Leadership

PSYCH 485 blog

Adaptive Leadership and Follower Development

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Leaders often get all the attention given their critical roles within organizations, and rightly so. They are responsible for driving change and innovation, as well as progressing the mundane day to day operations along. With all of this attention on the leaders, followers often get neglected, taken for granted even. I have experienced this for a long time, and it is not very gratifying. Particular leadership styles are more guilty of this than others, as are poor leaders who cannot effectively address the necessary needs that followers hold. Aspects of both style and situational approaches can provide guidance to leaders so they meet follower’s needs (Northouse, 2016). Failure to sufficiently support followers can lead to a lack of trust, engagement and workplace well-being (Gardner, Avolio, Luthans, May & Walumbwa, 2005).

As I have been in the Navy for nearly 8 years, I have long since felt that my personal growth needs have not been met, as they are typically not the focus of the military leader. Task accomplishment comes first before all other concerns, as there is often little time for anything else. Additionally, these leaders are trained in one fashion, unable to change based on the situation. First, the style approach, through its focus on both task accomplishment and relationship building, serve to remind leaders that both are important and each need to be sufficiently addressed (PSU WC, 2019, L. 5). It is also dependent on the individual follower, as some may need more emotional support than others (Northouse, 2016). I have worked with a wide variety of individuals, and I have seen what occurs when a leader ignores the softer side of leadership, they are ineffective. Leaders who are unconcerned or are inflexible are more prone to fail than those who are the opposite (PSU WC, 2019, L. 5).

Akin to the style approach is the situational approach. One major component of the situational approach are follower development levels. Numbered D1 through D4, each level classifies followers along a continuum requiring different leadership guidance at each state to further develop as a follower (Northouse, 2016). Different levels of commitment and/or competence determine which leadership style is appropriate (Northouse, 2016). The important takeaway is that leaders need to treat each follower differently, depending on their individual skills and motivations, to realize organizational goals. Based on my experiences, leaders who fail to do this attempt to apply the same techniques to everyone. If a leader is attempting to direct someone who is already competent in their work, supportive behaviors will suffer, thus demotivating that person to improve any further. I have personally fell victim to this problem. This will lead to additional problems if not corrected.

While the article by Gardner, Avolio, Luthans, May and Walumbwa (2005) is focused on the application of authentic leadership, which has yet to be addressed, it’s focus on the follower is still applicable to this discussion. One major benefit of leading in an open and trustworthy manner is the emphasis placed on follower’s needs as so far to modify their own concerns, matching those of their followers (Northouse, 2016). The inability of leaders to exhibit concern for their follower’s needs will demonstrate that they are not wholly concerned about their well-being or opinion, resulting in decreased trust between parties (Gardner, Avolio, Luthans, May and Walumbwa, 2005). Most important is the link to employee engagement. It is the role of a leader to provide opportunities for development and address concerns regarding “psychological safety” (Gardner et al., 2005). When these two items are not properly addressed, it can, and likely will, result in decreased motivation and organizational commitment. This has been my experience when a leader has failed to address my own needs, resulting in a cascade of subsequent negative side-effects.

It is important for leaders to meet the needs of their followers. Too often, leaders get fixated on completing tasks that they fail to take this side of leadership into consideration. The also fail to adapt to the situation, preferring to force the situation into their own concrete style. The style approach stresses the importance of both to lead effectively (Northouse, 2016). Additionally, the situational approach, through its continuum of follower development, demonstrates the importance of tailoring a leader’s approach to suit individual followers as opposed to a one size fits all approach (Northouse, 2016). If these needs are sufficiently met and leaders acknowledge the necessity to ensure proper follower development, increased trust and workplace well-being can result, leading to more engaged employees and proper follower development throughout their career (Gardner, Avolio, Luthans, May and Walumbwa, 2005).

References

Gardner, W. L., Avolio, B. J., Luthans, F., May, D. R.& Walumbwa, F. (2005). “Can you see the real me?” A self-based model of authentic leader and follower development. The Leadership Quarterly, 16(3), 343-372. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2005.03.003

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Pennsylvania State University World Campus. (2019). PSYCH 485 Lesson 5: Style and situational approaches. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1985970/modules/items/26589480

Impoverished Leader, Impoverished Team

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Leadership style, the result of the combination of a leader’s concern for people and concern for results, describe how leaders are likely to behave (Norhtouse, 2016). Concern for people is a leader’s care for their followers and is expressed through relationship building, individual concern, and building organizational commitment (Northouse, 2016). Concern for results (or production) reflects a leader’s goal-orientation and their drive to achieve organizational tasks (PSU WC, 2019, L. 5). When combined, five primary leadership styles result: authority-compliance, with a high concern for production and a low concern for people; country-club management, with a high concern for people and a low concern for production; team management, reflecting both high concern for people and production; middle-of-the-road management, which reflects neutral or average concern for both; and, finally, impoverished management, which reflects low concerns for both people and production (Northouse, 2016). Impoverished leadership is typified by the “leader”, quotes being used advisedly here, going through the motions of leadership but not actually engaging in the process (Northouse, 2016).

Jay is the Vice President of Sales for a mid-sized industrial distributor. He manages three sales teams, two directly and one through an in-territory sales team leader. Jay assumed the role about three years ago. Since taking the role, sales have been flat across the organization and his team’s sales have slowly fallen off. The company has been able to stave off shrinking traditional sales through some national accounts and large projects. Jay seems to go through the motions of production and people management, as Northouse (2016) describes. For example, at the end of each year, the sales team establishes sales goals for the next year. This has traditionally been a cooperative process between management and sales. Each salesperson would have a goal meeting with the VP of Sales and one of the owners. In years past, goals would be reality-checked and adjusted at these meetings; normally in an upward direction. Jay, this past year, collected the goal worksheets from each salesperson and tallied them up. They came up nearly a million short of the company’s revenue budget. This was a real problem. When confronted at a leadership meeting about the shortfall, he responded by saying that each person had given him a “good reason” for their goals. He had checked each and every box. In the same way that he checks the box every two weeks with a check-in call with each salesperson and through the weekly sales team meeting. The result of his box checking behavior is a sales team that has produced roughly the same results three years in a row. This reflects a low concern for production.

Jay likes working in the office, he avoids traveling. The organization has salespeople across five states. In a recent multi-day sales meeting, Jay indirectly admitted a low concern for people. Two salespeople were discussing how they had worked together to solve a customer’s issue. One salesperson, Sam, traveled to another salesperson’s, Curt, customer. They met there to solve a complex problem and deliver a solution for the customer. Sam’s territory is removed from the rest of the territories and is a few hours from anyone in the organization. The customer is even farther away. Jay, when presented with this said, “Wait, you went to Sam’s territory? I’ve never been there!” in a joking and jovial tone. Jay admitted, in front of his entire team, that he, as a sales leader, does not want to travel to our sales territories. This reflects a low concern for people.

Jay also seems to reflect several self-defeating behaviors, those that set leaders up to fail (PSU WC, 2019, L. 5). For example, when he was confronted about a failure to meet a business objective, setting sales goals that aligned with the organization’s stated desires, he justified the result by blaming the sales team. Jay was, in a sense, set up for failure. He was unprepared for this promotion (PSU WC, 2019, L. 5). Jay rose the ranks of inside sales, the customer service and purchasing group of the organization, becoming the Inside Sales Manager before taking this promotion. Jay’s roles were designed to make sure all the boxes were checked: an executable purchase order, an accurate quote, appropriate supporting documentation, etc. lead to happy customers. Sales, as Brown, et al. (2005) note, reflects a complex set of roles and behaviors that results in a satisfied customer. Relationship-based selling requires an adaptive and responsive mindset, which is poorly aligned with Jay’s box-checking style.

The organization, in whole, has failed itself by promoting Jay to this position. Jay was and remains unprepared for the demands of this position. Jay’s low concern for people and production, impoverished leadership, is distinctly unsuited for a sales leadership position. Sales, especially business to business relationship selling, requires that salespeople juggle multiple roles, work toward goals, exhibit pro-social behaviors like relationship building and relationship maintenance, and produce an adequate level of sales results (Brown, Evans, Mantrala, & Chaallagall, 2005; Drollinger & Comer, 2013; Nijssen, Guenzi, & van der Borgh, 2017). These reflect both a concern for people, relationship-oriented behaviors, and a concern for production, in goal attainment and sales results. Leaders communicate values through the things and behaviors that they pay attention to (Schein & Schein, 2017). This attention reflects their concern for people and their concern for production. If successful sellers need to have a high concern for people and production, then the leaders of sales teams should, it follows, express the same or heightened concern for both. Jay’s impoverished leadership has failed the sales team, leading to lackluster results and stagnant growth. Jay’s supervisors should work to change his behaviors, build his leadership skills and acumen, or find a better-suited person for the role.

References

Brown, S. P., Evans, K. R., Mantrala, M. K., & Challagalla, G. (2005). Adapting Motivation, Control, and Compensation Research to a New Environment. The Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 25(2), 155–167. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/40472001

Drollinger, T., & Comer, L. B. (2013). Salesperson’s listening ability as an antecedent to relationship selling. The Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing; Santa Barbara, 28(1), 50–59. http://dx.doi.org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1108/08858621311285714

Nijssen, E. J., Guenzi, P., & van der Borgh, M. (2017). Beyond the retention—acquisition trade-off: Capabilities of ambidextrous sales organizations. Industrial Marketing Management, 64, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2017.03.008

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership theory and practice (7th ed). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.

Pennsylvania State University World Campus. (2019). Lesson 5: Style and situational approaches. PSYCH 485: Leadership in Work Settings. Retrieved May 24, 2019, from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/canvas/su19/2195min-5376/content/05_lesson/printlesson.html

Schein, E. H. & Schein, P. (2017). Organizational culture and leadership (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

The Power of Participative and Achievement-Oriented Leadership Behaviors

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Currently I work as the General Manager of a fast-casual restaurant, Zoup! Fresh Soup Company.  My small staff consists of a group of diverse individuals with varying needs and personal circumstances that have lead them to become who they are.  Each of these individuals have different motivators for personal and occupational growth.  As the General Manager, it is essential for me to meet individuals exactly where they are, so I can support their growth in the most effective way for them.  In addition, it is my job to motivate my staff members to reach personal benchmarks and accomplish their occupational goals.

Working with a small staff of only 8-12 at a time, I find that a directive, authoritarian style is not effective in most daily situations.  As expressed in the lesson material, a directive approach may be more effective for a large group, whereas participative, supportive, or achievement-oriented leadership may be more effective in small group settings (PSU WC, 2018).  Through my personal experiences as both a manager and a leader, I have certainly found this to be true.

My Assistant Manager, Gabbi had a bit of difficulty with the previous GM’s leadership style.  Gabbi exhibits a strong internal locus of control, and feels that she can contribute greatly to her peers and change the environment around her for the better.  The previous manager had a directive style and did not allow her to participate in store decisions, even though these decisions directly affected her.  As an individual with a strong internal locus of control, this certainly impeded her personal growth and occupational satisfaction.

One of the first things I changed when I took my promotion was setting a different standard for how the GM and AM would communicate to each other about store decisions.  I told Gabbi my first week as GM that I would never make a decision that would affect her without involving her in the decision-making process.  Over the past 5 months, this has greatly improved communication at the top, which encourages followers to communicate effectively with leaders and subordinates alike.  Changing leadership from a directive to a participative style has also encouraged subordinates to talk to upper management about concerns, rather than talking negatively among themselves.  This helps discourage the “us against them” mentality that can occur between subordinates and leaders.  Subordinates feel that their voices are heard, and in turn feel better about the outcomes of decisions they had a considerable part in making.

As expressed in Northouse (2016), participative leadership works remarkably in some situations such as the one I just described, yet other situations call for entirely different leadership behaviours.  One of these styles includes achievement-oriented leadership behaviours, which cultivate follower’s feelings of self-confidence and satisfaction in their work.  This is done by holding the followers to a gold standard, and placing confidence in followers’ abilities to rise to emerging challenges (PSU WC, 2018).  Achievement-oriented leadership motivates followers to believe in themselves despite adversity, and continually seek improvement (Northouse, 2016).  Quite frankly, achievement-oriented leadership is a powerful thing. When a leader allows followers the space to succeed while holding firm belief in their subordinates’ abilities, this garners self-confidence in even the most self-critical of individuals.

I have found that achievement-oriented leadership behaviours work best when training an associate to become a shift leader. Currently I am training one of my staff members to rise to the challenge of becoming a shift leader.  Will is a 19 year old recent high-school graduate who has never taken a leadership position in an occupation before.  Despite Will’s “Greenness” I have expressed strong confidence in him that he will be successful and rise to the challenges of leading our staff effectively.  Expressing confidence in subordinates’ abilities encourages them to be confident in themselves, and hold themselves to a higher standard.

Above all, the most important aspect of using achievement-oriented and participative leadership behaviours is inspiring others to believe in their own abilities and feel that their voices deserve to be heard.  Not only are subordinates more satisfied in their occupations, but they are also in turn more satisfied with themselves.  A leader has the unique opportunity every day to help individuals see something inside of themselves that they never thought possible, and cultivate confidence in the followers that will one day perhaps become leaders themselves.

 

 

References

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

Pennsylvania State University World Campus. (2018). PSYCH 485: Lesson 6: Path-Goal Theory. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1972967/modules/items/25704910

The Importance of Adaptability in Leadership

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Leadership is adaptive and although someone may be a leader in one situation, they may not be in another (Northouse, 2016). Heifetz, a forerunner in adaptive leadership and who wrote The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World, believes that leadership is “influencing change that builds and enables the capacity of individuals and organizations to thrive” (Wolinski, 2010). Leadership is not a “one size fits all” theory and what makes a good leader is situational (PSU, 2019). For example, those who are good leaders in a company may not be as effective if the goals of the company change. Furthermore, the system the leader has in place currently may not be working and needs to adapt to fit the current needs.

I work at a high-volume, stressful Japanese restaurant, which we will call OM. I am now 22 but I started there as a busser and host when I was 16. It was one of my first jobs and I was extremely nervous but I knew I had a good work ethic. The first person I met at OM was the general manager, Dave. From my first shift, I could see Dave was an authoritarian leader, callous and strict. He emphasized moving quickly and efficiently, never taking breaks. “There is always something to do,” he’d say. In hindsight, he was not wrong but stopping to get water mid-shift is necessary. Working for Dave was very hard at first; it was as if he never smiled. Turn over was extremely high and I originally blamed how high volume and quick paced the restaurant was – it was tough work. Servers, bussers, hosts, and kitchen staff were quitting almost weekly and it was impossible to establish a system that works or form relationships with co-workers. The owners started to blame Dave for the being constantly short-staffed and all the managerial complaints they were receiving. It must have occurred to Dave that his leadership style was not working and it was time to adapt.

Right around this time, I left for Penn State in 2014 after spending two years at OM with Dave as a manager. In September of last year I returned as a server to OM. I was surprised to see three coworkers who I worked with before I left still there – four years later. I thought to myself, our turnover used to be weeks or months and now it is years, but how? When I saw Dave’s new leadership style, I understood why. Dave was way more relaxed now but employees knew not to over step their boundaries. Dave used to make staff do everything themselves even if they needed help, “figure it out,” he’d tell us.

Now, Dave actively helps us during the shifts such as getting soups and salads, dropping off bar drinks to the tables, and bussing tables. His new leadership style helps the restaurant run smoother than ever before. He also became approachable, you could go to him with any request or conflict and he was there to help. He also made a significant effort to form relationships and recognize customers. Now, every night we write down VIPs who visited the restaurant and at the end of the year, reward their loyalty with gift cards. Plus, the customers love feeling special and valued.

According to Wolinksi, the three steps of adaptive leadership are preserving elements that are necessary, removing those that are not, and creating new ones to help the organization succeed (Wolinski, 2010). In Dave’s case, he kept what was working such as his expectations from employees, removed his authoritarian policies, and created a more flexible and open work environment. He adapted his leadership style to fit the needs of the restaurant and employees and became a superior leader. When I first started, the longest employed staff member had been there for a year, now it is five. There are also four employees, including myself, who returned to work for him again.

Northouse, Peter. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications. 7th Edition.

Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2019). PSYCH 485 Lesson 1: Looking at Leadership through Many Lenses. Retrieved from https: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1972967/modules/items/25704818

Wolinski, S. (2010, July 07). Adaptive Leadership. Retrieved from https://managementhelp.org/blogs/leadership/2010/07/07/adaptive-leadership/

 

 

 

Goodbye to the Iron Fist: Do Soft Skills Now Rule For Leaders?

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When one says “soft skills” of leadership, many things come to mind. Those unfamiliar with the term would assume that these are the unnecessary niceties of leadership.  Those who are crass and uneducated (in life skills) may even refer to them as the “feminine side” to leadership; though to be honest, I view that as actually a plus for every woman, myself included, everywhere in the world. Those who are familiar but still subscribe to traditional leadership may think that these are the skills that are being fed to the minds of millennials, and hence have no need in the real deal of heading a company.

But what are “soft skills” and why are they important? In the changing landscape of career and leadership, these skills may actually be one of the keys to success–if you know how to use them.

In a seminar that I attended last year, I became familiar with one of the soft skills: empathy. Empathy is defined as one’s ability to see the world from the other person’s perspective. It is not synonymous to sympathy, which is feeling the same thing as the other person. There is a more objective stance to empathy; in the same way that we are able to see the situation through their perspective, there is the ability to avoid bringing down judgment to the other person. We don’t have to feel what they are feeling, whether it is positive or negative, but just to understand their own situation and be accepting of it is already a big step.

Other soft skills that are supposedly valued in the modern workplace include creativity, listening skills, emotional awareness, and accountability (Neves, 2016). While they highlight different specializations, these skills appear to value the importance of emotional intelligence, of connecting, and of making people a part of something. In creativity, it’s a mix of tapping into one’s own inner resources and conducting problem-solving to achieve a goal with minimal expenditures. In emotional awareness, it’s about knowing and acknowledging your emotion, so it nips potential outbursts or arguments in the bud.

In listening and communicating, it’s about putting the spotlight on everyone else except yourself. It’s being genuine about wanting to listen to them and actually tuning in to what they say. In accountability, it’s owning up to your work, not making excuses if it falls short, and taking the blame especially if was your own fault.

All of these almost break away from the stereotype of the leader: one who is alone at the top, directing everyone with orders and commands and expecting to take the credit mostly to himself and with the help of the team (no individual recognitions there). It subverts the leader who thinks that he is the only knowledgeable one and therefore does not listen to others’ suggestions, and may prefer to stick with “what works” instead of looking at where else efficiency and innovation can happen.

Soft skills may actually take away the “me” in team, and instead bring up the entire team–the leader included–all in the same boat and on the same level.

When I heard about and read this, it made me think of how I would see and evaluate leaders, including those I’ve had as bosses and those I’ve just heard from friends and family. I never understood why I was drawn to leaders who were willing to listen to you when you have an idea. Or when a leader who acknowledges his fault instead of telling you that you did poorly (because the instructions he gave you were wrong). Or when a leader accommodates a request because it feels like he understands you when you say “that route is impossible” and considers the alternative path you propose. Or when a leader takes the time to actually make you feel like you’re being listened to and not judged at all.

Those were never really the “best” traits of a leader that we were taught in elementary. They were far from the leader who is always ahead, untouchable, and unfaltering. Now I see the real importance of how soft skills make a leader. They don’t have to shout from the rooftops and on podiums that they are leaders. They don’t have to show you “who’s boss” around the bullpen by playing dirty politics. They don’t even have to intimidate you into submitting to the “alpha of the pack.” Just by practicing these soft skills, by being genuine people who have great ideas and acknowledge that everyone in the team probably has one, too, they become the leaders that you just instinctively want to follow.

 

References:

Neves, A. (2016). 5 soft skills you need to master for workplace success. Inc.com, Retrieved from. https://www.inc.com/the-muse/5-emotional-intelligence-leadership-skills-you-need-for-success.html.

Northouse, P. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

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