Leadership

PSYCH 485 blog

Skills Approach to Leadership

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Many times, leadership positions are filled with external candidates, using the skills approach would help in the transition.  The skills approach is a leader-centered perspective that leaders must possess certain skills that can be learned and developed, not on personality characteristics (Northouse, 2016).  I will analyze this approach using Mumford, Zaccaro, Harding, Jacobs, Fleishman and Yammarios’ (2000) skills model.  This model is broken into five components: competencies, individual attributes, leadership outcomes, career experiences, and environmental influences.

Competencies are broken into three key factors that account for effective performance, they are problem-solving skills, social justice skills and knowledge (Northouse, 2016).  Problem solving is being able to define problems, gather information and come up with understandings and create plans for the solution (Northouse, 2016).  A leader stepping into a new organization would need to learn how to detect problems and come up with solutions.  Mumford, Zaccaro, Connelly, & Marks (2000) state that leaders need to know their capabilities as leaders as they apply possible solutions to unique problems in their organization (Northouse, 2016).  This is an area that leaders need to be aware of, their own capabilities, many times new leaders what to change things to match their previous organizations way of doing things and that may not work in a different organization.  New leaders should communicate with other leaders in the organization and ask about how problems were resolved in the past, this will let them understand what has worked and what hasn’t so they can come up with mutually beneficial solutions.  Social judgment skills are part of competencies, this is the capacity to understand people in social settings, these skills enable leaders to work with others to solve unique problems (Northouse, 2016).  Even a new leader should possess social skills, they may need to adjust to differences in people’s personalities and to understand their perspectives and goals.  Knowledge is the final dimension of competencies and depending on past work experience this could be the biggest challenge.  Knowledge is the accumulation of information and mental structures used to organize that information, knowledge also has a positive impact of problem solving (Northouse, 2016).  If the new leader doesn’t have knowledge of the processes and procedures of the new company, this could result in poor decision making from the leader.  The leader would have to take steps to learn all aspects of the organization to become knowledgeable and use that knowledge to make informed decisions when issues arise.

Individual attributes consist of general cognitive ability, crystallized cognitive ability, motivation and personality.  General cognitive ability is a person’s intelligence, general reasoning skills, divergent thinking capacities and memory skills, these skills are linked to biology and not experience (Northouse, 2016).  Intellectual ability that is learned over time and the knowledge that one acquires is crystallized cognitive ability (Northouse, 2016).  Both cognitive abilities are important aspects of a successful leader, a new leader will have to learn processes and procedures of the new organization.  If the leader takes the time to learn and understand the new organization, they will be more effective and earn the respect of the new followers.  Motivation in the skills approach refers to the leader’s willingness to take on the responsibility to advance the overall human good and value of the organization (Northouse, 2016).  Munford, Zaccaro, Harding, et al. (2000) hypothesize that personality characteristics may help leaders cope with complex organizational situations and may be related to the leader’s performance (Northouse, 2016).  A leader’s personality should be looked at during the hiring process to be sure they are a match with the organization, if the new leader gets along with other leaders and followers the transition will be easier for all involved.

Leadership outcomes are influenced by the leader’s problem-solving skill, social judgement skills and knowledge, and is also measured by performance (Northouse, 2016).  Leadership outcomes can be measured, and the organization should have a set of criteria that the leader must achieve to receive positive performance reviews.  A new leader should understand what they will be judged on so they can take the time to ensure they are meeting the organizations requirements.  For new leaders they should talk openly with their superior frequently to ensure they are acting in the best interest of the organization and make changes when they are deficient in any areas.

Career experiences have an impact on competencies and characteristics of leaders (Northouse, 2016).  When new leaders are hired and go through the interview process, they should share what they have accomplished and how they accomplished assignments at previous organizations.   This will give the new organization an example of how they handled challenges in the past.  New leaders should be aware that just because a solution at one organization worked, it may not work at every organization.  Take time to observe and listen to followers before making changes just because they worked in the past.

Environmental influences can be both internal such as technology, expertise of followers, communication and external factors include the economy, social issues and natural disasters (Northouse, 2016).  New leaders will need to adjust when environmental influences are out of their control.  They will need to make decisions quickly at times to circumvent issues before they become larger problems.  For example, most business have been affected in some way by the Corona virus, leaders may need to adjust and make changes frequently depending on the circumstances.  Leaders also need to assure the followers understand and follow new protocols.

Leaders coming into a new organization should be cautious but confident that they can lead the new team.  By incorporating the skills approach to leadership, they can positively contribute to the success of the organization and build a unified team and accomplish the defined goals.

 

References:

 

Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 7th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.

Creating a One Team Approach in Manufacturing

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A team is interdependent and as Utley, Brown and & Benfield (2019) define team, there is a single goal and “team members cannot function without interacting with each other while working on the task” (PSU WC, 2016, L9. p. 2).  Being a leader in a manufacturing setting team leadership is essential for us to achieve our goals.  There are three teams in the plant the production team, maintenance team and the warehouse team.  Ultimately all three teams need to work together as one cohesive team in order to achieve the plant goal.  This can be difficult at times since the structure is separated into three teams, how can the teams remove the barriers and work together to form a single team with a common goal?  Brown (2016) suggests breaking down barriers and create a one-team approach.

At Niagara Bottling we start with raw materials to make bottles, fill them with water, package them and ship them to our customers.  It is a complex process and several teams are involved to achieve a common goal.  The plant goal is to run at 90% or better each shift.  I am a supervisor of the production team, each person on the team works interdependent, they need one person to complete their process before the next can complete theirs.  For example, Mike runs the machines that makes the bottle caps and preforms, which is the start of a bottle.  Jonny runs the machines that takes the preform and blows it into a bottle, a machine that labels it and the machine that fills and caps the bottle.  Jeremy runs the machine that packages the bottles into cases and the machine that palletizes the cases.  Each person is working interdependently of each other, if Mike has problems with his machine making the caps, he needs to communicate to Johnny who needs the caps to complete his part of the process.  Mike also needs to communicate with the maintenance team to fix the mechanical issues.  The warehouse team is responsible to remove finished pallets from the line and load the product onto a truck for delivery.  If the warehouse team is not removing pallets fast enough the line will back up and stop production, reducing the amount bottles being made, ultimately negatively effecting the plant goal.  By incorporating a team-based structure and breaking the barriers to create a one plant team we would be able to achieve goals and increase job satisfaction.

Team based organizational structures can lead to greater productivity, more effective use of resources, better decision and problem solving, and as Parker (1990) suggests better quality products and greater innovation and creativity (Northouse, 2016).  Unifying the plant as one team would make achieving the plant goal easier and would boost morale, as everyone would be on the same team.  Using the eight characteristics of team excellence I will analyze how we can become one cohesive team working to achieve a common goal.

Frist creating a clear and elevating goal for the plant, the goal is to run at 90% efficiency so all orders for customers are completed in time for delivery.  Hackman (2012, p. 437) states that “a compelling purpose energizes team members, orients them toward their collective objective, and fully engages their talents” and goals must be clear and measurable (Northouse, 2016).  The goal of 90% can be measured, there are several EIT screens throughout the plant that show the production efficiency and reports are generated each shift that include the efficiency for the day.  As the leader of the team several times a day I could call over the radio and acknowledge the team for being above the goal.  If we are not meeting the goal, I could speak to each person individually to make suggestions of how we can be prepared for any issues so that may arise that could cause downtime on the production line.

Second teams need to have a results driven structure, teams need to find the best structure to accomplish goals and Larson & LaFasto (1989) state that teams need clear roles for members, good communication systems, methods for assessing individual performance and emphasize fact-based judgments (Northouse, 2016).  The structure of each team as it is now would need to be combined into one cohesive structure, roles for operators and mechanics are currently divided.  Brown (2016) suggests that partnering operators and mechanics during scheduled downtime will allow for hands-on experience with equipment and will create unity.  This would give operators and mechanics the opportunity to understand what each does and boost morale within the new plant team.  When assessing performance each supervisor should have input, not just the direct supervisor for the team member.  This will give different outlooks to the individuals performance and will give new learning opportunities for the individual.

Competent team members, in order to accomplish the task, the team needs to have enough members that have the right technical competence and skills to meet the team’s goals (Northouse, 2016). This starts with the hiring process, most new employees don’t have the technical skills but that can be taught.  We need to look for people with good interpersonal and teamwork skills, new hires should be interviewed by more than one supervisor to make sure they will fit within the team.

The fourth characteristic of team excellence is having a unified commitment.  Teams just don’t happen; excellent teams are those who have a sense of unity (Northouse, 2016). Currently pre-shit meeting are divided, production, maintenance and warehouse each have a meeting in different areas.  Although the message should be the same, there are often times when it is communicated and interpreted differently.  In order to create a plant team, we need to have one meeting with all people involved so there is one message for the entire team.

Having a collaborative climate, a team needs to work together and be able to compensate for one another, build trust and listen to one another and feel free to take risks (Northouse, 2016). Right now, each team is good at collaborating separately but to build a one plant team there needs to be more trust between the departments.  In order to build trust mechanics and operators need to communicate and make suggestions about how to be more efficient.  This may mean taking risks and trying new ways of clearing faults to reduce machine downtime.  Communication between production and warehouse about what materials are needed needs to be more accurate so the correct materials are retrieved.

Standard of excellence is creating norms and setting clear expectations, providing feedback to resolve performance issues and rewarding superior performance (Northouse, 2016).  Currently there are differences in expectations within the current teams.  By making clear expectations universal across the plant each team member would know what is expected and would be able to work toward consistent superior performance.  Those with performance issues need to be dealt with fairly and consistently to show the team that management is not playing favorites.  Supervisors should recognize team members that are not direct reports for superior performance, this will let the team understand that supervisors are paying attention to the team as a whole.

External support and recognition according to Wageman et al., (2009) is having a supportive organizational context that includes material resources, rewards for performance, a training program and information system to provide data to accomplish the task.  This is an area that I feel we already have a one plant team.  The company provides the equipment and tools needed and there are many sources of training for us to accomplish our goals.  Besides monetary rewards the company provides rewards in the way of lunches and team outings as rewards for reaching goals through out the year.

The last characteristic of team excellence is principled leadership, Zaccaro, Heinen, & Shuffler (2009) state that effective team leadership is directly related to team effectiveness and there are four sets of process that influence a team, cognitive, motivational, affective, and coordination (Northouse, 2016).  Helping the team understand problems that confront the team is the cognitive process (Northouse, 2016).  In this process as a leader and adapting a one team plant all people should understand what issues may arise even if they don’t directly affect them.  Motivationally the leader helps the team become cohesive and set high performance standards and helps the team achieve them (Northouse, 2016)  To motivate everyone there has to be consistency showing everyone that they are on the same team, that there is one team.  Affectively the leader must help the team handle stressful situations and provide clear goals, assignments and strategies and coordinately the leader helps integrate the team’s activities (Northouse, 2016).  The leader must support the team and give clear direction.  Now some supervisors let forklift drivers and operators choose what area they are going to work in.  By providing direction as to who is working where the leader can make sure the right people are in the right spot where they can make the biggest positive impact to achieve the team goal.  The leader needs to follow through on providing individual feedback and create individual game plans for learning opportunities.

In conclusion by combining the current teams into one cohesive team, plant goals will be met more efficiently and effectively.  Team leadership will need to be supportive and integrate changes slowly, so everyone has time to adjust and understand that there is one team and not three.  Brown (2016) states that when teams start to bond, day to day routines and communication will help motivate employees at all levels.  When employees are motivated, goals will be achieved easier and morale will increase. “Breaking down barriers and creating a one-plant, one-team approach will create a win-win situation for everyone.” (Brown, 2016)

 

References:

Brown, J. (2016, April 13). How to Improve Manufacturing with a Team Approach. Retrieved from: https://www.reliableplant.com/Read/30460/manufacturing-team-approach

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 7th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publication.

Pennsylvania State University (2016). Leadership in work. Lesson 9: Team Leadership. Retrieved from: https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/canvas/fa20/22081–15503/content/10_lesson/printlesson.html

Transition from Emergent Leadership to Assigned Leadership

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It’s not just the “boss” that can influence and demonstrate leadership skills, there are many leaders in organizations that don’t have a title.  Most times we correlate leadership with someone who has an assigned leadership position.  Someone who has an assigned leadership position within an organization such as a supervisor or manager has assigned leadership, but this does not mean they become the leader in a particular setting (Northouse, 2016).  In many organizations there are lower level employees that demonstrate leadership within their assigned group.  Northouse (2016) conceptualized leadership as having four components leadership is a process, involves influence, occurs in groups and there is a common goal.  Many times, this is left up to the assigned leader of the group, but there are individuals who take initiative and fall into the emergent leadership role.  Emergent leadership is when someone is perceived as the most influential member of the group, regardless of title, Fisher (1974) added that they demonstrate positive communication behaviors, they seek others opinions, they are informed, initiate new ideas, and are firm but not ridged (Northouse, 2016).

I have witnessed many new employees that have a great attitude and willingness to learn, they make friends with others in the group and ask questions.  This is the beginning of someone who has emergent leadership, they want more than just to be a member of the group.  Developing someone who already has the drive and willingness to learn can be easy, but the transition for them into a leadership role can be difficult.  I had a young man, Mike who started as an operator and was well liked by the team, he made many friends and learned the machines quickly.  He asked questions everyday about how machines work to how we determine what we are running.  He very quickly had expert power within the group, he was even teaching the new supervisor how to run the machines.  Expert power is a primary function of the leader, being an expert in an area can influence others in the group, followers may have more expert power than leaders (Northouse, 2016) Even though he was friends with the group, they respected him and when he asked others to do tasks they complied without question, he made influencing the group look easy.  Referent power is when the leader is seen as a role model and has the ability to influence due to the strength of the relationship between the leader and follower (Northouse, 2016).   Although Mike didn’t have legitimate power, he was still contributing to the positive influence of the team.  Legitimate power is similar to assigned leadership, it is associated with having formal job authority (Northouse, 2016).

When there was a lead position open Mike applied and was promoted, moving from emergent leadership to assigned leadership role.  He was moved to a different shift to make the transition to a leadership role easier.  He excelled at training and leading the team when the supervisor was not available.  Mike continued to grow in the lead position and was promoted to a shift supervisor recently.

Emergent leadership is sometimes overlooked in organizations, but this is where people who want to move up and become assigned leaders start.  I have witnessed leaders who have had a dedicated employee who takes initiative to communicate team goals with the group and influence as if they were the group leader.  But overlook these individuals when there is an assigned leader position available.  Sometimes the excuse for not promoting is they don’t have a degree, or I don’t think they are ready for the responsibilities.  I’m in a leadership position because I showed emergent leadership skills and proved to my boss that I had leadership qualities and the willingness to learn.  I don’t have my bachelor’s degree yet and that was a requirement for my supervisor position.  If more organizations promoted from within, because of leadership skills that have been demonstrated instead of what degree they have, I feel they would have stronger teams and be more productive.  Internal promotions at my organization has boosted morale and lets new employees know there is room for advancement.

 

References:

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 7th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publication.

The Situational Approach to use it or not?

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Of the many styles of leadership, the situational approach sounds like it would be one of best approaches.  Just the name “situational” would imply that each situation is different and therefor a leader would change their leadership style to fit the situation.  Situational leadership does focus on leadership in situations, the theory is based on different situations demand different types of leadership and this requires a leader to adapt or change their style to meet the demands of the situation (Northouse, 2016).  But like with anything that sounds like a good thing, the situational approach does have its weaknesses.

The Situational Leadership II model was refined by Blanchard (1985) and Blanchard et al. (1985; 2013) and is broken into four styles high directive-low supportive (S1), high directive-high supportive (S2), high supportive-low directive (S3) and low supportive-low directive (S4) (Northouse, 2016).  The style the leader uses is dependent on what the follower needs in the situation.  Development levels of followers are also broken down into four levels; low in competence and high in commitment (D1), having some competence and low commitment (D2), moderate to high competence but have variable commitment (D3), and high competence and commitment (D4) (Northouse, 2016). This approach calls for the leader to determine the situation and change their style accordingly, this sounds simple enough but is every leader capable of changing with the situation?

There are strengths using this model of leadership, and there are many leaders that can adapt and lead according to circumstances.  One strength of this model is that it is practical and easy to understand and can be applied in a variety of setting, even outside of work (Northouse, 2016). As long as the leader identifies the situation and what leadership style to use.  It is also flexible, but stresses that the leader find out about their followers’ needs so they can adapt their style accordingly (Northouse, 2016). Hersey and Blanchard (1993) state that situational leadership approach has been used in Fortune 500 companies training programs and this model is perceived by organizations as a useful training for people who have become effective leaders (Northouse, 2016).

While all of this sounds like this would be a good approach to lead a group, it could also become distracting to focus on the situation and figure out what style to use.  I think anyone in a leadership role has used this at one time or another whether they though about the leadership style or not.  Depending on the work being done and the followers it may be easy to implement this type of leadership.

Sounds too good to be true, maybe it is, the criticisms of this theory are many.  Although many dissertations address situational leadership many have not been published and few research studies have been done to justify the assumptions and propositions of this approach (Northouse, 2016).  If there is no empirical date to support this theory, why is it used in leadership training classes for well established organizations.  Another concern with this approach how the followers’ developmental levels are conceptualized, it is not made clear how commitment is combined with competence to form the levels of development (Northouse, 2016).  If the guidelines are not clear how is a leader going to trying and put the follower into a category.  Even the developers of this theory realize further research is needed to establish how competence and commitment are conceptualized for each development level (Northouse, 2016).

While the situational approach initially sounds like an easy way to help guide followers to meet the group goal there are many questions about this approach.  I’m not sure there is one best approach to leadership, depending on the followers and the situation I agree that the leader needs to adjust their leadership tactics.  On the surface situational leadership sounds like an easy and effective way to lead a group, and in some organizations it works well.  I will not be making the situational approach to leadership my primary leadership approach.

 

References:

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 7th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publication.

How to Deal with a Narcissistic Boss

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Leadership comes in many different forms, we have all had good and bad leaders, but what makes a bad leader bad and why do they get so far before others realize they are not truly a leader?  Northouse (2016) defined leadership as process, it is an interactive event that includes followers without a group there would be no one to lead, and it involves influence and there is a common goal (Northouse, 2016, p.4.). So how does a bad leader get others to follow if they don’t have a common goal, or does the leader twist the goal to try and meet everyone’s needs?

The dark side of personality is described as having six dark-side traits they are argumentative, interpersonal insensitivity, narcissism, fear of failure, perfectionism, and impulsivity, these traits are counterproductive behavioral tendencies that interfere with a leader’s ability to form cohesive teams (PSU WC, L.2, p.5).  Being confident is positive trait for a leader and groups will follow someone who is self-confident, if a leader is unsure or hesitates to make decisions followers will also hesitate and question if this is the person to follow.  Leaders with narcissism typically make a good first impression, they have high self-esteem, they are extroverted and can be charismatic (Frye, 2018).  The dark side of a narcissist is the over self-confidence, self-centered, and overly ambitious, they have a strong sense of entitlement and often hold others in contempt (PSU WC, L.2, p.5).  Dealing with a narcissistic boss is difficult but there a few ways to avoid being miserable until they are replaced.

According to Price (2018) forget about being friends with your boss, narcissist are not capable of true friendship and if they are friendly its probably because they want something (Price, 2018) This can be difficult as many want to be friendly with the boss to make interactions easier and have a sense of belonging.  Knowing someone is only friendly to get something in return can be frustrating and hurts the morale of the group.  Avoid criticizing them, narcissist will become angry and at times throw a tantrum. (Price, 2018) No one wants to see an adult, especially the boss throws a tantrum, instead of telling them they are wrong tread lightly and make suggestions that will benefit everyone.  Let the boss feel like they are making the decisions, when presenting suggestions let them make the final decision so they feel they in control.  Price (2018) suggests make them look good and absorb blame, the narcissistic boss won’t take responsibility for anything negative and they want acknowledgement for positive outcomes. (Price, 2018) This feeds the narcissists ego, it’s hard to not place blame, even when a situation may warrant it but in order to keep the peace it may be best to give them more credit then what is due.  Setting boundaries, if they behave in an unacceptable way you must tell them and make the boundaries as clear as possible (Price,2018). This may or may not help but the boss needs to know where you stand and keeping true to your boundaries is necessary.  The final suggestion Price (2018) has is don’t compete, even if you are doing well and getting better results the narcissistic boss will only think your doing well because of what they taught you (Price, 2018).

The question you need to ask yourself if you have a narcissistic boss is how long do I deal with this before I find another job, or do I hold out until they are gone?  Many times, upper management will notice what is going on and replace the narcissist but someone who has these traits are very good at conveying self-confidence in interviews and that is a desirable trait.  If you find ways to deal with it, it may be beneficial to hold out and hope that one day there is a positive leader change.

 

 

 

 

References:

 

Frye, D. (2018, November 20). Why Do Narcissists Make Positive First Impressions? Retrieved September 12, 2020, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brainstorm/201811/why-do-narcissists-make-positive-first-impressions

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 7th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publication.

Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2016). PSYCH 485 Lesson 2: Trait Approach. Retrieved from. https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/canvas/fa20/22081–15503/content/03_lesson/printlesson.html

Price, S. (2018, August 16). Simple and Effective ways To Deal with A Narcissistic Boss. Retrieved from https://www.ivyexec.com/career-advice/2014/8-ways-to-deal-with-a-narcissistic-boss/

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