeveloptheskillsneededtomakedecisions.Thisnormallyinvolvestheabilityto:

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• Researchthefacts

• Analysetheavailabledata

• Brainstormsolutions

• Evaluatetheoptions

• Implementandmonitorthechosendecision

Researchthefacts

Themanagerhastoclearlyunderstandtheproblem/issueandbeabletogathertherequiredinformationsothesituationcanbeidentified.Thismayrequireresearchintoareasincluding:

• Managementpractices

• Policiesandprocedures

• Employee’sopinions

• Otherstakeholder’sopinions

• Similar/relatedsituationselsewhere

AnalysetheproblemThemanagermustclearlybeabletoquantifytheproblemandallofitsimplicationssothatthedecisionthatismadewillbesound.

Thismayinvolveanalysisofthefollowingareas:

• Financialimplications

• Personnelissues

• Legalaspects

• Possiblecauses/effects

• Mitigatingfactors

BrainstormsolutionsThemostappropriatesolutionordecisionmaynotbethefirstonethat isconsidered. Managersmay need to think creatively, look further than their preferred options, and not jump toconclusions.Whilethebestsolutionsinvolvelogicandrationalthoughts,theyalsoneedcreativitytogrowtofruition.

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Brainstormingcaninclude:

• Freeassociationofideas

• Involvementofotherpeopletoofferideas

• Writtenlistsorwebsofideas

• Combinationsofearlierideas

EvaluationofoptionsThemanagershouldbeopen-mindedandpreparedtoacceptadifferentwayofachievingtheresultthatisneeded.

Thefollowingfactorscouldbeconsideredinlightofhowtheycouldinfluenceorimpactonthedecision:

• Technology

• Culturalimplications

• Economicfactors

• Personnelrequirements

ImplementandmonitorthechosendecisionThis initially involvesthemanagermakingthedecisiontogowiththepreferredoption.Deferringdecisions indefinitely shows poor leadership skills, unless the manager has to put into place aprocesstogetassistancewiththedecision-making.Implementingthedecisionmeansattentiontothefollowing,asapplicable:

• Planningtheimplementationprocess

• Communicatingthedecisiontoallappropriatepersonnelandstakeholders.

• Monitoring the decision-making to ensure that it is the correct decision and that it is

correctlyimplemented.

Timemanagementskills

Becausetheworkingdaycannotbeendlesslyextended,managementoftheallocatedworkdayiscrucialforsuccessfulmanagementofateam.Thisinvolves:

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PrioritisingtasksManymanagersuseasystemthatgradestheurgencyofthetasktobecompleted.Thiscouldinclude:urgent,importantandnon-urgent.

Thepriorityratinggiventoataskwilldeterminethespeedwithwhichitwillbedealtwith.

BeingdisciplinedandfocusedManagersmustcomplete tasksaccording to thebest interestsof thebusiness–notbyassigningtimeandefforttotasksbasedon,whatismore,enjoyableorinteresting.

Retailmanagersmay,forexample,deferimportantpaperworktasksandspendtimeonthesellingfloorassistingwithstock.Thismaynotbethemostappropriateuseoftheirtimeasmanager,butmaybeanenjoyablecomfortzoneforthem.

Developingandusingasystemtoevaluate/managetasks.Managersmustreassesstheimportanceoftasksastheneedsarise.Oncetheprioritieshavebeenrevised,managersmustusetheirtimeeffectivelytocompleteworkasitisrequired.

Oneusefulsuggestion isto“Onlydoanytaskonce”. Thismeansattendingtoeachtaskproperlyandcompletely,beforestartinganewone.Thisisespeciallyusefulwhendealingwithanunusualordifficultsituationwhereitmaybetemptingtokeepputtingthedetailsbackintothein-tray,insteadofdealingwithitproperly.

Managersmay need to develop a system for filing partially completed tasks so they can be re-startedlaterwithaminimumofrevisionofwhathasalreadybeendone.

DelegationofdutiesManagers delegate tasks as a major component of their own duties. This means having theauthorityandresponsibilitytohand-overappropriatetaskstotheappropriatepeople.

Managersmayhavetodelegateupwardsanddownwardsontheorganisationalscale. Theymustthenmonitorandevaluatetheprocessandtheresults.

EnhancementofcompanyimageandphilosophyManagersmustpromoteandaddvaluetothecompany’simage.Thismustbeobvioustostaffandtocustomers/clientsthroughthemanager’sappearance,behavioursandworkethics.Thisincludesinfluencing the company’s standards and values, by appropriate communication with andsuggestions for the appropriate level of management. It also includes the promotion of theappropriatebehaviourstostaffteammemberswithintheworkgroup.

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Planningskills

Planning involves determining the course of action to accomplish a business objective. Themanager’s seniority within the organisation determines the type of planning that has to becompleted.

Planningcanincludeday-to-dayplanningtocontroltherunningofthestore,toweeklyandmonthlyplanning of business objectives. Long-term planning to plot future direction may include timeframes of one to many years. Managers frequently have several planning projects runningsimultaneously.

ForexampleDay-to-daystaffingofthestore,nextweek’spromotionalplanning,animpendingpeaktrading period, next year’s budgets for sales and staffing and a long-term overhaul of adepartment/storelayout.

ImportantskillsforPlanning:

• Analysing

• Attentiontodetail

• Criticalthinking

Organising

Organising includesprioritisingwhat activities need tobedone toput a plan intooperation andthenmanagingthestafftoimplementtheoperation.

Theseniorityofthemanagerwilldeterminehowclosehe/sheistotheimplementationoftheplan.Themoreseniorthemanagers,themoretheyrelyondelegationtoothersfortheimplementationofplans.

Forexample:

• A Department Manager will plan and then probably physically work with the team to

organise the implementation of the plan.

• A Store Manger may plan and then delegate some of the main tasks to other staff,

although he/she may still physically assist with the plan’s implementation.

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• An Area Manager may organise a plan and then have to delegate virtually all of its

implementation to other staff – Store Managers and Departmental Managers.

ImportantskillsforOrganising:

• Delegation

• Motivation

• Prioritising

Staffing

Staffingreferstotheprocessfromrecruitmenttoterminationofemployees.Itincludesseveralfunctions:

• Recruitment:fromadvertising,interviewingtoemployingtheappropriatepeople

• Stafftraining:frominductiontoon-goingdevelopmentandup-skillinginskillsand

knowledge.

• Allocation:ofstafftoappropriateroleswithinthebusiness

• Promotion:tofillbusinessrolesandtomeettheabilitiesoftheemployees

• Demotion:tocomplywiththebusiness’sneedsandtomeettheabilitiesofemployees

• Counselling:forworkand/orpersonalissuesthatareimpactingonthebusiness

• Termination:whenpeoplechoosetoleavethebusiness,ormustbeaskedtodoso

Importantskillsforstaffing:

• Assessing

• Budgeting

• Counselling

• Documenting/recording

• Interviewing

• Training

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Directing

Directingreferstoguidanceandsupervisionofstaffwhiletheycompletethenecessarytaskswithinthebusiness.

This means that the manager must oversee all of the activities, either directly or indirectly, toensurethatthebusinessobjectivesarebeingmet,andtheplansarebeingimplemented.


• Observation

• Liaison&coordination

• Motivation

Controlling

Controlling refers to investigating, analysing and acting on any alterations to bottom lineprofitabilitythatcouldimpactonthebusiness’ssuccess.Thismeansconstantcontactwithfactorsincludingsales,staffing,merchandising,unknownloss,andpromotions,etc.thatcanfluctuateandalterfromtheplannedbudget.


• Bookkeepingduties

• Buying/selling

• Directingandadvising

• Moneymanagement

• Salesmanagement

Goodleadership

Therearemanyqualities that areattached to the term“good leadership”. They canbe found invaryingquantitiesinanyoftheleadershipstylesalreadymentionedandcanvarydependingonthemanagementarea.

Qualitiesincludethefollowing:

• Accuratesenseofurgency

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• Confidentiality

• Desiretolearnandgrowwithinthebusiness

• Empathy

• Enthusiasmforthepeople,productsandservicesofthebusiness

• Integrityandhonesty

• Realism

• Responsibility

• Self-discipline

• Trust

Becausepeoplearenotbornwithahighlevelofthesequalities,managersmustconsciouslyworktowardsimprovingtheirmanagementabilities.

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Developandimplementperformanceplansinaccordancewithorganisation’sgoalsandobjectives

Organisationalexpectations

Organisationshaveanorganisationalflowwhichfiltersthroughthedifferentlevelsofthebusinessandclearlydefinesthevaluesandthevisionofthebusiness.

ThisprocessusuallystartswithaMissionStatement,SetofValuesandVision.

ExampleMissionStatement:“Toprovideexcellentproductsandservicestoallcustomers,treatallemployeeswithrespectandtoprovideasafeandinvitingplacetoshop”.ExampleofValuesstatement:

• Customerfocused• Honestandwithintegrityinalldealings• Committedtocontinuousimprovement

ExampleofVisionstatement:TobethelargestretailerofhighfashionclothinginAustralia

Thesestatementsdefinetheholisticrequirementsofthebusiness. Theycanincludebroad, long-termpurposesandgoalswhichprovideabig-picture setof expectationsanddirections for staff.Theyareusuallyfairlybriefstatementsorlistsofdotpoints.

Organisationalexpectationshelptoachievethefollowing:

• Explaintheorganisationtoallstakeholders

• Provideanorganisationalfocusonspecificoutcomes

• Provideaframeworkforthebusiness’sgoals,policies,proceduresandrules.

• Actasareferencepointforday-to-dayandlong-termdecision-making.

• Promotetheorganisation’sreputation.

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Policy,proceduresandrules

Missionstatements,VisionsandValuesarenormallyrefinedintopolicies,proceduresandrules,whichgiveaspecificframeworktohowthebusinessoperates.

Forexample,Abusinessthatpromotesitselfasbeing“customerfocused”willhavespecificpoliciesrelatingtoeachcustomerserviceaspectofthebusiness.

Thiscouldinclude:

• Telephoneuse

• Personalcontactwithcustomers

• Aftersalesservice

• Dealingwithcomplaints

Forexample,Telephoneusepolicycouldbe:Staffwillansweralltelephonespromptlyandconductbusinessprofessionallyandefficiently.

ProceduresAprocedureisalistofprecisestepsthatexplainsexactlywhatisexpectedfromapolicystatement.

Forexample:

Apolicyrelatingtotelephoneusecouldstartwiththefollowingproceduresteps:

• Answerexternalcallswithinthreerings

• Identifyself,storeandasktoassist

• Obtainallrelevantinformationfromcaller

• Speakpolitelyatalltimes

RulesRules are an important part of policies and procedures and often relate to legal or ethicalrequirements. Theremaybesome leewayand interpretationallowedwithintheframeworkofabusiness’s policies and procedures. This could relate to regional management preferences,customer/culturalrequirements,physicaldistancesfromotherstoresinthegroup,etc.

However,rulesareusuallynotnegotiablerequirementsinthebusiness.Breachesofrulesmaybeconsideredtobeanoffencewherestaffundergoformalcounsellingorevenbeconsidered“grossmisconduct”forwhichanemployeecouldbedismissed.

For example, Rules could relate to employee theft, health and safety requirements, bullying andharassment.

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Establishandusekeyperformanceindicatorstomeetorganisation’sgoalsandobjectives

Performancerequirements

Toassistpeopletoperformattheirpeak,organisationsoftenprovideclearrolesandresponsibilitiesforspecificjobs.Thesedocumentscanbesetoutinavarietyofwaysandcanbecalleddifferenttitles-Jobdescriptions,Jobtitles–aretwoexamples.

Thefollowingdetailsmaybeincluded:

• Jobpurpose:

Thissectionputstheposition’sroleandresponsibilitiesintothecontextoftheorganisationasawhole.

• KeyresultsAreas:

Thissectiondescribesthemainareasofresponsibilityandaccountabilityfortheparticularjob.Theyarenotnecessarilyinorderofimportanceasallkeyresultsareasareimportanttothebusiness.Thereareusually5–10areaslisted.

KeyResultsAreascouldinclude:

o Salesachieved

o Staffinglevelandturnover

o Leadership

o Healthandsafety

o Industrialrelations

o Continuousimprovement

• Targets:

TargetsareindicatedtomonitorhowwelltheKeyResultsAreasarebeingmanaged.

Theynormallyincludereferencetothefollowingareas:

1. Cost

2. Quality

3. Quantity

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4. Time

5. Safety

Targetsmaybedividedintosubdivisionsthatgiveaclearguidetowhatisexpectedandwhathasbeenachieved.Theyarecalled:

• KPI’s:KeyPerformanceIndicators

• MOP’s:MeasuresofPerformance

SomeKPI’s andMOP’s can be easily determinedusing budgeteddollar amounts or percentages.Theseincludeareaswherethereisreadilyavailablequantitativedata–suchassalesresults,safetyrecords,stocklosses,etc.

Someareas are less easily identified. Thesenormally involve “soft”management skills includingcommunicationandstaffmanagement.

Inthesecases,organisations looktoquantifydetailsby includingevidenceofresultingsituations.This could include staff turnover, employee theft, accident rates, stock losses, etc. which giveindicationsofhowhappilyandefficientlythework-groupisfunctioning.

Anexampleofhoworganisationalexpectationscouldbesetoutisasfollows:

JobPurpose:StoreManagerToachieveorexceedsalesandothertargetswhilemanagingcustomers,staffandcontractorstocompanyexpectations.KeyResultsAreas:

• Salesbudgets• Stockcontrol• Customerrelations• Staffmanagement• Healthandsafety• Administration

Targets:KeyPerformanceIndicators(KPI):(Forsalesbudgets)

• Meet/exceedsalesbudgetforquarter• Meet/exceedsalesoverlastyearforquarter• Meet/exceedmarketpenetrationfigures

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MeasurementofPerformance(MOP):Thiswouldshowspecificdollar/percentageamountsthathavebeenachieved.Eg:

• 2.6%oversalesbudgetforquarter• 6.2%oflastyear’ssalesforquarter• .4%increaseinmarketpenetration

Togiveanindicationofyourmanagementabilities,completethefollowingPersonalManagementAudit.

Whileitisverytime-consumingtoincludeabsolutelyeveryskillareathatrelatetomanagementabilities,thefollowingauditmayhelpyoutoidentifyareaswhereyouneedtoimproveyourabilities.

PersonalManagementAuditSkills/abilities

Thecompanyandbackground

Poor Good Exc.

Knowsorganisationhistory,philosophy

Upholds/demonstratestheorganisationphilosophy

KnowsCompanystatus/relationshipswithinindustry

Knowscorporate/organisationalstructure

Knowsstaffstructure

Knows&upholdscorporateobjectives

Knowscustomerprofileforstore

Knowstargetmarketforstore

Total /8 /8 /8

Skills/abilities

Yourroleassalesperson

Poor Good Exc.

Approachescustomerspromptly

Greets/makeseyecontactwith/smilesateverycustomer

Usesappropriateopeningtechnique

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Buildsrapportwitheverycustomer

Usesappropriatequestioningtechniques

Listenstoandempathiseswithcustomer

Allowscustomertodomostofthetalking

Attemptsanadd-onforeverysale

Introducesatrialcloseassoonasappropriate

Handlesobjectionspositively

Handlesrequestsfordiscountsappropriately

Recognisesandactsofbuyingsignals

Usesappropriateclosingtechnique

Transactssalescorrectlyforallacceptablepaymentmethods

Usescustomernamewhenpossible

Wraps/packsgoodscarefully

Invitescustomertoreturntostore

Offersanyotherservices

Iscomfortableintheroleofsalesperson

Networksforsellingopportunities

Total /20 /20 /20

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Skills/abilities

CustomerServiceAbilities

Poor Good Exc.

Adjuststodifferentcustomerpersonalitytypes

Completes/maintainscustomerorderforms

Makesfollow-upphonecallstocustomerswhenappropriate

Iscourteousandprofessionalwhendealingwithcomplaints

Cancompletecustomercomplaintpaperwork

Generallyresolvescomplaints,socustomerissatisfied

Assists/back-upcustomerservicedecisionsmadebyotherstaff

Understandsthespecialneedscustomerswhocometothestore

Provideservices/assistancetospecialneedcustomers

Canassistmorethanonecustomeratatimewithoutflusterorfrustration

Knowslegalrequirementsandcompanypolicyforcustomerreturns

Cancompleteproductreturnspaperwork

IscomfortableintheroleofCustomerServiceprovider

Total /13 /13 /13

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Skills/Abilities

TrainingandDevelopingStaff

Poor Good Exc.

Cancompleteallinductionpaperwork,fornow,employee

Understandspapertrailofpaperworkfornewemployees

Informsemployeeofallentitlementspayrate,benefits,etc.asanemployee

Providesinductiontrainingfornewemployees

Providestrainingproductknowledgetrainingforstaff

Providesstore/operationaltrainingforstaff

Providessellingskillstrainingforstaff

Providestheft/stockcontroltrainingforstaff

Providescustomerservicetrainingforstaff

ProvidesOccupationalHealth&Safetytrainingforallstaff

Ensuresadequatesupervision/monitoringofstaffbyselforothers

Checksandrevisestrainingofstaffbasedontheirabilities

Re-trainsstaffwhenprocedures,etc.change

Recogniseshigherabilitiesinstaffandnurturesthem

Providesstaffwithopportunitiestolearnnewskillsandnotbebored/unchallenged

IscomfortableintheroleofTrainerandDeveloper

Total /16 /16 /16

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Skills/Abilities

AssessingAbilities

Poor Good Exc.

Informallyassessesstafftoobservetheircompetency

Formallyassessesstafftodeterminetheircompetency

Givesforwardnoticetostaffofassessment

Briefsstafffullybeforecommencingassessments

Isfairandobjective,withoutpersonalbias,whenassessingstaff

Keepsappropriaterecordsofassessmentdetailsforeachstaffmember

Putsstrategiesinplacetoimprovestaffabilitywhenassessmentrevealslowskills

Abletotellstaffthattheyarenotcompetentatthisstage

Debriefstafffullyafteranassessment

IscomfortableintheroleofAssessor

Total /10 /10 /10

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Skills/Abilities

PersonalAbilities

Poor Good Exc.

Abletomanageowntimeandownjobrequirements

Canfindtimeforunexpectedandimportantduties

Understandsandanalysesinformationregardingstaffbenefits

Promptlysendspersonalinformationtoappropriatearea/divisionofstore/company

Followsemployeediscountpolicy&procedureswithallstaff

Followscompanycounsellingpolicyandprocedureswithallstaff

Ensurescorrectsignonandoffproceduresarefollowed

Meetsallpayrolldeadlines

Meetspayrollbudgetrequirements

Providessystemtoensureallstaffreadandacknowledgeappropriatememos,letters,newsletters,forms,etc

Communicateswithstaffappropriately

Complieswithheadoffice/managementrequirementsforcontrolofpersonnelfilesanddetails

Keepspersonneltaskstidyandorganised

Maintainsconfidentialityofallstaffpersonnelmatters

Recruitsappropriatestaffforstoreneeds

Developsandplacesrecruitmentadvertisements

Handlesrecruitmenttelephonecalls

Interviewsrecruits

UnderstandsandfollowsDiscriminationandEqualEmploymentOpportunitylegislation

Referencecheckspotentialemployees

Notifiesallapplicantsofoutcomes

IscomfortablewhendealingwithPersonnelmatters

Total /22 /22 /22

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Skills/Abilities

Operations

Poor Good Exc.

Conductsdailyinspectionsinstore

Maintainsadequatemerchandiselevels

Maintainsconstantawarenessoftheftissues

Ensuresaccuratecheckingofstockdeliveries

Ensuresallstocktransfersareconductedproperly

Spotchecksonstockdetails/levels

Maintainsinternalsecuritychecks

Maintainsexternalsecuritychecks

Layby/claims,etc.areasmaintainedcorrectly

Comfortablewithallmerchandisingfunctionsinstore

Promotionsset-upanddismantledinanorderlyandtimelymanner

Promotionalstockquantitiescheckedaheadoftime

Displayspreparedinadvanceofpromotions

Correctsignageprovidedthroughstore

Correctticketingprovidedthroughstore

Stockrotatedappropriately

Appropriateliaisonwithheadoffice/merchandisers,etc.

Adviceisgiventostafftocontrol/repair/displayinmerchandisingareas

Opening/closingperformedaccurately

Issueswithopening/closingdealtwithappropriately

Abletobalanceregister/terminal

Registerbalancedetailsandvariancesanalyseandactedupon

Merchandiseholdsforcustomerssupervisedappropriately

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Merchandiselaybuyssupervisedappropriately

Generalhousekeepingstandardsmaintained

Inallareasofthestore

Stockroomorganisationappropriate

Stockroomcleaned/reorganised

Rubbishremovalappropriate

Firereductionstrategies,policiesandproceduresalwaysimplemented

Iscomfortableperformingalloperationalduties

Total /30 /30 /30

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Skills/abilities

BookkeepingAbilities

Poor Good Exc.

Moneycounted/bankeddaily

Creditpaperworkprocessedaccurately

Refundproceduresfollowedaccurately

Chequesprocessedaccurately

Discounts/price-matchingdetailsrecordedproperly

Weeklysalesdetailscompletedandanalysedfortrends

Pettycashdetailscompletedandanalysedfortrends

Controlandsupervisionofstoreequipmentincludingphone,fax,e-mail,etc.

Controlselectricityconsumption

Allcompanypaperworkcompletedinatimelyandtidyfashion

Iscomfortablewhencompletingcompanypaperwork

Total /11 /11 /11

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Skills/Abilities

Counselling&Discipline

Poor Good Exc.

Understandlegalimplicationswhencounsellingstaff

Complieswithlegalrequirements

Knowscompanyrequirements/proceduresforcounselling

Knowspaperworkrequirements

Documentsprocessescorrectly

Doesnotallowinfringementsofpolicy/procedurestobecomechronic

Isfair

Givesemployeeopportunityforfeedback/contributiontocounselling

Doesnotshowfavouritism

Comfortablewithcounselling/disciplinerole

Total /10 /10 /10

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Totalupyourscoresintoagrandtotal:

Total: Co. and background / 8 / 8 / 8

Total: Salesperson role /20 /20 /20

Total: Customer service /13 /13 /13

Total: Training & Development /16 /16 /16

Total: Assessing /10 /10 /10

Total: Personnel /22 /22 /22

Total: Operations /30 /30 /30

Total: Bookkeeping /11 /11 /11

Total: Counselling & discipline /10 /10 /10

Total: /140 /140 /140

Aretheresomefunctions/areaswhereyouneedfurthertraininganddevelopmentinordertobeamoreeffectiveandefficientmanager?

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Auditbyotherpeople

Partofagenuinemanagementskillsauditmustincludetheinputofotherpeople.

Thisshould includepeoplewhoarebothaboveandbelowyouontheorganisationalchartofthebusiness.Otherpeopleoftenseestrengthsandweaknessesthattheindividualisnotawareof.

Managers should survey/interview staff in order to obtain their feedback on their managementstyle and abilities. Frequently, managers perceive themselves very differently to how othersperceivethem.

SelfDevelopment

So far, youhave considereddifferent leadership styles, qualities and skills of a good leader; andhavehadanopportunitytocompleteapersonalmanagementaudit.

Youhavealsohadtheopportunity–orwillbeabletotaketheopportunity–toobtaintheopinionsofotherpeopleaboutyourmanagementabilities.

Thisleadsyoutoaself-developmentplan.

Asamanager,youmust leadbyexample–managersmustbewillingto learn,growanddevelopnewandimprovedskillsandknowledge,oritwillbedifficulttoexpectstafftodoso.

DevelopmentPlanDevelopmentPlansshouldbedevelopedasaguidetocontrolanddirectthegrowthofyourabilities.

Iftheyaretosucceed,plansmustbe:

• Realistic:Includingrealistictimeframes,expectationsandcontent.

• Achievable:Includingrationalanalysisofyourabilities,andyourcurrentprofessional

andpersonalresponsibilities.

• Challenging:Containingchallengestotakeyououtofyourcurrentcomfortzoneand

whichwillkeepyouinterestedandmotivated.

• Specific:Containingcleardetailsofwhat,whenandhowtheplanwillbeimplemented.

• Reviewed:Includingreviewstocheckprogressarenecessarytokeeptheplanoperating.

• Shared:Includingamentororpeersupportertoencourageandsupport.

Enhanceorganisation’simage

Qualityleadership…isdirectlyrelatedanddependentontheeffective

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communicationofclearandconcisevalues.

SimplytheBest–WorkplacesinAustralia’Hull&Read2003

Thefirststepinenhancinganorganisation’simageistounderstandtheorganisation’svaluesandstandards and apply them in all aspects of business operations. This information may beaccessedthroughpolicyandproceduresorstatedvaluesandstandards.

LeadersofallAustralianorganisationsarerequiredtooperatewithinalegislativeandregulatoryframeworkwhichdictatestheirresponsibilitiesandaccountabilities.Theyarerequiredtocomplywiththerequirementsoflegislationthatcoverssuchworkplacefactorsas:

• WorkHealthandSafety• DiscriminationandHarassment• EqualEmploymentOpportunity• Privacy• WorkplaceRelations• EnvironmentalIssues

Mostorganisationsalsoprovidetheirpeoplewithaframeworkorsetofguidelineswithinwhichitrequiresthemtooperate.Thisframeworkmayconsistof:

• Values,VisionandMission• ACodeofConductorBusinessEthics• Policies andProcedures (oftenbasedon the requirementsof theabove legislationand

consistentwiththevaluesandcodeofconduct)• Performancestandardslinkedtojobroles

In the section “Leading by example” –we discussedways inwhich leaders could support theperformance of individuals and teams by setting and communicating clear performance goalsandobjectives.Weidentifiedthattheseshouldbeconsistentwiththegoalsandobjectivesoftheorganisation.

Underpinning theorganisation’s goals andobjectivesare its values, visionandmission.Valuesareguidingprinciples,avisionprovidesaclearpictureofwhateveryoneistryingtoachieve,andthemissionishowthevisionwillbeachieved.

Inthefollowingsectionwe’llconsiderorganisationalvalues,policies,andprocedures,andhowtheyarecommunicatedinmoredetail.

Useorganisation’sstandardsandvaluesinconductingbusinessEverybusinesswillhaveacorporateimageandidentity,goodorbad,whichaffectstheperceptionsof the business by its customers. Many things shapes, reshape, enhance, or even tarnish thisperception.Forinstance:

• Doweabidebyourvision,mission,andotherguidingprinciples?

• Whatisourcustomerserviceapprovalrating?

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• Areweeffectivecommunicatorsbothinternallyandoutsideoftheorganisation?

• Do we use the company logo and colours in a manner that will ensure brand

consistency?

There aremany thingswhich affect corporate image is exhaustive and encompasses everythingthat influences an organisation’smindset (vision), behaviour (communication and performance),andvisibility(brandrecognition)haveonitsimage.

From corporate officers to service providers, businesses are engaged inmany relationships. It isimportant that each person receives a consistent “message” with which to build a perception.Businessesachievethisthroughadherencetoasetofguidingprinciples.Asthefront-lineorgroundlevelof leadershipwithinanorganisation,front-linemanagers,especiallythosewhohavecontactwithcustomers,willplayanimportantroleinmaintainingthesestandards.

Regardless of your positionwithin an organisation, any time that you have contact with peopleoutsidetheorganisation,representingtheorganisation;itaffectsthecompany’simage.Whilethatis definitely true of our relationshipswith customers, it’s not limited to customers.Our dealingswith vendors and suppliers, sub-contractors, government agencies and the public, in general, allaffecthowpeopleperceivethecompany,bothindividuallyandcorporately.

Mostcompanieshavepolicies,whichclearlydelineaterequirementsfordealingwiththoseoutsideofthecompany;specificallyinthecaseofbusinessdealings.Inmanycases,thepersonnelwhoareallowed to commit the company to a particular course of action, sign a contract, purchasematerials,committocustomersandmakepaymentsisspecificallydelineatedincompanypolicies.

This care in dealing with individuals and other companies is done to protect the company’sreputationandimage.Sincethewaywedobusinesswithpeopleoutsidetheorganisationgreatlyaffects the company’s image; it is important to ensure that people who are not aware of thecompany’sstandardsandrequirementsinthoseareasarenotpermittedtheopportunitytomakesuch commitments. Again, the whole purpose of this is to ensure that the company’s image isprotected.

Anyonewhoisamemberofmanagementorstaffisassumedtobespeakingforthecompanywhentheyspeakwithpeopleoutside thecompany. Itdoesn’tmatter if theyarespeakingabout thingsthatarepartoftheirjobornot.Anycasualcommentcanbecomeapotentialsourceofproblems.

This is why companies create policies which dictate who can speak to vendors, customers andotherswhoareoutsideofthecompany.Remember,thosepeoplehaveno ideaofyourcompanypolicy; so it’s up to you to make sure that you don’t step outside of the bounds of what isconsideredbyyourcompanytobeacceptablestandards.1

Organisationalvalues

1 http://students.fortresslearning.com.au/bsbmgt401a-show-leadership-in-the-workpl...

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Valuesare….whatapersonoranorganisationbelievesisimportant.Anorganisation’svaluesareitsinternalprinciplesthatguideitsactionsandthebehaviourofitsemployees.

Cole, Kris. 2012, Management – theory and practice, 5th ed, PearsonEducationAustralia.

Forexample,thevaluesofonetrainingorganisationare:

Achievement:asenseofaccomplishmentandmastery

Balance:work/homelife

Cooperation:workingwellwithothers;teamwork

Creativity:beingimaginative;innovative

Integrity:honesty;sincerity

Loyalty:mutualrespect

Personaldevelopment:useofpotential

Results:qualityoutcomes

Values are communicated to anorganisation’speople and its customers indifferentways, forexample through its policies and procedures. Many organisations have developed ‘codes ofconduct’thatdescribetopeopleinvolvedwiththeorganisationhowitdoesbusinessandhowitspeopleareexpectedtobehaveregardlessoftheirjobroleorposition.

Codesofconduct

Codes of conduct are often developed in consultation with employees and unions, and inaddition topolicies andprocedures formpartof the legalbasis forperformanceplanningandmanagement.Compliancewiththecodeofconductisgenerallyaconditionofemployment,andnon-compliancemayresultindisciplinaryaction,includingdismissal.

Examplesofbehaviouralrequirementsstatedincodesofconductinclude:

• Honesty• Sobriety• Courtesy/politeness/respect• Attendance• CompliancewithOH&SandEEOpoliciesandstandards• Personalappearance

Effectiveleadersknowthatit’snotenoughtofocussolelyonwhatpeopleachievebydevelopinggoalsandobjectives.Theyalsoneedtolookathowtheyachieveresults.That’swhyvaluessuchas achievement, respect for the individual, and respect for diversity are often part of anorganisation’sCodeofConduct.

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Valuesreinforcethathowpeopledotheirjobsisimportanttoanorganisation’swell-beingandsuccess.Forexample,apersoncancompleteaprojectonschedule–despitepoorplanningandlackofproductivity–byappealingtootherstoworkharderandfastertomakeupforlosttime.Even though the person achieved the short-term result (completing the project), partnershipswereharmed.Thedamagecanjeopardisethechancesofachievingpositiveresultsinthefuture.

The ‘hows’ are important for another and perhaps more obvious reason – people’s actionsinfluencetheirabilitytoreachtheirgoals.Peoplewhoconsistentlyreachtheirgoalstypicallyusean approach that is appropriate and effective over time. And when people have problemsreachingtheirgoals,thecauseoftheproblemcanoftenbefoundintheirmethods.

Someorganisations limittheircommunicationoftheircodeofconducttoapageattheendoftheemployeemanual.Basedonyourexperience,andasaresultofdiscussingthematterwithothers, do you consider that this is an effective method? What other methods would yourecommend?

Youcanfindsomegoodtipsabouthowtodevelopaneffectivecodeofconductonthewebsiteof the Australian Institute of Management www.aim.com.au . Read the article below called‘CodersKeepers,BreakersWeepers’fromtheAIMblog(May2001):

Employeeengagementisanon-negotiablefactorindevisingaworkplacecodeofconduct.

Overthepastfewyearsorganisationshavecometorelymoreandmoreonacodeofconductasa means of galvanising support for desired behaviors. However, unless the code has beendevelopedwithsignificantinputfromthepeoplethatit ismeanttocover, itseffectisseverelyimpaired.

Thecontraryexperiencehasbeenthat,whenemployees,unions,managersandemployerscometogethertodevelopacodeaccordingtotheirownneedsandtotheirownliking,theyaremorelikelytomakeagenuinepersonalcommitmenttoit.

Thesetofsix

Research has discovered six factors common to the development, establishment andmaintenanceofsuccessfulworkplacecodes.

Ownership. Employees aremore likely to accept and internalise a code forwhich they feel asenseofownership.Generally,employeeswillsupportandacceptacodethattheyhavehelpedtosetupinthefirstplace.Further, it isbeneficial ifcolloquialismsandjargonthatareusedbytheemployeesareallowed to travel into thecode. Informalyet commonlyused language isapowerfulreinforcer.

Relevance.Employeeswillacceptandinternalisethecontentofacodeofconducttotheextentthattheyseethatithelpsthemtocompletethetaskstheyhavetodoandaccomplishthegoalstowhichtheyarecommitted.Itisagoodidea,therefore,thatagroupmakeclearhowupholding

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an iteminacodewillhelpgoalaccomplishment.Relevancealsoreferstothedegreetowhichthe code responds to the fundamental rights and obligations of employees, employers andcitizens in general, as laid out in both common and statutory law in Australia. It is stronglyrecommendedthatallmembersofanorganisationorsectionofanorganisationbegivenabasiceducationinthissothattheycantransfertheirunderstandingintoasetofprinciples(containedinthecode)thatmakesensetothemforday-to-dayworking,negotiatinganddecisionmaking.

Legitimacy.Employeesneedto feel that there isahighdegreeof internalcommitment to thecode, and also see that others, includingmanagers, are prepared to be guided by it. Internalcommitmentcanbegeneratedthroughsuchactivitiesasthevaluesandethicsclarificationthatare an important aspectof employeesparticipation in the code’sdevelopment.Regarding thesecond element, that the code be seen to bind management and other staff equally, it isrecommendedthatthemanagementteamandunionorganiserssign-offontheircommitmenttoupholdthecode,evenby including it intheEBA.Theorganisation itselfoughtalsoto insistonmanagers behaving in accordance with the code. Otherwise, employees will quickly concludethatthecodeisofnomorevaluethanthepaperit’swrittenon.

Capability. Someemployeesandmanagerswill need to seeappropriatemodels forupholdingthe code, aswell as a chance to practise the desired behaviors especially if these are new inrelativesafety.

Reinforcement. There must be opportunities to reinforce positively the behaviors that arecongruent with the code of conduct, and to take action against any violation of the code.Reinforcementneedstobeasconstructiveandconsistentaspossible.Todothis,employeesandmanagement need some fundamental skills and a practical process for giving and receivingfeedback.

Flexibility.Becauseacodeofconductexistsprimarilytohelpindividualemployeesandteamstoachieve effectiveness and satisfaction, it needs to be flexible so that at any time moreappropriate itemscanbesubstituted. Inconsiderationofthis, itmaythereforebewisefortheseveralinterestedpartiestoagreeatthetimeofputtingthecodetogetheruponareviewperiodandprocess.

Policiesandprocedures

Policiesarecontinuingguidelinesontheapproachanorganisationintendstoadoptinmanagingits people and business operations. They are reference points when procedures are beingdevelopedandwhendecisions arebeingmade. Theyhelp todefine ‘theway things aredonearound here’. They provide frameworks within which consistent decisions are made andpromoteequityinthewaypeoplearetreated.

While a policy provides general guidelines on the approach adopted by an organisation, aprocedurespellsoutpreciselywhatactionsshouldbetakeninlinewithpolicy.Theexistenceofawell-writtenandpublicisedprocedureensuresthateveryoneknowspreciselywhatstepsneedtobetakenwhendealingwithsignificantandpossiblyrecurringissues.

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Whilepoliciesgenerallyapplyacrossanorganisation,theprocedurestoimplementapolicymaydifferfromdepartmenttodepartment,dependingonthefunctionofthatdepartmentorteam.

For instance,anorganisationmayhaveapolicyonWorkHealthandSafety thatdescribes theorganisation’s commitment to a safe and healthy workplace. However, the procedures toimplement that commitment may differ from the sales department, to the maintenancedepartment, to theHRdepartment.Office jobsmay focusonsafetyprinciplesconcernedwithdeskwork,whilethemaintenancedepartmentmayhaveproceduresrelatingtothesafeuseofladdersordangerouschemicals.

Challengingtheprocess

Leadershipandethics

Identifying both your own and the organisation’s values are important for individual andorganisationalsuccess.

To further develop our ability to show leadership in the workplace, we need to identify andformallychallengebehavioursandprocessesthathaveanegative impactontheorganisation’sreputation, credibility, performance, productivity, customer relationships and employeesatisfaction. This could include ethical dilemmas, fraud, bullying, inappropriate leadershipbehaviour,andlackofaccountability.Challengesshouldbemadethroughappropriatechannelswithintheorganisation,forinstance,throughpeopleleaders,andHRprofessionals.

We’llrefertoanotherofKouzesandPosner’s5PracticesofExemplaryLeadershiptoprovideacontextforourdiscussion–ChallengetheProcess.You’llrememberthataccordingtothismodelaleader’sroleistounderstandwhichworkplaceprocessesarenotcontributingtotheefficiencyoftheirworkplaceandchallengetheseprocesses.

Wecandothisby:

• Understandingandchallengingourownethics&workplacepracticesinthelightoftheimpacttheymayhaveonourorganisation.

• Questioningthestandardsandvaluesofothersthatcouldbedamagingtotheimageandoperationsoftheorganisation.

• Identifyingandusingestablishedcommunicationchannelsaswe‘challengetheprocess’.

Someworkplace situations aredifficult tomanage, as being true to theworkplaceethicsmayentailbehaviourthatiscontrarytoyourpersonalethicsorvalues.Confrontingourown‘ethicaldilemmas’ isanimportantstepinquestioningvaluesandstandardsthatmightbedamagingtoourowneffectivenessandthesuccessofourorganisation.

Considering your actions in challenging situations will help you to work within an effectivepersonal ethical framework in your workplace. To create this ethical framework you need toconsiderwhatethicaltestsyoushouldadopt.

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Ethicalguidelinesforleaders

In their book ‘Developing Management Skills In Australia’ (1997) Carlopio, Andrewartha andArmstrongsuggestthatthefollowingareusefulethicalguidelinesforleaders:

Know and live by your values - Be aware of your standards and be highly cautious aboutcompromising them. After taking our first step down the slippery slope of deception, theprocesscanbeverydifficulttostop.

Be ethically watchful - Seemingly innocent situations may gradually escalate into ethicaldilemmas. Seek advice fromexperienced colleagues about how todealwithpotential ethicaldilemmas.

Avoid euphemisms - Recognise terms such as strategic misrepresentation for precisely whattheyare–alie.Webelieveliesaftertheyhavebeenrepeatedenoughtimes.

Statementsareoftenusedinadvertisingtomakeitappearthatthestatement isasalespoint.Herearesomeexamplesfromwww.weaselwords.com.au

• "Ourproduct issogood, itwasevengivenaway incelebritygiftbags."(True,perhaps,butnotrelevant.)

• "SeewhymoreofourtrucksaresoldinsouthernCaliforniathaninanyotherpartofthecountry."(SouthernCaliforniaisabigvehiclemarket.)

• "Nobodyelse'sproductisbetterthanours."(They'reallaboutthesame.)• "Becominginvolvedwiththisproblemwouldbebeneficialtous."(Inwhatwaywouldit

bebeneficial?)• "Peoplesay…"(Whichpeople?)• "Iheardthat..."(Whotoldyou?Isthesourcereliable?)• "Thereisevidencethat..."(Whatevidence?Isthesourcereliable?)• "Experience shows that..." (Whoseexperience?Whatwas theexperience?Howdoes it

demonstratethis?)• "Ithasbeendecidedthat..."(Whodecidedthis?)• "Ithasbeenmentionedthat..."(Whomentionedit?)• "Popularwisdomhasitthat..."(Isitactuallypopularwisdom?)• "Itisknownthat..."(Bywhomisitknown?)

Recognisepeopleaspeople-Identifypeoplebytheirname,ratherthanbyalabelorthegrouptowhichtheybelong(eg,thetech-head,abeancounter,orthespacecadets).Peoplewhouselabelsbecomelesssensitivetotreatingotherpeoplebadly.

Refrainfromrationalising-Suchassaying‘everybodydoesit’or‘atleastI’m/we’renotasbadas‘X’.Youarepersonallyresponsibleforyouractionsandfailurestoact.

Find your balance - Manage the balance between organisational duties and personalstandards/responsibility. Accept key organisational values andnorms, and search forways tohaveanindividualimpactonthem.

Seekguidance - Seek theadviceofamentoror seniormemberof yourorganisation. Discussethicaldilemmaswithcolleaguesandchallengeyourassumptions,butusearangeofnetworks

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tomaintainobjectivityandtoavoidbecominginsularandisolatedtochangingvaluesofbusinessandsociety.

Leadershipandothers

Sofarinthissectionwehavediscussedtheimportanceofunderstandinganddealingwithyourownethicaldilemmasaboutvaluesandsituationsthatmightbedamagingtoyourorganisation.

When managing individuals and teams it is also important to understand and question theactionsofothersthatmightnotsupporttheorganisation’sstandardsandvalues.Therestofthissectionwillbededicatedtodiscussingthissignificanttopic.Wewilldiscuss:

• Whattypesofindividualbehavioursandvaluesmightbedamagingtoanorganisation?• Why people might behave in ways that don’t support the organisation’s values and

standards?• Howwecanraisetheseissuesinaneffectiveway?

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Destructiveteammemberbehaviours

Inanswertothefirstquestionaboveyoumightconsiderbehaviourssuchas:

• Fraud• Lying• Bullying• Failuretomeetperformanceorproductivitytargets• Inappropriatepersonalpresentationorlanguage• Misleadinginformation• Notkeepingpromises• Lackofaccountability• Conflict• Inappropriateleadershipbehaviour• Accidentsandmistakes• Absenteeism• Resignationsortransfers• Failuretoobservepoliciesandprocedures• Lowefficiency.

You’llnotethattheseexamplesofteammemberbehaviourscanalsobeviewedastheresultsofproblemswithintheteam.Asthefrontlinemanager, it isyourroleto findthecausesof theseproblems and develop ways to reduce or eliminate their effects on team performance.Understanding the causes of these behavioursmay help you to identify themost appropriatecommunicationchannelstousetoquestionthesebehaviours.

Research published by Cultural Imprints Pty Ltd 1996 ‘Leaders in Australia, The AustralianCultural Imprint for Leadership’ which was and confirmed in the study ‘Simply the Best –Workplaces in Australia’ Hull & Read 2003 found that being an effective team member (afollower) has a lot to do with personal identity and relationships. While not explaining allaspects of teammember behaviour, this researchmayhelp shed some light on the causes ofsomedamaging(andhelpful)behavioursweobserveintheworkplace

Atthedeepestleveltwokeyinteractingforcesimpactonrelationshipsandidentity:

• Thecapacity“toattach”or‘’todetach”totheorganisationsanditspeople:o “Toattach”meansbeingabletolistenandrespond,andtobeopentoinfluence.

o “Todetach”meansthatweareunableorunwillingtolisten,areisolatedandhardtoaccess.

• Thecapacitytobeeither“happy”or“sad”inourworkingenvironment:o Ifweare“happy”wecaneitherfeelsecureandwillingtoparticipateactively,thatis

weareaVolunteer.Alternatively,wecanbedetachedandcontenttosimplyoperateinaSurvivormode,doingonly somuchas isnecessary toensurewedon’tattractattention.

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o Tobe“sad”,meansthatwecanfeelinsecure,threatened,andbeactivelycritical.Ifwearealsointhe“attach”modewebecomeaWhinger.Ifwearein“detach”modewedenyourfeelingsandwebecomeaPrisoner.

Foranyparticular task,wecan say thatpeople fall intooneof these four categoriesor ‘teammembertypes’–Volunteer,Whinger,SurvivororPrisonermodes.

Peoplemayswitch fromonecategorytoanotheras theymovebackandforth fromsituationswhere relationshipsmaybeestablishedand seem secure andacceptable, tooneswhere theyfeel insecureorthreatened. Alongtheway,theexperiencetheyhave inonesituationmay, induecourse,greatlyinfluencetheirreactionstoothersituations.

You can find out a little bit more about team member behaviours – both destructive andconstructive-fromthewebsite

http://archive.tlt.psu.edu/suggestions/teams/student/responsibility.html

Causesofdestructiveteammemberbehaviours

While it is useful to identify possible behavioural problems, it is important to consider whatmightcausethesebehaviours,andwhatwecandoaboutthem.

Possiblecausesofbehaviouralandperformanceproblemsintheworkplaceinclude:

• Poororinsufficienttraining&experience

• Faultytools,equipmentormaterials

• Unworkableproceduresorequipment

• Unclearstandards

• Standardnotunderstoodorseenasimportant

• Lackofrecognitionorrewardforconstructivebehaviours

• Lackofinformation

• Lackoftime

• Poorjobplacement

• Poorteamworkordisharmonyintheteam

• Lackofappreciationfordiversity–sexism,racism,ageism

• Culturaldifferences

• Personalproblems

• Poormotivation

Herearesomesuggestionsaboutwhatyouasaleadermightdotoaddresstheseissues:

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Effectiveleadershipapproaches Specificleaderactions

Creatingasharedunderstandingof how team members areexpectedtobehaveatwork.

Setcleargoalsandstandards.

Helpteammemberstounderstandthesegoalsandstandards.

Identifying behavioural issueswhen they occur, and agreeingon action to address thoseissues.

Monitorteammembers’performance.

Bringbehavioural&performanceproblemstotheirattention.

Findoutwhythereisaproblem.

Agree on action to improve behaviours and bringperformancebacktostandard.

Doing things every day to leadand develop individuals so theycanachievetheirshortandlongtermgoals.

Manage by walking around (talk to your teammembersandbearoundthem).

Praisegoodperformance.

Coachteammemberswhenneeded.

Listentotheirconcernsandsuggestions.

Organisetrainingwhenneeded.

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Question, through established communication channels, standards and valuesconsideredtobedamagingtotheorganisation

Ifweaccept the concept thatweareeach individually responsible forhowouractionsaffect thereputationoftheorganisationthatweworkfor;thenit isn’tmuchofaleapoftheimaginationtosaythatwearealsowatchdogsoverthoseorganisations.WhatImeanbywatchdogisonewhoisonguardtoprotecttheimageandreputationofthecompany.Thatcanbefromexternalcommentsmadebythecompany,but itcanalsobefromactionsofthecompanyorthosewhoworkforthecompany,whoaredoingthingsthatcandamagethecompany’sreputation.

Let’sbehonestwithourselveshere,noteveryoneisourworldishonestorethical.Iftheyaredoingthings which can damage their own reputation, that’s one thing. But, it’s another thing entirelywhentheiractionscanaffectthereputationofothers.

We’ve already established the need for a company to have a positive image and reputation.Anything that candamage that image canbedetrimental to the company, especially to sales. Inthatsense,causingdamagethecompany’s imagecanbeseenasstealing(stealingsalesrevenue)fromthecompany.So,anyactionsbythecompanyoremployeesofthecompanycan“steal”fromthecompany.

Since not everyone sees things the sameway, some ethical issues and values can be hard for acompany to identify and establish procedures to control. Even worse, some employees of thecompanymaybetotallyunabletorecognisecertainactionswhichcouldcauserisktothecompany’simage.Whatyouseeaspotentiallydetrimentalmaybetotallymissedbyothers.

So,whatdoyoudo,whenyouencounter this sortofproblem? If you’re likemostpeople, you sitaroundthetabletolunchandcomplainaboutittoyourco-workers.Whilethatmayfeellikeittakessomeoftheburdensoffofyoursoul,itreallydoesn’thelprectifythesituation.

Inthecasewheretheactionsofindividualsarebeingdoneagainstthecompany’sexistingpolicy,itiseasytodealwiththeproblem.Youmerelyneedtofindoutwhotheoffendingpartyreportstoandbringittotheirattention.Fromthere,itisthesupervisor’sresponsibilitytodealwiththeproblem.

But, what about problems where there is no existing company policy or where the policy has aloopholethatsomeoneisusing.Asaresponsiblememberofmanagement,youneedtobringthoseissues to the attention of someone; demonstrating how that action can be detrimental to thecompany’simageandreputation.Youdon’twanttobeaccusingindividuals,especiallyiftheactionisnotsomethingmentioned incompanypolicyasbeingwrong.Whatyou’re reallyasking for isareviewandpossiblemodificationofthecompany’spolicy.Thosesortofdecisionsneedstobemadebyuppermanagement.

Yourfirststepneedstobewritingouttheproblem,alongwithanexplanationofwhyitisaproblem;thepotentialdamagetothecompanyandarecommendedfixorfixesfortheproblem.Makesure

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that you are dealingwith it as a company problem, not as an attack or accusation against anyindividual. Think this document through clearly, as it is essentially a proposal to change thecompany’spolicy.

Your proposal needs to be delivered, through the correct channels, to the necessarymembers ofuppermanagementsothattheycanreviewitanddetermineifactionisnecessary.Thereareseveralwaysofdoingthis:

• Throughyourdirectsupervisor–Inthiscase,preparealetteroftransmittal,withaone

paragraphsummaryofwhattheattachedproposaldealswith.Giveittoyoursupervisor,

explainingwhyyouaretakingthataction.Hopefully,hewillendorseit,beforesendingit

upthechainofcommand.

• Throughacompanyombudsman–Ifyourcompanyhassuchaperson,theyareacontact

pointforanyonewithinthecompanytobringcomplaintsandproblemstotheattention

ofmanagement.

• Throughthecompany’sinternalauditingdepartment–Manycompanies,especiallylarge

oneshaveaninternalauditingfunction.Whilethisismostlyconcernedwithaccounting,

theydobecomeinvolvedinotherareasofthecompany.

• Througha“suggestionbox”–Thisisan“ifallelsefails”wayofdealingwiththeproblem.

You are better off dealing with it personally, instead of this way. However, if your

supervisorrefusesyourreport,andyouhavenootheroption,thisisapossibility.

• Directlytoamemberofuppermanagement–Ifyouhaveregulardirectcontactwitha

memberofuppermanagement,youcouldgiveyourreportdirectlytothem.Becareful,

though,youdon’twanttooffendyourdirectsupervisor,bygoingovertheirhead.

Onceyou’vefiledyourreport,yourresponsibilityisfinished.Whetherornotuppermanagementtakesactionuponitisn’tyourarea.Youhaveactedasaresponsibleemployeewhoisconcernedaboutthecompany.Letotherstakeitfromthere.2

2 http://tae.fortresslearning.com.au/?page_id=6851

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Presentingapositiveimageofyourorganisation

It is very important that you represent your organisation in a positive way at all times. This isparticularly importantforabusinessororganisations,asthepublicneedstohaveconfidenceandtrustinyou,oryouwillnothaveanycustomersorclients.

The first thing you can do in order to represent your organisation in a positive way is to beprofessional. The public will expect to see you dressed in a certain way; for example, if yourorganisationhasauniformyouwillneedtobewearingitcorrectlyatalltimeswhenrepresentingyourorganisation inpublic.Youwillneedtofollowproceduresonaddressingpeople,distributinginformation,answeringthetelephone,meetingthepress,etc.

It is importantforyoutorealisethatwhenyourepresentyourorganisation,youarerepresentingthewholeorganisation.Thewayonepersonactswillreflectontheentireorganisation.

Staffmemberswilltakenoticeandformjudgementsontheimageyoupresent.Thisincludestakingnoticeofyourattitude,appearance,facialexpressions,thewayyouaddresspeople,toneofvoice,courtesytowardothersandyouroveralllevelofprofessionalism.

Itcanhelpifyou:

• Aresincere

• Arehelpful

• Usetheperson'snameortitleifyouknowit

• Avoidsarcasmandflippancy

• Suppresstemperoutbursts

• Answerphonecalls,emails,letters,etc.promptly

• Respondtoquestionsappropriately

• Behelpfulwhenaskedquestions

• Thankanypeoplewhomayassistyou3

Neverunderestimatethepowerofobservation. Ifyou lookunclean,scruffyoruninterested,yourorganisationalsolooksthatway.Alwaysensureyoumeetthestandardsoftheorganisationbothinappearanceandbehaviour.

Thereareanumberofthingswhichpeopleregularlydo,whichcandamagethereputationofthecompanytheyworkfor,asoneofintegrityandcredibility.Someoftheseinclude:

• Notbeingresponsiblefortheirpersonalfinances

3 http://www.weegy.com/?ConversationId=020F97AA

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• Speakingbadlyabouttheircompanyoritsproductsinpublic

• Personalhobbiesthatareagainstthecompaniesstandonanissue

• Beingstingyinyourpersonalbusinessdealings

• Speakingbadlyaboutmembersofmanagement

• Parkingonthestreet,infrontofneighbourshouses

• Excessivedrinkingoranydruguse

Atthehighestlevelsofmanagement,personalactionsandcommentscancausedrasticchangesinthecompany’sstockvalue.Evenarumourofakeymemberofmanagementleavingacompanycancausethestockvaluetoplummet.

Thepointofallthisisthatinasense,therereallyisn’taseparationbetweenyourpersonallifeandyourprofessionalone.Yes,therearecertainhoursoftheday,whenyouleaveyouroffice,and“hangup”your corporatehat. Thatdoesn’tmean that you canhangupyour corporate identitywith it.Anyonewhoknowsyouandknowswhoyouworkforwillseeyouasrepresentingyourcompany.Ifyouhave integrityandcredibility; thatshowsthemthatyourcompanydoesaswell.Ontheotherhand, if youhaveamonumental lackof integrityand credibility, theywill interpret that tomeanthatyourcompanyisthesame.

While all this is especially true for those who directly represent the company, such as salesprofessionalsanduppermanagement; tosomeextent, it is true forallmembersofmanagement.Maybeyouthinkthatasafirst level, front linesupervisor,yourpersonalreputationdoesn’taffectthecompanymuch.Nothingcouldbefartherfromthetruth.Peopleyouknowcouldlookatyouinthebarandsaytothemselves,“Ifthatcompanypromotesjerkslikethistomanagement,whatelseare they doing wrong?” On the other hand, if your personal integrity and actions are abovereproach,theycouldlookatyouandthinkthatallthemanagementinyourcompanyisasgoodasyou.4

4 http://students.fortresslearning.com.au/bsbmgt401a-show-leadership-in-the-workpl...

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Summary:EnhancetheOrganisationsImage

-Understandingourvaluesandthesourceofourownmotivationshelpsustosetpersonallyworthwhilegoalsanddirectourbehaviourinproductivedirections.

‘SimplytheBest–WorkplacesinAustralia’Hull&Read2003

Afterdeterminingwhatanorganisation’sexpectationsare,wethenneedtomonitorourownbehaviourtoensureitisinlinewiththeorganisation’svaluesandstandards.Weneedtobeawareofthedifferencesbetweenourpersonalvalues,ethicsandbehavioursandhowthisimpactsonotherindividualsandgroupsbothwithinandexternaltotheorganisation.

Theorganisationalvisionandvaluesbecomeevidentinouractionsasleadersandmanagers.Theyaretheevidenceofourcommitmenttotheorganisation’svisionandvalues,particularlytheCodeofConductThefollowingdiagramshowstherelationshipbetweenourvalues,ourattitudesandourbehaviours.

You’llnotethatwhatyoudon’talwaysseethatdrivesbehaviours.Wedonotactually‘see’thevaluesofanorganisationoranindividual.Theyareoftenmoreconceptualthanconcretebuttheysupportwhatweseeonthesurfaceiepolicies/proceduresetcthatdrivebehaviours.

It’sabitlikeaniceberg–youcanonlyseethetip:

Understandingthisrelationshipisimportantbecauseourbehaviours–ourwordsanddeeds-needtobecongruent.Weneednotonlyto‘doaswesay’buttobut‘sayaswedo’.

Todothis,wemustbeabletoclarifyourownandother’spersonalbeliefsandvaluesinordertounifypeoplearoundthesharedorganisationalvalues.

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Therearenumerousbenefitstounifyingpeoplearoundsharedorganisationalvalues:

• Itfostersstrongfeelingsofpersonaleffectivenessandcommitment.Peopleareclearabouthowtooperate,andtowhatstandards.

• Itfostersteamworkandfacilitatesconsensusbyprovidingcommonground.• Itencouragesethicalbehaviourbecausevaluesarethebasisofethicalbehaviour.• Itreducesstressandtensionbecausepeoplehavethetools(visionandvalues)tobetter

choosebetweenconflictingdemands.• Itfosterspridebecausepeoplearebehavingaccordingtotheirvalues.• Itfacilitatesunderstandingaboutone’sjobbecausepeopleknowwhatisexpected.

Theimportanceofpersonalvalues

Ourpersonalvaluesaredeeplyandstronglyheldvaluesandprinciples.Theyaresomuchapartofus that theyareoftenburiedbeneathourconsciousawareness.Ourpersonalvaluesystemcoverssuchthingsaswhatwebelieveisrightorwrong,goodandbad,shouldandshouldn’tbe.Itprovidesan‘innercompass’thatguidesouractionsanddecisions.

Trying to reconcile our valueswith thoseof a rapidly changingworld is confusing andmakingdecisions based on our personal values can be difficult when we are under pressure. As wemature,weareexposedtodifferentvaluesystemsandwemaydecidetoacceptorrejectthesenewstandards.

Culturalandorganisationalpressuresmayinfluenceourattitudesandbeliefs;wemustchoosetoagreeordisagreewiththesenewcriteriaaswell.Ourvaluesarethereforedynamic-constantlychanging-andsometimestheyarelooselydefined,eventoourselves.

It’shelpful to identify thosevalueswhichprovidedirection inour lives. Asenseofpurpose isessentialtoanyplanforsuccess.Aswehaveseenorganisationsknowthis,sotheymayspendvastamountsofenergy,timeandmoneyrefiningtheirvalues,visions,andstandards.Withoutadefined value system somepeople canbe indecisive and inconsistent. They canwaste energyandtheirpotentialmaybeleftuntapped.

Nodoubtyoualsowanttomaximiseyoureffortstorealiseyourownpotential,especiallyinyourworkinglife.Justaswithabusiness,yourpersonalplansmustbeginwithsuchquestionsas:

• WhatdoIwantoutoflife?• Whataremyvalues?• Whatismydefinitionofsuccess?

AswediscussedinLeadingbyexample–oneofthebestwaystoimproveyoureffectivenessistobetterunderstandyourselfandothers.Thenyoucanbuildonthatunderstandingtocreateanenvironmentmostconducivetoyoursuccess,adaptyourbehaviourtotheneedsofothers,anddevelopstrategiestoinfluencethebehavioursofotherstoreflecttheorganisation’svaluesandstandards.

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Implementingvaluesandstandardsintheworkplace

InLeadingbyExamplewediscussedKouzesandPosner’s5PracticesofExemplaryLeadership.Welearnedthatasleaderswemustpayconstantattentiontohowwe,andothers,arelivingthevaluesintheworkplace.

Herearesomeotherideasonhowto‘modeltheway’andmakeyouractionscount.

Identifythevaluesofyou,theteamandtheorganisationandthen:

• Allocate time according to what is valued. Do this by checking your diary/meetingagendas.What is thedurationof thesemeetings,whoattendsandwhopresents. Arethesemeetingsconsistentwithwhatisvaluedbytheorganisation?

• Use story telling. To do this collect stories, get into the habit of telling stories. Useanalogiestosupportthevaluesoftheorganisation.

• Remember your audience and your purpose. Stories around critical incidents areopportunities to teach values and the norms of behaviour. Create stories to remindpeopleofwhattheyhaveaccomplishedandwhytheeffortwasworthit.Storiescanbeusedtoreframesetbacksaslearningexperiences.

• Usesymbols,artefactsandcelebrationsasvisibleremindersofkeyorganisationalvalues.Anything can be used for example, posters, buttons,mugs, pins. Celebrations can beofficial and spontaneous. They can indicate a transition, a new beginning, a loss, atraditionandevenanachievement.

• Consciouslydesignandmanagethephysicalspacewherepeoplework.Usethespacetoencouragethepreferredwaysofinteractingandworkingtogether.

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Makeinformeddecisions

"Inanymomentofdecisionthebestthingyoucandoistherightthing,thenextbestthingisthewrongthing,andtheworstthingyoucandoisnothing."TheodoreRoosevelt

Introduction

Beingabletodealwithday-to-dayissuesandproblems—andmakegooddecisions—isanimportantskillyouneedasaleader.Sometimesyouhavetomakequickdecisionsontherun,andothertimesyouwillbeabletotakemoretimetothinkaboutyouroptions.

Oftenthenatureofproblemswefaceintheworkplaceisobvious.OthertimesthehardestthingaboutsolvingaproblemandmakinganinformeddecisionistoworkoutexactlyWHATtheproblemisinthefirstplace.

Forinstance,wemayknowthatourbusinessreturnsarefalling,butnotknowwhy.Thenwemightrealisethatwedon’thaveasmanycustomersasweusedtoorthattheoneswehavearespendingless,butwedon’tknowwhy.

Tomakeinformeddecisionsinresponsetoworkplaceproblemsweneedtobejustthat–informed.

Gatherandorganiseinformationrelevanttotheissue/sunderconsideration

Makinganinformeddecisioninvolvespresentingabusinesscaseforwhyanopportunityis,orisnot,worthpursuing.Inthecaseofane-marketingcampaign,thisinvolvesconsideringeachandeveryfactorinvolvedinsuccessfullylaunchingandeffectivelyrunningthecampaign.Italsoinvolvescomparingthebenefitsthatwillbegeneratedbyyoure-marketingcampaignwiththecoststhatyourbusinesswillincur.

Weareusingane-marketingcampaignasanexample,butthestepsandprocesseswillbesimilartoanydecisionthatyouneedtomakeinanorganisation.

Inordertomakeaninformeddecisionregardingwhetherornottolaunchane-marketingcampaign,youneedtoanswerseveralquestionsincluding:

• Whoaremytargetcustomersandwhataretheirneedsandexpectations?

• Howcanmybusiness’svaluepropositionmeetorexceedtheneedsandexpectationsof

mytargetcustomers?

• Willonlinemarketinghelpmetoeffectivelyconveymybusiness’svaluepropositiontomy

targetcustomers?Ifyes,how?

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• Whataretheexpectedelementsofcustomerbenefits(includingemotional,economic

andfunctionalbenefits)thatwillbegeneratedthroughmyonlinemarketingefforts?

• DoIhavethecriticalresourcesneededtodelivercustomerbenefitsthroughmyonline

offerings?

• DoIneedtoacquireanyneworadditionalresourcestodelivercustomerbenefits

throughmyonlineofferings?Ifyes,howamIgoingtoacquiretheseresources?

• Whatarethecriticalreasonstobelievethattheidentifiedresources(bothexistingand

new)willbeasourceofadvantageoverthecompetition?

• Howwillmybusinesscaptureaportionofthevaluethatitwillcreateforcustomers

throughonlinemarketing?

• Whataretheestimatedfinancialbenefits(bothinshortandlong-terms)thatmy

businesswillgeneratethroughonlinemarketing?

• Whataresomeofthecriticalunderlyingassumptionsthatmustbetrueinorderformye-

marketingcampaigntobesuccessful?

• Whataresomeofthekeyriskfactorsassociatedwithpursuinganonlinemarketing

campaign?5

Gatheringinformation

Gatheringtheinformationyouneedpriortomakingthedecisionisvitaltomakingthecorrectchoicefortheorganisationandforshowingstaffmembersthatyoucanbereliedupontomakegoodchoicesinatimelymanner.

5 http://toolkit.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au/part/27/139/653

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Tomakeinformeddecisions,itiscrucialthatorganisationshaveaccesstoinformationthatisnotonlyrelevantbutalsoaccurateandcurrent.6

TypesofInformation:

PrimaryInformation

PrimaryInformationcomesfromfirst-handexperienceandhasnotbeenanalysedorchangedinanyway.

PrimaryInformationmayinclude:

• Recordsofconversations

• Invoices,statementsandsignedcontracts

• Censusdata

• Minutesform

• Meetings

• Emails,faxesorletters

• Diariesordiarynotes

SecondaryInformation

Secondarysourcesofinformationmayincludereflection,reviewandinterpretationofinformationontheevents.

SecondaryInformationmayinclude:

• Textbooks

• Biographies

• Resultsfromfocusgroups,producttrials,samplingandpiloting

• Productiontargets

• Financialfigures

• Marketingreports,plansandbudgets

6 http://www.health.qld.gov.au/consent/documents/ic-guide.pdf

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QuantitativeData

QuantitativeDateismeasurableandcanbeexpressedinnumberssuchassalesfigures,dollaramountsornumberofpeople.

QualitativeData

QualitativeDataisanynon-numericalinformationthatcanbecaptured.Itisoftenthewhy.

InternalSourcesofInformation

Inmostwork-relatedinstances,therewillbeinformationavailableoraccessiblefromwithinyourorganisation.

InternalSourcesofInformationmayinclude:

• Files

• OtherStaff

• Reportsorsurveys

• TheIntranet

• StrategicInformation

• SpecialistMaterial,suchassalesplans,promotionalmaterial,agreements,etc.

ExternalSourcesofInformation

Oftenitisnecessarytogobeyondsourceswithinyourorganisationinordertogathertheinformationyouneed.

ExternalSourcesofInformationmayinclude:

• Governmentdepartmentsoragencies(inparticular,theAustralianBureauofStatistics)

Representativeassociationssuchasemployerbodies,institutes,unionsandprofessional

associations

• Majorcorporations

• Newspapersandmagazines

• Televisionorradio

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• TheInternet

• Libraries7

Informationgatheringtechniques

Observation

Weoftenunder-estimatethevalueofsimplytakingtimetoobservewhatishappeninginourworkplaces.

Forinstance,observingcustomersandteammembersduringaserviceencountercanbeveryrevealing.Usingobservationwecansometimesobtaininformationthatthecustomerorteammemberareunwillingorunabletoprovide.

Thebenefitsofobservationarethatitcanbedoneinaworksettingorinanoff-sitesetting(‘simulation’)andthatitcollectsprimary('first-hand')datathatmaynotbeavailableelsewhere.

Thenegativeaspectsofobservationarethat:

• Itcanbecostlyandtimeconsuming.• Itcannotbeusedtogatherdataaboutinfrequenteventsorbehaviours.• Theobservermustremainobjectiveandconsistentindocumentingtheobservations,and• Theactofobservationcaninfluencethebehaviourofthepeoplebeingobserved.

Surveyquestionnaires

Asurveyquestionnaireisawrittenmethodofcollectingprimarydatabyaskingpeoplequestionsabouttheirattitudesto,andthoughtsandbeliefsabout,variousissuesandproblems.

Somehotels,forinstance,collectthistypeofdataviaon-linePost-StayGuestSurveys.

Surveysareuseful:

• Whenyouneedinformationaboutalargeorwidelydispersedgroup• Whenthespecificissuesortopicstobeexploredareknown,or• Whenyouneedtominimisethecostsofyourresearch.

Oneofthenegativesofsurveysisthatdevelopingsurveyquestionnairesthatwillobtainaccurateandconsistentanswersisquiteanart.

Youmustbesurethatthequestionsaskedare:

• Notambiguousorconfusing,andwillyieldtheinformationbeingsought.• Notpresentedinabiasedway.• Writteninawaythatdoesnotindicate'socialdesirability,'sothattherespondentswill

answerhonestly,notthewaythattheythinkthey'should'.• Openquestionsthatdonotlimittheresponses.

7 http://coursemill.lennoxinstitute.com.au

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• Constructedinsuchawaythattheresponsesareabletoberecordedandassessedinordertoyieldusefuldata.

Testingadraftquestionnaireorpilotsurveywithseveralpeoplepriortousingitisimportant.Thetest-runresponsescanbeanalysed,andunclearitems,inconsistencies,perceivedbias,andotherdefectscanbecorrectedbeforethesurveyispresentedtothetargetaudience.

Surveyquestionnairesarethemostwidelyusedmethodfordatacollectionbyorganisations.Oneofthemajoradvantagesofsurveysisthattheycanbeveryflexibleandcanobtainarangeofdatafromdifferentgroupsofpeople.

Adisadvantageofsurveysisthatsometimespeopleareunabletoanswerthesurveyquestionsbecausetheycannotrememberorhaveneverthoughtaboutthequestionsyouareasking.

Therearefreeon-linesurveytoolsatthefollowingwebsites:

www.kwiksurveys.com

www.surveymonkey.com

www.freeonlinesurveys.com

www.zoomerang.com

Interviews

Althoughinterviewscantaketime,theyareoneofthebesttoolsforgatheringdatarelatingtoworkplaceproblemsissimplytotalkwithpeople.

Interviewsarecrucialwhenthegoalistohelpindividualsorgroupslearnmoreaboutthemselvesandhoweffectivelytheyareworkingwiththecustomer.

Aninterviewisalsothebestdata-collectionmethodwhen:

• someofthequestionsmayrequireclarification,• someoftheanswers(responses)mayhavetobeexplained,• notalloftheissuesareknown(soyoucannotdesignasurveyquestionnairearound

them),and• youmaywanttopursuetopicsfurtherastheycomeup.

Nomatterwhatthetypeofinterview(facetoface,focusgroup,ortelephone)determiningwhotointerviewisacriticalstep.Ifyoucannotinterviewallofthepeopleconcerned,itisimportanttointerviewarepresentativesampleofthatgroup.

Herearesomemoretipsonconductingsuccessfulinformation-gatheringinterviews:

Theinterviewshouldbefreeofinterruption.

Theperson(s)being interviewedshouldbeputateaseso thatmore information (andmorehonestinformation)willbeoffered.

The procedure should be explained, and permission should be obtained if the interview is to berecorded.

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The interviewershouldaskneutral,open-endedquestionsasmuchaspossibleto avoid “leading the witness” and to allow the interviewees to explain theanswers.

Lesscomplicatedandlessthreateningquestionsshouldbeaskedfirst.

The interviewermust be careful to remain objective and consistent from oneinterviewtothenext.

Schedulingmany interviews back-to-back can be tiring and confusing and canreducingtheinterviewer'sobjectivity.Usingpreparedscriptscanhelptoensurestandardisationofmultipleinterviews.Recordingverbatim,onstandardisedforms,whattherespondentssaycanhelptoensureaccuracyofthedata.The interviewer also should watch for nonverbal cues that may need to befollowedup.Activelisteningalsocanhelptoelicitmoreinformation.

After the interviews, the collecteddata is recorded and reported in someway to thepeoplewhohavebeeninterviewed.Ifitisgroupdata,itisgenerallydiscussedwiththegroup, which can then be given the opportunity to correct anymisinterpretations orinaccuraciesinthedata.

Theinterviewfindingsarethenusedtoidentifyproblemsandunderlyingissues,andtodevelopworkablesolutions.

Focusgroups

Focusgroupsareaspecialisedformofinterviews.Theynormallyinvolveasmallsampleofthepeopleorgroupyouareinterestedinconsultingorinvolving.

Thisisavaluabletechniqueifyouareinterestedinseekingopinionsordeterminingissuesthatareofparticularimportancetothesmallgroupyouhaveselected.Duetothetimeanddetailrequired,focusgroupstendtobetooexpensivetobeusedwidely

Mostworkplacescontain,orprovideaccessto,awealthofwritteninformationthatcanbeusedtohelpusunderstandmoreabouttheissuesweface,andwhattodoaboutthem.

Someexamplesofwritteninformationinclude:

• Intranet

• Internet

• Organisationalpolicies,proceduresandguidelines

• Publications(workplacepublications,newsletters,magazines,periodicals,newspapers,researchpapers)

• Reports(egbudgetreports,customerresearchreports,annualreports)

• Governmentandprivatewebsites

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Facilitateindividual’sandteam’sactiveparticipationindecision-makingprocesses

Consultationandparticipationindecisionmaking

Makingthedecisionabouttheparticularstrategiestobeemployedisbestdoneusingateamdecision-makingprocess.Ateamwillhavegreaterownershipofandcommitmenttostrategiestheyhavedevelopedthroughaconsultativedecision-makingprocessthanofthoseimposeduponthem.Thespecifictypeofconsultativeprocessyouusewilldependonthenatureofyourbusinessandyourteam,theareaofplanninginvolved,andthetimeandbudgetavailable.

Yourconsultativeprocessmayinclude:

• Researchconductedbyteammembersandreportedbacktotheteamforconsideration

• Considerationofavailableinformation(forexamplefromanenvironmentalscanand/or

researchintoyourinternaloperatingenvironment)

• Futurescanning,forexample,scenarioplanning

• Informationsharingandanalysisbytheteam

• Generationofideas,usingcreativethinkingtechniquessuchasbrainstorming,mind-

mapping,visualising

• Decision-makingusinganappropriatemodel,preferablytoachieveaconsensusdecision

Decisionmaking

Yourapproachtodecisionmakinginyourteammaybebasedonavarietyofmodels,including:

Decisionsmadefortheteamby:

• Theteamleaderandcommunicatedtotheteam

• Theteamleaderbasedonoutcomesofconsultationwiththeteam

• Anoutside‘expert’andcommunicatedtotheteam

Decisionsmadebytheteamusing:

• ‘Average’or‘mostcommon’ofindividualdecisions

• Majorityvote

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• Minoritydecision,wherethosedecidingmayhavespecialexpertise

• Consensusdecision(whereallmembersareheardandmustacceptthedecision)

Oftheseapproachestodecision-making:

• Consensusdecisionsarethemosteffective.Consensusisreachedthroughdiscussion,

wheremembersraiseissues,possiblydisagreeandeventuallyreachadecisionall

members‘canlivewith’.Thisisatime-consumingprocessbutismosteffectiveinterms

ofownershipofthedecisionbyallmembers.Thisisparticularlyimportantforits

implementation.

• Amajorityvoteislikelytosplitthegroup.Whilethisprocesstakeslesstime,theremay

be‘winners’and‘losers’andthedecisionmaybeunderminedifthecommitmentofall

membersisrequired.

• Mostcommon(oraverage)decisionsmaybepoordecisionsandcommitmentislikelyto

beweak.Thosewhoagreemaynotnecessarilyhavetheknowledgeorexperience

requiredtomakeagooddecision.

• Decisionsbytheteamleaderonthebasisofconsultationhighlydependontheskillsand

knowledgeoftheleader.Thistypeofdecision-makingcanresultinbehaviouroriented

toimpressingtheleader.

Relevantmodelsincludingstagesofgroupdevelopmentandstagesofchange

Whenworkingwithgroupsitisessentialthatyouanticipatetheneedsofindividualsinanygroup–youcanbelongtomanygroupsfordifferentreasonsandyourneedswilldifferineachone.

Groupdevelopmenthasbeenstudiedbymanypsychologists,withthemostnotablebeingBruceTuckman,whocameupwiththefivestagesofgroupdevelopmentin1965.Thefivestagesare:

• Forming

• Storming

• Norming

• Performing

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• Adjourning/Mourning

Thesestagesaredescribedbelow.

FormingBasicallytheformingstageiswhenmostoftheteammembersarepositiveandpolite.Somemaybeanxiousastheydon’tfullyunderstandwhatliesaheadandsomewillbeexcitedaboutthepossibilitiesofachievementwithinthegroup.Asaleaderyouplayadominantroleinyourgroupbecauseyourparticipant’srolesandresponsibilitiesaren’tclearyetandtheyaregettingtoknowoneanother.

StormingStorming is thenextphasewheresomeparticipantswillpushtheestablishedboundaries. It is inthisstagewheremanyteamswillfail.Dependingonthetypeofgroupyouarerunning,conflictmayariseduetodifferentlearningstylesorsomeparticipantsmaynotfeeltheyneedtocontributeasmuch as they are being asked to and resist taking on tasks. For example, team members maychallengeyourauthority,or jockey forpositionas their rolesareclarified.Or, if their rolesaren’tclearlydefinedpeoplemayfeeloverwhelmedbytheirworkload.Thiscanbearealbarriertogroupperformanceandaffecttheoutcomesforeveryone.

NormingThe next stage is called norming where differences are resolved, and the participants start toappreciate the strengths of team members and respect your authority as the team leader.Participantsmight socialise together, ask eachother for help andprovide constructive feedback.Newtasksintroducedtothegroupmaycausethemtolapseintothestormingstageagainsotherecanbeoverlapofthesetwostages.

PerformingOnce cohesion is established, the team start to perform, the final stage of the group. Activityproceedswithoutfrictionandthestructuresandprocessessetupinthebeginningbyyouandthegroupsupportthisphasewell.Atthisstage,asaleaderofthegroupyoucandelegatemuchofyourworkandconcentrateondevelopingindividualswithintheteam.Itshouldfeeleasytobepartofthegroupatthisstage.8

Adjourning/MourningThe fifth and final stage of adjourning is not always available to groups, certainly in mostprofessionalsituationshoweverincommunitygroupsitcanbebuiltintothelastsession.Thiscanbeatimeforhandingoutcertificatesortrophiesandacknowledgingindividualcontributions.

Any groupwhichexists for a fixedperiod such as a yoga groupwhich runs all termor a theatregroupworkingonaplayhavetodisbandatsomepoint,evenifitisuntilnexttermorthenextplay.

8 http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_86.htm

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Nobodyknowsforcertainifallmemberswillbebackandthosewholikeroutineorwhohavegrownclosetootherteammembersmayfindthisstagedifficultwhichiswhythisstageisalsocalled‘mourning’.Youmaybeabletoorganiseagettogetherforthegroupafewweeksafterthefinalsessiontohelpeasethetransitionawayfromitforthoseteammemberswhofindchangechallenging.

• Ensurethatallgroupmembershavecommitmenttothegoalsofthegroup.Ifgoalsor

rulesareimposedfromoutsidetheyarelesslikelyto‘own’them

• Whenformulatingthegoalsofthegroup,theindividualneedsofgroupmembersmust

beconsidered

• Beaneffectiveparticipatorifyoucan,aswellasleadingthem

• Providefeedbacktothegroupontheirprogressandachievements.Uselotsofpositive

reinforcement.Peoplegenerallyaremuchmorelikelytobemotivatedbypositive

reinforcementthannegativity

• Ensureallgroupmembersarelistenedtoandtreatedwithrespect

• Rememberthatsomeofyourgroupwillneedmoreencouragementthanothersand

whatispraiseworthycanbeveryspecifictoeachindividual

Examineoptionsandassessassociatedriskstodeterminepreferredcourse/sofactionOnceyouhaveconsultedtherelevantstakeholdersinthechangeordecisionthatneedsmakingyouwillneedtolookateachoptionanddecidewhichoneisthemostappropriateforyourorganisation.

Todothis,youwillneedtoassesstherisksofeachoption.

AssessingriskscanbecomplicatedsometimessotoassistyouIhaveincludedafewquestionsforyoutoaskyourselfabouteachoption:

• Willitbenefittheorganisation/business?

• Willitcauseanyharm(physical,emotional,etc…)?

• Doesitfitintotheprescribedbudget?

• Willitcausedisruption?

• Willitmakethedifferencerequired?

Answeringthesequestionswillassistyoutomakethedecisionthatisrightfortheorganisationandultimatelywillberightforthoseaffectedbythedecision.9

9 https://cuttingredtape.gov.au/.../australian_government_guide_regulation...

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Therearethreegeneralwaysthatdecisionswillbemade.

• Brainstorming

• Forcefieldanalysis

• Causeandeffectdiagram

BrainstormingBrainstormingisatechniquethatmaybeusedwithgroupstocreatenewideas,solveproblemsanddevelopandmotivateteams.Brainstormingisparticularlyusefulwhenyouarelookingforcreativeandinnovativesolutionstoproblems.

Youshouldbeginabrainstormsessionbyclearlystatingthesession’sobjectives,forexample:

• Developaremindersystemforpatientappointments

• Formulateapromotionalactivityforthelaunchofanewproduct

• Opportunitiesforcost-savingusingelectronicconferencefacilities

• Findwaystobuildbetterrelationshipsbetweenthecustomerserviceandsiteteams

Concludethesessionbyadvisingteammemberswhatwillhappennextandmakesureyoukeeptheparticipantsinformedabouttheoutcomesofthesession.Thiswillencouragethemtocontinuetoparticipateinfuturesessions.

CauseandEffectDiagramsCauseandeffectdiagramsarealsoknownasfishbonediagramsbecausethecompleteddiagramresemblesafishbone.Thepersonrecordingshouldpositiontheproblemorissueattheheadofthefish.

Possiblecausesoftheproblemorissueshouldthenberecordedonthebonesthataregrowingoutofthespineofthefish.Thebenefitofthismethodisthatitseparatestheproblemorissuefromthesymptomsoftheproblem.

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ForceFieldAnalysisForceFieldAnalysisisausefuldecision-makingtechnique.Ithelpsyoumakeadecisionbyanalysingtheforcesforandagainstachange,andithelpsyoucommunicatethereasoningbehindyourdecision.

Youcanuseitfortwopurposes:todecidewhethertogoaheadwiththechangeandtoincreaseyourchancesofsuccess,bystrengtheningtheforcessupportingchangeandweakeningthoseagainstit.

ForceFieldAnalysiswascreatedbyKurt Lewin in the1940s. Lewinoriginallyused the tool inhiswork as a social psychologist. Today, however, Force Field Analysis is also used in business, formakingandcommunicatinggo/no-godecisions.

Youusethetoolby listingallof the factors (forces) forandagainstyourdecisionorchange.Youthenscoreeachfactorbasedonitsinfluenceandaddupthescoresforandagainstchangetofindoutwhichofthesewins.

You can then lookat strengthening the forces that support the changeandmanaging the forcesagainstthechangesothatit'smoresuccessful.

TocarryoutaForceFieldAnalysis,useablanksheetofpaperorwhiteboard.

Thendescribeyourplanorproposalforachangeinaboxinthemiddleofthepaper.Listtheforcesfor change in a columnon the left-hand side, and the forces against change in a columnon theright-handside.

Asyoudothis,considerthefollowingquestions:

• Whatistheproblem?

• Whendoesitoccur?

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• Wheredoesitoccur?

• Howdoesitoccur?

It'simportanttoidentifyasmanyofthefactorsthatwillinfluencethechangeasyoucan.Whereappropriate,involveotherpeople,suchasteammembersorexpertsinyourorganisation.

Next,assignascoretoeachforce,from,say,1(weak)to5(strong),andthenaddupthescoresforeachcolumn(forandagainst).

For a visual representation of the influence that each force has, draw arrows around them.Usebiggerarrowsfortheforcesthatwillhaveagreaterinfluenceonthechange,andsmallerarrowsforforcesthatwillhavelessofaninfluence.

Forexample,thecustomerenquiriesarebecomingmorecomplexandpreventingthereceptionistfromachievinghertargets.However,theseenquiriesarealsothedrivingneedforchange.Asyoucanseeinthediagrambelow,restrainingforcescanalsobeforcesforchange.

UsingYourAnalysis

Onceyou'vedoneyourForceFieldAnalysis,youcanuseitintwoways:

• Todecidewhetherornottomoveforwardwiththedecisionorchange• Tothinkabouthowyoucanstrengthentheforcesthatmaysupportthechangeandweaken

theforcesopposingitsothatthechangeismoresuccessful10

RiskAssessmentOnceyouhaveidentifiedalistofyourpreferredsolutions,youwillneedtoexamineandassesstheriskassociatedwitheach.Insomecases,youmaydecidethattheassociatedrisksoutweighthepotentialbenefitsandtheneliminatethemfromyourlist.Youmaydecidethatthepotentialbenefitsaregreatenoughtojustifypursuingawaytomitigateorminimiserisk.

Thisprocessmayinvolve:

• Identifyingrisksandtheircauses

• Classifyingriskaccordingtotheirimpact:financial,operational,servicedelivery,

compliance,workplacesafety.

• Assessinghowrisksmightaffectachievementoftheorganisation’sorteam’sobjectives

• Prioritisingthelistofrisks

• Potentialriskminimisationstrategies

Whatisriskmanagement?

10 https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_06.htm

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“Takecalculatedrisks.Thatisquitedifferentfrombeingrash.”

GeneralGeorgeSPatton1885-1945

An important part of the decision-making process is risk identification, assessment andmanagement. Individualsandorganisationsmakedecisions regarding riskseveryday.Theymightuseaformallyrecognised,documentedprocessorgowiththe“sink-or-swim”approach.Whenthestakesarehighand the resultsof actions likely toaffectmanypeople–as theyoftenare in thebusinessworld–thelatterapproachisvery‘riskybusiness’.

Althoughmanyofuswouldbenefitbyanalysingtheriskswetakeinourdailylivesmoreeffectively,themanagementofrisktendstobefocusedonorganisations.This isbecausethe implicationsofpoorriskmanagementcanhavesignificantimpactsonawidernumberofstakeholdersaswellasonnationaland localeconomies. It’salsobecausethenatureofriskwithinorganisations is farmorecomplexthatthesimpletaskswehavetomanageasindividuals.

Riskmanagementisthereforegenerallyrecognisedinternationallyasakeybusinessprocesswithinboththeprivateandpublicsectors.Whileriskmanagementmayincludethetreatmentofidentifiedrisks(risktreatment)itisabroaderandmorestrategicprocess.

Riskmanagementinvolvesapplyingskills,knowledge,andriskmanagementtoolsandtechniquestoallaspectsandfunctionsofanorganisationtoreduceriskstoanacceptablelevelwhilemaximisingopportunities.

Benefits

Managingriskshasthefollowingspecificbenefits:

Greatercontrol

Controlofadverseeventsisenhancedbyidentifyingandtakingactionstominimisetheirlikelihoodandreducetheireffects.

Greaterconfidence

Peoplewillhavemoreconfidenceintheirunderstandingofrisksandtheircapabilitytomanagethem.Thisalsoencouragestheseekingofopportunitiesaspeoplefeelsafertotake‘calculatedrisks’.

Improvedplanning,performanceandeffectiveness

Effectiveplanningisfacilitatedbyaccesstostrategicinformationabouttheorganisation.Thisalsoenhancestheorganisation’sabilitytoseizeopportunities,mitigatenegativeoutcomes,andtoachievebetterperformanceandproductivity.

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Improvedstakeholderrelationships

Communicationandconsultationareessentialprocessesineffectiveriskmanagement.Thedevelopmentofdialoguebetweentheorganisationanditsstakeholdersincreasesmutualunderstandingofandinsightintothewants,needsandmotivationsofbothparties.

Enhancedreputation

Organisationsthatareknowntohaveasoundprocessformanagingrisktendtoattractinvestors,lenders,suppliersandcustomers.

Accountability,assuranceandgovernance

Throughthedemonstrationanddocumentationoftheriskmanagementapproach,variouspartsoftheorganisationarefocusedonconformingtorequirementsandenhancedperformance.

Personalwellbeing

Generally,whenweeffectivelymanagepersonalriskweexperienceanincreaseinourhealthandwellbeing.

Considerthis:

Therisksofsuccess

“OneofthefirstandmostimportantlessonsanysuccessfulAustralianbusinesspersonlearnsisthereisriskassociatedwitheverydecisiontheytake.Butoneofthemainreasonstheybecomesuccessfulratherthanunsuccessfulisbecausetheyunderstandthereareevengreaterrisksinnottakingthem.”

LeeForrest

Theriskmanagementprocess

Sometimesitseemsthatthereareasmanymodelsdescribingriskmanagementprocessesastherearebookswrittenaboutthesubject.Thiscanbecomeconfusing.IntheinterestsofsimplicityandconsistencywithacceptedAustralianpractices,wewillreferheretoaprocessadaptedfromtheAustralian/NewZealandStandard‘RiskManagement’4360:2004.

AustralianStandardforriskmanagement

Thediagramonthefollowingpagerepresentsthemainelementsoftheriskmanagementprocess.Theyareoutlinedhereanddescribedinmoredetailintheabovereference:

a) Establishtheriskcontext

Establishtheexternal,internalandriskmanagementcontextinwhichtherestoftheprocesswilltakeplace.Criteriaagainstwhichriskwillbeevaluatedshouldbeestablishedandthestructureoftheanalysisdefined.

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b) Identifyrisks

Identifywhere,when,whyandhoweventscouldprevent,degrade,delayorenhancetheachievementoftheobjectives.

c) Analyserisks

Identifyandevaluateexistingcontrols.Determineconsequencesandlikelihoodandhencethelevelofrisk.Thisanalysisshouldconsidertherangeofpotentialconsequencesandhowthesecouldoccur.

d) Evaluaterisks

Evaluatetheestimatedlevelsofrisksagainstthepre-determinedcriteria.Considerthepotentialbenefitsandadverseoutcomesoftreatment.Makedecisionsabouttheextentandtypeoftreatmentandsetpriorities.Ifnotreatmentisrequired,monitorandcontrolthesituation.

e) Treatrisks

Developandimplementspecificcost-effectivestrategiesandtreatmentplansthatmaximisebenefitsandreducepotentialcosts.

f) Monitorandreview

Eachstepoftheprocessshouldbemonitoredandreviewedtoenablecontinuousimprovement.Risksandtreatmentmeasuresshouldbemonitoredtoensurethatchangingconditionscanbetakenintoaccountindeterminingtreatmentmeasuresandpriorities.

Formoreinformationandsomeusefultoolstohelpyouidentifyandmanagetherisksinvolvedinyourdecisionsyoucouldrefertothefollowingwebsites:

www.riskdecisions.com–followlinksonHomePageto‘Articles’for‘TrueEstimatesReduceProjectRisk’,andWhitePapersfor‘UsingRiskManagementforStrategicAdvantage’

www.riskinstitute.org–followlinksonhomepagetoPublications,Tools,Resources,toRiskManagement,toRiskManagementStarterKit–andmanymore

Communicationandconsultation

The importance of communication and consultation right through the riskmanagement processcannotbeunderestimated.Riskmanagementisenhancedbyallpartiesunderstandingeachother’sperspectives and, where appropriate being actively involved in decision-making. People’sunderstandingsofrisksareimproved,theviewsofstakeholdersareconsidered,andallparticipantsareawareoftheirrolesandresponsibilities.

Communication canbe two-wayor one-waydependingonwhat youwant to achieve. There aretimes when one-way communication is required – when information such as annual reports,meetingminutes, and newsletters are provided.Where the goals of the communication include

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sharingperspectives,beliefs,positionsetcbetweendifferentpartiesandbetweentheorganisationanditsstakeholders,thebesttypeofcommunicationistwo-way.

Consultationinvolvestwo-waycommunicationbetweenstakeholdersonanissuepriortomakingadecisionordeterminingadirectiononaparticularissue.Thismakesriskmanagementexplicitandmoresoundlybased,andaddsvaluetoanorganisation.

Communicatingdecisions

Rememberthatoncedecisionsaremade,it’simportanttocommunicatethemtothepeopleinvolvedandaffectedbythem.Youmaychoosetocommunicatethedecisionbeforeplansaremadetoimplementit.Thiswillopenthewayforpeopletobeinvolvedinplanningandimplementingthedecision.Thisinturnusuallyincreasespeople’scommitmenttothedecisionanditsultimatesuccess.

Youmayalsochoosetocommunicatethedecisionaftertheplanhasbeendevelopedandbeforeitisimplemented.Methodsyoucanuseinclude:

• Email

• Intranet

• Memo

• Discussion

• Informationsession

• One-on-onediscussions

• Teammeetingsorbriefings

• Voicemail

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EnsuredecisionsaretimelyandcommunicatethemclearlytoindividualsandteamsandPrepareplanstoimplementdecisionsandensuretheyareagreedbyrelevantindividualsandteams

Communicatingdecisionstotheteam

Onceadecisionhasbeenreached,youwillneedtoensurethatanyapprovalsrequiredhavebeensecured,andallrelevantpersonnelbothinsideandoutsideoftheorganisationhavebeenadvisedofthedecision.

Itisimportantonthoseoccasionswhentheimplementationofthedecisionwillimpactonclients,otherdepartmentsorworkareas,orotherorganisations thatyouprovide timelyadvice to thoseconcerned.Thisisparticularlyimportantifthereisanegativedecision.

Openandtimelycommunicationwillhelptominimisethelikelihoodofgossipandrumours.Youarealsomorelikelytosecurethesupportandcommitmentofotherpeoplewhentheyfeeltheyhavebeeninvolvedintheearlystagesofthechangeprocess.

Youshouldinvestigatetherangeofmethodsavailabletoyoutofacilitatecommunicationacrosstheorganisation.Newsletters,reports,email,meetings,onlineconferences,social-networkingsoftwareand workshops are methods that you may wish to consider. You also need to consider theinformationneedsofthepeopleyouarecommunicatingto.

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Usefeedbackprocesseseffectivelytomonitortheimplementationandimpactofdecisions

Gatheringfeedback

Oneofyourmajorrolesasamanageristoprovideconstructivefeedbacktotheworkersthatyousupervise.Thisisseenasanopportunitytomonitorexistingskillsanddecidejointlyongoalsforthefuture.

Itprovidesyouwithanopportunityto:

• Support

• Encourage

• Motivate

It also helps towards ensuring that the workers in your organisation have current skills andknowledgeandperceivethatyouareinterestedintheirfuturewell-being.

Toensurethatyoureceivethesametypeofsupportandinformation,thatyourecognisetheskillsand knowledge that you have and that you set goals for your future you also need to receivefeedback.

Byenteringintoperformanceappraisalforyourself,youarealsomodellingappropriatebehaviourfor theworkers. If you arewilling to do it and to follow up on the process, then there ismoreincentiveforthemtodothesame.

Itcanbedifficulttoactuallygetfeedbackfrompeoplethatis:

• Meaningfultoyou

• Notseenasachorebythoseyouask

• Notseenasyoutryingtohearawholelotofgoodnews

Youcanreceivefeedbackinanumberofwaysandconcentrateonspecificsormoregeneralareas:

• Whenattemptingtocollectfeedbackyouneedtobeclearaboutwhatitisthatyouare

collectingfeedbackabout.Differentpeopleintheorganisationwillseedifferentpartsof

youandobservedifferentskillsinaction.

Itmaybeofnouseforyoutoaskyourteammemberaboutyourabilitytoplanforthefutureiftheydonotactuallyseeyoudoingthis.Theywillhaveanunderstandingthatyoudoitbecauseyou

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bringideastothegroup;opportunitiesarefollowedup,andtheorganisationhaspositiveoutcomesandismeetingitsgoals.Theymaynotbeabletocommentconstructivelyonthequalityofyourwork,orworkwithyoutoimproveyourskillsandsetnewgoalsinthisarea.

Youalsoneedtodecidewhomyouaregoingtoask.Dependinguponwhatareasyouarelookingforfeedbackin,youwillneedtolookatavarietyofpeopleatdifferentlevelsinyourorganisation.Youmaywishtoincludesomeofyourpeersoryourclients.

360DegreeFeedback

The360-degreefeedbackmodelmayhelpyoudecidewhoitisthatyouwillask.Ifyouaskarangeofpeople,youwillgetarangeofresponses.Thisisimportantifyouwishtogaininformationaboutallofthethingsthatyoudo,orpeopleindifferentcircumstancesperceiveyou.Youmaychooseinsome cases to focus on a group of skills, and, therefore, a smaller group of people may beappropriate.

In the360-degree feedbackmodel, you choose those individuals that youbelievewill beable toprovideyouwithconstructivefeedback.Youcanaddordeletepeopletomeetyourneedsatthetime.

Consider the 360-degreemodel and the possible options that you have in your workplace. It isimportanttothinkcarefullyaboutthepeopleyouchoosetoprovidefeedback,toexplaintothemwhatyouaredoingandwhy.Whatyoudon'twant is forpeople to feelembarrassed,puton,orcoercedintohelpingyou.

Listentoyourself

Youareanintegralpartofyourownperformanceappraisal,andyoushouldmonitoryourperformanceonanongoingbasis.Todothis,youwillneedtosetgoalsforoutcomesthatyoucanmeasure,andtomonitorwhetheryouareachievingthem.

Usingfeedbacktomonitordecisions

Theprocessofcommunicationwithinateamisacriticalone.Teammembersarenotaseffectiveastheycanbeif:

• Theydon’tcommunicatewellamongthemselves

• Theydon’tfeedinformationtotheirmanager

• Theirmanagersdon’tprovideenoughinformationtotheirteams

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Oneofthemostimportantelementsinthecommunicationprocessisfeedback.Theprocessofprovidingconstructivefeedbacktoateamisasignthattheteamistrulyworkingtogether.Peoplewhodon’tseekorgivefeedbackarerunningtheriskofworkinginaninformationvacuumorisolatingtheircolleagues.Thisincludesmanagersaswellasteammembers.

Gettingusefulfeedbackfromteammemberscanbeinvaluable.Aswellaslearningaboutwhatyoucoulddotoimprovenexttime,youcanbenefitfromtheexperienceandinsightsothersprovide.

Feedbackcanbesoughtandprovidedinmanysituations,bothformallyandinformally.

Whatcangowrong

Readingsignsfromateamthatthingsaren’tastheyshouldbecanbetricky.Youneedtobeawareandaddressproblemsastheyarise,notaftertheevent.Symptomsofateamthatneedshelpcaninclude:

• Agenerallackofenthusiasm

• Non-stopbickeringandtheinabilitytoagreeonissues

• Personalagendasbeingplacedaheadoftheteam

• Dominantteammemberspressuringorovershadowingtheircolleagues

• Notmeetingdeadlines

• Teammemberswhodon’tsharetheworkequally

Complaintsandfeedbackfromindividualteammembersshouldbetakenseriously.Ifsomeonehastakenthetimetosharetheirconcernswithyouandyou,havebeenencouragingcommunicationandfeedbackwithintheteam,listentowhattheyhavetosay.Askthemwhatideastheyhavethatwouldbehelpfulandperhapsevenwhattheywouldlikeyoutodo.

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Leadership:Apracticalperspective

Problemsolving-Asimplemodel

Thissectionwillshowyouamethodfor'thinkingthrough'youroptions.Itprovidesyouwithasimplemodelforproblemsolvinganddecisionmaking.

Ifthisapproachisnewtoyou,itmaytakesometimetogetusedto.Butifyoupractiseitnow,you'llfindthatovertime,youwillfeelmoreconfidentaboutmakingsounddecisionsthathavethesupportofyourteamandyourmanager—evenonthosedayswhenyouhavetoactquickly!

Step1:Considertheproblem

Haveyoueverheardthesaying‘Foolsrushin’?

It’sthesamewithproblem-solvinganddecision-making.Ifyoumakehastydecisionswithoutknowingallthefacts,youwillfindithardertogetgoodresults.Youwillgetbetterresultsifyouconsidertheproblemandtalktothepeopleinvolved.

Describetheproblem

Remember,aproblemisn’talwaysathreatoranegativething.Aproblemmaybehowtotakeadvantageofanopportunitythatappears.Forexample,acompetitorgoingoutofbusinesspresentsthe‘problem’ofhowtoservicetheiroldcustomerbase!Manyworkdecisionsareconcernedwiththispositiveapproachtoproblem-solving.Keepthisinmindwhenyouidentifythesituationswhereyoucanusethisprocess.

Thinkaboutthingslike:

• WhatdoIthinkiswrong?• Whatistheissueorsituationthatneedstoimprove?• WhatistheopportunityIneedtorespondto?• Whatarethesignalsthattellmethereisaproblem,issueoropportunity?• Isthisreally‘my’problem?Doesitreallybelongtosomeoneelse?HowcanIbestbringit

totheirattention?

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Ken

Ken,asupervisorinaplantbakery,noticesthatTimisn’treportingequipmentfaultswhenheusesfaultyorwornmachinery.OtherteammembershavedroppedhintstoKenaboutTimbeing‘slack’andit’scausingfrictionintheteam.

Shauna

Shauna,ateamleaderinapostaldeliverycentre,hasfoundoutthatthetargetsfor‘on-time’deliveryhavenotbeenmetforthelastthreeweeks.Hermanagerisn’thappy.ShehasaskedShaunatoinvestigatetheproblemandmakerecommendationsforimprovingthedeliveryprocess.

Identifytheoutcomeyouwant

Thinkaboutthingslike:

• WhatresultdoIwant?• Isthisarealisticgoal?(Ifyouransweris‘no’,thenre-thinkwhatyouaresettingoutto

achieve.)

Examples

Ken

Kenwantsallequipmentfaultstobereportedimmediately.

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Shauna

Shaunawantsthedeliverytargetstobemet.Shealsowantstodevelopabettersystemforreportingdeliverytimessosheisawareofaproblembeforeit’stoolate…threeweeksisalongtimefortheproblemtogounnoticed!

Askforhelp

Don’tfeelthatjustbecauseyou’reamanagerorsupervisorthatyoumusthavealltheanswers.Likewise,youdon’thavetosolvethingsalone.It’sallaboutconsultingotherpeopleasyougatherinformation.Ifyouaskotherpeoplefortheirhelpinsolvingproblems,youaremorelikelyto:

• getbetterresults• gainthetrustandconfidenceofpeopleyouworkwith.• Peoplewhocanassistyouinclude:• thosewithadditionalinformationabouttheissue• thosewhohavehadpreviousexperienceinasolvingthesameorasimilarissue• thosewhohaveastakeintheproblemandtheoutcome(stakeholders).• Dependingontheproblem,thepeopleyoutalktomaybe:• yourteammembers• yourmanager• otherteamleaders• yourcustomersorsuppliers.

Examples

Ken

KenhadaprivatetalktoTim.HetoldTimhowhesawhimuseequipmentthatturnedouttobefaulty,butwhenKencheckedthemaintenancelog,hecouldseethatTimhadn’treportedit.Kenalsogaveotherexamplesofwhenthishadhappened.Kenexplainedthatheneedseveryone’shelptomakesureallmachineryinthebakeryisworkingproperly,andaskedhimwhythiswasnothappening.Timsaidthathepanickedbecauseitalwaysseemedtohappenatthesametimeashehadtopreparematerialsforthenextshift,andthatwasreallyimportant.AlsothefaultsheetwasinKen’sofficeandsometimesthedoorwasclosed.Timadmittedthatbythetimehe’dpreparedforthenextshift,orthedoorwasopenagain,he’dforgottenaboutreportingit.

Shauna

Shaunatalkedwitheachmemberofherteamtofindoutwhatwashappeningintheirpartofthewholeprocess.Shedidthiswitheachpersonseparatelysoshehadachancetoobservehowtheyhandletheirjobtasks.Asshetalkedtoeachpersonsheaskedforideasonhowtoimprovetheprocess,andshecameawaywithafewoptionsuphersleeve!

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Step2:Findasolution

Younowhaveinformationaboutwhattheproblemreallyis,andwhattheoutcomeisthatyouwant.Nowit’stimetofindasolution,andimplementit.Thefollowingbriefguidelines,plusthemoredetailedinformationinthenextsectionofyourreadingnotes,willhelpyou.

Developoptions

Thinkabout:

• differentwaystodealwiththesameproblem• comingupwithtwoormoreoptionssoyoucanmakethebestchoice• howyoucanusetheinputyougotfromotherpeoplewhenyouaskedfortheirhelp.

Examples

Ken

Kenhascomeupwithtwooptions:

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Shauna

Shaunahascomeupwiththreeoptions:

Considertheconsequences

Takeeachoftheoptionsyoudevelopedaboveandthinkabout:

• whatresourcesyouwillneedforeachoption(people,materials,moneyortime)• thepositiveandnegativethingsthatcouldhappenifyouimplementanyoftheseoptions• howyoucouldpreventordealwiththenegativeconsequences.

Examples

Ken

Kenhasthoughtabouthistwooptions,andthinksthesethingscouldhappenifheimplementedthem:

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Shauna

Shaunahasthoughtaboutherthreeoptions,andthinksthesethingscouldhappenifsheimplementedthem:

Sofar,you’veanalysedtheproblemby:

• lookingattheoptions• weighinguptheirpositiveandnegativeconsequences.

Now,you’llneedtodecidewhichoptionismostlikelytogetyoutheresultyouwanttoachieve.

Makethedecision

Onceyouhaveanalysedtheproblemandidentifiedsomeoptions,youcanmakeafinaldecisionaboutwhatactionyouwilltake.

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Lookateachofyouroptionsandthinkaboutthesethings:

• Howdothepositiveandnegativeconsequencescompare?• Howmuchtimewillittake,andisthatrealistic?• Whatresourceswillitneed?

Sometimesanoptionmaylookgoodonpaper,butisjustnotfeasiblebecauseitwilltaketoolong,betooexpensive,ortakeuptoomanypeople’stime.

Ifthat’sthecase,thenworkthroughyourotheroptions.Whichotheroneswillmeettheimmediateneedwithoutcausingotherproblems?Youcanprobablyseenowthatformorecomplexproblemsyoumightneedtogothroughthisprocessseveraltimesbeforeyouarriveataworkablesolution.

Examples

Ken

Kenthinksthebestdecisionistoplaceextrafaultsheetsaroundtheplantsoit’seasiertoreportfaults.HelikestheideaofmakingiteasierforTimtoreportfaults,ratherthanlettinghimgetawaywithnotdoinganimportantpartofhisjob.

Shauna

Shaunadecidesonatwo-stageapproach.Firstshewillcollectvolumestatisticsdailysoshecankeepacloseeyeonthingsandconfirmwherethebottlenecksare.Thenafteraweekshe’llconsultherteamaboutchangestotheroster.

Developanactionplan

Thisisyourplanforhowyouwillimplementyourdecision.Yourplanshouldincludetheactionsyou&otherswilltake,whatresourcesareneeded,andtimelinesforcompletionofeachaction.

Actions

Compilealistofactionstoachievetheparticularplan’sgoalorobjective.Youcanusethefollowing6questionstoidentifytheactionsrequired:

• What?• Who?• Where?• When?• Why?• How?

Useyouractionplantoarrangeyourlistoftasksinalogicalorder.Foreachtaskyouneedtohaveameasurethatallowsyoutoknowwhenthetaskissatisfactorilycompleted.

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Timelines

UsetheinformationonyourActionPlantodevelopatimelineforachievingyourgoal.Beginningwithatimepointlabelled‘Now’andendingwithapointlabelled‘Goalachieved’,buildatimelineonwhichyouallocatedates,bywhichyouintendtocompleteeachoftheactionslisted.Itisimportantthatyougetbothsequenceandtimingrightifyouaretoreach‘Goalachieved’effectively.

RemembertoaddamilestonerelatingtowhentoreporttomanagementandtheotherpeopleinvolvedintheachievementofgoalsinyourActionPlan.

Resources

Money,equipment,materialsandpeoplemustbeallocatedtoeachactionstep.Iftheseresourcesarelimited,orfallshortofrequirementsatanystage,itmaybenecessarytoreturntoanearlierstepandrevisetheActionPlan.

Possibleproblems&solutions

Considerallofthethingsthatcouldgowrongintheprocessofachievingaparticulargoal.Listtheseproblemsandidentifythecausesandpotentialsolutions.Wewillexaminewaystoassesstherisksofaplanofactionlater.

Monitoringprogress

Monitoring is theprocessofmeasuringandcomparingactual resultsorwork inprogresswithplannedperformance.Howwillyoudeterminewhetherornotyourprogresstowardsyourgoalsissatisfactory?Monitoringletsyouknowifyouareontarget,andifnot,whatchangesyoumightneedtomake.

Listways inwhichtheprogressoftheactionplancanbemonitored. Thesemonitoringstagesshould also be included on the timeline. You can gather data by looking around and askingquestionstoseewhat ishappening,and listeningtothe informationthatothersgiveyou.Youcanalsousedifferentinformationsystemstogiveyoudatathatisrelevanttoyourplan.

Estimatecosts

Giveconsiderationtoanyexpenditurerequiredtocompletethetasks.Allcostswillhavetobetakenintoaccountwhenpreparingabudget.

Iffundsarenotavailable,taskswillhavetobereviewedand,wherenecessary,revisedoreliminated.

CommunicateyourPlan

Communicateyourplantothosethatareinvolvedorimpactedbyyourplan.Youmaychoosetodothisby:

• Meetings• Informaldiscussions• Memos

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• Noticesonstaffnoticeboards• POSinstructions• SMSmessages

Whatevermethodyouchoose,thereshouldbeawayforpeopletoaskquestionsandtoclarifypointsthattheyareunsureabout.

ImplementthePlan

Implementationofanactionplanrequiresacquiringandallocatingresources,settingupabudgetandaschedule.

Oneofthebestwaysto“lead”theplanistorelateitsoutcometotheorganisation’svaluesandthevision

Otherwaystoensurethesuccessfulimplementationofaplanareto:

• Involvethosewhowillbeimplementingthedecisionsintheplanning.Thisnotonlysupportstheimplementationbutitcanalsoimprovethequalityofthedecision,because:o Theirknowledgeandinformationisused

o Theiralternativesareconsidered,anda

o Theyhaveabetterunderstandingofthedecisionresults

• Provideappropriaterewardstotheteammembers.• Exploreconflictingideasbeforeattemptinganimplementationoftheplan.• Breakupandbreakdownlargeplansintorealistic“do-able”pieces.• Askforvolunteers.Thisallowspeopletoowntheiractions,forexampleask’whatneeds

todobedone?’,‘who’sgoingtodowhat?’• Givepeoplechoices!Itletsthemfeelpersonallyresponsiblefortheirdecision/action.By

choosingtheyaresayingtheybelievetheycandowhatisrequired.• Givetheteammembersarealisticpictureofthe‘journey’thattheywillbeinvolvedwith

inimplementingtheplan.

Checkyourprogressagainstyourplan

Monitoringisyourinsurance.Ifyoudonotcheckthatyouroriginaltargetsandtimeframearebeingachieveditwillnotbepossibleforyoutomeasurethesuccessorpotentialfailureofyourdecisionandyourplantoachieveit.

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Actionplanexamples

Ken

Kenlovesdetailandcameupwithanactionplanthatcoveredallthebases:

HowIwillgoaboutit

(Actions)

WhoIneedtoinvolve/consult

(People)

WhatresourcesdoIneed

(Physicalresources)

Finishbydate(When)

Arrangeteammeeting

AdminAssist Meetingroom Monday

Placefaultreportsheetsneareachmajorpieceofmachinery

Checkthatteammembersagree/understand

EnoughblankformsPens

Tuesday

Organiserostertomonitor&replacesheetsandensurefaultsareactedon

Onepersononeachshift

Tuesday

Evaluatetherosterandfaultreportingsystem(Feedback)

Team Teammeeting After1week

MeetwithTimtoevaluatehisworkloadandmonitorhowheisfeeling(Feedback)

Tim Nil Following1weekoftherosterbeinginplace

Monitorrosterscheduleandteam’sworkload

Team Meetingroom Fortnightly

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Shauna

Shauna’sactionplanneededtobeflexible.Whetherornotshegoesaheadwiththerosterchangeswilldependonwhatshefindsoutwhenshegathersdailyvolumestatistics.Reportingbacktohermanagerwasalsoapartofheractionplan:

HowIwillgoaboutit(Actions)

WhoIneedtoinvolve/consult

(People)

WhatresourcesdoIneed(Physicalresources)

Finishbydate(When)

ReportactionplantoManager

Manager Email Immediately:30April

Collectvolumestatistics

Team Spreadsheet Daily

Reviewstatisticsandcheckwheredelaysoccur

TeamManagerAnnabel(courierteamleader)

Spreadsheet 7May

Identifypossiblerosterchanges

TeamAnnabel(courierteamleader)

StaffingcalendarNoticeboard

8May

Implementnewrosterifnecessary

Payrollofficer Staffingcalendar 15May

Reporttomanager Email 22May

Asyouhaveseen,acriticalconsiderationinmaking&implementingdecisionsisinvolvingandconsultingothers.

Step3:Review

Reviewingyourdecisionandyouractionplaninvolvesgatheringandanalysinginformation.Youcouldreferbacktotheprevioussectionforideasabouthowtodothis.

Evaluating&reviewingyourownperformanceasateamleaderisalsoareallypowerfulwaytolearnfromyourownexperience.

Startreflectingonhowthingsaregoingassoonasyoubegintoimplementyouractionplan,andagainwhenit’sallover.Askyourselfthesequestions:

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• Didthingsgoaccordingtoplan?• HowdidIdealwiththeunexpected?• DidIfeelOKwiththeresult?• WhatfeedbackdidIgetfrommyteammembers,manager,customersandsuppliers?• Howaremyproblem-solvinganddecision-makingskills?Aretheyimproving?

Thereisno‘right’waytoreflectonyourownexperience.Herearetwowaystoapproachit.

Examples

Ken

WhereKenworksit’srequiredthatsupervisorswriteinajournalafteranystaffperformanceissuehasbeendealtwith.Here’swhatKenwrote.

IthoughtitwasgoingtobetoughtalkingtoTim,asI’mhisbossnow(andforyearswewereonthesamelevel).Iwasdeterminedtofocusontheissueandnotletpersonalfeelingsgetinthewayoffixingtheproblem.I’msureallmystaffwerewatchingmehandlethisproblem.TalkingtoTimoffthefloorworked,itwasneutralspaceforbothofus.IwasalsosurprisedthatTimwasscaredofmakingmistakesandwasfeelingpanicked.Ihadalwaysthoughthewasaveryself-assuredguy.OneofthethingsthatIwasreallyhappyaboutwasthatTimwasstraightwithme,andmadesureIlistenedtowhathesaid.ThestaffgavemefeedbackthattheywerehappythatI’ddealtwiththeproblem,andTim’snowreportingmaintenancerequirements.IsupposewhatIwilldodifferentlynow,istonotwaitforstafftocomplainaboutanindividual,buttowalkaroundalotmoreandobservewhat’shappening.

Shauna

Shaunatookadifferentapproachwhenitcametoreflectingonhowshedid.Shemadenotesinherworkdiaryeveryfewdays.Shealsotalkedtoanotherteamleaderaspartofherownwayof‘reflecting’.

30April:Talkedtomymanager;shewashopingI’dhaveaquickfixsoIdon’tthinkshewastoohappy.ButwhenIstartedtalkingthroughthoseoptionsshecouldseeI’dgivenitsomethoughtandgavemeherOK.2May:Notsurethisisworking,andmyteamisgettingannoyedaboutallthemonitoringI’mdoing.Iheardthemcallme‘NosyShauna’.Ijustlet

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itgobutIfeltabitdepressedaboutthat.4May:Itakeitback—I’vespottedabigproblemwiththewaydeliverytrucksarescheduledtodopickups.ThisissomethingIdidn’texpect!WilltalktoBobandhisdriversaboutit.6May:TomorrowiswhenIreviewthefigureswithmyteam.IthoughtI’dbenervousaboutthismeeting,butoverthepastfewdaysthey’veseenhowI’mnothavingagoatthem.ItoldthemwhatI’vefoundoutandtheyhavesomeideasforhowtomakethenewrosterwork.Annabel[ateamleaderinadifferentsection]isreallygoodvalue—Ichattoherabouthowit’sgoingandbetweenusweseemtocomeupwithgoodideasforimprovingoursections.

Leadershipmyths

Theartofleadershiphasbeenresearchedandstudiedbymanypeople,particularlyduringthelast50years.Whilepeoplehavedifferentviewsofwhatmakesagoodleader,herearesomeofthemorecommonmythsaboutleadership.

Myth1-Leadershipisarareskill

Nothingcanbefurtherfromthetruth.Whilegreatleadersmayberare,everyonehasleadershippotential.Moreimportant,peoplemaybeleadersinoneorganisationandhavequiteordinaryrolesinanother.Thetruthis,leadershipopportunitiesareplentifulandwithinreachofmostpeople.

Myth2-Leadersareborn,notmade

Don'tbelieveit.Thetruthis,majorcapabilitiesandcompetenciesofleadershipcanbelearned.Wearealleducable,ifthebasicdesiretolearnisthere.Thisisnottosuggestthatitiseasytobealeader.Thereisnosimpleformula,norigorousscience,noformulathatleadsinevitablytosuccessfulleadership.Instead,itisadeeplyhumanprocess,fulloftrialanderror,victoriesanddefeats,timingandluck,intuition,andinsight.

Myth3-Leadersarecharismatic

Someare,mostarenot.Charismaistheresultofeffectiveleadership,nottheotherwayaround.Thosewhoaregoodatitaregrantedacertainamountofrespectandevenawebytheirfollowers,whichincreasethebondofattractionbetweenthem.

Myth4-Leadershipexistsonlyatthetopofanorganisation

Infact,thelargertheorganisation,themoreleadershiprolesitislikelytohave.

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Myth5-Leaderscontrol,direct,prod,andmanipulate

Thisisperhapsthemostdamagingmythofall.Leadershipisnotsomuchtheexerciseofpoweritselfastheempowermentofothers.Leadersareabletotranslateintentionsintorealitybyaligningtheenergiesintheorganisationbehindanattractivegoal.Leadersleadbypullingratherthanpushing;byinspiringratherthanordering;byenablingpeopletousetheirowninitiativeandexperiencesratherthanbydenyingorconstrainingtheirexperiencesandactions.

Leadershipmodels

This unit is primarily an applied one. It requires you to demonstrate effective leadership in anumberoftypicalsituationsencounteredbyorganisationalleadersinperformingtheirrole.

Tobe able to apply effective leadership, it is assumed that youhave anunderstandingof themaintheoriesofleadershipthathavebeendevelopedwithinthegeneralmanagementliteratureandthroughmanagementpractice.Itistheknowledgeofthesetheoriesthathelpsleadersapplythemosteffectiveleadershipapproachinparticularcircumstancesortoparticularissues.

TherearemanyleadershiptheoriesandmodelsthatareusefultoolstoFrontlinemanagers,butitmustbestressedthatnotoneorallofthemodelstellthewholestoryaboutLeadership;theyaretoolsthatcanhelpfurtherdevelopyourownLeadershipskills.

Whilemanydifferentleadershiptheorieshaveemerged,youcanclassifythemintoeightmajortypes:

1.“GreatMan”theories

GreatMantheoriesassumethatthecapacityforleadershipisinherent–thatgreatleadersarebornnotmade.Thesetheoriesoftenportraygreatleadersasheroic,mythic,anddestinedtoriseto leadership when needed. The term “Great Man” was used because, at the time it wasdeveloped,leadershipwasthoughtofprimarilyasamalequality,especiallyintermsofmilitaryleadership.

2.Traittheories

Similar insomewaysto“GreatMan”theories,traittheoryassumesthatpeople inheritcertainqualities and traits thatmake them better suited to leadership. Trait theories often identifyparticularpersonalityorbehaviouralcharacteristicssharedbyleaders.Butifparticulartraitsarekey featuresof leadership,howdoweexplainpeoplewhopossess thosequalitiesbutarenotleaders?Thisquestionisoneofthedifficultiesinusingtraittheoriestoexplainleadership.

3.Contingencytheories

Contingencytheoriesofleadershipfocusonparticularvariablesrelatedtotheenvironmentthatmightdeterminewhichparticularstyleofleadershipisbestsuitedforthesituation.Accordingtothis theory, no leadership style is best in all situations. Success depends upon a number ofvariables,includingtheleadershipstyle,qualitiesofthefollowers,andaspectsofthesituation.

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4.Situationaltheories

Situationaltheoriesproposethatleaderschoosethebestcourseofactionbaseduponsituationalvariable.Different stylesof leadershipmaybemoreappropriate for certain typesof decision-making.

5.Behaviouraltheories

Behavioural theoriesof leadershiparebasedupon thebelief thatgreat leadersaremade,notborn.Rooted inbehaviourism, this leadership theory focusesontheactionsof leaders,notonmentalqualitiesorinternalstates.Accordingtothistheory,peoplecanlearntobecomeleadersthroughteachingandobservation.

6.Participativetheories

Participative leadership theories suggest that the ideal leadership style is one that takes theinput of others into account. These leaders encourage participation and contributions fromgroupmembers and help groupmembers feelmore relevant and committed to the decision-makingprocess.Inparticipativetheories,however,theleaderretainstherighttoallowtheinputofothers.

7.Managementtheories

Managementtheories(alsoknownas“Transactionaltheories”)focusontheroleofsupervision,organisation,andgroupperformance.Thesetheoriesbaseleadershiponasystemofrewardandpunishment.Managerial theories are often used in business; when employees are successful,theyarerewarded;whentheyfail,theyarereprimandedorpunished.

8.Relationshiptheories

Relationshiptheories(alsoknownas“Transformationaltheories”)focusupontheconnectionsformedbetweenleadersandfollowers.Theseleadersmotivateandinspirepeoplebyhelpinggroupmembersseetheimportanceofthetask.Transformationalleadersarefocusedontheperformanceofgroupmembers,butalsowanteachpersontofulfillhisorherpotential.Theseleadersoftenhavehighethicalandmoralstandards.

Theoriesofleadership

Adair:Action-centredleadership

This model, called Functional or Action-centered Leadership, was developed in 1986 by JohnAdair while he was lecturing at Sandhurst Royal Military Academy. It combines aspects ofbehavioural,participative,andmanagementtheoriesofleadership.

Adair developed hismodel from the observation that, to be effective, amanager and leadermustensurethatthreedistinctareasofneedaresatisfied.Hisresearchindicatesthatasleadersweneedtoconsiderallthreeareas.Ignoringanyoneareaofneedwillhaveanadverseeffectontheotherareas.

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Thethreeareasofneedthatleadersneedtoconsiderare:

1.TASKneeds

Theneedtosucceedinachievingsetgoalsbygettingthejobdone.Leadershipskillstoaddresstheseneedscouldincludeplanning,monitoring,andacquiringresources

2.TEAMneeds

The need for the group to work well together. Leadership skills to satisfy these needs couldincludecoordinatingtheworkoftheteam,settingandmonitoringteamstandards,andresolvingteamproblems.

3.INDIVIDUALneeds

Theneedforeachpersontofeelsatisfiedwithherorhiswork.Leadershipskillstosatisfytheseneedsmay include setting individual performance standards and goals, training and coachingeachteammember,andprovidingfeedbacktoindividuals.

Formore information about thismodel go to www.businessballs.com and follow the links to‘Adair’sAction-CentredLeadership’.

Kouzes&Posner:5practicesofexemplaryleadership

‘TheLeadershipChallenge’byKouzesandPosner(1995)providesanothervaluableframeworkforleadership.

Theywerefascinatedbywhatmadesomepeoplebesomeoneotherpeoplewantedtofollow.Theysetouttodiscoverwhatittooktobecomeoneoftheseleaders.Theywantedtoknowthecommonpracticesofordinarymenandwomenwhentheywerearetheirleadershipbest–whentheywereableinspirepeopletodothingstheyhadn’tdonebefore.

Theiranalysisofthousandsofcasesandsurveysledthemtoidentifywhattheycalled‘TheFivePracticesofExemplaryLeadership’.Theyrefergenerallytoleadershipinmanysituations–andtheyareespeciallyusefulwhenconsideringleadingpeopleintheworkplace.

These5practicesare:

Practice1:Modeltheway

Leaderssetanexampletoothersintheworkplaceviatheirprofessionalism,integrityandcredibility.

Practice2:Inspireasharedvision

Leadersdevelopplanswiththeendinmind;they“see”theresultsbeforestartingaworkplaceinitiative.Thisiscalled‘strategicthinking’.

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Practice3:Challengetheprocess

Aleader’sroleistounderstandwhichworkplaceprocessesarenotcontributingtotheefficiencyoftheirworkplaceandchallengetheseprocesses.

Practice4:Enableotherstoact

Aleaderenablesotherstoactbyestablishingcooperative,sharedgoalsandobjectivesintheworkplace.Theyfostercollaborationnotcompetitionintheworkplace.

Practice5:Encouragetheheart

Leadersrecogniseeffortandrewardprogressbylinkingrewardswithperformancetowardsthegoalsandobjectives.

Tolearnmoreaboutthismodelofleadership,gotowww.leadershipchallenge.comandfollowthelinkstoabout-approach-video.

Advantagesanddisadvantagesofleadershipmodels

Adair:Action-centredleadership

Adair’sAction-CentredLeadershipModelismosteffectiveifusedaspartofanintegratedapproachtomanagingandleading,andalsoshouldincludeastrongemphasisonapplyingtheseprinciplesthroughtraining.YoucanfindoutmoreabouttheimportanceoftrainingforleadershiponJohnAdair’swebsite:www.johnadair.co.uk.

Adairalsopromotesa'50:50rule'whichheappliestovarioussituationsinvolvingtwopossibleinfluencers,egtheviewthat50%ofmotivationlieswiththeindividualand50%comesfromexternalfactors,amongthemleadershipfromanother.Thiscontradictsmanyotherleadershiptheoristswhoassertthatmostmotivationisfromwithintheindividual.Healsosuggeststhat50%ofteambuildingsuccesscomesfromtheteamand50%fromtheleader.

Kouzes&Posner:5Practicesofexemplaryleadership

Inhisarticle‘Kouzes&PosneronLeadership–ACritique’MitchMcCrimmonsuggeststhatthismodelhasmotivatedalotofpeopletorisetosignificantchallengesintheirorganisationsandotherareasoftheirlives.However,healsobelievesthatwhileKouzesandPosnerprovideaverythoroughportrayalofacertainkindofleadership,theirtheoryexcludesatypeofleadershipthatisincreasinglyvitalinourknowledgedrivenworld:thoughtleadership.

Thoughtleadershipreferstoanyinstanceofinfluencingotherstoacceptadifferentideaornewwayoflookingatthings.Wheneveryouareinameetingwithcolleagues,whethertheyreporttoyouornot,andyouconvincethemtoadoptyourideaofhowtoproceedonanytopic,youaredemonstratingthoughtleadership.Suchleadershipisnotaposition;itcanshiftcontinuouslyaroundthetable.

ThefocusofKouzesandPosnermightbecalledvaluesleadership.Thoughtleadershipreferstohownewideasaregeneratedandassimilatedwhilethevaluesleadershipreferstohowwe

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shouldlive.McCrimmonbelievesthatatisessentialtodevelopatheoryofthoughtleadershipifwearetounderstandtheimpactofinnovationonorganisationalsuccessandprogressinlifegenerally.Itisnotjustthatthoughtleadershipisimportantinitsownright,butthataone-sidedconcernwithvaluesleadershipmaycreateadistortedpictureofleadershipingeneral.YoucanreadMcCrimmon’sarticleonwww.leadersdirect.com

Yourleadershipstyle

Justasweeachhaveourownuniqueappearance,skills,andtalents,weallhaveourownuniquewaysofdoingthingsandrelatingtoothers.Weallhaveourownpatternsofbehaviour,includingourleadershipbehaviour.

Thepurposeofthispartofourleadershipdiscussionistohelpyoulearnhowtoincreaseyoureffectivenessandreducefrustrationsinworkingwithotherpeoplesothateveryonebenefits–you,yourcolleagues,yourteam,andyourorganisation.

Oneofthebestwaystoimproveyoureffectivenessistobetterunderstandyourselfandothers.Thenyoucanbuildonthatunderstandingtocreateanenvironmentmostconducivetoyoursuccessaswellasdevelopstrategiestoadapttotheneedsofothers.

OneoftheearliestauthoritiesonLeadershipStyleswasKurtLewinwhoidentified3stylesofleadership.

(Thisinformationissummarisedfromaveryusefulwebsiteonbusinessmanagement:www.businessballs.com)

1. AuthoritarianstyleissometimescalledtheAutocraticstyle.

2. ParticipativestyleissometimescalledtheDemocraticstyle

3. DelegativestyleissometimescalledtheLaissez-Fairestyle.(“Laissez-Faire”isFrenchfor“Letitbe”)

Authoritarian(Autocratic)style

Itiswhereleadersspelloutthegoals,deadlinesandmethodswhilemakingdecisionsontheirownwithoutanyormuchconsultationwithothers.

Here,theleaderdoesn'tusuallygetinvolvedinthegroup'swork.

Notsurprisingly,researchershavefoundthatyouarelesslikelytoseecreativedecisionsunderthisstyleofleadership.

However,itisadecisivewayofleadingandcansuithigh-risk,short-timescaledecisions;thekindthatsurgicalteamsandfirecrewshavetotake.

Lewinnotedthatleaderswhoadoptthisstylecangotoofarandbeseenbyothersasover-controllinganddictatorial.

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HealsonoticedthattheyoftenfindithardtomovetoaParticipativestyle-inotherwords,theygetstuckinonemodeofbehaviour.

Participative(Democratic)Style

Thisiswheretheleaderexpresseshisorherprioritiesandvaluesinsettinggoalsandmakingdecisions,butalsotakespartinthegroup'sworkandacceptsadviceandsuggestionsfromcolleagues.

However,theleadermakesthefinaldecision.

ThisstylecanproducemorecreativeproblemsolvingandinnovationthantheAuthoritarianapproachsoitmakessensetoadoptitincompetitive,non-emergencysituations.

Delegative(Laissez-Faire)Style

Laissez-Fairemeans“Letitbe”inFrench.

Lewinclassesthisasaleadershipstyle,butsomemayfeelitisnon-leadership.

TheDelegativestylemeanstheleaderhandsoverresponsibilityforresultstothegroup.

Heorsheletsthemsetgoals,decideonworkmethods,defineindividuals'rolesandsettheirownpaceofwork.

Itisverymuchahands-offapproachmeanttoencouragea“self-managingteam”

Itcanworkwellprovidedthegroupsharesthesameoverallintentanddirectionastheleaderandifheorshetrustsallmembersofthegroup.

However,thereisalwaysariskthatindividualsmaybecomedissatisfiedwiththeirrolesorthegroup'sgoalsandlosemotivation.

SituationalLeadership®

PaulHerseyandKenBlanchardwrote,ManagementofOrganizationalBehaviour:UtilizingHumanResourcesin1982.

Situationalleadership®theorysaysthateffectiveleadersmustchangetheirbehaviour(leadershipstyle)accordingtothecharacteristicsofthefollower.

(The“follower”termisusedtoindicatethemembersoftheteam)

(SituationalLeadership®isaregisteredtrademarkoftheCentreforLeadershipStudies–thisisthereasonfortheregistrationmarkbesideitsname)

Theyidentified4leadershipstylesthataleadershoulduse,dependinguponthe“follower”characteristics..

Thisisamodel,ratherthanastylebecauseitisdesignedasatooltoteachushowtobesuccessfuloreffectiveasleadersHerseyandBlanchardsaythatagoodleaderusesdifferentstylesofleadershipdependinguponthesituationandthepeople.

The4stylestheyidentifiedare:

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1.Telling 2.Selling

3.Participating 4.Delegating.

TellingstyleappearstobethesameasLewin’sAuthoritarianstyle.

SellingandParticipatingstylesseemtobeLewin’sParticipativestyle,dividedinto2areas–onebeingexplainingandmotivatingandtheotherbeinginvolvedwiththegroup.

DelegatingstyleappearstobethesameasLewin’sDelegativestyle.

Oneoftheproblemswiththisapproachisthatteamleadersarelikelytohaveamixtureoffollowertypes.Sothismodelworkswhenyouaredealingwithanindividualbutnotwiththeteamasawhole.

Let’sconcludeourdiscussionaboutleadersandleadershipstylesbyconsideringtheimportanceofpassioninsuccessfulleadership.

Groupbehaviouranddynamics

Groupbehaviourtheoryreferstothesituationswherepeopleinteractinlargeorsmallgroups.

Groupdynamicstheorylooksathowsmallgroupsworktogether.

Allgroupshavethefollowing4characteristics–andthisappliestoworkteams:

Interdependence:

Inorderforonepersontoachievetheirroletheydepend,tosomedegree,ontheoutputsofothermembersofthegroup.

Inordertobeeffectivetheymusttrusteachotherandsupporteachother.

Socialinteraction:

Inordertoworktogether,communicationmusttakeplacewithinthegroup.

Effectivecommunicationwillenablethegrouptoworktogethertoachieveacommongoal.

Perceptionofagroup:

Allmembersmustseethemselvesasbelongingtothegroup.

Effectivegroupsare“inclusive”.Nomemberofthegroupistreatedasanoutsider.

Commonalityofpurpose:

Allthemembersofthegroupcometogethertoachieveacommongoal.

Effectivegroupshavethe“bigpicture”.Theyfocusongoalsratherthanindividualtasksandthisenablesthemtoprioritisethetasks.

Tuckman-Stagesofgroupdevelopment

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Team/GroupDevelopmentStages

Many(butcertainlynotallgroups/teams)progressthroughaseriesofstagesintheirlife,fromformationtoabandonment.ThestagesdevelopedbyTuckman(1965)arefrequentlyusedtodescribethelifestagesofagroup/team.Thesestagesare:

• Forming• Storming• Norming• Performing• Adjourning

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Forming-theinitialentry/formationofthegroup.Characterisedbylackofunderstandingofgroupandindividualexpectations

Storming-theworkingoutofpowerandstatusandroleswithinthegroup

Norming-thedevelopmentoffeelingsofcohesiveness.Groupnorms,rulesandrolesareagreedupon

Performing-thegroupdirectsitsenergiestothesuccessfulperformanceofvaluedtasksi.e.itsreasonforexisting

Adjourning-theterminationstageresultingfromtaskcompletionorotherorganisationalorpersonalreasons

Asateamleaderintheworkplace,theteamshouldbeinthePerformingstage. Tuckmanwaslooking at groups that come together all at once. In yourwork role the group (or team)willusuallyalreadyexist.

Ontheotherhand, ifyouthinkaboutasituationwhereanewteammemberisemployed,thefirst 3 stagesmaywell be seen in relation to that teammember and theway that the othergroupmembersbehavetowardsthem.

Forgroupsuccessitiscriticalthatthegroupmanagestosuccessfullyprogresspastthestormingstage.Ifthisstageisnotsatisfactorilyresolveditisunlikelythegroupwillsucceedorachieveitsfullpotential.Itisalsocriticalthegroupdoesn'tconcernthemselvessomuchwiththenorming

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stage that they fail to progress to the performing stage. Likewise attention to adjourning isessentialtoensurethegroupdoesn'toutliveitsusefulnessandbecomeacostburden.

Lewin–GroupDynamics

Kurt Lewin –who identified the3 leadership styles thatwediscussedpreviously - coined thetermgroupdynamicstodescribethepositiveandnegativeforceswithingroupsofpeople.

Groupdynamicsisabranchofsocialpsychologywhichtriestoexplainhowgroupsinteractandtheresultsofthatinteraction.

Group norms are a set of rules or guidelines that a group accepts in terms of the way theyinteracttogether.

They are unspoken and often unwritten informal rules that govern individual behaviours in agroup.Groupnormsvarybasedonthegroupandissuesimportanttothegroup.Withoutgroupnorms,individualswouldhavenounderstandingofhowtoactinsocialsituations.Agroupnormwouldbetosay“goodmorning”whenyouarriveatwork.

Roles in this sense refers not so much to the job role as the roles that people take whencommunicatingorsharingideas. Theseroleschangewiththeenvironmentandcircumstances,aswellasthepersonalityoftheindividual.Wewilldiscusstheseonthenextslide.

Relationshipsbetweenmembersofagroupwilldetermineits“cohesion”–whethertheybondtogethereffectivelytoachieveacommongoal.

Groupdynamicstheorysuggeststhatpeoplewhoaresimilar(forexamplethesameagegroup,raceorculture)aremorelikelytoformacohesivegroup.Ontheotherhand,workteamsmayhaveonlyonethingincommon–thegoalsoftheteam.

Researchhasshownthatworkteamsaremoreeffectivewhentheyhaveamixofdiversepeople.Membersoftheteammaybespecialistswhousetheirknowledgeandskillstocontributetotheteamgoal.

GroupRoles

Grouprolesarediscussedhereintermsofthewaysthatateamwillinteractduringmeetings.

Devil’sAdvocate

Takesapositionoppositetowhatthegroupthinks.Thiscangeneratedeeperthinkingonissuesbutcanbefrustratingtoothergroupmembersbecausethispersonneverseemstoagreewiththegroup.

Listener

Listenscarefullytothethoughtsandopinionsofothersinthegroup.Theirideastendtobewellthoughtout.Theyoftenremainquietsothegroupcannotbenefitfromtheirideas.

IdeaGenerator

Generatesideasconstantlyonavarietyofsubjects.Theyareabletohelpmoveagrouptowardscreativeandmeaningfulsolutionsbysubmittingideasfortheteamtobuildupon.Theteammay

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getfrustratedwhentheyarereadytomovetowardsadecisionandtheideageneratorisstillpresentingoptions.

Helper

Awareofteamdynamicsandhelpstheteamtoimproveitsoveralleffectiveness.Helpersmaybeunwillingtodisagreewithotherteammemberswhentheyshould.

Clarifier

Asksquestionsorseeksadditionalinformationonbehalfoftheteamtomakesureassignments,roles,ordecisionsareclearlyunderstoodbyeveryone.

Aclarifierisveryusefulinateammeeting,becausetheyaskthequestionsthatotherswouldliketoask,butarenotalwayscomfortabletoask.

Mediator

Smoothsoutconflictsandmaintainspositiverelationshipsbetweenteammembers.Themediatormaybemorerelationship-orientedandfocuslessonthejob.

Joker

Isfunandlightheartedbutcanalsobeadistractionandcausetheteamtolosefocus.

Sniper

Shootsdownideas.Someideasneedtobeshotdownwhileothersmaydeservefurtherconsideration.

DecisionMaker

Drivesthegrouptomakedecisionsandact.Theyareanessentialcomponentofawell-functioningteam.Theymaynotgiveenoughtimeforplanstodeveloportheprocesstowork.

Dominator

Canprovidegoodleadershipinagroupdiscussionbutcanalsomakeitdifficultforotherteammemberstoparticipate.

GroupPerformance–SeekingSynergy

Themajorlegitimatebusinessreasonforformingworkteams/groupsistheperceptionthatteamprocesses can facilitate improved productivity i.e. that team output is greater or better thanwhatcanbeachievediftheindividualteammembersworkedonthesametasksseparately.Thisoutcome, teamoutputbeinggreater than the sumof theoutputof its individualmembers, iscalledtheSynergyeffect.

Inreality,therearemanyfactorsthatinfluencetheactualproductivityofteams.Someofthesewillassist inenhancingproductivitywhilstotherswillreduceproductivity.ThisrelationshiphasbeendefinedbyShaw(1976)asthefollowingequation:

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Factorsbearingongroupperformanceinclude:

• Themerepresenceofothers• Thesizeofthegroup• Groupcompositionsandresourcesavailability• Memberroles• Statusofmembers• Groupnorms• Groupcohesiveness• Taskcharacteristics• Rewardstructures• Organisationalculture

Eachofthesefactorscanhavebothpositiveandnegativeeffectsonteamperformance.Forexample,themerepresenceofothersmayresultineitherthesocialinhibitioneffect(decreasedperformance)orthesocialfacilitationeffect(improvedperformance).

Acriticalroleformanagersandteammembersisassessingtheimpactofthesefactorswhenestablishingteams,monitoringactualimpact,andwherenecessarymakingadjustments.

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Aframeworkforunderstandinggroups

GroupDecisionMaking

Animportantaspectofteams/groupsisthatgroupdynamics,i.e.theforcesthatoperatewithinateam situation, can impact on individual member decision-making, i.e. individuals may makedifferent decisionswithin a group situation than theywould independently outside the groupsetting.

Threeimportantoutcomesare:

Conformity - Asch's (1951) famous experiment on the effect of group pressure on individualjudgementhighlightsthatindividualjudgementmaybesuppressedtoconformwiththeoverallormajority group judgement, even in the face of concrete evidence to support the individualjudgement.Whilsttheuniversalityoftheconformityeffecthasbeenquestioneditdoeshighlightthatsometeammembersmaywithholdwhatmaybevital informationbecauseofpressuretoconformtothegroupview.

Polarisation - Risky Shift/Conservative Shift - this is the phenomenon that groups maymakeeithermoreriskyorconservativedecisionsthanwouldindividualmembers.Thisresultsfromtheanonymity afforded individuals within groups and the impact a particularly influential groupmembermayhaveontheoverallgroupdecision-making.

GroupThink-thisistheoutcomethatmayresultwhengroupmembersaresoconcernedwithmaintaininggroupunity that theyunintentionallysuppresscritical thoughtsanddon'tcriticallyquestionstatementsanddecisionsmadebygroupleaders.Inotherwords,thedesiretocometoanagreeddecisionoverridesarealisticevaluationofdecision-makingprocesses.

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Itisimportantforateamleadertounderstandthisissueandtakeactiontoensurethequalityofteamdecisions.

TheIllusionofTeams

Perhapsthemostcommonmistakethatoccurswithteamprocessesisthebeliefthatthemereformationofateamresultsinaneffectiveteam.Allthepreviousdiscussionshighlightthemanyfactorsthatcontributetoactualteamperformance,andhow,ifnoteffectivelyaddressed,theywillresultin"teams"providingdecreasedproductivity.

Theillusionofaneffectiveteamgenerallyresultsfromlackofmanagementknowledgeconcerningteamprocessesandwhatneedstobeundertakentoenablethemtooperateeffectively.

DickandHearn(1988)suggestthefollowingbasicgroundrulesasguidelinesforeffectivegroupfunctioning:

• Havecommongoals• Sharetimeamonggroupmembers• Sharegroupinfluenceevenly• Bewillingtodisagreeandhaveyoursay• Listen• Buildonideas

Ourunderstandingof"taskandmaintenance"factorshighlightstheneedfortheapplicationofguidelinesthroughoutthewholelifeoftheteam.

Dunphy(1981)andDunford(1996)emphasisetheimportanceofTeamBuilding,i.e.interventiontechniquesdesignedtoimprovethefunctioningofthegroup.Keyinterventionstrategiesinclude:

• Goalsettingandgoalclassification• Roleanalysisandroleclassification• Groupproblemsolvinganddecisionmaking• Understandingandcontributingtogroupprocesses• Reviewingandrevisinggroupnorms

Implementationofthesefactorscanhelpdevelopandmaintainthecommonobjectivesnecessaryforeffectiveteams,andhelpovercomeanyacrimonyanddifferencesinperceptionsthatmayexistbetweenindividualswhoareexpectedtoworktogetheraspartofateam.

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Performanceplans

Inordertobeeffective,teammembersneedtobeclearonwhatisexpectedofthem.

Thisiswhyyoushoulddevelop(anddocument)performanceplans.Thepurposeofaperformanceplanisto:

• clarifyexpectations• reachagreementonworkfocus• negotiateperformancegoalsandsetexpectations• enabletheteammembertounderstandhowtheirrolecontributestotheorganisationas

awhole• identifyanyareasforimprovementordevelopmentofskills,knowledgeorexperience

Whenindividualteammembershaveaclearperformanceplanit’smucheasierforthemtoworkwithoutconstantsupervision.Thisisbecausetheyknowwhatisexpectedofthemandwhattheyareaccountablefor.

Asateamleader,youneedtodevelopperformanceplansfortheteamasawholeandforeachindividualwithintheteam.

Fortheteamplan,youshouldinvolvetheteaminthedevelopment.Thishelpsthemtofocusongoals,ratherthantasksandgivesthemasenseofownership.Theywillbemotivatedtomaketheplanasuccessiftheyareinvolvedintheplanningphase.

Thesameappliestoindividualperformanceplans.

TeamPerformancePlan

Performancegoalsdescribewhatyouwant toachieve.Theyensure that teammembersknowwhattheyaredoingandwhytheyaredoingit.

Focusontheresultsthatareneeded,ratherthanthetaskstobeperformed—whereyouwanttobe,ratherthanwhatyouwilldotogetthere.

Theteamperformanceplanmustshowhowyourteam’sgoalscontributetotheorganisation’sstrategicgoal–soyoumayneedtorefertotheorganisation’sstrategicplan,operationalplanorbusinessplan(orallofthem).

Thenextstepistoidentifythetasksthatneedtobeperformedinordertoreachthegoals.

Oncethetasksarelisted,youcanidentifytheteammemberswhowillperformeachofthetasks.When allocating tasks, you will need to think about the skills and knowledge of the teammembersandtheirworkload. It’salsoworthconsideringat thisstagethe interestsofeachoftheteammembers. Iftheyhaveapositiveinterestintheareaofworktheyaremorelikelytoperformtheworkwell.

Youcanseehowimportantitistoinvolvetheteaminthisplanning.Theyneedtoworktogetherto achieve the team goal and they need to think about how they will work together mosteffectively.Ideallytherewillalwaysbeabackuppersonforeverytask.

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IndividualPerformancePlan

Oncetheteamperformanceplaniscompleted,youshouldworkwitheachindividualmemberoftheteamtodesigntheirownperformanceplans.

Thegoalsneedtoshowhowtheycontributetotheteamgoals.

Thetaskswouldhavebeenallocatedintheteamplans,butthisisthetimetogointomoredetailfortheindividual.

Thelaststepistodesignwaystomeasurewhethertheindividualissuccessfulinmeetingthegoals.ThesearetheKeyPerformanceIndicators(KPIs).

KeyPerformanceIndicators(KPIs)

KPIs(KeyPerformanceIndicators)aredesignedinordertomeasuresuccess.

Thequestionyouneedtoaskis“howwillweknowwhetherwearesuccessfulinachievingourgoals?”

Theansweristhatyouneedsomesortofmeasure.

SomePerformanceStandardscan’tbemeasured,whichmeanstheyarenogoodfordevelopingKPIs.

InordertobemadeintoaKPI,aPerformanceStandardmustmeetSMARTcriteria.

STheymustbespecific:

Ageneralstatementsuchas‘improvecustomerservice’doesnotprovideenoughdefinitionabouttheareaandmethodofimprovement.

MTheymustbemeasurable:

Ifyoucan’tmeasureitinsomewayyouwon’tknowwhetherthegoalhasbeenachieved.

A Theymustbeachievableandwithinthepoweroftheteammembertoachieve.

RTheymustberealistic:

Inotherwordstheyneedtoberelevanttoachievingthegoalsoftheteam.

TTheymustbetime-framed:

Thereshouldbeapre-setperiodafterwhichtheperformancecanbemeasured(forinstanceamonthlytarget)

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References

Cole,Kris(2001)Supervision.Thetheoryandpracticeoffirst-linemanagement.FrenchsForest:N.S.W:PearsonsEducationAustralia.

Civil,Jean(1997)Leadershipforsuccess.WardLock.http://coursemill.lennoxinstitute.com.au/course/LI_BSBMGT401A/sca/BSBMGT401A%20Learner%20Guide%20v140526.pdf

Section2–EnhanceOrganization’sImage(3)|TAE.(n.d.).Retrievedfromhttp://students.fortresslearning.com.au/bsbebu401a-review-and-maintain-a-website

Explainthepurposeofpresentingapositiveimageofself...(n.d.).Retrievedfromhttp://www.weegy.com/?ConversationId=020F97AA

ForceFieldAnalysis-Decision-MakingSkills...-MindTools.(n.d.).Retrievedfromhttps://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_06.htm