A520.8.2.RB - Polyarchic Principles

A520.8.2.RB - Polyarchic Principles

Your Chapter 7 reading from Obolensky digs into the "four + four principles" that Obolensky believes enable an organization to thrive and adapt to change. The application of the 8 principles form the basis for complex adaptive leadership. How can you apply each of these principles in your workplace? How might applying these principles help your organization work more effectively? Discuss any takeaways you gained from your reading of polyarchic principles this week.

The ideas that Obolensky writes about are relevant to corporate America on many levels. Of course, the only levels I can speak intelligently about are those of which I have been involved. My current organization is dysfunctional at best and we succeed despite ourselves…a lot.  While I was reading this article, so much of it resonated. The ‘four + four principles” that work together to become the ‘8 principles of adaptive leadership’ really make sense…if applied well. The Underlying Purpose- “Purpose is what lends an underlying meaning to day-to-day activities. It's what unites people. It's the fundamental reason for being, and taps into people's motivation.” (Obolesky, 2010) When people understand the “Why” about what their jobs mean systemically and personally, they want to be there, they want to do the work. They understand what their part means and it makes a difference to them. Even if your job is to make sure that the next work station has enough chemical solvent, you understand what your job is and why it’s important. When you aren’t there to do the job, the people don’t get the solvents they need and things come to a halt. People like to feel as though they have a purpose. When we, as workers, are just told to accept a new process without any explanation or clear purpose, it is difficult for them to get on board or ‘buy-in’ and the process implementation will not be successful. At. All.

This brings me to how important it is to have explicit and unambiguous objectives and defined boundaries.   “Having clear objectives for each individual is not just about having a clear target. It also means that the objectives have to make sense, and allow the individual to see how his targets fit into the greater whole.” (Obolesky, 2010) Ambiguous objectives can lead to frustration, systems breakdowns, and quality issues…to name a few. Giving people clear expectations but allowing them to perform the tasks the way they know will work is empowerment and trust building. But that all starts with setting clear objectives and having well defined boundaries such as metrics and quantifiable goals.

When it comes to skill vs. will, Obolesky notes that there are four zones: Performance, Parking, Stress, and Depression. I have been on teams that were totally in the Performance zone, we were engaged and there was a productive and positive synergy in the team – even when there was a disagreement, it was an opportunity to validate the objectives and have a healthy, and again, productive discussion. The current situation at my organization falls somewhere between Parking and Depression. People are no longer even stressed about the work because they have been driven to the point of apathy. People clock in, do their job, and go home. They have no desire anymore to collaborate or problem solve and that makes me extremely sad. We need to get people back to the Performance zone and that is going to take time and patience because the foundation of that zone is trust. The foundation of Obolesky’s ‘four + four’ ideas are all about building a trusting, meaningful, and productive workforce. The trick though, is that when applying these theories on broken workforces, the trust is what needs to be rebuilt first. Nothing will be bought into or truly change until that happens. A more literal scope of the skill vs. will is that, “If people do not have the skill or the will to do the job, then it will not be done to the best effect.” (Obolesky, 2010)  If someone has the skill set required to do a job and are in the performance zone, we have a happy workforce. However, if we have workers who need a skill set to perform a task but are only given unclear expectations and are lacking the right tools for the job, we end up with a very stressed and unproductive workforce.

We do understand that in most environments, ambiguity is a reality. We try but cannot possibly predict every single variable. However, understanding this and planning as best as we can based on historical metrics will help a workforce and management to set themselves up for success. Unplanned downtime or roadblocks will happen, it’s making sure that each area has a mitigation plan that is clear and comprehensive. “It is easier to tolerate that which we understand, rather than that which we do not. And at the same time, we can understand that ambiguity and complexity are both natural and have some underlying laws. This makes it easier to embrace uncertainty.” (Obolesky, 2010)

Another empowering aspect that Obolesky talks about is the Freedom to Act. When senior leaders give their managers the freedom to make decisions about the areas they run it can be very successful…if there are clear expectations and consequences that the managers are held accountable to. The expectation aspect is covered with ‘A Few Simple Rules’ such as an area’s operations or documented standard work and the expected etiquette and cultural norms of the area (Which can change from work center to work center and shift to shift – it is a very multi-dimensional and organic thing.) “These measures allow people to see how they are contributing to the whole and the extent to which they are achieving objectives. It also gives them a systemic view of how their team/department/unit is doing within the context of the whole organization.” (Obolesky, 2010) In my organization, we are implementing a Fabrication Process System (FPS) that is being based on another business unit’s success. This FPS was rolled out last year as tact-time boards and other obtrusive things that really only meant more work for the area leads and managers. Every day the senior leaders would walk around in a group and nod their heads at the boards (Because they are in the shop and no one can really hear anything, even with a P.A. System.) and continue on. These boards were rolled out as belonging to the area, but the area was never involved in what these boards should have on them that would be a meaningful measurement of their success much less any other input. These boards were actually for the seniors and everyone knew/knows it. Currently, our leadership is trying to a do-over for this process having one model area that they are going to take the time to really document the standard work in the area, then standardize that across all shifts. Then, and only then, when they have standard work, can they start discovering and solving true problems. “There is a 'yin/yang' element to these principles. Having an inspiring purpose, giving people freedom to act whilst relying on their skill/will and having a high tolerance for ambiguity is a very 'yin' way of leading.” (Obolesky, 2010) I have high hopes, although I’m leaving to another business unit in less than a week. I am hoping to take these lessons learned with me though and do my best to not repeat mistakes I’ve seen take place at this organizations.

Reference:

Obolensky, N. (2010). Complex Adaptive Leadership. Burlington, VT; Gower Publishing Company.

A520.7.3.RB - Importance of Having a Coach and Mentor

A520.7.3.RB - Importance of Having a Coach and Mentor

Write a blog entry on the significance, importance, and/or impact of having a coach and/or a mentor to help you in your professional journey.

In my experience, having someone to guide you in life, whether at work, personally, or even spiritually, can make all the difference in our experiences. Since today is Mother’s Day, I’ll start with how our Mothers and family act as our first mentors and coaches. We learn from them how to walk, talk, use utensils, and other basic functions. That is more of their coaching roles. Our values and who we are at the core of our being was developed and mentored along by our Mothers and/or Fathers and immediate family. Depending on who that constant was in your life as a child, grandparents, aunts, uncles, they are who we either emulate with our values and beliefs or are completely different from…based on that experience.

Relating more to corporations in America, mentoring and coaching is like being able to leave a legacy of your best self to the company that you’ve invested your time and energies in. The tricky part with mentorships within the organization is that we all have things going on that seem to nudge out any extra time we think we have. “[P]eople say one of the most important keys to their success is having a mentor…it is hard to make it without a mentor and it takes too much time to mentor.” (Ayinde, 2011) So finding time and using it productively is really hard so establishing a meaningful mentor/mentee relationship is hard. But the value isn’t just in the wisdom shared but the entire experience for both parties.  “The value-added dimension is two ways. Mentors say they truly enjoy providing guidance and support and the opportunity to learn about another person’s perspective of the company.” (Zachary, 1997) Being a mentor allows you to look at what you’ve done and how you’ve had to get there. I think that mentoring someone also holds you accountable to being your best self. “Networked mentoring begins with the philosophy that everyone has something to teach, and everyone has something to learn.” (Emelo, 2011)

Coaching can be more useful for the here and now situations, it is task related and immediately helpful and relevant. Like in little league, the kids need someone who can explain the game, how they can score, and what rules by which they must abide. The same is true in corporate America. I once worked with a guy who said, “Tell me how to score points then I’ll tell you how I’m going to play the game.” That seems to me to be the essence of coaching. When I was reading the articles this week, they talked more about manager to manager coaching and while I think that is a wonderful idea, in reality, I see that our managers have so little time that it can hardly even be considered…in my organization anyway. The first line managers, who need the most coaching, seem to have so many responsibilities and not enough time to accomplish it all. Their bosses have the same problem. Executives who do have the time to coach or be coached, while they are making the bigger picture decisions, seem to need the coaching less. But, so it goes.

References:

Ayinde, A. (2011). Mentoring: Does it work? IFE Psychologia, 1-15.

Emelo, R. (2011). Conversations With Mentoring Leaders. T&D, 65, 32-37.

Zachary, L. (1997). Creating a Mentoring Culture. All About Mentoring, July 1997(11), 3-7.

A520.6.4.RB - Team Roles

A520.6.4.RB – Team Roles

Write a blog entry on task-facilitating and relationship-building roles. In your blog, reflect upon your understanding of how these roles enhance team performance.

•Consider how you generally relate as a team-member.

In meetings, I try to relate as both task-facilitating and relationship-building roles. It depends on what kind of meeting I am part of and what my role in the meeting is…am I a participant or the facilitator? It also depends on what my agenda is for the meeting and what I hope to accomplish with the time. There are times when I end up just running the laptop that runs the PowerPoint slides for a senior leadership meeting. When this is the case, I'm mostly invisible. When I have chanced a comment or question, people look at me like, “Oh…we forgot you were here.” Or “What? You’re not part of this…just click to the next slide.” Sometimes the role I relate to is that of projectionist. I think that perhaps when I am in this role that I should be more task-facilitating in an effort to keep the meeting on track.

•Do you actively engage your team to accomplish its mission?

I am not as actively engaging as I’d like to be when it comes to the team’s mission accomplishment. I feel very powerless in that respect because in many cases, I’m simply not heard. I do work closely with our team lead and he is very much engaged with our team’s mission accomplishment and so I think we all look to him for guidance. “Sometimes keeping the team “on task” is the most important thing you can do.” (Whetten, 2016) Sometimes, when it comes to new hires, I have some seniority and I try to include them in all of the tasks that we do and help them understand the “why” and not just the “how”. In this respect, I’m actively building the foundation for accomplishing our team’s mission.

•Do you work to improve the team cohesion and collaboration?

I am a big proponent of cross-functional teams so yes, I work to improve my team’s cohesion and collaboration. In this respect, I am more in a relationship-building role. We tend to get siloed as either “Extruded” or “Plate” sides and each team uses different metrics. This has been a constant inconsistency within our organization. In my relationship-building role I could work more toward helping my team be more internally cross-functional. “The key is to have a balance between task-oriented roles and relationship-building roles displayed in the team.” (Whetten, 2016)

References:

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