A511.6.3.RB_Meaning

  A511.6.3RB – Meaning 

MSLD 511: Decision Making For Leaders 

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Worldwide: Online Campus

November 27, 2015

         

Meaning  

reflect on what you have read

Each person faces the same questions in his or her lifetime. Why am I doing this? How do I find meaning? 

Often simple life questions result in some of the most profound answers, which typically are not as simple sounding as the question itself. For example, when one has worked in the same position for years, what is the motivator for that person to show up to work on a daily basis with a positive, work-focused attitude?  “According to the research of Dr. Anders Ericsson, it is motivation, which is the most significant predictor of success (Taylor, 2012).”

Receipt of a paycheck cannot be the singular way to motivate. Maybe motivators are interpersonal relationships between co-workers, the social exchange between customers and technicians, or perhaps it is the feeling of stability and loyalty. It is doubtful that these opportunities and benefits alone can provide sustaining motivation to rally oneself professionally on a daily basis.

what does it mean when we say that leaders must create a “cause” or "meaning" 

“Meaning is not a dropped coin we pick up by chance. It is more like fine pottery we craft. People have to create the meaning of their work and their lives, and that process requires skill and practice, not just luck. Those who succeed at creating meaning, tend to work harder, more creatively, and with more tenacity, giving the companies that employ them a leg up in the marketplace. When employees experience meaning, their employers enjoy higher rates of customer commitment and investor interest. Meaning resonates with chosen values, connects them with people they like, raises their sense of competence, or gives them an “ah-ha” moment of insight. The ability to create meaning is also enhanced by challenge, emotional safety, autonomy, and learning from experienced meaning-makers (Ullrich, 2010)." This explanation validates the importance of investing in the creation and maintenance of an environment where staff members find meaning in their workplace contributions.

There are seven drivers of meaning that leaders can leverage in the following ways:

• Help employees identify and creatively use the strengths, traits, and values (like integrity, leadership, love of learning, kindness, etc.) with which they most identify.
• Match the purposes (insight, achievement, connection, or empowerment) that motivate employees to the jobs they do.
• Foster friendships and key relationship-building skills to create high-performing, high-relating teams.
• Promote positive work environments through attention to characteristics like humility, selflessness, order, and openness.
• Help people identify and work at the types of challenges that line up with their personal experience of engagement or flow.
• Build in time for both individual and corporate-level self-reflection to help people discover lessons from setbacks and develop the resilience to get in front of the pace of change.
• Encourage civility and delight from little things that personalize and civilize the world of work (e.g. time to chat, friendly competitions, pictures, and humor).

Relate this to the theory of leading change

But what happens when an organization needs to adapt to changing needs? How does the leader navigate the changes and keep motivation and meaning alive for employees?

I think the “best strategy to use together in a mutually supportive way is the attitude-centered approach and the role-centered approach, when a leader needs to effectively make change occur. Change is a serious, long-lasting effort and is more successful when implemented slowly. When using the attitude-centered approach, involve the employees by changing attitudes and values with persuasive appeals, training programs, team-building activities, or a culture change program (Yulk, 2013).”  Most people find change uncomfortable, as it disrupts the known and can cause negative and insecure feelings that negatively impact performance.  When change is done slowly with stakeholders who are a part of the process, trust and engagement can develop, providing the opportunity for individual meaning. The employee feels, in this scenario, a part of the community, an insider working with the team for the success of the company.

“In the role-centered approach, there are changes in the work roles by reorganizing the workflow, redesigning jobs to include different activities and responsibilities, modifying authority relationships, changing the criteria and procedures for evaluation of work and changing the reward system. The assumption is that when work roles require people to act in a different way, they will change their attitudes to be consistent with the new behavior. Effective behavior is induced by the new role requirements and reinforced by the evaluation and reward system (Yulk, 2013).”

Thoughtful and strategic preparation to create an environment for positive organizational change is prudent and necessary. Regardless of a leader’s strategy, the most important guidelines to follow while leading an organization through major change is to:

• Create a sense of urgency about the need for change
• Communicate a clear vision of the benefits to be gained
• Identify likely supporters, opponents, and reasons for resistance
• Build a broad coalition to support the change
• Fill key positions with competent change agents
• Use task forces to guide implementation of changes
• Empower competent people to help plan and implement change
• Make dramatic, symbolic changes that affect the work
• Prepare people for change by explaining how it will affect them
• Help people deal with the stress and difficulties of major change
• Provide opportunities for early successes to build confidence
• Monitor the progress of change and make any necessary adjustments
• Keep people informed about the progress of change
• Demonstrate continued optimism and commitment to the change.

“Making changes means that you will likely be putting in effort that will take you far beyond the point at which it is inspiring or fun. High motivation will ensure total preparation which will, in turn, ensure maximum performance and results. Whatever you put into your change efforts is what you will get out of them. But if you're truly motivated to change, you better make sure you're doing the work necessary to achieve your goals. Seeing your efforts pay off with the changes you want (Taylor, 2012).” In actuality, part of the strategy for successful change is to inspire and energize those who will be affected by the change, so that they will have the opportunity to feel they are contributing positively to the intended outcomes. This can be accomplished with inspirational words, challenges with positive endgame rewards, or by rallying staffers around a common cause that creates a feeling of community. When an employee feels his or her contribution provides value, the employee will feel he or she has contributed to the success of the company, thereby providing meaning for that person. 

“To Heraclitus, the philosopher who pursued Truth, was fully awake and fully alive, and he seemed to consider himself the only philosopher of his time, claiming that the world order is continual change and resistance to this change is a kind of death in that the individual is refusing to participate in that which defines life (Mark, 2010).”

References:

Mark, Joshua. (2010). Heraclitus of Ephesos. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://www.ancient.eu/Heraclitus_of_Ephesos/

Taylor, Jim Ph.D. (2012). Personal Growth: Motivation, The Drive to Change. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-power-prime/201201/personal-growth-motivation-the-drive-change

Ulrich, Dave and Wendy. (2010). Getting Beyond Engagement to Creating Meaning at Work. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2010/06/getting-beyond-engagement-to-c

Yukl, G. (2013). Leading Change and Innovation. In Leadership in organizations. (8th ed). (pp. 82). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall

A511.5.3.RB_Remote Transformational Leadership

                        

     A511.5.3RB – Remote Transformational Leadership

MSLD 511: Organizational Leadership 

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Worldwide: Online Campus

November 17, 2015

         

Remote Transformational Leadership 

Computer Love: The Reality 

The reality of the digital revolution is assured and measurable. It is here; it is now; it is our future. "In 2011, 75.6% of households reported having a computer, compared to 8.2% in 1984 (File, 2013)." Computers are ubiquitous tools in the business arena, too. Research has shown that users are communicating more via e-mail and that they are still figuring out communication modes and preferences. Many organizations find it difficult to differentiate between formal business protocol via the internet and the more immediate, casual form of e-mail communication. But how does that affect us? Are we able to effectively and efficiently communicate with each other through these communication mediums? Research is ongoing to identify and develop productive and successful guidelines. 

Internet usage is as follows:  

• Internet both inside and outside the home, from multiple devices (27.0 percent)
• Internet both inside and outside the home, not from multiple devices (10.3 percent)
• Internet at home only, from multiple devices (12.9 percent)
• Internet at home only, not from multiple devices (13.8 percent)
• Internet only outside the home, has a computer at home (2.6 percent)
• Internet only outside the home, no computer at home (3.0 percent)
• No Internet use anywhere, has a computer at home (14.4 percent) 
• No Internet use anywhere, no computer use at home (15.9 percent)

To E-mail or Not to E-mail: Remote Leaders 

It is known that transformational leadership can influence outcomes and can, in fact, be used effectively in e-mail communications, too. There are many instances in which a leader will question whether or not to send the team a message via e-mail or to rely on face-to-face interaction. Leaders' anxiousness over how e-mail communication is being interpreted has resulted in the investigation of the outcomes of different communication styles. "Performance on a problem-solving task would be better in an e-mail that contained intellectually stimulating and charismatic motivation. Remote transformational leadership may have the same positive effects on performance and attitudes that occurs within face-to-face interaction. E-mail communication may be used to convey the same leadership message as in face-to-face interaction (Kelloway, Barling, Kelley, Comtois, & Gatien, 2002)." This study may now comfort those leaders who may think twice about to e-mail or not to e-mail and instead use face-to-face communication. 

The real question remains whether computers have enabled or disabled our productivity, regardless of our communication choices. "Most research showed that productivity for those who had a choice of work locations - which can include satellite offices, home offices, or co-working spaces - increased, while peers who worked exclusively from home were less productive (White, 2015)." This is an outcome that needs further exploration and problem solving as more businesses are attempting to experiment with remote models. 

E-mail blast: The Experiment 

When a leader needs to send a message with explicit details to a team and seeks immediate results, an e-mail blast may be the preferred communication method. It may the leader's approach and phrasing that are most important. An experiment was conducted that required "participants to read a short scenario describing a survival situation in which they have become stranded on a mountain with limited supplies during a winter storm. An email containing either a charismatic, intellectually stimulating, neutral or transformational message was sent out to each participant regarding the results. The charismatic message outlined the leaders vision for the task and expressed confidence in the participants' abilities. The intellectually stimulating message encouraged participants to think outside the box and to approach the problem from several different angles (Kelloway, Barling, Kelley, Comtois, & Gatien, 2002)." Regardless of communication method, when in the leadership position, the message and delivery of the thoughts are the most critical components for successful outcomes. 

Click Send: The Hypothesis
The leader may now be supported by concrete research that there is enough evidence that e-mail blasts are just as effective as a boardroom meeting. "The motivation was higher when participants read an intellectually stimulating email, individual performance was better when the email was from an intellectually stimulating leader, and that an email from a charismatic leader had no significant effect on motivation but was associated with better individual performance. Group performance was greater when the groups had read an intellectually stimulating email. Group performance was better when the groups had read an email from a charismatic leader (Kelloway, Barling, Kelley, Comtois, & Gatien, 2002)." The takeaway from the research, therefore, suggests that the message the leader needs to send must relay an intellectually stimulating thought with charismatic influences and tones. 

Final Theory: to add exclamations or to not add the exclamations!!!

Research has shown that task performance improves when leaders communicate with intellectually stimulating messaging that also contains charismatic phrasing. The e-mail from the leader containing "an intellectually stimulating message was rated as being more intellectually stimulating opposed to the other options. The findings suggest that remote transformational leadership can still have the same positive effects on performance and attitudes that occurs within face-to-face interaction and that email messages may be used to convey the same leadership message as in face-to-face interaction (Kelloway, Barling, Kelley, Comtois, & Gatien, 2002)."

When leading a group via e-mail, it is important to remember that "individuals who read an intellectually stimulating e-mail rated the leader as being more intellectually stimulating than did individuals who read a non-intellectually stimulating e-mail. Participants who read a charismatic message rated the leader as being more charismatic than those who read a non-charismatic message (Kelloway, Barling, Kelley, Comtois, & Gatien, 2002)." This supports the theory that transformational leadership can occur with intellectual and inspiring messaging. 

It is important to remember that even though it is just an e-mail, individuals may still be able to detect and respond to different leadership styles expressed through e-mail communication.

The bottom line is that the digital revolution has become a part of our fabric, and we, as a society, need to adapt to change, embrace new technology introductions that can improve our lives, and strive for positive leadership, whether we are leaders or the followers.

References:

File, Thom. (2013). Population Characteristics: Computer and Internet Use in the United States. Census. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/p20-569.pdf

Kelloway, E. K., Barling, J., Kelley, E., Comtois, J., & Gatien, B. (2002). Remote transformational leadershipPreview the documentView in a new window. Leadership and Organization Development Journal , 24 (3), 163-171.

White, Gillian B. (2015). Working from Home: Awesome or Awful? The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/10/is-working-from-home-working-telecommute/411805/ 

Yukl, G. (2012). Leadership in organizations (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ISBN 13: 978-0132771863.