Aligning Systems / Organizational Renewal As we journey through each of these
descriptions of roles and behaviors, we will first introduce the essence of the topic and
then identify specific actions taken by leaders at each of the three levels of the
organization: top, middle, and first level.
We'll conclude this section with a close-up look at the first level leadership role and
options organizations have employed to fill it. We'll also compare the characteristics of
good leaders in both traditional and participative organizations.
VISIONING & ENLISTING
Leaders are the prime movers in the creation of a vision and in enlisting support for
its development. Their visions are often innovations to the organization -- new ways of
thinking and acting. Leaders support innovation through their personal creativity and
insight and by creating an environment for free thinking. They support organizational
freedom of expression and protection for differences of opinion. They make it possible for
others to dream and to bring innovations to the organization at all levels.
When it comes to creating entirely new forms of organization, leaders may create a
vision themselves and then promote it for buy-in by others. This often happens when
organizations are only in the planning stage and no one else is employed. The intrinsic
appeal of the vision and the strength of the leaders' belief in it are key selling tools.
When an existing organization is moving toward self-direction, leaders may bring
together a constituency from the organization to create the vision collectively. In this
case, leaders manage the process of vision creation. Their views become one part of a
larger range of input. Involving others in vision creation automatically increases
commitment to it.
Leaders carry their vision both upward and downward in the organization. Part of the
role of the leader is to explain the vision to others.
Top leaders may sell the vision to corporate managers or boards of directors. They use
it to generate support and enthusiasm outside and inside the organization. They use it to
attract supporters and new members.
Mid level managers sell the vision to first level leaders, to peers around the larger
organization, and to outsiders like customers and suppliers. They translate the vision
into concrete systems and structures.
First level leaders sell the vision to operating teams and help them convert it to a
vision for themselves and their role in the total organization. They use it to create a
sense of purpose for the team.
EXPECTATION SETTING
Leaders are looked to as the source of organizational expectations. In a self-directed
organization, everyone eventually internalizes the expectations created by the vision and
purpose of the organization. Leaders help this internalization occur and periodically keep
it clarified and focused.
Leaders set expectations in a variety of ways. They formulate, or help teams formulate,
performance goals. They discuss informal norms which the team applies to its members'
behavior, e.g., "It's good to help each other," or, "Don't say anything bad
about another team member -- just the other shifts." They surface unproductive norms
and act to encourage productive ones.
Leaders check on things. The old adage, "People do what the boss inspects, not
what he expects" is still valid. Team members naturally pay attention to what the
leader pays attention to.
Even in a self-directed workforce leaders need to keep track of how things are going.
The difference may be one of trust and style. In a self-directed environment, the
assumption would be that things are going okay and if they are not, the team will tell the
leader. The leader makes his own personal observations simply to stay in touch. Asking how
something is going calls attention to it and elevates its importance. The interchange is
more casual and the leader looks for additional needs or help he can provide. This is in
contrast to the traditional assumption that something is wrong, is being hidden, and must
be uncovered through interrogation of the workers or personal inspection.
Top level leaders set organization-wide goals that link the organization to its larger
environment. These are goals for production, quality, delivery, cost or profit
performance, community service, environmental compliance, etc. These goals are to ensure
the organization continues to add value, survive, and grow. Top level leaders serve as
sponsors for large projects and task forces. They communicate expectations and can
arbitrate boundary issues.
Mid level leaders help first level leaders understand organization-wide goals. Once
these are understood, they help first level leaders establish financial goals and
performance measures for work teams consistent with the entire organization.
Mid level leaders also attend and participate in selected first level team meetings or
projects. This gives the leader first hand exposure to the team members and their work
processes. The mid level leader's presence lends importance to the activity and provides a
forum for reinforcing the organization's expectations.
First level leaders help teams set goals for operating performance and the development
of the team's total mix of skills.
RESOURCE PROVIDING / OBSTACLE REMOVAL
Leaders secure resources. Resources are staff, equipment, time, money, and information
among other things. Leaders reach out and bring to the work team what it needs to get the
job done. They encourage and involve others in this process. They are the supply sergeants
of World War II -- finding whatever it takes wherever it is. Leaders work to ensure enough
resources exist and then allocate them for the benefit of the total organization.
Leaders remove obstacles. Leaders see that the minimum amount of rules are in place for
the organization to function fluidly. They also identify when the rules need changed,
bent, or broken. Sometimes rules imposed by traditional systems are dysfunctional within
the self-directed organization. Leaders take the initiative to change those rules. They
differentiate between what is simply policy and procedure and what is ethical and moral
conduct before breaking a rule.
Top level leaders maximize organizational performance in order to create more resources
for the organization (and increase its value to the owners). They plan long range needs
based upon economic and competitive trends. They secure financing so the organization can
grow and sustain itself. They allocate capital resources among organizational
alternatives. Top leaders see that training programs and developmental experiences are in
place so the organization develops the talents it needs. They guide the recruiting and
leadership succession process to guarantee sufficient human resources are on hand.
Top leaders also challenge corporate policies or governmental regulations.
Mid level managers budget for expenses, capital, and staffing. They vigorously present
their work units' needs for limited resources. They keep an organization-wide perspective
and do not prevail at the expense of other departments and total organizational
performance. They challenge other functions whose practices interfere with total
organizational performance.
The first level of leadership pulls in staff resources from other departments to help
smooth out work flows and solve technical or social problems. First level leaders see that
adequate tools are available and that staffing levels are sufficient for the workload.
They work with others and personally gather information the team needs. They challenge
their leaders and other departments to provide resources and remove barriers in the forms
of procedures, equipment, staffing, training, etc.
COMMUNICATING
Leaders are communicators. In self-directed systems they not only pass along
information they do three other things.
First, they make sure the information is understood. They see that people are educated
so that information given in communications meetings make sense. They follow-up after
communicating so see if what was perceived was the intended message. They provide
additional clarification.
Second, they arrange information systems so that workers have direct access. They take
the middle person out of the communications equation. They make direct connection between
the customer and the work group possible. They arrange and promote interdepartmental
exchanges.
Third, they listen. They don't just listen, they really listen. What's the difference?
Leaders who really listen draw out what the other person is saying and help that person
make his or her message clear. The leader assumes the burden for understanding what is
being said. The leader does not put the burden of making things clear solely on the
shoulders of the other party. The really listening leader restates and confirms what the
other person has said. The leader checks to be sure he or she has correctly understood
both the facts and feelings being conveyed. A listening leader also provides a response.
It may be empathy or sympathy for the employee's situation, it may be a commitment to take
action, or it may be guidance on what the employee can do to help himself. None of this is
revolutionary communications technique. Really listening leaders just do it well.
Top level leaders bring competitive and business information into the organization from
outside its boundaries. They make themselves accessible to employees at all levels for the
discussion of all sorts of issues. Their regular presence in the workplace contributes to
their credibility and trustworthiness. Their direct listening serves to insure
communications are not filtered and distorted on the way up the organization.
Mid level leaders pass information along: upward, downward, and laterally. They bring
in information on innovation and regulation. They search for more effective means for
sharing better quality information with a lower cost for its creation and management.
First level leaders pass information along: upward, downward, and laterally. They
surface employee concerns so the organization can act on them. They keep their work groups
focused on achieving organizational goals by seeing the team has timely performance
information.
ALIGNING SYSTEMS / ORGANIZATIONAL RENEWAL
Leaders assure that systems are aligned for consistency and optimum total
organizational performance. Maximizing a work process for the benefit of one unit at the
expense of the total organization cannot be accepted. Leaders at each level are
responsible for systems under their control.
Top level leaders see that organizational systems are aligned with the external
environment. They have the responsibility to interface computer, accounting, personnel,
order entry, and other systems with the larger corporation, the government, customers,
vendors, etc. They may not personally do all the work involved, but they see that the
alignment is in place.
Mid level leaders see systems are aligned within their departments and between their
departments and other ones. Processing of purchase requisitions, submitting payroll
information, preparing budgets, scheduling training classes, etc. all require
interdepartmental alignment.
First level leaders see that systems within the work unit are aligned. They can involve
team members in the process. The leader only needs to see that alignment exists. Systems
such as materials flow, preventive maintenance, training, work assignments, shift
changeovers, overtime and vacation coverage all need to be aligned.
Leaders also see that their respective groups are periodically renewed. In addition to
incremental, continuous improvement, leaders make periodic audits across all aspects of
their units to see what needs revised. They determine who should help conduct the audit
and analyze the information. Once that is done, they establish mechanisms for taking
renewing actions.
Top level managers renew organization wide systems, organizational structure, and the
organization's vision. They enlist others in this process.
Mid level leaders renew organization-wide procedures, leader and team development
techniques.
First level leaders renew work teams' technical and social skills and work processes.
FIRST LEVEL LEADERSHIP -- A CLOSER LOOK
The first level leader role gets special attention in self-directed work systems. It
occupies a position of critical importance to the success of the organization. It is often
filled by persons whose jobs will see the greatest amount of change and who may have been
least prepared for it.
First level leadership is handled in a variety of ways.
| 1. |
Maintain an exempt "supervisor" position and simply change the title to a
more participative sounding one like "team leader." Some stop at this point and
accept this guise as self-direction. Others change the duties of the role. |
| 2. |
Create "team coordinator" positions within the team itself. A single team
member becomes the leader and stays in the role permanently. This position carries
somewhat less weight than the exempt leader who is outside the team. |
| 3. |
Create a team coordinator position within the team and then encourage team members to
rotate through it. |
| 4. |
Split the duties of a team coordinator into approximately five main responsibilities
and have separate team members carry out each responsibility. This is referred to as the
"STAR" concept. |
We'll illustrate the star concept here. It will show many of the responsibilities which
make up the team leader role. Each organization needs to decide for itself if it wants one
person to take on all the responsibilities and if it wants people to rotate through the
role. The star concept can be used with or without an exempt "leader" position.
When team members take on star point responsibilities they become the team's
knowledgeable resource on that topic. They represent the team at safety committees, daily
planning meetings, initial applicant screening, etc. The team may be the decision making
body, the person "on point" leads the team for issues related to their point.
When members move off the star point and on to another point or off the star altogether,
they must train their successors and bring them up to speed.
The complexity of the organization, the number of team members, and the capability of
the team as a whole can all affect how often rotation occurs.
STAR CONCEPT
| Managing Overall direction
Information resource
Linking & coordinating
Challenge of performance
Operations
Coordinate activities with other teams
Monitor performance
Plan, schedule overtime
Assign work within the team
Solve production problems
Improve work processes
Communicate with outside resources
Plan and schedule materials flow
Quality testing
Process checking and SPC analysis
Computer networking
Planning
Prepare budget input
Compare expenditures to budget and determine cause of variances
Report variances, causes, and corrective actions
Establish team objectives
|
Human Resources Establish training needs
Plan and schedule training
Conduct new member orientation
Explain decisions to team members
Manage assignments to broaden team members' skill mix and flexibility
Structure work and document skill requirements
Do staffing planning
Screen and interview candidates
Deal with performance issues
Manage time cards and attendance
Schedule vacations and overtime
Assign, borrow, and lend team members
Administer union relations
Site
Carry out safety inspections
Train team members in safe practices
Write incident reports
Carry out basic and preventive maintenance
Assist maintenance in equipment repair
Document downtime performance
Manage downtime schedules
Assist with new equipment installation
Improve operations layout |
Special thanks to James Rollo for permission to use this material. Adapted
from Mgt's Role in the Self-Directed Workforce, AQP, 1992
GOOD LEADERS ARE...
A final note about roles and behaviors is in order. Are good leaders in self-directed
organizations really any different than good supervisors and managers in traditional
organizations? The answer is -- probably not a lot. Klein and Posey studied two groups of
supervisors -- one in a participative plant and one in a traditional sister plant.* They
found more recognizable differences between stronger and weaker supervisors in each system
than between the systems. The qualities of good supervisors were:
