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The contemporary world of work characterizes neweropportunities,
ambiguous situations, and unendingchallenges at every corner.
Attaining synergy in thecorporate performance demands responding to
the
emerging opportunities, challenges, and situations
innovativelyyet from a unified orientation. Centralized decision
making andcontrol could be a solution but not practical in modern
daycomplex and dispersed organizations. Firstly, narrower
special-ization has made it difficult to impossible for one person
to bemaster of all. Secondly, dispersed scenario makes persons at
thecore less sensitive of the situation prevailing at the sharp
end.Thirdly, speed of response is critical while centralized
decision
making is bound to be less efficient. Finally, it fails to
infuseownership and commitment of all the stakeholders. As
analternate, empowering everyone would allow each employee toown
and execute his or her unique task innovatively yet from aunified
orientation as each of them would have shared sense
oforganizational directions, clarity of their respective roles
(valuethey should create) in a task and the responsibility
vis--visothers, have the requisite skills and adequate autonomy
Surprisingly yet often brilliant executives fail to do simple
taskswell. Even more surprisingly, at times mediocre executives
givebreakthrough performances. You must have noticed thephenomena
at your work with so many executives. If not, thenprobably you are
ignorant of the people around you. Adminis-
trators and supervisors keep asking, why so? Most commonly,they
explain the problem either as inadequate motivation orlack of
professional commitment. If they only take a broaderview of it,
they would surely be able to unravel the real prob-lem. This
article presents a broader analysis of the phenomenawith a view to
aid both the executives and their administratorsharness executive
performance frontiers to newer heights.
To begin with, let us explore the significance of
executivesproductive and unproductive performances in the real
world ofwork. The most common justification of executive
compensa-tion is that their performance is catalyst for making
othersperformance productive. This follows that the
detrimentaleffect of one single wrong decision of an executive is
alwaysgeometric, for it deters otherwise productive performance
of
so many other employees and cumulatively it deters
organiza-tional productivity by a much greater proportion and vice
versa.
The adjacent grid analyzes basis of executive involvement.
Theunderlying assumption here is, higher the involvement higherwill
be the productivity and vice versa. Theoretically,
executiveinvolvement is clustered into four categories on the basis
ofempowerment and concern for performance. Quadrant [1]represents
low empowerment and low concern. The resultingexecutive involvement
is considered to remain cursory. Quad-rant [2] represents high
empowerment and low concern. Itgenerally restricts executive
involvement to the ceremonial levelonly. Quadrant [3] represents
high empowerment and highconcern. Obviously, here executive
involvement is predicted at
its maximum. Quadrant [4] represents low empowerment andlow
concern, which leads to despaired executive involvement.
Unraveling the Concern for PerformanceConcern for performance is
much related to executives
perspective on the ownership and responsibility of a
task.Whether the executive has right work attitude and motiva-tion
is the most critical question, which can provide answerto a
particular executive stance on ownership and responsi-bility in a
situation. Attitude can be described on a conti-nuum. At one
extreme it is introvert while on the otherextreme it is extrovert.
Here the term introvert refers to anattitude that restricts
executives ownership and responsibil-ity only to the extent it
benefits his or her own interests suchas secure status quo and/or
improve upon his or her organi-zational position, relationships and
image. Any responsibil-ity beyond this point is not his or her
responsibility.
The term extrovert refers to the opposite attitude. Here
theexecutive values efficacy, attention to details, and
fulfillmentof purpose as real accomplishments rather than
onlypersonal gratification. It goes without saying that the
formerattitude inhabits involvement while the latter induces
needfor higher involvement. Motivation is second but notsecondary
variable that affects executive involvement. Asuperficial
motivation that primarily controls instrumentalbehaviors hardly
induces executives involvement beyondpersonal gains or
gratifications. On the contrary, harnessedmotivation instills
rationality in executives perspectiveleading to higher degree of
ownership and responsibilitythus higher involvement. The concept of
motivation is alsodiscussed under empowerment as it is seen as an
overarch-ing phenomenon.
Harnessing the Frontiersof Executive Productivity
by Sohailuddin Alavi
TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
Low Concern High Concern for Performance for Performance
DespairedExecutiveInvolvement
CursoryExecutiveInvolvement
MaximizedExecutiveInvolvement
CeremonialExecutiveInvolvement
HighEmpowerment
LowEmpowerment
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Understanding EmpowermentEmpowered individuals have higher
chances to make just andrational decisions and take right actions.
Empowering people atthe work place is not synonymous to synergy but
surely an
essential prerequisite to instilling synergy in the work place.
Letus start by exploring the truth of empowering people.
Ironicallymisnomers and partial understanding of the term
abound;many a times it is considered as giving authority to
makedecisions. Sometimes empowering is even considered
asindependence at the individual level. If we analyze the
firstassumption we find that it can actually make the
individualsperformance chaotic and dysfunctional. How? The
explanationis simple. You give a child authority to drive car.
Though thechild would have legitimate access to the car and might
alsoknow how to drive but because he or she is still a child you
cantexpect safe driving. The same holds good when organizations,
ina sincere attempt to empower their employees, delegate author-ity
to them to make decisions but they are not mature enough to
do it. Empowering in letter and spirit is state of
employeeperformance when he or she fully understands the demands
andrepercussions of the task; possesses the requisite skills to do
it;and has optimal control on the process. Understanding of
thecontext and the skills to do the task is Job-competence;
controlon the process is Job-autonomy. At this point we may
gener-alize that empowerment is a relative concept ones
demonstratedempowerment in one situation does suggest that the
person isempowered for all other situations and/or tasks.
To unravel the impact of empowering on inidividuals perfor-mance
let us revisit the empowerment grid. It has four quad-rants, each
representing different performance scenarios.Quadrant-1 represents
a scenario in which the incumbent has
no competence and no autonomy that leads to nonperfor-mance.
Quadrant-2 represents a scenario in which the incum-bent has
relevant competence but lacks autonomy. This tendsto result in
minimal performance. Quadrant-3 represents ascenario in which the
incumbent has no competence but isgiven autonomy. This generally
ends up causing dysfunctionalperformance. Quadrant-4 represents a
scenario where theincumbent demonstrates competence and has
adequateautonomy. It is this scen- ario that promises synergistic
perfor-mance. On the basis of above analysis, we can say that
individu-als performance is likely to be at its best for the fact
thatquadrant-4 represents absolute empowerment scenario.
Whileindividuals performance in other quadrants is
compromised,dysfunctional and nonexistent for the fact that
empowerment
scenario is unbalanced in case of quadrant 2 and 3
andnonexistent in case of quadrant 1.
Barriers to Empowering People1. Hierarchical Culture All tasks
are done by the boss.
Every other person has no job but to assist the boss in
doing his or her job.2. Lack of shared organizational
directions3. Unclear roles and responsibilities4. Tightly
controlled job design5. Personification6. Self interest
Task Competence AnalysisCompetence per se is the ability to
execute a particular task inparticular situation. Thus the concept
of competence is relative:an individual may have the competence to
perform a task butmay not have the competence to perform other
tasks. Forinstance and contrary to the general misnomer, an
individualmay have good competence to perform as sales person but
ifasked to manage a group of sales persons he or she is likely
tofail unless has administrative competence as well. Similarly
anindividuals competence to perform a task can change depend-ing
upon the context. Simply put, an individual who can executea task
in normal work conditions may not do so if the condi-tions change.
For instance, a bank teller may be able to do his or
her job quite diligently throughout the month but fails
toperform when the counter is full of customers during the
firstweek. MASK describes the contours of a task competence.
Motivation as a term is much loosely used to refer to as a asa
generalized basis of performance or performance defi-ciency. In
precise terms: motivation is a manifestation ofindividuals set of
motives that shape his or her behavior in aparticular situation.
The motives can be needs (and desires),values, fear, fun or even
following the trend. Urge to fulfillneeds (and desires) is
generally considered single mostcommon source of motivation. Going
beyond the visible, wesee that in many situations, people
demonstrate motivationbecause it is their value to respond in a
particular way or they
Low Job Autonomy HighLow
JobCom
petence
High
Path toEmpowerment
1:1
5:5
9:9 EmpowermentPar Excellence Minimal
performanceSynergistic
performance
Nonperformance
Dysfunctionalperformance
NoCompeten
ce
Competence
No Autonomy Autonomy
2
1 3
4
Foundations of Empowerment
Task Competence (MASK) Task Autonomy- Harnessed Motivation-
Realistic Attitude- Relevant Skills
- Knowledge (Rationality)
- Input control
- Throughput control
- Output control
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simply enjoy doing it. People also demonstrate motivationwhen
they decide to follow the crowd or fear of being leftbehind if they
do not behave in a particular manner.
Unlike general misunderstanding that some are motivatedwhile
others are not, whether motivation is harnessed or nothas stronger
correlation with empowerment. Harnessedmotivation is a state of
contentment and satisfaction. Herethe individuals motivations are
fairly rationalized and in
control. Hence the satisfaction level remains high. Besides,
theindividual is also able to cherish his or her past
achievementsthat instill confidence. The relationship between
harnessedmotivation and empowerment is positive, for it
allowsindividuals to make decisions rationally and act rightly.
Attitude is the spontaneous response to a situation.
Simplystated, it is what we do and how we do it rather
instinctively. Alot of attitude depends on the perception. As a
general rule, it isargued that if one maintains positive perception
his or herattitude will remain positive and vice versa. The
argument is validprima-face, however, in reality at times it leads
to wishful think-ing. The Gurus of positive attitude even go to the
extent thatpositive attitude can turn impossible into possible. The
thinkingwhether with positive attitude one can do the impossible or
not,this sort of thinking is nothing but a departure from
reality.Alternatively, we can describe positive attitude as an
ability totake on opportunities and challenges realistically. In
other words,positive attitude should empower individuals to take on
oppor-tunities and face challenges in an informed manner by
acknowl-edging the responsibility for actions; separating the
possiblefrom impossible; keeping hope for better; and, last but not
theleast, accepting and analyzing the fate (outcome) realistically.
Inprecise terms, realistic attitude is at the core of
empowerment.
Skills refer to the theoretical knowhow and hands on practiceof
performing a task. A child may feel confident to ride abicycle by
watching his elder brother riding it. Can he do it? Theanswer is
not until he practices to do so. This follows thatperhaps by
observing other person one can develop know howbut to perform one
must also gain hands on practice. In a classroom training
environment, what trainees can acquire the mostis know- how unless
they are given the opportunity to do handson practice. Therefore,
it is important that skills trainingsessions must focus on building
the process knowhow andpracticing to perform.
Knowledge refers to knowing the context in which task is tobe
performed. Example: in a factory the production was much
time bound, which many a times forced the factory
admin-istration to schedule extra shifts and overtime.
However,every time extra shift or over time was planned and
theemployees duties were scheduled accordingly they resen-ted by
absconding from work. Initially, the administrationconsidered this
behavior more of a disciplinary problembut later, they invited a
psychologist from outside to probeinto this. The findings were
amazingly different. Accordingto the psychologist, employees
absconded from workduring planned extra shifts and overtime because
theywere not given the underlying reasons and were left toassume
the same on their own. Consequently, they beganto consider extra
shifts and overtime nothing but a whim-sical practice meant to make
workers life difficult. As theadministration started to reason with
the workers everytime they had to plan an extra shift or overtime
theirinvolvement and commitment improved dramatically. Thisfollows
that skills training does suffice alone. Individualsmust be given
full background of the task. Such as, howthis task is connected to
the business goals of the organi-zation; what is the significance
of doing this taskefficiently and effectively with reference to
overall produc-tivity of the department and of the organization as
awhole; what are the costs and risks involved if the task isnot
done properly; etc. In short, developing a strategicperspective of
each individual employee is critical for hisor her empowerment.
Task Autonomy AnalysisAutonomy refers to the extent of control
an individual hason the task execution process. As a general rule,
greater thecontrol greater will be the empowerment. Job design
ispivotal in affecting the control. Control in a job can
beincreased by integrating the tasks forward, backward andupwards.
The former technically refers to job or task enrich-ment while the
latter refers to job or task enlargement.
Backward enrichment involves merging the input processes
while forward enrichment refers to merging the nextprocesses
into the given job, thus expanding the scope andcontents of the job
horizontally. A good example of back-ward job enrichment is to add
on product designing task withthe existing product development
task. Forward job enrich-ment is to add on product testing task
with the existing prod-uct development task. Allowing the person
executing the jobto also make decisions is an example of job
enlargement.Furthermore, bigger tasks (projects) need to be split
intoidentifiable smaller tasks (deliverables) and assigned to
differ-ent individuals, allowing them to own and have
reasonablecontrol over their respective deliverables.
In an effort to instill autonomy, two considerations are
important while enlarging and enriching the job. Firstly
coor-dination and secondly control of the overall departmental
ororganizational processes.
ConclusionEmpowering people is critical for attaining synergy
across thedepartment and organization. However, simply increasing
theautonomy of the job alone will only create chaos.
Likewise,developing the competence without giving autonomy at
workcreates nothing but frustration and withdrawal. A
balancedapproach to empowering is recommended whereby anindividuals
competence and job autonomy are increasedproportionately and
gradually as the employee moves alongthe learning curve.
Dissatisfied
Satisfied
Contented
Discontented
DesponalentHyper
Hamessed Fence Sitter
