How To Better Enable Leadership
Hello, readers! This week we’ll talk about the way the
company at which I work can better enable leadership at all levels. I took the
opportunity to talk to some co-workers
and get their thoughts. From that data and from the reading we’ve been doing in
class I’ll discuss how a better organization could be built. I’ll also talk
about the role I’ll play in promoting leadership at every level of my
organization.
My coworkers, for the most part, felt they had opportunities
to lead, though some felt so more than others. The managers I talked to all had
a desire and a style for leading. They are graded on their ability to lead and
how they model the attributes of finding a way, setting high expectations,
charting the course, inspiring others, living the Boeing values (trust,
honesty, being ethical), and delivering results. Their scores are part of a
formula that determines their salary and bonuses.
Employees are measured against performance values, which are
very similar to the leadership attributes. Therefore, there is an implied
expectation that employees will step up to be leaders when they feel it necessary.
Many of the employees on my team are hired because they have been leaders
elsewhere. The jobs they hold require that they feel comfortable taking on high
levels of responsibility and making decisions. If anything, the high number of
leaders in one area leads to stress at times, especially when the rules of
engagement for a tasking are not explicit. It’s a good problem to have. I once
heard, “I’d rather have to pull on the reins of an employee than to have to
prod them to work.” I think I agree with that statement.
The information I received from the employees and the
reading I have done lead me to the following conclusions: Communication is key
to solving 90% of the leadership shortcomings and confusion. My company needs
to be more reactive to the ideas that “bubble up” from the employees that step
forward to offer help and plans for situations of which they are aware. Our
company still makes too many decisions at levels too far away from where the
issues, and the people who must deal directly with them, reside. This is not a
new issue here. The processes, rules, and some less flexible managers have
impeded the plan to “empower the lower levels of the workforce.
Obolensky (2016) reminds us to embrace uncertainty and look
for opportunity in complexity. My company lives in the realm of complexity and
we are constantly dealing with uncertainty. I can promote leadership by
educating my staff and employees about the opportunities to be found in
uncertainty. Additionally, given the position I hold in the organization, I
have the capability to communicate across multiple organizations and to model the
practice of providing followers opportunities to grow and stretch. I will be
teaching classes at our Leadership Center, as well, which will further expand
my capability to teach others about the power of enabling employees to take on
more responsibilities. As the graphic at the top of this page reminds us, there
are many benefits to empowering employees and trusting them to accomplish the task.
Obolensky, N. (2016). Complex Adaptive Leadership (2nd ed.). London and New York: Taylor
& Francis Group.
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