A520.5.3.RB - Forrester's Empowerment

A520.5.3.RB - Forrester's Empowerment

In your blog, prepare a summary that compares and contrasts the concepts discussed to those discussed in the text.

Empowerment is a lot of responsibility. It isn’t something that can be dropped off as an initiative one day and implemented the next. I think that most leaders really do not understand the time and true investment it takes to truly empower their employees in word and deed. At work, I have heard the shop folks being encouraged by our leadership to report changes they see a need for but when they submit the proper (and mind-numbingly bureaucratic) documentation, they never hear anything back. Management thinks that they have done their part in empowering the folks in the shop and they go about their merry way. But these people are busy; they are milling huge pieces of metal risking life and limb to make wings for airplanes that will fly families around the globe and back…for decades. They have a lot to think about and are under a lot of pressure to not make mistakes – and stay safe while doing it. The mill operators do not have the time to bird-dog requests, they just need to have their needs heard and acted upon so that they can do their work better, safer, and with better quality. “[A] strong sense of self-determination is associated with a variety of positive outcomes in the workplace…less alienation in the work environment, higher levels of work performance, more entrepreneurial and innovative activity, high levels of job involvement, greater work motivation, and less job strain.” (Whetten, 2016)

Forrester’s article tells the story of the empowerment concept  and how some leaders just took at face value and then left in the dust when the implementation failed. Empowerment wasn't then and isn’t now a bad idea; it is a very powerful idea…if understood and implemented effectively. Just talking about empowering your employees and following guidelines in a textbook isn’t going to guarantee success with an employee empowerment initiative. “Empowerment is not free” (Forrester, 2000) is a very simple but true warning to those organizations who think they can just hold a few meetings, put up a few posters and call it good. Empowering your employees is an investment in them and in turn, they reinvest in the organization. It is an organic and symbiotic relationship that requires advocates and fostering of previously untapped leadership potential in new delegates. “Skills need to be built, relationships formed, technology adapted, organizations reshaped, systems modified. The final threshold question is whether people in the organization have the stomach to go through a difficult, complicated, and lengthy change process.” (Forrester, 2000)

It’s also important to differentiate between those employees who want the extra work empowerment brings and those who either do not want it or are not quite ready for it. When leadership sees a progressive or new fad kind of idea and try make something that is a cookie-cutter, generic, off the shelf version fit their unique organization, it is like just assuming that no matter what size shoe you put on your foot…it’s just going to fit. We all know that isn’t true so why do leaders think that what’s good for one organization must absolutely be good for theirs? When a directive to “…empower the employees for crying out loud!” comes down the organization chart, the initial reaction is to hot-potato it through the ranks and then call it a successful implementation. Meanwhile, people who were first-line managers are trying to calm the chaos that all of the additional work has caused to the factory workers and everything has run amok. “Employees nervously looked the other way, complaining a bit that the promised power never arrived, but making no move to claim it.” (Forrester, 2000) I have seen this happen…power with no guidance or training or support is not power…it is paralyzing to the workforce who now feel even more disheartened. Maybe power, to them, means something different. Maybe they just want to be able to dictate their work schedule and just need to understand who the customer is, what the customer needs, what the department goals are, and maybe how their flow/performance impacts the value stream. Maybe they even want to help set the department goals based on their experience running the machines or driving the vehicles. I find it difficult to believe that, where I work anyway, the mill operators haven’t had extensive conversations amongst themselves, maybe even over a beer, about how they could do their jobs better “if only…”. Understanding that power means different things to different people, just like people are motivated by different things: money, title, responsibility, free pizza…everyone is unique and to ignore that fact is fatal when trying to empower the workforce. “The notion of differentiating among employees may appear at odds with the earlier criticism of a piecemeal approach, but it is not. The flaws in the piecemeal examples were in the organization’s systems. Employees were given one element of the power they needed but not another.” (Forrester, 2000) Employees, in those examples, were given responsibilities to make decisions but not the access to the data needed to make good decisions. Giving people the choice and the options to explore the power they are ready for, as well as giving them the tools and access needed to be successful, is the responsible way to show employees that an organization is serious about investing in their future leadership. “The organization makes a contract with its employees: This is the result you must produce, under these conditions; and within these terms you may exercise your power.” (Forrester, 2000) This takes time and effort and as mentioned before…the stomach for the work it will take to accomplish.

Perhaps if there was only one thing an organization got right about empowering their employees, it should be to follow the SMART goals system as described by Whetten:

S – Specific Goals, M – Measurable goals, A – Aligned goals, R – Realistic goals, and T – Time based goals.

When employees have goals, clear and concise goals, expectations and the support from leads and management to see their skills being developed and coached into a self-functioning team of professionals, empowerment will become part of the fabric and values of that organization. “The impetus for real change in an individually tailored process is that real power breeds power. Those who establish a surer expertise gravitate toward greater responsibility, and it gravitates toward them.” (Forrester, 2000) I think that is true no matter what level you are on the organization chart. I used the example in the discussion board this week about my boss having me represent him in more and more meetings. With every meeting and also the workshops I’ve been recommended for, I gain confidence and seek out more responsibility because I am not afraid of having that responsibility anymore.

I don’t know what will happen when I transfer jobs to South Carolina next month. The core competencies will be the same but I’ll be going from fabrication and those production flows to final assembly and their process flows. I have no idea what that will be like – except more intense and that’s terrifying and exciting! I hope I can bring with me the confidence that I’ve gained over the last year but also the humility to know that empowerment, even from within, takes time and patience. In our text, in the margin next to the passages, “Viktor Frankl, Nelson Mandela, and Mahatma Gandhi are examples of individuals who, despite the absence of the attributes of power, maintained complete empowerment in dismal circumstances…[i]ts source is within the individual, not as a result of social acceptance, political support, or title. You accept and create empowerment for yourself.” (Whetten, 2016) I wrote, “Self-fulfilling prophesy?” Perhaps. I hope so.

References:

Forrester, R. (2000). Empowerment: Rejuvenating a Potent Idea. The Academy of Management Executive (1993-2005), 14(3), 67-80. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4165660

Whetten, D. A., & Cameron, K. S. (2016). Developing management skills (9. global ed. ed.). Boston, Mass. [u.a.]: Pearson.

A520.4.2.RB - Motivation Beyond Money

A520.4.2.RB - Motivation Beyond Money

Yes, we all like to be paid, but money is not among the three most important reason why we work. Andy Mulholland shares his insights as to what those three things are.

Create a blog entry discussing each of the motivators identified in this video and discuss their impact on you; additionally identify 3 additional motivators that have a major impact on you.

This whole week’s topic about what motivates employees has been so very relevant in my life lately. Mulholland mentioned the three things that motivate people (paraphrasing): interesting work, the ability and opportunity to expand their skill set, and most importantly being recognized or valued beyond gobs of money. I could not agree more. When I was watching this video, it suddenly all made sense to me about why I felt the need to apply to different jobs (within Boeing) for the last year or so. I was not able to do interesting work, the opportunities to expand my skill set were getting handed to other people even though I expressed interest and desire to participate, and I didn’t feel valued. I think the last one was the real kicker…my whole team has gone through this whole transition of being the go-to people for data and help with making large decisions (by using our data analysis) and just our work and recommendations actually meaning something to upper management to suddenly just none of that. We were left out of meetings and critical production impacting decisions were being made without the data. For example, the decision to add an additional media to an NC program on a machine was implemented. The people who implemented it did not understand that the minutes it added to the milling of the part wasn’t just for that part but for 150+ parts A DAY, every day…which added up to some serious impact to production. Suddenly the run times were slower and we were getting less parts out. When my team recommended a change board for these NC program changes, management still didn’t understand why it was important. We were not valued. “HR is a professional thing that needs to be developed in a company.” Mulholland (2011)

This past week I accepted a position with Boeing South Carolina. It will be a lateral move, my job code stays the same, but I won’t be a union (SPEEA) member anymore and I’ll be working in final assembly instead of fabrication. These are huge things. The first thing people asked me when I told them that I was moving to SC was about the pay. And the wage package was good, but it wasn’t the deciding factor. I didn’t really care that I was losing my retention status with the union or any of the things that go with that culture. What sold me was the vibe I got in the area and at the facility. I asked the people who interviewed me what their best day at Boeing was so far and both answered with something that had to do with accomplishment and hope and pride. The site is relatively new and still growing and that idea excites me. They’ve never had my job code there before so the prospect of figuring out what the work statement is going to look like is exciting too. It’s all an opportunity for me to expand my skill set. I know that the new job won’t be perfect…nothing about Boeing is sunshine and unicorns, but the work can be both intensely hard and incredibly interesting and the people I talked to from that site gave the sense that they felt valued. I needed a change to stay relevant so I went for it. “To complete a goal anyone can reach is not reward enough for highly motivated individuals…they must believe an accomplishment represents a meaningful achievement.” Whetten (2016)

The three other factors that really impact me is just how people treat each other. I don’t want to sit in a meeting and hear senior managers bashing their subordinates and I don’t want to hear subordinates bashing their leadership. This is different from disagreeing with each other – bashing is just hateful and negative, disagreeing implies that there can be a conversation and a solution. I also look for collaboration within organizations. Being part of cross-functional workshops is one of the best things I get to do in my job. Not only do I get to meet more people, I get to build on those relationships and relate to them on a different level. Most people have ideas about how to do their jobs more efficiently or have looked into newer technology but there never seems to be an ear for them to share it with. These workshops can be those venues and it is exhilarating and highly motivating. One other thing that impacts me, and this from a woman’s perspective, is having women in leadership positions to look up to and work with. We have several of these women in our organization but a couple of them are just snarky and mean and think that they have to bulldog their way to the top. The thing is that women leaders aren’t male leaders and they shouldn’t have to emulate men to be accepted. Women in business (or any industry) need to build each other up so that our unique voices are heard and not talked over.

References:

Mulholland, Andy. ( © 2011). The three things we work for (money isn't one of them). [Video File]. Available from Books24x7 http://common.books24x7.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/toc.aspx?bookid=43753.

Whetten, D. A., & Cameron, K. S. (2016). Developing management skills (9., global ed. ed.). Boston, Mass. [u.a.]: Pearson.

A520.3.4.RB – Supportive Communication

A520.3.4.RB – Supportive Communication

Reflect on the following in a well-written post on your Reflection Blog. Do not simply list and answer the prompts. Instead, write your blog, incorporating your thoughts into your reflection. Make certain to incorporate your own experiences into your reflection.

This exercise will give you practice in identifying obstacles to effective interpersonal communication and applying principles of supportive communication. For some of you, you may have little experience distinguishing between defensiveness and disconfirmation. In addition, you may have little experience putting into practice the eight attributes of supportive communications. This exercise will address both.

Read the following excerpt from an e-mail sent by a CEO to 400 company managers at a high-technology company called Cerner. Reflect on the eight attributes of supportive communication and detail how you might apply those over the next 30 days in your job to avoid some of the problems associated with this communication.

“We are getting less than 40 hours of work from a large number of our K.C.-based EMPLOYEES. The parking lot is sparsely used at 8:00 A.M.; likewise at 5 P.M. As managers – you either do not know what your EMPLOYEES are doing; or you do not CARE. You have created expectations on the work effort that allowed this to happen inside Cerner, creating a very unhealthy environment. In either case, you have a problem and you will fix it or I will replace you. NEVER in my career have I allowed a team that worked for me to think they had a 40-hour job. I have allowed YOU to create a culture that is permitting this. NO LONGER.”

First of all, if I had been the recipient of this e-mail, I would have absolutely responded professionally and copied my Human Resources representative. This manager has outright accused his subordinate of not caring about his department and not knowing what is going on in his team. The idea that he has straight up said that he expects everyone to work overtime all the time is asinine and demoralizing. Excessive overtime is always a management problem, not a people problem. I would be taken aback that this manager did not come to be personally about his concerns. I would also be completely defensive and feeling thrown under the bus and like my boss didn’t trust me to have good reasons for allowing people to work a 40 hour week. I would also personally wonder why my boss has enough time on their hands to monitor the parking lots and not enough time to meet with me in person.

The eight attributes of supportive communication are:

Congruent, Not Incongruent

Descriptive, Not Evaluative

Problem oriented, Not Person-oriented

Validating, Not Invalidating

Specific, Not Global

Conjunctive, Not Disjunctive

Owned, Not Disowned

Supportive Listening, Not One-Way Listening

In the scenario listed above, the manager was People-oriented and not Problem oriented. If he had asked the questions instead of coming out and not supportive communication. He was not descripted but personally not evaluative by accusing the subordinate with “you are wrong” statements that immediately put the subordinate on the defensive. This has completely shut down on any successful or meaningful conversation moving forward. “The goal of supportive communication is not merely to be liked by other people or to be judged to be a nice person, nor is it to produce social acceptance.” Whetten (2016) However, supportive communication should be respectful and productive. The e-mail in the scenario above was a clearly peeved manager who has zero respect for or confidence in the subordinate. Over the next 30 days, these two people need to meet in person and go over expectations. From the tone of this e-mail (and the excessive use of capital letters indicating yelling) I would absolutely have an intermediary objective person present as well.  Really difficult and persistent tensions in the department may require special interventions. “Seek help from a professional facilitator or consultant to work through rough times. The Office of Organizational Development in Human Resources can assist in identifying someone appropriate.” Virginia Tech (2016)

References:

Virginia Tech (2016) Component Three: Providing Effective and Supportive Communication. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Retrieved April 7, 2016. Successful Virginia Tech Strategies: Supplemental Materials. http://www.advance.vt.edu/resources_links/climate_compendium/climate_compendium_component_three.html

Whetten, D. A., & Cameron, K. S. (2016). Developing management skills (9., global ed. ed.). Boston, Mass. [u.a.]: Pearson.

A520.3.1.RB - Decision Making Styles

A520.3.1.RB - Decision Making Styles

In your blog, reflect upon the following questions:

1.    What are a few words that describe your decision-making style?

Cautious

Considerate

Quick

Considered

Well-Thought-Out

Instinctive

2.    What are the opposites of the words you chose?

Cautious - Careless

Considerate - Thoughtless

Quick - Slow

Considered - Hasty

Well-Thought-Out - Apathetic

Instinctive - Speculating

3.    Could you see any benefits to making decision using an approach that is based on either the opposites or somewhere in-between and what outcomes would you expect to see?

I think that making decisions only based on the first set of words or only on the opposites is ridiculous. In life, as in making decisions, there has to be common sense and a middle zone where you do what is right for each individual situation. “Managers often propose a solution before an adequate definition of a problem has been given.” Whetten (2016)  If making a hasty and instinctive decision is the right thing to do, I think that should be what you do. However, if a well-thought-out and slower decision process takes place because that is what the situation calls for, then so be it. However, we have to make sure that the scope of the problem is understood. The problem occurs when a manager makes every decision the same way. If the manager is slow and deliberate when a quick and instinctive choice needs to be made, then lead times could be impacted and the customer could lose faith in the organization. “Most of the time, the problems we face are complicated, multifaceted, and ambiguous.” Whetten (2016) Ultimately, when we problem solve as leaders, we are trying to eliminate negative behaviors and moving forward with growth within our organizations. “Turn nagging issues into positive aspirations. What would you like to do about repeated frustrations? Don’t fix a broken past. Build a positive future.” Rockwell (2016) If we do not solve a problem effectively, we will inevitably have to revisit it and we all know that rework is non-value added.

References:

Rockwell, D. (2016, January 15) Four ways to become a one word organization. https://leadershipfreak.wordpress.com/2016/01/15/four-ways-to-become-a-one-word-organization/

Whetten, D. A., & Cameron, K. S. (2016). Developing management skills (9., global ed. ed.). Boston, Mass. [u.a.]: Pearson.

A520.2.4.RB - Time Management

A520.2.4.RB – Time Management

Prepare a Blogger entry by reflecting on the following: 

1.    Assess your time management skills.

2.    Evaluate how these skills have increased your locus of control.

3.    Identify three new areas in which improved time management skills would reduce stress.

4.    Add an action plan to integrate these to your daily routine.

Uuuuugh! Time Management is my kryptonite. My time management skills are erratic, weak, and a constant source of guilt and self-sabotage. These skills have not increased my locust of control; if anything, they have held my locust of control hostage and tortured it a bit. I understand all of this, I know when it is happening and I have no discipline to change it most days. I’m tired all of the time, stressed about work and home life, and my homework suffers because I’ll be so exhausted that by the end of the day I just have nothing left to give; my creative and critical thinking abilities are gone.

Three areas that could benefit from improved time management skills would be my sleep, which impacts my daily performance and overall well-being, my focus at whatever I’m doing would improve, and the anxiety of having procrastinated to the point of panic would be gone. I like to think that I do my best work under pressure but the fact is, I don’t know because I never give myself the chance to apply that theory.  

My action plan is:

To set reminders for myself throughout the day – I should do at least an hour to two hours a day of homework during the week. (Instead of 48 hours of homework on the weekends.) This would lessen my guilt and potential for self-sabotage. “Rule 2: Make a list of things to accomplish today. Focus on what you want to achieve, not just what you want to do.” Whetten (2016)

I will also make sure that I go to bed at a regular time, even on the weekends. “Schedule some personal time. You need some time when no interruptions will occur, when you can get off the ‘fast track’ for a while and be alone.” Whetten (2016) I deserve to feel better; being exhausted all the time is like seeing the finish line in a race and just as I get there, it’s moved another 50 feet, then another…I’m just always reaching.

The third thing I will do is practice better self-discipline. I really let myself off the hook…a lot. I expect accountability from everyone else but don’t expect it from myself…that makes zero sense. “Rule 11: Don’t procrastinate. If you do certain tasks promptly, they will require less time and effort than if you put them off.” Whetten (2016) I think I should print that out and post all over my house.

Resource:

Whetten, D. A., & Cameron, K. S. (2016). Developing management skills (9., global ed. ed.). Boston, Mass. [u.a.]: Pearson.

A520.2.3.RB - Conflict Resolution

A520.2.3.RB - Conflict Resolution

Use your blog to describe an example of a successful conflict resolution that you have either witnessed or participated in.

·         What was the conflict?

·         What role did you play?

·         Who were the other participants in the negotiation?

·         What was the result?

Can you see any room for improvement to how the conflict was handled?

Conflict resolution happens (or doesn’t happen) every day in my organization. Yesterday, ten minutes before our project/workshop report out to the senior leadership team, one of the workshop participants asked a question about one of the benefits we had listed. He wanted to know where we came up with a specific benefit around the number of hours saved if this project was implemented. I was a fellow participant and as an industrial engineer, had put together the data for the workshop. The hours saved number had been part of our presentation for at least three days and I was irritated that this guy was bringing it up now…ten minutes before the presentation. We work in a building that is almost a million square feet big…we didn’t have time to take anything down, re-plot it to giant size, and then rehang it in ten minutes. The workshop lead and several other participants gathered around and things got a little heated for a minute or two. I was frustrated that this question didn’t come up hours ago when we could have fixed it and the guy who asked the question was just asking a question. Finally I said that when I talked it, I would mention that potentially the saved hours could happen. I explained that every benefit we were talking was hypothetical – there is no proof of demonstrated benefits until after implementation. I thought that everyone understood that…we can only provide data about what we know now that is comparable. The result was that I handwrote on the poster “The potential to save as many as X hours per airplane.” and the guy who questioned the data was satisfied.

I understood his concern over the integrity of our data; data integrity is my job! I also apologized for the ambiguous wording of my document. I hadn’t meant to be shady or make wild and unattainable claims. My data was sound…theoretical…but sound. He was right to point out the ambiguity and in the end, everything worked out well. I think my biggest issue was the timing. “When someone has used a particular lens or perspective for a long time, it becomes a strongly held belief that the individual may never question. It is easy to see how challenges to these strongly held interpretations of the world could spark interpersonal conflicts.” Whetten (2016) He could have mentioned his concern earlier in the day…or even the week…when it wouldn’t have caused more undue stress at an already stressful moment. Maybe he didn’t really notice it until just then, I don’t know but my perspective that everyone knew workshop data was mostly hypothetical until proven otherwise after implementation was incorrect.

Resource:

Whetten, D. A., & Cameron, K. S. (2016). Developing management skills (9., global ed. ed.). Boston, Mass. [u.a.]: Pearson.