| Information of Interest to Managers, Supervisors, and Human Resources Professionals |
Volume 12 No.1
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The Art of Leadership by Rosalyn Kulick
Are you a manager? Or a leader? What's the difference? According to John P. Kotter, author of What Leaders Really Do, management is very different from leadership. "Management is about coping with complexity," Kotter says. "Its practices and procedures are largely a response to one of the most significant developments of the 20th century: the emergence of large organizations. Without good management, complex enterprises tend to become chaotic in ways that threaten their very existence. Good management brings a degree of order and consistency to key dimensions like the quality and profitability of products." Leadership, according to Kotter, is about coping with change. "Part of the reason it has become so important in recent years is that the business world has become more competitive and more volatile. Faster technological change, greater international competition, the deregulation of markets, and the changing demographics of the workforce are among the many factors that have contributed to this shift." Similar But Different Managers and leaders are both involved in deciding what needs to be done, creating networks of people and relationships that can accomplish an agenda, and then trying to ensure people actually do the job. But each accomplishes these three tasks in different ways. Companies manage complexity first by planning and budgeting - setting targets or goals for the near future, establishing detailed steps for achieving these targets, and then allocating resources to accomplish those plans. In contrast, leading an organization to constructive change begins by setting a direction - developing a vision of the distant future along with the strategies for producing the changes needed to achieve that vision. Managers develop the capacity to achieve their plans by organizing and staffing - creating an organizational structure and set of jobs for accomplishing plan requirements, staffing the jobs with qualified individuals, communicating the plan to those people, delegating responsibility for carrying out the plan, and devising systems for monitoring implementation. Leaders, on the other hand, align people. They communicate the new direction to those who can create coalitions that understand the vision and are committed to its achievement. Motivate and Inspire Managers ensure the plan can be accomplished by controlling and problem-solving. They monitor results vs. the plan through reports, meetings, and other tools. They also identify deviations and then plan and organize to solve problems. Leaders motivate and inspire, keeping people moving in the right direction, despite major obstacles to change, by appealing to basic, but often untapped, human needs, values, and emotions. "Motivation and inspiration energize people, not by pushing them in the right directions, but by satisfying basic human needs for achievement: a sense of belonging, recognition, self-esteem, a feeling of control over one's life, and the ability to live up to one's ideals," says Kotter. "Good leaders always motivate people in a variety of ways. First, they always articulate the organization's vision in a manner that stresses the values of the audience that they're addressing. This makes the work important to those individuals. Leaders also regularly involve people in deciding how to achieve the organization's vision, giving people a sense of control." Another important motivational technique is to support employee efforts by providing coaching, feedback, and role modeling. This helps people grow professionally and enhances their self-esteem. Good leaders recognize and reward success, which not only gives people a sense of accomplishment, but also makes them feel like they belong to an organization that cares about them. When all this is done, the work becomes intrinsically motivating. Do You Have What It Takes? What are the qualities that make a great leader? Fortune magazine lists six attributes:
For Further Reading Leading People: Transforming Business from the Inside Out, Robert H. Rosen, Viking, 1996. The Fearless Executive: Finding the Courage to Trust Your Talents and Be the Leader You Are Meant to Be, Alan Downs, Amacom, 2000. What Leaders Really Do, John P. Kotter, Harvard Business School Press, 1999. No More Boring Meetings by Rosalyn Kulick
Most people would rather undergo a root canal than attend another meeting. But according to Newsweek magazine, the average manager spends one-and-a-half days a week in meetings. There are several reasons why meetings seem to be mushrooming. As computers have automated routine paperwork, more managers are doing project-oriented work, which requires updates and collaboration. Other trends, such as outsourcing work to contractors and the rise in joint ventures and mergers, lead to more external meetings, too. As meetings increase, other tasks pile up, stretching the workday. Tech-savvy firms are using e-mail or document-sharing software to limit long meetings; other organizations are asking workers to limit their use of presentation software like PowerPoint, which can turn meetings into lengthy show-and-tells. More progressive companies are banning meetings on Fridays to give workers one day free of interruptions. Group Power When used appropriately, meetings can be powerful motivators. They create synergy and help build a sense of teamwork. Work groups can be very effective at providing a mass of information about problems or difficulties associated with a particular task. Project teams can use brainstorming techniques to identify roadblocks, help answer questions, or generate alternative plans of action. Meetings are most productive when called to give information about changes taking place in the company or department, address a problem that involves people from different groups or divisions, share concerns with a group, or make a final decision between a limited number of alternatives. How can you ensure that the meeting you call will run smoothly? Simply by how much pre-meeting work you do as the organizer. As soon as the participants learn about the meeting, they'll ask, "Is this really necessary?" Be sure that it is. Focus on the purpose of the meeting and its desired outcome. Is it to make a decision, generate ideas, solve a problem, or provide an overview of a new program? Keep the participants to a minimum. Only those who are needed should be invited. When possible, schedule participants to attend only the part of the meeting where they can contribute. Follow Through Create an agenda and distribute it in advance. Let the participants know what type of meeting it will be and what is expected of them. Limit the length of the meeting, and when necessary, put a time limit on each agenda item. This ensures that time spent on issues is proportionate to their importance. Stay on time and on track. Keep side or tangential issues to a minimum. Cut off long-winded drifters who monopolize the conversation. Control interruptions. Allow them only for emergency purposes. Ask for everyone's cooperation to avoid disruption. At the end of the meeting, summarize the proceedings, repeat any decisions that were made, conclusions that were reached, or problems solved. List any unfinished business along with any assignments agreed upon. Who has agreed to do what and by when should be clearly spelled out within 48 hours. Follow the meeting with written minutes. Update Your Style If your last meeting left you feeling like that kid in "The Sixth Sense" ("I see dead people."), it may be time to reexamine your meeting style. The next time you take the lead on a project team or facilitate a brainstorming session, follow these tips:
The Importance of Face-To-Face Communications by Vivian Auslander Nearly twenty years ago, management consultant Roger D'Aprix wrote a small book warning that, in too many companies, communication was an "afterthought," tacked on to a manager's primary responsibilities for meeting business objectives. In the tough business climate ahead, D'Aprix predicted, communication would have to become an integral part of an organization's business strategy, because the strategy would succeed only if employees understood the organization's goals, were committed to them, and were motivated to apply creativity to help them. The traditional top-down, one-way approach to corporate communication, typified by formal written statements, would have to give way. Instead, managers would have to lead through talk, lots of it, and lots of listening. "Listen to your customers," managers hear. "Make every member of the workforce a full partner in the quest for service quality." "Your major tool is regular, interactive, face-to-face communication." For large businesses with a history of relying on formal communications, this approach challenges employees to develop new skills and redirect their energies. Businesses cannot afford not to make the change. Today's workforce requires it, and the business climate demands it. So, how to lead through communication? Let's explore what D'Aprix and others recommend. Guiding Principles To make immediate progress, managers and employees should keep in mind three guiding principles:
What Do Employees Want? It appears as if people want the opportunity to join a common task, to make decisions, to get feedback and recognition, to use their minds and to have information about what's going on. D'Aprix says we need to know generally where the organization is heading, how it intends to get there and what this means to us. Second, we need "to be able to identify and relate to some flesh-and-blood representation of the organization. The first choice is always the boss." People's main source of information in the organization is the grapevine. Yet when questioned about their preferences for getting information, they rate the grapevine low on the list, he says. The challenge for bosses, then, is to share timely, accurate information, shaping it to be clear and relevant to listeners. Replacing Traditional Values Organizational values that once dominated the workplace -authority, loyalty, discipline - cannot be mandated in today's workplace, D'Aprix says. "They must be earned by managing people on the basis of good human relationships." Here's what D'Aprix says managers must do to be effective:
How to Communicate D'Aprix tells the story of a company that was planning to communicate to its workforce by installing an elaborate closed-circuit TV system. An outside consultant convinced the CEO to hold off on this scheme until the chief tried another approach: joining his employees on their coffee break. After an uncomfortable first attempt and a few more awkward encounters, the CEO found himself in his shirtsleeves holding forth each morning, surrounded by employees eager to discuss issues and concerns. His managers followed his lead, and the business was soon able to forego the electronic system in favor of face-to-face communication. Moral: To ease the way for effective communication, reduce barriers of status, isolation and authority. Try not to be shy - get out there. And encourage your boss, peers and the people who report to you to do the same. The Return on Your Communication Investment When you've succeeded at fostering interactive communication, what will you reap? D'Aprix predicts that you will become a more effective manager, because your staff will understand your mission and objectives and how they mesh with corporate goals. You will improve productivity, because group members will use their creative potential and believe that their opinions will be taken seriously; and you will foster trust and fight alienation by promoting upward communication, thus increasing teamwork. The benefits include creating an even more positive work climate; discovering new cost-effective approaches; increasing everyone's understanding of the difficult decisions that top management must make; keying off the company business plan to create effective strategies for your own work groups; identifying earlier the need for change in policy and practices; retaining ace employees; and improving overall effectiveness for your customers and in the marketplace. Reprinted with permission from Pacific Telesis Group.
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