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Leadership Training

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Motivating through Delegating and Empowering Staff Page 2

Leadership Training

Motivating through Delegating and Empowering Staff

Syd Strike Training Solutions

Yarm House, 2 Hawkridge, Close Stockton-on –Tees, TS17 0QS Tel: 01642 767913 Fax: 01642 764878

Email: [email protected] www.sydstrike.co.uk

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The purpose of this module is to help

you to build a highly motivated team


PERFORMANCE

Develop pride in performance

It is a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it

Being autocratic is quicker and easier but it results in

catastrophic failure

John Harvey-Jones


Empower

verb (used with object) 1. to give power or authority to; authorize, especially by legal or official means: I empowered my agent to make the deal for me. The local ... Dictionery.com

Empowering employees is about letting employees make decisions that relate directly to their job. It is the opposite of micro managing. And perhaps it is not something you should be giving to your employees. Rather you should consider creating an environment where staff feel empowered, able to make decisions that are good for your customer and benefit the organisation. Employee empowerment releases employees to make decisions about their jobs. It creates employee ownership of their jobs and it releases your team members to serve your organisation and your customers to a standard that exceeds your expectations. Creating an environment that motivates and empowers:

Show that you value people in every decision you make Show that you value people by your actions Involve your team in your vision and goal setting and listen to their ideas Create a climate where mistakes are rectified without blaming – avoid a

blame culture Trust people – it is possible to display trust and keep people accountable Delegate developmentally and strategically Facilitate rather than tell – avoid being the expert Do more listening than talking Reward positive actions and behaviour


Motivation

Definitions

Thought patterns with feelings and values which predict behaviour.

Motivation is the will to act. We are all motivated by different

factors. Releasing people potential

Motivation is the use of energy to try to achieve some state which seems more desirable to the Individual concerned

“You don’t motivate people; you create the environment for them to motivate themselves” “In the end the only truly effective motivation is internal or self motivation”

First among equals

A good attitude for any boss


Motivators are the ‘whys’ of behaviour. They arouse and maintain activity and determine the general direction of the behaviour of an individual. In essence, motives, or needs, are the mainsprings of action – something within an individual that prompts that person to action

Remember that different people are motivated in different ways Behaviour is based not only on motives but on the situation Therefore: Behaviour = Motivation x situation Part of the manager’s role is to affect the situation to best suit the motives of the individuals. As a manager you don’t motivate people you create the right circumstances for them to be self-motivated.

There are many theories about what motivates people. One of the best known is that of social psychologist Abraham Maslow.

Abraham Harold Maslow (1908-1970) was an American psychologist and leading exponent of humanistic psychology. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and educated at the City College of New York and the University of Wisconsin. Maslow spent most of his teaching career at Brandeis University. Judging orthodox behaviourism and psychoanalysis to be too rigidly theoretical and concerned with illness, he developed a theory of motivation describing the process by which an individual progresses from basic needs such as food and sex to the highest needs of what he called self-actualization—the fulfilment of one's greatest human potential. Humanistic psychotherapy, usually in the form of group therapy, is designed to help the individual progress through these stages. Maslow's writings include Toward a Psychology of Being (1962) and Farther Reaches of Human Nature (1971).


Maslow believed that all people pass through a hierarchy of needs. These needs he places in a triangle with the most basic at the bottom of the triangle as follows:

Self-Actualisation Recognition Status (identity with a group) Safety (Security, health) Physiological (Food, shelter, warmth)

We cannot assume that his ideas are right or that they are right for employees of the twenty first century. However it will do no harm to consider any aspects of motivation that will work as a catalyst to promote managers to begin thinking about what it is that makes their teams tick.


Herzberg: Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction

Frederick Herzberg asked many people in different jobs at different levels two questions:

What factors lead you to experience extreme dissatisfaction with your job?

What factors lead you to experience extreme satisfaction with your job? He collated the answers and displayed them as depicted below.

Extreme Dissatisfaction Extreme Satisfaction

50% 40 30 20 10 0 10 20 30 40 50%

ACHIEVEMENT

RECOGNITION

WORK

RESPONSIBILITY

ADVANCEMENT

GROWTH

COMPANY POLICY

SUPERVISION

CONDITIONS

SALARY

PEER

PERSONAL

SUBORDINATES

STATUS

SECURITY


1. Dissatisfaction.

The factors on the left of the chart show than in general these factors tend to cause dissatisfaction rather than satisfaction. Further investigation showed that the dissatisfaction was only present where the factor e.g. salary was not fulfilling the expectation of the employee. If the factor was changed to the employee’s expectation, it merely disappeared as a source of unhappiness. Another important point to note in these factors is that they are all concerned with what is done to or for an employee or is concerned with relationships over which they do not have full control.

2. Satisfaction.

Factors on the right of the chart have little to do with money and status. They have much to do with achievement and responsibility and are concerned with the job content i.e. the things that people do at work. These factors were identified as providing the greatest satisfaction at work. The moral for managers is clear – pay particular attention to the kind of tasks you expect people to do as job satisfaction comes from our involvement in doing what we think is challenging and worthwhile.


Frederick Herzberg – Hygiene Theory HYGIENE = Medical Meaning = (Preventive and Environmental)

1st Category - Hygiene factors: Environment (People’s environment serves the

primary function of preventing job dissatisfaction)

Policies Administration Rules and regulations - Produce no growth in worker output capacity

Supervision Only prevent losses in worker performance due to work restriction

Working Conditions Working hours, workplace layout, facilities and equipment provided for the job

Interpersonal Relations The level and type of interpersonal relations within the individual’s working environment

Salary and benefits Basic income, fringe benefits, bonuses, holidays etc

Status Rank, authority, job title

Job Security The degree of confidence that the employee has regarding continued employment

2nd Category – Motivators: Job Itself

Achievement Effective in motivating people to superior performance

Recognition for accomplishment

The acknowledgement of achievements by senior staff member helps enhance self esteem

Challenging Work Job provides positive, satisfying pleasure to employee

Increased Responsibility The opportunity to exercise authority

Advancement Promotion, progress and rising rewards for achievement

Hygiene needs, when satisfied, tend to eliminate dissatisfaction and work restrictions, but do little to motivate an individual to superior performance or increased capacity. Satisfaction of the motivators however will permit an individual to grow in a mature way, often encouraging an increase in ability.

Maslow is helpful in identifying needs or motives.

Herzberg provides an insight into goals and incentives which satisfy those needs.

One of the most important skills of the effective manager is his or her ability to apply the energy of the team to achieve organisational objectives. People differ not only in


their ability to do, but also in their ‘will to do’, or motivation. The motivation of people depends on the strength of their motives. Motives are sometimes defined as needs, wants, drives, or impulses within the individual.

David C McClelland's motivational needs theory

American David Clarence McClelland (1917-98) achieved his doctorate in psychology at Yale in 1941 and became professor at Wesleyan University. He then taught and lectured, including a spell at Harvard from 1956, where with colleagues for twenty years he studied particularly motivation and the achievement need. He began his McBer consultancy in 1963, helping industry assess and train staff, and later taught at Boston University, from 1987 until his death. David McClelland pioneered workplace motivational thinking, developing achievement-based motivational theory and models, and promoted improvements in employee assessment methods, advocating competency-based assessments and tests, arguing them to be better than traditional IQ and personality-based tests.

David McClelland is most noted for describing three types of motivational need, which he identified in his 1988 book, Human Motivation:

achievement motivation (n-ach) authority/power motivation (n-pow) affiliation motivation (n-affil)

McClelland believed that these needs are found to varying degrees in all workers and managers, and this mix of motivational needs characterises a person's or manager's style and behaviour, both in terms of being motivated, and in the management and motivation others.

The need for achievement (n-ach)

The n-ach person is 'achievement motivated' and therefore seeks achievement, attainment of realistic but challenging goals, and advancement in the job. There is a strong need for feedback as to achievement and progress, and a need for a sense of accomplishment.

The need for authority and power (n-pow)

The n-pow person is 'authority motivated'. This driver produces a need to be influential, effective and to make an impact. There is a strong need to lead and for their ideas to prevail. There is also motivation and need towards increasing personal status and prestige.


The need for affiliation (n-affil)

The n-affil person is 'affiliation motivated', and has a need for friendly relationships and is motivated towards interaction with other people. The affiliation driver produces motivation and need to be liked and held in popular regard. These people are team players.

McClelland said that most people possess and exhibit a combination of these characteristics. Some people exhibit a strong bias to a particular motivational need and this motivational or needs 'mix' consequently affects their behaviour and working/managing style. Mcclelland suggested that a strong n-affil 'affiliation-motivation' undermines a manager's objectivity, because of their need to be liked, and that this affects a manager's decision-making capability. A strong n-pow 'authority-motivation' will produce a determined work ethic and commitment to the organisation, and while n-pow people are attracted to the leadership role, they may not possess the required flexibility and people-centred skills. McClelland argues that n-ach people with strong 'achievement motivation' make the best leaders, although there can be a tendency to demand too much of their staff in the belief that they are all similarly and highly achievement-focused and results driven, which of course most people are not.

McClelland's particular fascination was for achievement motivation, and this laboratory experiment illustrates one aspect of his theory about the effect of achievement on people's motivation. McClelland asserted via this experiment that while most people do not possess a strong achievement-based motivation, those who do, display a consistent behaviour in setting goals:

Volunteers were asked to throw rings over pegs rather like the fairground game; no distance was stipulated, and most people seemed to throw from arbitrary, random distances, sometimes close, sometimes farther away. However a small group of volunteers, whom McClelland suggested were strongly achievement-motivated, took some care to measure and test distances to produce an ideal challenge - not too easy, and not impossible. Interestingly a parallel exists in biology, known as the 'overload principle', which is commonly applied to fitness and exercising, i.e., in order to develop fitness and/or strength the exercise must be sufficiently demanding to increase existing levels, but not so demanding as to cause damage or strain. McClelland identified the same need for a 'balanced challenge' in the approach of achievement-motivated people.

McClelland contrasted achievement-motivated people with gamblers, and dispelled a common pre-conception that n-ach 'achievement-motivated' people are big risk takers. On the contrary - typically, achievement-motivated


individuals set goals which they can influence with their effort and ability, and as such the goal is considered to be achievable. This determined results-driven approach is almost invariably present in the character make-up of all successful business people and entrepreneurs.

McClelland suggested other characteristics and attitudes of achievement-motivated people:

achievement is more important than material or financial reward. achieving the aim or task gives greater personal satisfaction than

receiving praise or recognition. financial reward is regarded as a measurement of success, not an end in

itself. security is not prime motivator, nor is status. feedback is essential, because it enables measurement of success, not

for reasons of praise or recognition (the implication here is that feedback must be reliable, quantifiable and factual).

achievement-motivated people constantly seek improvements and ways of doing things better.

achievement-motivated people will logically favour jobs and responsibilities that naturally satisfy their needs, i.e. offer flexibility and opportunity to set and achieve goals, e.g., sales and business management, and entrepreneurial roles.

McClelland firmly believed that achievement-motivated people are generally the ones who make things happen and get results, and that this extends to getting results through the organisation of other people and resources, although as stated earlier, they often demand too much of their staff because they prioritise achieving the goal above the many varied interests and needs of their people.

Courtesy of business balls .com

All things are difficult before they are easy

John Norley


The price of greatness is responsibility

Winston Churchill


3 types of motivators

Achievement motivation Affiliation motivation Power motivation

Achievement motivation - People who are motivated by the need to

achieve - the need to outperform others In order to increase the motivation of these people create situations where they can:

Set challenging goals Take moderate risks Take personal responsibility Receive feedback See results

These people tend to choose experts to work with rather than friends Affiliation motivation – people who are motivated by the friendship

factor – they want to establish friendships They are concerned about separation or disruption of relationships

In order to increase the motivation of these people create situations where they can:

Have many friends Keep in touch – letters emails phone etc Work in groups Meet with colleagues outside of work Participate in team projects

These people tend to choose friends rather than experts to work with Power Motivation - Need to feel and be perceived as strong and

influential In order to increase the motivation of these people create situations where they can:


Enjoy status Be Competitive Influence others Be involved in negotiating goals, tasks and project leadership Identify with the boss

The Hawthorne Experiments

General Electric, the major manufacturer of light bulbs, had preliminary evidence that better lighting of the work place improved worker productivity, but wanted to validate these findings to sell more light bulbs, especially to businesses. GE funded the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Sciences to conduct an impartial study. AT&T's Western Electric Hawthorne plant located in Cicero, Illinois, was chosen as the laboratory. Beginning with this early test, the “Hawthorne Experiments” were a series of studies into worker productivity performed at the Cicero plant beginning in 1924 and ceasing in 1932.

Illumination Studies, 1924 -1927

Two work groups of female employees were selected for “control” and “experimental” groups. By comparing the changes on worker productivity by manipulating lighting in the experimental group with the production of the control group, the researchers could validate and measure the impact of lighting. The study, however, failed to find any simple relationship as poor lighting and improved lighting seemed to increase productivity. In the final stage, when the researchers pretended to increase lighting the worker group reported higher satisfaction.

George Pennock, Western Electric’s superintendent of inspection suggested that the reason for increased worker productivity was simply that the researchers interacted with the female employees; and, this was the first time any one had shown an interest in the workers. Basically, the workers were trying to please the researchers by continuing to increase their output and report satisfaction in the study, no matter what the intervention was. Later, the phenomenon of a researcher corrupting an experiment simply by his presence would be termed the “Hawthorne effect”.

Relay Assembly Test Room Experiments, 1927-1929

The NRC started an experiment to probe the unexpected findings of the Illumination study but would depart in 1927, at which time Western Electric continued the project drawing on support from Harvard researchers. An experimental group was established of five young women from the Relay Assembly room of the plant. The experiments involved the manipulation of a number of factors, to include pay incentives, length of workday and workweek, and use of rest periods, to measure impact on productivity and fatigue. Again, the relationship between pay, incentives, rest, and working hours seemed to have little effect on productivity, even when the original, more demanding conditions were re-implemented.


Mica-Splitting Test group, 1928 – 1930

Disturbed by the inconclusive evidence that rewards and incentives improved worker performance, a second experiment was conducted to look only at this relationship using workers in the Mica-Splitting Room. In his experiment the workers’ piece wages were held constant while work conditions were varied. Productivity increased by about 15%. The researchers concluded that productivity was affected by non-pay considerations. Members of the research team began to develop the theory that social dynamics were the basis of worker performance.

Plant-wide Interview program, 1928-1931

As early findings indicated that concern for workers and willingness to listen impacted productivity, Western Electric implemented a plant-wide survey of employees to record their concerns and grievances. From 1928 to 1930, 21,000 employees were interviewed. This data would support the research of the Harvard team for years and lead them to conclude that work improved when supervisors began to pay attention to employees, that work takes place in a social context in which work and non-work considerations are important, norms and groups matter to workers.

Bank Wiring Observation group, 1931-1932

The final Hawthorne experiment was conducted studying 14 male workers assigned to the Bank Wiring factory. The objective was to study the dynamics of the group when incentive pay was introduced. The finding was that nothing happened! The work group had established a work “norm” – a shared expectation about how much work should be performed in a day and stuck to it, regardless of pay. The conclusion: informal groups operate in the work environment to manage behaviour.

Importance of the Hawthorne Plant Studies

Despite modern criticism that the research was flawed and that incentives played a larger role in improving worker productivity than the Hawthorne plant researchers concluded. These studies changed the landscape of management. Worker productivity would, henceforth, be interpreted predominately in the United States in terms of social group dynamics, motivation, leadership, and “human relations”. The manager was an immediate part of the social system in which work is performed, responsible for leading, motivating, communicating, and designing the social milieu in which work takes place.


"No man is fit to command another that cannot command himself."

William Penn

If you want to be miserable believe that you and the world ought to be perfect


Positivity

Self - fulfilling prophecy

What messages should we giving out?

Enjoy the journey

The domino effect When we are negative our negativity passes on to our team members and eventually to our customers The good news is that the same principle applies to positive behaviour So use the domino effect

positively


“ If you want to do Something You find a way. If you don’t want to do anything you find an excuse”

Operating above the line Can do attitude Positive language Looking for solutions Owning the problem Taking action that can be taken ________________________________ Negative attitude Negative language Sense of despair Waiting for someone to solve the problem Becoming destructive and rebellious


Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts

Sir Winston Churchill

"I not only use all the brains I have, but all I can borrow."

Woodrow Wilson

"Behind an able man there are always other able men."

Chinese Proverb

"It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit."

President Harry S Truman

“Treat people with dignity and give them voice. That’s a

message that translates around the globe”

Jack Welch Former CEO of GE


Just for fun!

THE DONKEY

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbours to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbours continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off! Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a steppingstone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up. Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred - Forgive. 2. Free your mind from worries - Most never happen. 3. Live simply and appreciate what you have. 4. Give more. 5. Expect less NOW -------- Enough of that rubbish!

The donkey later came back, and bit the farmer who had tried to bury him. The gash from the bite got infected, and the farmer eventually died in agony from septic shock. MORAL FROM TODAY'S LESSON: When you do something wrong, and try to cover your ass, it always comes back to bite you.


“You build strong teams by treating individuals differently”

Jack Welch (Former CEO of GE)

"I praise loudly. I blame softly."

Catherine the Great, 1729-1796

Tools to help you You will find below some tools you may use with your team. These are tried and tested techniques for getting people thinking, moving and working together. We will discuss them during the training course but if you are keen to get started and would like some help please give Syd a call.


Team Satisfaction Score

Part 1 Issue team members with small piece of paper – say a ‘post it’ Ask them to write a score on the paper to say how happy they are at work on

a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being extremely happy Ask them to fold the paper and give it you in order to maintain anonymity Part 2 Explain that the average score tends to be 7 Explain that 8 or above is good given that it’s not a perfect world and

therefore the person scoring 8 or over may well have to make some personal adjustment to be that happy

Explain that a low score is not necessarily the fault of the employee but it does suggest that some action may need to be taken by the employee – not management

Suggest that people with scores of 7 or under should discuss their dissatisfactions with their manager and endeavour to gain more job satisfaction in their roles

Explain that people with extremely low scores – say 4 and under should question whether or not they are in the right job

Part 3 Take the slips of paper and then total the scores and calculate the average

for the group Tell the group the average score Part 4 Leave the group alone and ask people to make a list on the flip chart of

actions that you as a manager can take to help raise the collective score Explain that you will be able to resolve some issues and that you can pass

others on to higher management Part 5 Deal with the issues


What motivates you?

Rank order the following motivators in order of importance

Money The opportunity to be able to be paid what you are worth

Appreciation Recognition for a job well done

Job security The knowledge that you will still have a job in five or ten years time

Being kept informed about what is happening within the organisation Regular reports from the boss, team meetings and briefings

Promotion The opportunity to better yourself

Boss that cares Knowing that the boss is genuinely interested in what happens – You see him or her and he or she asks about what you do

Working conditions Good canteen facilities, well lit factory, modern equipment etc

A company that treats its employees well Good holidays, sick pay, schemes, welfare etc

Being listened to Opportunity to speak to the boss on a regular basis and to know that your ideas and concerns are treated seriously

Job satisfaction A job that provides positive, satisfying pleasure

Achievement Reaching or exceeding objectives and the opportunity to continue achieving

Status A job where you feel important and can demonstrate your achievement

Leadership that is fair and just Knowing that your boss treats everyone fairly even if he or she has to be firm


ELEMENTS OF AN EFFECTIVE TEAM

TEAM

GOOD LEADERSHIP That is leadership that gives confidence and motivation to the team

DEFINED GOALS The team has a purpose and a clear sense of direction.

COMMUNICATION Clear communication from the leader and across the team

ACHIEVEMENT Results oriented and credibility within the organisation

SATISFACTION Contented members - "people who are happy perform better".

MATURITY Childish attitudes and behaviour can disrupt the team

SKILLS That is the necessary technical skills relating to the function of the team.

TRUST That is trust that is gained by developing an understanding of the team members' needs, priorities, aspirations, strengths weaknesses, etc.

CO-OPERATION Co-operation within the team and across departments. A willingness to share resources and information.

.


Creating a positive culture

Culture Questionnaire

Never Some

times Often Always

1 Is your workplace a comfortable place to work?

2 Is your workplace a safe place to work?

3 Do the people in your department or on your shift work as a team?

4 Are people who work in other departments helpful?

5 Do the people you work with you usually do their best to get the job done without complaining?

6 If you make a mistake at work do you get support from your manager?

7 Do you get praise from your boss when you do a good job?

8 Does your supervisor or manager listen to your ideas?

9 Do you think that your boss treats you fairly?

10 Does your boss encourage you to use your initiative

11 Do you think that most people in your company behave in a positive manner?

12 Do you feel that you are put under too much stress at work?


Don’t just sit there – Do something!

Now it’s time to get back to work and start building your motivated team…. After we have considered delegation!


DELEGATING

Delegate – representative – send as deputy – entrust Delegating is not the same as allocating work to a person. Allocating work means that you ask a person to do tasks that he or she would normally do as part of the person’s job. Giving a person work to do because you are too busy is not delegating and neither is passing on work that you may consider too menial for you to undertake. Delegating may involve helping you to ease your workload and sometimes your employee may be required to do menial tasks. However delegating is about doing all of these things in a way that is developmental for your employee. Many people do not feel comfortable with delegating. Usually the reasons are about their feelings. They do not feel comfortable handing important work to someone who is not trained or they feel threatened if someone else can perform the job as well as they can. Others feel awkward having to ask someone else to do the less important work. The reason for these feelings may well be that people do not understand the real purpose of delegating. Delegating should be a means of: Developing members of your team. Ensuring the smooth running of the department in your absence. Helping you achieve your work objectives. Motivating your team. Investing in the future. There is no doubt that to delegate effectively will take time and effort. In the long term this will be a worthwhile investment. The following guidelines may help you prepare to delegate: Determine why you wish to delegate. There should be very positive reasons

for delegating. Trying to shift menial work to someone else will likely end up producing a poor quality job.

Determine which tasks you wish to delegate. These should be a mixture of mundane and quality tasks.

Select the right person(s). Aim to be altruistic; that is to endeavour to help others develop during the

delegating process.


Discuss the task. Take time to explain. Encourage the other person to ask questions.

Agree standards and deadlines. Monitor, advise and support Review. Allow time to learn from each situation and experience. Train when training is required. This may involve working with the other

person and observing her/him at work before you finally release him/her to the task.

Give credit and praise. Delegate the whole task and provide resources. Delegate – Don’t Dump Remember to delegate effectively is to reward someone

Don’t delegate to: Poor performers – these people need coaching and training People who do not want development – these people may require support

and will require feedback Negative employees – these people may require feedback and coaching People you can not trust – you may need to spend more time with these

people to build relationship and deal with issues

Communicating when delegating: Explain what you would like the person to do and why Explain how this will benefit the organisation Explain how this will benefit the individual Ask the employee how he or she feels? Does the person have any concerns? – deal with these Take the person through the task you intend to delegate Encourage questions and remember – there are no stupid questions – only

stupid answers Check the person has understood the task Agree standards Set deadlines Offer support Make sure the person has the required resources Arrange for a review meeting to check on progress Leave the person alone until the review meeting Respond quickly if he or she asks for support


Leadership styles Various authors and authorities on leadership will give differing views on how to manage and how to communicate effectively with employees. Consider the following styles of leading and communicating. Which is best for the smooth running of your business? The answer is that there is no one best way and that you may operate differently at different times and for different reasons. For example you may be more controlling if a person is new to the job. How you lead a person may depend upon a person’s readiness to accomplish a task. If readiness is high then you may operate with a less controlling style in favour of a style based more on relationship. In some situations it is appropriate to let go of ownership and let the employee get on with the job – a more delegating style of leadership.

Autocratic

Coaching Facilitating


Four Leadership Styles Autocratic/controlling The leader is autocratic and tells the team member what to do, how to do it, when etc. The team member is not allowed to think or make decisions. This style of leadership can be appropriate in an emergency situation or when dealing with a very new employee. Coaching/supporting This style of leadership allows the team member to communicate, get involved in ideas. The team leader keeps a close eye on the employee providing coaching until the employee is ready to work more independently. Facilitating Here the team leader gives the job to the team members and leaves them to get on with it. The leader encourages the team members to contribute to ideas and guides them towards making their own decisions rather than telling them what to do. Empowering This is handing over responsibility to the employee and letting the employee make decisions relating to her or his job.


Some thoughts for consideration…

Empower Give authority or power to Give strength and confidence to Oxford English Dictionary

Learn to

adjust your

style

Tells Persuades Encourages ideas Empowers

Boss Centred Employee Centred


Four levels of operating based on Stephen Covey’s ‘Principle Centred Leadership’

Level 4 Alignment Company

culture

Level 3

Empowerment Releasing

people potential

Level 2 Interpersonal

Trust

Level 1 Personal

Trustworthiness

PRAISE

Never miss an opportunity to say

‘Thank you’ or ‘Well done’

Facilitating skills

A GOOD LEADER

When his/her work is done…..

They will say

“We did this ourselves”


FACILITATING - DEFINITIONS

The word facilitate comes form the Latin Facilis which means ‘to make easy’. Some definitions from the dictionary are:

To free from difficulties and obstacles To make easy To lesson the labour of To render easier To promote Help forward

Several attempts have been offered to provide better definitions for work based facilitation. Some of them are:

Facilitation is about empowering people to take control and responsibility for

their own efforts. Facilitation is about detachment. Facilitation is about drawing out rather than giving input. Facilitation is interrogative discussion helping the group or individual to take

ownership of, and solve their problems.

The Skills of group facilitating:

Skilful questioning Listening Challenge assumptions Summarising Guiding/keeping on course Action planning Review


THE FACILITATING CONTINUUM

Hands off Support on

request Questions to

clarify

Questions to help

the team Questions to

move the group Introducing

choices Sharing ideas Suggesting

direction Suggesting action

Deciding (Tell) Controlling (Tell &

keep hold) Controlling (Tell &

Do)

Supportive – performer centred Guiding Controlling -boss centred


Facilitation is about helping

Facilitation is about helping your employees work more effectively by acting as a coach or helper. Very often employees come to their boss and expect the boss to make the decision or to do the difficult task. This kind of upward delegation only serves to deprive employees of development and cause managers more and more stress. The key is to ‘throw back the ball’ and encourage employees to take on responsibility.

CULTURE AND CLIMATE Although it is difficult to describe climate or culture within an organisation there is no doubt that these exist. One way of identifying the culture of an organisation could be described as “the way things are done in this company”. It could be said that the culture of a company is about the underlying assumptions about the way work is carried out and what is acceptable or unacceptable behaviour. We sometimes hear expressions like ‘creating a climate for growth and opportunity’. Very often people who leave their jobs to find alternative employment don’t leave because they dislike their job. Instead they leave because they are unhappy in their place of work. They use expressions like ‘bad atmosphere’ to describe their working environment. Pressure climates are created when deadlines are tight; resources scarce and tempers are high. People begin to react to criticism and lack of tolerance creates further tension. Employee centred managers are able to reduce these tensions because of their genuine desire to create an environment where people can work and grow at their own pace. They don’t label people but rather see the potential in them, seeing what can be, and how to help people grow. They see the oak tree in the acorn. They are concerned about creating a psychological climate in which the employee can feel free to learn and to make mistakes.


And finally… A check list to keep you on track Do I coach people for development?

1. Do I meet individuals for regular one to one meetings? 2. Do I listen to people? 3. Do I have coaching plans to help people improve? 4. Do people believe that the coaching sessions are designed for their

development? 5. Do I give positive and constructive feedback? 6. Do I create a positive climate and culture?

Documents

Leadership Training - Syd Strikesydstrike.com/tradebe/downloads/Series1Module3Motivationthrough... · Being autocratic is quicker and easier but it results in ... Employee empowerment