 |
| Kusunoki Masashige statue - downtown Tokyo - CSD |
Welcome back, Readers! This week on the Educated Leadership Blog
we’ll look at the situation Obolensky (2016) describes as “charades” conducted
by leadership and employees. As part of that discussion, we’ll look at how
breaking down that charade is occurring in situations I face.
The “charade” that Obolensky (2016) discussed in his book
occurs when management pretends to know far more than they actually do because
they believe it is what their employees expect while at the same time, the
employees pretend to know far less than they actually do, because they expect
the leaders to already know the information. The reality is that leaders do not
know everything and the employees know it. The employees know quite a bit and
the leaders know it. However, in many organizations,
the charade Is alive and well.
Leaders will greatly increase their possibility of success
if they can break down this charade and open up the lines of information and
communication on their teams. Why? A study noted in Obolensky’s book (2016, p.
35-37) indicated that the frontline employees in an organization generate
approximately 60% of the ideas that are applicable to implementing enduring
change. Top management is generally credited with about 10% of the ideas that
work. Now we can see why the charade must be broken. The ideas must be allowed
to flow!
Obolensky (2016) also provides some practices that leaders
can employ to help the process begin. The first being that leaders can start
saying “I don’t know” when they do not have an answer! The second involves
asking questions of the employees and supporting the needs of the employees as
they are identified. The third is to have the leader and the employees engage in
a real conversation where both sides ask and answer questions. Honesty must be
the basis of the conversations in all three versions of breaking through.
I believe there is a shift in leadership to try and break
down the charade. The biggest driver, in my opinion,
is the access to information that the employees has, especially as technology
improves access to data. If a leader is disingenuous, the employees often know
instantly, because they have the answer! Now, if they don’t know they answer
immediately, they usually can access the information via a computer almost as
quickly. It behooves a leader to admit to not knowing something. They will
build trust if they do.
There are leaders with whom I interact that work toward
breaking the charade. They will admit to not knowing information and they will
actively seek the information from their employees via challenge and support or
a dynamic conversation. They openly credit the employees that provide answers.
They realize that they must engage all the employees and the managers to
succeed in the dynamic environment in which we operate. I, too, have chosen to
lead in this manner. Inclusion and open communication are my standards, as are
accountability and recognition. At the same time, there are
still examples of leaders that appear to be perpetuating the charade. There are
groups of employees that also appear to perpetuate the behavior. However, the Millennials joining our company are bringing a
desire to be open and contribute and to quickly be a part of the team. Their impact
helps to break down the charade for both employees and leaders.
Lastly, our company just created a new organization and has
striven to educate all employees and leaders about the need for operating in a
manner that precludes the perpetuation of the charade! They have been proactive
in communication and training that opens the doors for leaders to say they do
not know it all and for employees to step forward with ideas and information.
It will take a dedicated
effort by all the leaders and employees to obliterate the charade. Trust is a
fragile commodity and must be handled carefully by all sides for us to gain the
benefits of open communication and trust.
See you next week!
Obolensky, N. (2016). Complex Adaptive Leadership (2nd ed.). London and New York: Taylor
& Francis Group.
No comments:
Post a Comment