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I feel comfortable developing sources of personal influence to gain power because I am secure in the basic values I hold in treating people with compassion, respect and with integrity.  My motto in all relationships whether it be with humans or animals is “harm none”.  Because of this ingrained value, I know that regardless of how much personal influence I develop and how much power I gain, I am confident that I am unable to abuse it.  As Robert Dilenschneider said about power “it is the morality with which influence is used that makes all the difference (as cited by Whetten and Cameron, pg. 284, 2011). Whetten and Cameron explain that power should “be viewed as a sign of personal efficacy” (pg. 284, 2011).  I understand that power is needed to ensure productive work, to motivate employees, mobilize and control resources and most importantly, people with power are able to provide more resources and information for their subordinates (Whetten and Cameron, 2011).  It is my natural desire to help people therefore I would use my personal influences in ways that benefit my subordinates.

I feel I have the characteristics of a likable person and have been told sometimes by my family that these same characteristics are my Achilles heel.  Before I gained a strong sense of self-esteem and when I was still young and naïve, I was taken advantage of by my peers and supervisor’s.  My mother always told me I was too transparent and this type of behavior would cause people to walk all over me.  But over the years, I’ve learned how to harness my own power, learned how to say “no” and stand my ground while still maintaining the characteristics that make me likeable.  In all my relationships whether they be work or personal, I always practice open and honest communication and am always emotionally accessible.  I am compassionate and accepting of people.  I don’t hold grudges and believe that forgiveness is one of the best virtues a person can have because I know that everyone makes mistakes.  I am also extremely social and will self-sacrifice for the good of a relationship and for the organization in which I work.  I believe that the characteristics of a likable person start with a person’s core values and if you don’t already carry these types of values, they are more difficult to develop later in life, but not impossible.

I feel that I am able to use upward influence in my organization due to my close relationship to my Director.  There is no one below me therefore I do not have any downward influence.  To understand the influence I have within my organization you first have to understand the dynamics of my work environment.  My organization is broken down into centers.  My center consists of two people, myself and my director.  My director is responsible for our center and another off-site center that has one employee.  My upward influence is limited to only one person, my director.  Everything must go past her first.  Although there is an open door policy, and I do have the ability to contact members of the leadership team (for example my directors direct supervisor), we are encouraged to bring all matters of importance and inquires first to our immediate supervisors.  “Going over someone’s head” is frowned upon.  There is a layer of cushioning between me and headquarters which acts as a layer of protection for me.  Whenever our center has not done well, or when errors are made, the reprimands go straight to my director.  My director in turn, softens the blow and passes the reprimand down to me and we share the responsibility of the error.  In this sense I’ve been very lucky as she considers us one entity and therefore we share our victories and losses as one.  The way that I am able to use my upward influence is because I have an in depth understanding of her strengths and weaknesses and I am in tune with her goals and objectives, which are mine as well.  I have mirrored my own behaviors and goals after hers since we share the same common purpose.  I have matched my momentum at work to hers and adapted myself to her work style.  Because of this synergy, she has learned to trust my judgment and gives me autonomy to accomplish my job.  Although all final decisions must be run through her, she gives careful consideration to my input and is more than willing to pass on my suggestions, concerns and inquiries to higher management when appropriate.  Therefore, I do not feel stifled in my position, and I feel equally represented.  I think that my upward influence contingent on the open and honest relationship between my director and I.

References

Whetten, D. A., & Cameron, K. S. (2011). Developing management skills (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

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One of the keys to success is to have a mentor or coach.  I know that starting a new position within a company can be very nerve racking at first.  Having a person there to show you the ropes, guide and support you and provide pertinent knowledge for your success can make the introductory process much easier.  Being in a mentoring or coaching relationship creates a nonthreatening and supportive learning environment.  It also facilitates professional growth and improved performance (Hauser, 2009).

It is difficult to succeed without a mentor and in the long run can take longer to achieve success (Ayinde, n.d.).  Having a mentor provides you with the experience, knowledge, encouragement and support of a tenured individual. In addition to acting as a support, they can also act as a “sounding board” of which you can share ideas or strategies (Ayinde, n.d.).   As Ayinde explains “it is when we follow in the footsteps of those who have gone before us that we can make rapid progress” (n.d.).  A mentoring relationship also builds up levels of self-confidence which may be essential for individuals with low self-esteem.

This synergistic relationship between a mentor and mentee is not only beneficial for the individuals but also the company.  An organization is only as successful as the employees who work within it.  It is in the best interest of the company that all employees are working to their fullest potential.  Mentoring and coaching provides the key for success.  Mentors benefit from the relationship because mentors can be influenced by the  attitudes  of  a  younger  generation and gain a fresher perspective (Ayinde, n.d.).   They also benefit from this relationship because it allows them the opportunity to contribute to the growth and success of another individual.  This in itself is rewarding. Mentoring also offers a sense of accomplishment and boosts self-esteem. 

Coaches offer more specified attention to the roles of the individual within the organization.  An employee or leader looking to change or improve their roles would benefit significantly from a coach.  Whether an employee wants to grow as a leader, move into a higher position or “prepare financially for a comfortable retirement” a coach can provide the know-how and guidance to move towards these goals (Hauser, 2009, p. 8).  As Hauser explains, coaches provide the strategic insight and motivation to help an individual enhance their performance (2009).  On a personal level, coaches help individuals expand their awareness on their own strengths and talents so they can leverage this to towards their success.

In the end, one of the strongest impacts I think that coaches and mentors have on individuals is the availability of feedback.  Feedback is one of the most useful and effective strategies towards improvement. Constructive criticism and feedback are necessary for self-growth and an essential element for self-improvement.

References

Ayinde, A. T. (n.d.). Mentoring: Does it work? (Doctoral thesis, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State).

Hauser, Laura. "Evidence-based coaching: A case study." n. page. Web. 27 Sep. 2013. <http://lsiltd.com/pdfs/evidence-based-coaching.pdf>.

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There are two types of roles that can enhance team performance.  One role strives towards task accomplishment which is the role of task-facilitator and the other strives to build unity and collaboration among members and these are relationship buildering roles (Whetten & Cameron, 2011).  

Task-facilitating roles assist the team in working effectively and efficiently towards  achieving a goal (Whetten & Cameron, 2011).  This role is essential in keeping the teams moving towards their goal, motivating stagnant members, and clarifying visions and goals that may have become unclear or ambiguous.  A good analogy would be the reigns and whips that manage a buggy pulled by horses.  The reigns help keep the horses on track and the whips assure that the animals are moving efficiently.  Note: I am an animal lover and I am not fond of this method of motivation for animal.  It is just an analogy for informational purposes.

Another beneficial role for work teams are relationship-building roles.  These are the types of “feel good” roles that focus on creating positive relationships between members through supportive behavior, humor, coaching, encouragement, solidarity and empathizing (Whetten & Cameron, 2011).  These roles are especially important when there is tension or disagreement with team members or stress is pervading the environment.

Whetten and Cameron explain that a balance of both task-oriented roles and relationship-building roles is fundamental in an effective team (2011).  

I believe that I usually tend to play both roles during team meetings.  I am a natural jokester and enjoy cracking jokes and keeping the mood “light”.  Unless formal behavior is called for, humor is my ultimate weapon.  I am also a very supportive person and enjoy complementing people and encouraging their ideas.  At the same time, I am a very task-oriented person and hate wasting time so I use humor as a way of keeping people focused on the mission and getting people involved and productive.  For example, if the meeting goes off on a tangent, I may make a joke related to something on the agenda as a way to get people focused on the task at hand.  This usually works. 

I am a big fan of harmonization between people and will bend over backwards to make sure everyone is happy and getting along.  The other day, one of our team members had an outburst.  The environment became tense after that and no one was sure how to take it.  Later after that meeting I went to her office and brought her some chocolate and a hug.  Although the outburst was not at me, I knew that she was the type of person that would accept this type of behavior and we both laughed about it afterwards.  Obviously you can’t go hugging everyone, each person and situation requires tact and appropriateness.

I think the most effective way to create collaboration and cohesion among a group of different people is to remain sincere and establish honest communication from the beginning.  In my office we try to avoid talking behind people’s back and have adopted more of a “tell it to my face” attitude.  I believe for this reason we are such a tight knit team.

References

Whetten, D. A., & Cameron, K. S. (2011). Developing management skills (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

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This blog is to compare and contrast the different concepts between the article “Empowerment: Rejuvenating a potent idea” by Russ Forrester (Forrester, 2000) and the writings of Whetten and Cameron on empowering and delegating (2011).  Both pieces of literature talk about empowerment and why companies began to incorporate empowerment strategies with their employees.  Forrester specifically addresses why empowerment efforts fail and how to make them successful while Whetten and Cameron give us an overall view of empowerment, its definition, history, different dimensions of empowerment, and ways to develop it.

Forrester begins his article by outlining what he calls the “six short circuits to empowerment” (2000).  These are explained as six common mistakes that are made when companies try to empower their employees.  The first mistake is that they precipitously try to implement power changes.  Power is handed down to subordinates too quickly which can cause upper-management to feel that they are losing control causing a sense of powerlessness.  Also, employees who adopt this new power, may not be prepared to accept it or may not have the proper training needed to manage it and therefore they also experience the same sensation of powerlessness.  The end result is an overall sense of loss of control on both sides .  Whetten and Cameron (2011) also address the need for sensitivity and patience when adopting new power changes because mangers who have a high need for power may feel a loss of power or credit for their success if power is taken from them abruptly.  They explain that you can incorporate empowerment strategies within a company without great amounts of self-sacrifice and where managers also feel they still are in control and working effectively.

The second mistake in trying to adopt new power changes is what Forrester calls “overreliance on a narrow psychological concept” (2000).  The most important concept here is to understand that there are many psychological factors involved when trying to empower employees.  Sometimes a company “narrows and oversimplifies the motivations involved” (Forrester, 2000, p. 3).  Feelings of self-efficacy and intrinsic task motivation are not enough.  You also have to consider how employees perceive their own power and learn how to alter the belief systems of employees so they can embrace their power.  Also, Forrester explains that the “by-product of the focus of empowerment as a psychological variable has been that real power gets short shrift” meaning that some organizations use tactics that focus more on convincing employees of the power they have then actually giving it to them.  These types of psychological tricks cause trust issues. Whetten and Cameron address this issue in there text by explaining that employees feel empowered when they have a sense of self-efficacy and confidence (2011).  Organizations can help alter their employee’s belief systems by adopting methods that help employees feel confident, competent and self-determined.  Also they discuss the consequences of not following through with promised power changes and how this causes trust and confidence issues that in the long run will hurt the morale of the employees and the company as well.

Another common error in empowerment endeavors is what Forrester describes as “negligence of the needs of power sharers” by the company (2000).  Companies need to keep in mind that power cannot be passed down without first reflecting on how this will affect the upper-management who will be losing some of these controls.  Managers feel that the security of their positions are threatened.  He also explains what he calls “subjective attributions” or preconceived expectations of other people’s abilities (2000). Most managers will feel that in order to get the best job done, they have to do it themselves. Whetten and Cameron (2011) also reflect this same concept of managers unwilling to pass on the responsibility to their employees because they feel that employees lack the training or determination to complete the task properly.  They consider this one of the inhibitors of empowerment (2011).

One of the last issues that Forrester discusses in his article is the distortions of accountability (2000).  He explains “the more power an employee has, the more accountability focuses unforgivingly on results produced.  The less the power, the more the emphasis tends to be on process and effort with forgiveness” (Forrester, 2000).  If power is shifted to subordinates then accountability should be shifted as well.  Whetten and Cameron talk about the ten proven principles of successful delegation.   They describe one of the oldest and most general rules of delegation which is to “match the amount of responsibility with the amount of authority provided” (2011, p. 468).  Power holders do not like being accountable for results when they don’t hold the control. This is a type of paternalistic management where upper management does not believe that employees have the strength or ability to deal with this type of responsibility. This reinforces a powerless image of the employee and therefore is not an effective form of empowerment.

Another aspect of Forrester’s article covers what he calls “6 channels to higher voltage empowerment” (2000).  In this portion of his writing he explains how to incorporate empowerment strategies effectively.  One parallel concept he shares with the writings of Whetten and Cameron is the importance of investing in employees by building their expertise and knowledge through training, education, mentoring, seminars, providing resources, and such things as allowing them to have opportunities to build better relationships with upper management, peers and clients (Forrester, 2000).  Whetten and Cameron describe some of these as the nine prescriptions for fostering empowerment such as fostering personal mastery experiences, modeling (role models and mentoring), providing support, providing information, providing resources and connecting to outcomes (2011). These parallel concepts describe the importance of giving employees more access and control of resources and funding, extending more decision making power and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed. 

Another key for successful empowerment strategies is to provide an environment where subordinates can succeed. Forrester talks about building up their own power slowly by creating individually tailored processes (2000).  This idea comes from the fact that empowerment strategies must be matched to the individual and not just a “one-size fits all” concept. Whetten and Cameron describe this as the small wins strategy, where upper-management provides small decision-making opportunities first, incrementing the job responsibilities and thus allowing employees to experience small accomplishments first.  This creates a sense of movement and success for the employee and also allows the management to still have a sense of control.

There are many other parallel views between Forrester’s article and our readings from the textbook of Whetten and Cameron.  Conceptually they share the same perspectives on how to make empowerment work effectively within an organization.

 

 

References

Forrester, R. (2000, August). Empowerment: Rejuvenating a potent idea. The Academy of Management Executive, 14(3), 67-80.

Whetten, D. A., & Cameron, K. S. (2011). Developing management skills (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

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In the video “The Three Things We Work For (Money Isn’t One of Them)”, Andy Mulholland explains that money is not what motivates people the most (Skillsoft Ireland Limited, 2011).  I have to agree with him in that money is also not my primary motivator.  Part of it is based on my non-consumerist background.  My parents were very frugal and taught us as children the value of money and hard work.  In fact, I began working at the age of 7 selling greeting cards and stationary door to door in my neighborhood.  One of the first things my father told me about work was that you should be proud of what you do even if you’re shoveling horse maneuver. This pride for my work carried on into my odd jobs as a dishwasher, waitress, retailer and every job I’ve held throughout my life.  The key to my motivation at work, and the reason I still get up every day to do a job, is feeling happy at work.  This was, and still is, one of the biggest motivators for me.  What makes me happy at work?  Doing a job that interests me, feeling pride in what I do, learning and growing in my job, and feeling valued as a person.  

In my opinion, Andy Mulholland has hit on the three most important factors that make people satisfied in their work environments.  For a job to be interesting to me, it needs to fulfill me.  In my current position I assist people in realizing their academic goals.  Helping people is one of the core elements that defines me as a person.  I have always been a very service-oriented type of individual.  Another core aspect of my personality is a deep need to learn.  I feel it is essential that a person always strive to learn new things.  Personal and professional growth is absolutely necessary for our human development.  Lastly, I believe everyone wants to feel valued.  It is a necessary ingredient that fuels our self-esteem, feeds our self-confidence and vindicates everything we do.  

Apart from these three important motivators, I feel that there are also other incentives that move me to good performance.  Purpose I feel needs to be present in anything I do.  I must feel not only that there is a purpose in what I’m doing, but it must be a purpose that I believe in.  For example, a salesman must believe in the product he is selling in order to sell it.  People do things that have purpose, once the purpose is lost, so is the motivation.  Another important motivator for me is a healthy work environment. This means that the physical space that I work in must be clean (not cluttered) and conducive to productivity.  Having computers and printers that work is essential in my administrative duties and failing equipment can be very stressful and demotivating.  The environment should also be healthy in regards to work relationships with my peers.  It is extremely important to me to establish and maintain a healthy rapport with my co-workers.  I am an extremely sensitive person and my emotions can easily hinder my performance.  Here is where I need to improve on my emotional intelligence (Whetten & Cameron, 2011).  Another motivator, and one that I value immensely when received, is time-off from work.  I would rather be rewarded with time-off then over-time pay.  My personal time is very precious to me and therefore I am extremely motivated when I know that time-off will be the end result of my efforts.

References

Skillsoft Ireland Limited. (2011). The three things we work for (money isn’t one of them) [Video file]. Retrieved from http://library.books24x7.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/toc.aspx?site=BW9SX&bookid=43753

Whetten, D. A., & Cameron, K. S. (2011). Developing management skills (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

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  In my office there are only two of us, my Director and myself.  Yet we do frequently have to work and communicate with other representatives from the other colleges and universities.  I feel that communication with my direct boss is very healthy and for the most part we almost share one mind.  Therefore, I would rather focus my attention on the communication with the other schools. 

There are four schools that share a space in our office.  All four of us try and work together by doing educational outreaches, briefings to the different military departments on the base, base-wide events where we share informational tables and we also coordinate for our local graduation.  You could say that there is even some healthy competition between the schools since all four schools work to “recruit” students to their university.  At the end of the day, our ultimate goal as honest and sincere school representatives is to make sure that we are offering prospective and active students the support they need to achieve their academic goals.  The fact that we are four different entities can sometimes make working together very challenging.  One of the major challenges we have had working together has been a lack of communication.  One solution to this problem is that we have weekly office meetings where all schools attend and share ideas, talk about issues and just get caught up for the week.

In our situation, a counseling situation is always preferable.  First of all, each school has different policies and different ways of handling situations; therefore we cannot coach each other on how to run each of the schools.  Instead, I feel that counseling is a great approach to helping each other solve issues. 

Another useful supportive communication guideline to follow would be congruent communication.  From my experience, some of our “co-workers” will hold back their real feelings when discussing controversial issues.  In the past, we noticed that this type of behavior caused bitter feelings between individuals and created trust issues. Whetten and Cameron explain that “congruence is a prerequisite of trust. Genuineness and authenticity lie at the heart of positive relationships” (2011, p.247).  One thing we try to strive during our weekly meetings is the concept of “putting it all out on the table”.  For example, when we discuss scheduling or classroom assignments, tension can rise.  We have to come up with assignments that are fair for everyone.  For example, we try to rotate the best classrooms around so that every school has an opportunity to use it.  Some individuals will not verbalize when they are not happy with the classroom arrangements during the meetings. Instead, they will go back to their offices and then “bad talk” the other  schools.  This creates a negative dynamic.  Therefore, by striving for congruency in our communication, we can avoid bad feelings among the schools.

Another guideline that we try and incorporate for supportive communication is to avoid evaluative communication.  This is an easy trap to fall into since again, each school has a different way of handling their students and therefore sometimes we can find ourselves evaluating or judging the way another school conducts business.  Instead, we could practice descriptive communication which allows for more objective interactions where we can share how we feel about a situation or describe consequences that we feel could affect all parties.  This method seems less conflictive since “describing feelings or consequences also lessens the likelihood of defensiveness since the problem is  framed in the context of the communicator’s feelings or objective consequences, not the attributes of the subordinate” (Whetten and Cameron, 2011, p.248).  In essence, you avoid finger pointing.

I believe that the outcome from applying these supportive communication guidelines will help all four schools to establish a more trusting and respectful rapport with each other.  I also believe that better communication will assist us in improving our teamwork efforts which in turn will improve how we assist our students.  In the end, how we treat each other will reflect on the services that we pass down to our students and that in turn will reflect the overall image of each university or college in this office.

 References

Whetten, D. A., & Cameron, K. S. (2011). Developing management skills (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

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I feel that the words that describe my decision-making skills are somewhat contradicting.  For example, I do believe that I am self-motivating but I also seek advice and opinions from other people.  Most of it depends on how important of a decision it is and what the consequences are.  I think that the more severe the consequences, the more I look to others to help me to solve the decision.  I also like to think that I am intuitive in my process of making decisions but I also question my intuition many times.  I think this has to do with my lack of self-confidence and trust in myself.  Intuition has in the past been seen as an inferior method of problem-solving but scientific evidence is beginning to prove that intuition plays an important part in good decision making especially when quick decisions need to be made.  In an article published in a Boston College newsletter they explain “Analytic decisions are great for breaking things down into smaller parts, which is necessary for a math problem. But intuition is about looking at patterns and wholes, which is needed when making quick decisions about whether something is real or fake, ugly or pretty, right or wrong” (Pratt, 2012).

 

Another contradicting set of words I would use to describe my decision-making skills would be passive and active.  I can be very active in my abilities to make decisions, especially if I see that I’m on my own and I have to move forward.  But, sometimes, when problems seem very complicated or decisions seem risky, I can become very unsure and become very passive.  I believe that my fear of making an incorrect decision can sometimes paralyze me to the point where no decisions are made. 

 

 But the most descriptive words I think best describe these skills are feeling or emotional.  I am extremely emotional and my emotions tend to be tied up in every decision I make.  Most decisions boil down to fear and consequences.  I am either fearful of making a decision that could be detrimental to myself or that could hurt another individual.  Because of this, many decisions I make are based on the feelings I’m having at the moment.  In the video Routine and Complex Decision Making, they talk about trade-offs and how we can make decisions by thinking about what we will be “giving up” if we choose A or what we will be “giving up” if we choose B (Routine And Complex, n.d.).  Consequences play an important role in how I decide.

If I look at opposite words for emotional or feelings I come up with logical, rational and reasonable.  I do feel I could benefit and that my decision-making skills would be improved if I were less emotional and more rational when making conclusions.  As I mentioned, fear takes a front seat when making decisions and sometimes that can interfere with me seeing things clearly.  Part of this I believe is physiological because I am left-handed and therefore I believe I use more of my right-side of the brain. Whetton and Cameron describe right-hemisphere thinkers as “concerned with intuition, synthesis, playfulness, and qualitative judgment" (Whetten & Cameron, 2011, p. 193).  They also go on to explain that “problem solving based on sentiment, intuition, or pleasure is frequently considered tenuous and inferior” (Whetten & Cameron, 2011, p. 193). I am less of a logical person and am more intuitive and feeling-based.  I also think that my overwhelming compassion affects how I decide because I am always worried about how my actions might hurt someone else.  I think learning how to look at things more logically would help me to eliminate unnecessary emotions out of the equation.  Although, I do believe a middle ground is important. I don’t think I should be overly logical because emotions such as fear and compassion can help us be aware of consequences and assure us that we are looking at all perspectives.  But in the same manner, we don’t want too much feeling to paralyze our decision-making abilities or cause us to make bad decisions based on our feelings at the moment.

References

 

Pratt, M. (2012). Intuitive decision-making based on expertise may deliver better results than analytical approach. Retrieved from http://www.bc.edu/content/bc/offices/pubaf/news/2012-nov-dec/trust-your-gut.html

Routine and complex decision-making . [Video file]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://digital.films.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/play/7A2UTV

Whetten, D. A., & Cameron, K. S. (2011). Developing management skills (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.