In a previous post i expressed what i believed were characteristics of an effective leader. That led me to question what is was to be a good follower and why it was important to be a good follower. I came to the conclusion that no matter how good a leader is or thinks she is will be doomed to failure without effective followership. In fact i think followership is every bit as important as leadership. I also believe that effective followership leads to effective leadership. The first step in creating good followers is to gain their trust and support. With this in mind it is important to remember that leaders can lead only when followers have given their consent to be led.
After some significant study on the subject of followership i have narrowed down a list of my "Ten Commandments" of followership. Keep in mind there are probably many more that i haven't considered, but these ten are mine.
1. Be supportive of the leader: Even if a decision is unpopular, do not undermine the goals of the leader, the group, or the organization. It is OK to disagree with an executive decision but do it in private.
2. Do not be a "yes man": Always speak honestly and frankly. Avoid the temptation to tell the boss what you think they want to hear. I have always thought that if i only echo what the boss says i am not offering the company any service. I am not thinking for myself.
3. Accept responsibility whenever it is offered: It could be that the leader sees something special in you and is trying to develop you. This is always a good thing since you become more valuable to the company. Being the "go to guy" is a good esteem builder and offers a degree of job security.
4. Take initiative: Do what is needed without being told to do it. Nobody wants to work for a micro manager so do not put the leader in the position that they have to become one. That being said, there is a difference between taking initiative and being a loose cannon.
5. Know how to listen; Nobody can learn if they are constantly talking. In fact, all learning is achieved through listening and observation. There is some wisdom in the statement that we were created with two eyes, two ears, and and only one mouth for a reason.
6. Ask for clarity about what your role is and what the expectations are: If there is any question about what expectations are, get clarification from the leader. Be proactive about resolving any ambiguity or communication break down.
7. Be an advisor to the leader (when appropriate): I am secure enough in my career to know that i don't have all the answers. However, i am not always aware enough to know when i need to ask for help or advice. I also know that all to often good ideas do not start at the top, they develop in the trenches, with the followers who happen to be experts in their jobs.
8. Seek honest feedback from the leader: This will help clarify what you are doing well and not so well. Do not take feedback personally. Remember, the feedback is about what was done, not who you are. In fact, honest feedback and communication will lead to building a trusting relationship.
9. Keep the leader informed: People are naturally reluctant to share problems with leaders. Not everyone is comfortable with sharing successes either since it may sound like your tooting your own horn. Effective leaders rely on followers to pass important information (even bad news) up the chain of command in a timely fashion. This is the only way to make effective decisions.
10. Do not neglect yourself or your family: There is an old saying that says "if Momma ain't happy, no one is happy". It is OK to be committed to your work but do not neglect your personal needs or the needs of your family. If anyone is unhappy it will carry over into your work and performance will suffer as a consequence.
Most of us never really think about what it is to be an effective follower or how important it really is. This is somewhat peculiar since we will spend most of our professional lives following someone else. Even when we become leaders ourselves we will most likely still be following someone else.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Man Made Climate Change-An Inconvienient Truth
Man made ecological climate change is constantly in the news. More important to me is another type of man made climate change, that is organizational climate change, one that we actually have a chance of influencing.
What is workplace climate? Simply stated, workplace climate is the weather of the workplace. Just as the weather might influence our daily activities, workplace climate will effect the behavior of the employees. Using the weather analogy we can then refer to company leadership as the "weather man" or meteorologist, since forecasting and climate change must start at the top.
It is important to remember that what employees see, hear and experience will manifest in the workplace/organizations climate. Climate is also derived from perceptions of what the organization is like in terms of its practices, policies,and rewards. For instance, if workers observe the company's rules and regulations not being evenly or fairly enforced, it is not likely that there will be company wide buy in to follow the rules. It will be virtually impossible to enforce accountability.
We have all most likely worked in a place that suffered from a poor workplace climate. But what are the tell tale signs that the climate is suffering? The symptoms of a dysfunctional climate can include but are not necessarily limited to; absenteeism, low morale, job dissatisfaction, low productivity, disengagement, psychological injuries (stress) and employee turnover.
Unlike ecological climate, organizational climate can be controlled. Good leaders can create change with a number of low cost incentives. The following leadership model is based on my experiences as a leader, educator, student, friend, father and husband.
1. Make your people feel welcome and tell them how important they are to the operation. Make their jobs a source of pride.
2. Clarify the goals, vision, and mission of the company and work unit. Set high but achievable standards and goals.
3. Invest in your people; time, money and training. Identify promising people early and develop them into leaders.
4. Be friendly, not necessarily a friend.
5. Be truthful and respectful.
6. Give timely and candid feedback and support.
7. Be approachable, get to know your people.
8. Enforce rules and regulations fairly and even handed.
9. Unlike wine and cheese, bad news does not improve with age. Deal with problems promptly.
10. Keep information flowing with two way communication. Feedback to leadership must be taken seriously. Let employees know what has what has become of their feedback. Provide feedback on the feedback.
11. Allow employees to be part of the decision making process, create "buy in".
12. Hand out medals whenever you can, do it publicly when possible.
13. Allow the work to be fun.
14. Make life better for your people. Remember the gestures do not have to be grand to be effective.
15. Celebrate victories while monitoring the quality of failures.
16. Create a climate of trust. Care about your people, if you don't they will never fully trust you.
I also have been contemplating creating a contract, a commitment to a positive workplace climate that everyone would be required to sign. Without going into too much detail the contract would be as follows.
Every employee will:
1. Demonstrate a commitment to the client.
2. Demonstrate a commitment to organizational success.
3. Promote respect and practice civility.
4. Demonstrate integrity.
5. Execute her/his job duties in a professional manner.
6. Participate actively within the organization.
There is a metaphor used in chaos theory called the Butterfly effect. It states that a butterfly flapping its wings in Japan can create a tsunami in Indonesia. It essentially implies that even the smallest of actions can create a ripple effect that leads to substantial change. It is important to remember that the ripple effect can lead to both positive and negative change. If leadership is commited to functional climate change the effects will be positive. If not, board up the windows and get ready for the STORM!
What is workplace climate? Simply stated, workplace climate is the weather of the workplace. Just as the weather might influence our daily activities, workplace climate will effect the behavior of the employees. Using the weather analogy we can then refer to company leadership as the "weather man" or meteorologist, since forecasting and climate change must start at the top.
It is important to remember that what employees see, hear and experience will manifest in the workplace/organizations climate. Climate is also derived from perceptions of what the organization is like in terms of its practices, policies,and rewards. For instance, if workers observe the company's rules and regulations not being evenly or fairly enforced, it is not likely that there will be company wide buy in to follow the rules. It will be virtually impossible to enforce accountability.
We have all most likely worked in a place that suffered from a poor workplace climate. But what are the tell tale signs that the climate is suffering? The symptoms of a dysfunctional climate can include but are not necessarily limited to; absenteeism, low morale, job dissatisfaction, low productivity, disengagement, psychological injuries (stress) and employee turnover.
Unlike ecological climate, organizational climate can be controlled. Good leaders can create change with a number of low cost incentives. The following leadership model is based on my experiences as a leader, educator, student, friend, father and husband.
1. Make your people feel welcome and tell them how important they are to the operation. Make their jobs a source of pride.
2. Clarify the goals, vision, and mission of the company and work unit. Set high but achievable standards and goals.
3. Invest in your people; time, money and training. Identify promising people early and develop them into leaders.
4. Be friendly, not necessarily a friend.
5. Be truthful and respectful.
6. Give timely and candid feedback and support.
7. Be approachable, get to know your people.
8. Enforce rules and regulations fairly and even handed.
9. Unlike wine and cheese, bad news does not improve with age. Deal with problems promptly.
10. Keep information flowing with two way communication. Feedback to leadership must be taken seriously. Let employees know what has what has become of their feedback. Provide feedback on the feedback.
11. Allow employees to be part of the decision making process, create "buy in".
12. Hand out medals whenever you can, do it publicly when possible.
13. Allow the work to be fun.
14. Make life better for your people. Remember the gestures do not have to be grand to be effective.
15. Celebrate victories while monitoring the quality of failures.
16. Create a climate of trust. Care about your people, if you don't they will never fully trust you.
I also have been contemplating creating a contract, a commitment to a positive workplace climate that everyone would be required to sign. Without going into too much detail the contract would be as follows.
Every employee will:
1. Demonstrate a commitment to the client.
2. Demonstrate a commitment to organizational success.
3. Promote respect and practice civility.
4. Demonstrate integrity.
5. Execute her/his job duties in a professional manner.
6. Participate actively within the organization.
There is a metaphor used in chaos theory called the Butterfly effect. It states that a butterfly flapping its wings in Japan can create a tsunami in Indonesia. It essentially implies that even the smallest of actions can create a ripple effect that leads to substantial change. It is important to remember that the ripple effect can lead to both positive and negative change. If leadership is commited to functional climate change the effects will be positive. If not, board up the windows and get ready for the STORM!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Educational Fidelity
I recently read an article called "Inventing the Future" by Lee S. Shulman that affected me greatly. One portion of the article focused on scholarly fidelity. What we do as educators is primarily motivated by a spirit of faithfulness. It is not the money, benefits, or geographic location we work in that drives us,but rather a profound commitment we have as educators, coaches, mentors, and even servants.
Professor Shulman identifies four types of fidelity we must consider as educators. First, there is fidelity to the the particular discipline of study. Second, there is faithfulness to the learning of the students that we are obligated to teach. Third, there is fidelity to the society, community, and institution in which we work. Finally, there is fidelity to our own identity as professionals, teachers, co-workers,and friends.
Unfortunately many educators, some within my own company have lost site of what it is to be faithful to our craft, our students and schools, the restaurant industry and even ourselves. All too often we lose sight of why we began teaching. We may become fatigued or bored with the subject matter. Life circumstances and personal problems get in the way of our excitement and success. Sometimes teachers just become complacent or lazy, falling under the delusion that they have somehow done enough, paid there dues, and are entitled to coast to their next paycheck, semester, or even retirement.
It is important for all educators to constantly revisit the fidelity commitments we made when we first started teaching. If we do not we are doomed to a life and career of mediocrity if not outright failure. Teaching has never been just a job for me but rather something that brings me joy. I get to share my knowledge and expertise with like minded people. Even with all of the pleasure and satisfaction that i get through teaching i still realize the tremendous responsibility that i have. Everything that i say and do in the classroom will affect eternity. For good or bad, those that i touch will in turn touch others. It is rather humbling when you think about it.
I would really love to create utopia within my culinary school. My paradise would be one in which everyone is in tune with the school's mission while enjoying the accademic freedom to teach to their areas of interest or expertise. I want a collaborative effort to constantly improve the climate and culture of the school. I want my school to be a place where everyone is excited and prideful to come to every single day. I want our students to be highly sought after industry professionals and i want my school to become the culinary flagship of the company. A good start to creating my utopia will be by constantly reminding myself and maybe others (if i have the courage) about our fidelity commitments and obligations.
Professor Shulman identifies four types of fidelity we must consider as educators. First, there is fidelity to the the particular discipline of study. Second, there is faithfulness to the learning of the students that we are obligated to teach. Third, there is fidelity to the society, community, and institution in which we work. Finally, there is fidelity to our own identity as professionals, teachers, co-workers,and friends.
Unfortunately many educators, some within my own company have lost site of what it is to be faithful to our craft, our students and schools, the restaurant industry and even ourselves. All too often we lose sight of why we began teaching. We may become fatigued or bored with the subject matter. Life circumstances and personal problems get in the way of our excitement and success. Sometimes teachers just become complacent or lazy, falling under the delusion that they have somehow done enough, paid there dues, and are entitled to coast to their next paycheck, semester, or even retirement.
It is important for all educators to constantly revisit the fidelity commitments we made when we first started teaching. If we do not we are doomed to a life and career of mediocrity if not outright failure. Teaching has never been just a job for me but rather something that brings me joy. I get to share my knowledge and expertise with like minded people. Even with all of the pleasure and satisfaction that i get through teaching i still realize the tremendous responsibility that i have. Everything that i say and do in the classroom will affect eternity. For good or bad, those that i touch will in turn touch others. It is rather humbling when you think about it.
I would really love to create utopia within my culinary school. My paradise would be one in which everyone is in tune with the school's mission while enjoying the accademic freedom to teach to their areas of interest or expertise. I want a collaborative effort to constantly improve the climate and culture of the school. I want my school to be a place where everyone is excited and prideful to come to every single day. I want our students to be highly sought after industry professionals and i want my school to become the culinary flagship of the company. A good start to creating my utopia will be by constantly reminding myself and maybe others (if i have the courage) about our fidelity commitments and obligations.
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