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.

A511.4.3.RB_Leadership Traits

                        

     A511.4.3RB – Leadership Traits

MSLD 511: Organizational Leadership 

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Worldwide: Online Campus

November 11, 2015

         

Leadership Traits

Managerial motivation 

Unfortunately, "a strong minority (21%) of employees surveyed describe themselves as being very engaged in their jobs; even more concerning, 8% describe themselves as being completely disengaged (Shedd, 2010)."  It is not a surprise that when employees feel engaged it effectively supports the mission and strategies of the entity.  It, therefore, makes sense that positive managerial motivation will create the environment for an engaged staff.

When employees perceive that their managers will "respond with a sense of calm and confidence no matter the situation, subordinates will focus on their work, rather than concerning themselves with job security positioning (Yukl, 2013)." 

Managerial traits 

Managerial traits are learned skill sets and take into consideration a manager’s personality, temperament, one’s needs, motives, and values.  Personality traits encompass emotional maturity, confidence, leadership, and ambition.  Emotional maturity is demonstrated when managers do not abuse their power over subordinates, when they are open to others’ expertise, and when they use their power to the benefit of others.

Emotional mature managers have a "more self-awareness of strengths and weaknesses, are oriented toward self-improvement, less self-centered, more stable emotions, less defensive, more likely to be at a high level of cognitive moral development, and maintain more cooperative relationships with subordinates, peers and superiors (Yukl, 2013)."

Needs, motives and values are used to guide subordinates using information and expertise and to encourage ethical and moral behavior. An essential managerial trait is integrity. 

Successful managers display sensitivity and are tactful and diplomatic in their dialogue. As well, they do not shy away from owning their weaknesses and mistakes and will model a sense of responsibility by implementing an action plan to correct those weaknesses and mistakes.  Successful managers will demonstrate their ability to manage as they successfully lead the team through various issues and obstacles. 

Managerial effectiveness

Managerial effectiveness requires consistent high-energy output and a high degree of stress tolerance while using an assortment of managerial traits and skills to arrive at successful outcomes.

Effective managers do not deal with issues from a victim-hood perspective of chance or uncontrollable factors but, rather, take the position that events can be controlled by their own actions.  These managers demonstrate "strong internal control orientation and are able to discover, plan, and problem solve (Yukl, 2013)."    

Managerial effectiveness requires that "a manager develop a culture of teamwork and competitiveness in the best interests of the team, that inspiration, trust and collaboration are foundation principles of the unit (Llopis, 2012)." This culture must permeate the entity for successful managerial effectiveness and the success of the business.     

Managerial effectiveness is demonstrated when the manager motives and celebrates the individual success of each team member and when the members know that their manager will lead by example.

Ineffective Leadership

Given the above effective managerial traits, ineffective leadership traits seem obvious:  defensiveness about weaknesses and failures; avoidance of a negative reality; avoidance of responsibility for a problem, even blaming others; focus on issues, and; inability to take problem solving action.  Ineffective traits that contribute to ineffective leadership are: personal ambition, even when it compromises others; inability to be trusted; poor interpersonal skills; manipulative, mean, and insensitive. From a different perspective, ineffective managers have also proven to be unrealistic to the point of being overly optimistic, resulting in risky and perhaps erroneous decision-making. As well, "a manager who is unapproachable may not be able to unite the team with the attitude and commitment that an effective manager might (Yukl, 2013)."  

A manager who "needs power seeks a position of authority, making it necessary for that manager to be in sync with the politics or the entity.  To maintain this authority, these managers tend to keep their subordinates weak and dependent, making them ineffective contributors to the goals of the business (Yukl, 2013)."

In Conclusion

I would like to believe that I am empathetic when leading my team. I am a true believer in the education and training of staff as opposed to discipline without positive management investment. As a leader, I believe in empowering staff to make decisions, analyze results, map achievements. My interpersonal relationship with staff is strong, as I enjoy interacting with them to build working relationships. I find that I am and always have been an "in-the-trenches" leader and lead by example with commitment and stamina. I will never ask my staff to take on something that I know I cannot or will not do. 

My strength is in problem-solving and creating a positive experience from a bad situation. As a result of professional certifications, I have mastered processes and efficiency. I love to analyze a process and work with others to collaborate on outcome improvements.  Interacting with staff delivers short-term and long-term results. I have found that with the improvement of working conditions and processes, teamwork is established, a sense of pride is evident and responsibility/ownership is found.

My staff tends to come to me for personal matters as well, which I know is just as important. I work with international employees who are not familiar, per se, with American cultures and find themselves in very awkward predicaments. This has led to employee weariness, distraction on the job, personal frustration and workplace depression, along with a myriad of other issues. Over time, I have become a reliable source for sound and solid advice - a confidant. I have helped staff with resume writing for their offspring, with commonplace legal matters and the interpretation of laws and resolution, and have just simply listened to cries of personal injustices.  I believe that this helps make me an effective manager in that the staff knows I am there for them and that I can be trusted to lead.   

Being a leader, mentor and manager is more than a job.  It is a lifestyle that one needs to nurture, grow, and learn every day. Reflection and introspection are key. I also think it is important to not be so hard on myself when I do make mistakes, as I find I am my hardest judge. I prefer being a situational leader, one who is motivated and uses essential tools to make thoughtful and effective decisions.   My goal is to constantly grow and, in the process, ensure my subordinates grow as well. 

"The real problem stands in the fact that the effective manager does need to have some traits. Failure to have them will leave to failure for the entire company. The true leader will always be able to inspire trust, delegate responsibility and provide direction. It is so much harder to be an effective manager than what most people believe. Many of the really successful managers from around the world did not have formal training. You need to be sure that you constantly grow. That is, most likely, the most important thing that you need (Tolentino, 2014)."

References:

Llopis, Glen. (2012). Effective Managers Earn Trust Quickly By Doing 5 Things Well. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2012/07/10/effective-managers-earn-trust-quickly-by-doing-5-things-well/

Shedd, David. (2010). 14 Management Do's and Don'ts to Motivate Employees. Entrepreneur. Retrieved from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/217801

Tolentino, Laura. (2014). 6 Important Traits Every Effective Manager Needs to Have. Careeralism. Retrieved from http://www.careerealism.com/effective-manager-important-traits/ 

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

A511.3.3.RB_Power and Influence

                        

     A511.3.3RB – Power and Influence

MSLD 511: Organizational Leadership 

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Worldwide: Online Campus

November 1, 2015

         

Power and Influence

Power and influence are two of the more scary topics for me personally. I had a strong suspicion, which Yukl (2013) confirmed, “that too much position power may be as detrimental as too little.” We have seen many instances throughout history when man has abused power and influence for personal gain. It obviously is a fine line between finding enough power and influence to lead and taking advantage of the power and influence one finds themselves in. Of course just the opposite may be said of great leaders, which have been abound in history as well. According to Yukl (2013), there are five power sources.

Expert power is power based upon employees’ perception that a manager or some other member of an organization has a high level of knowledge or a specialized set of skills that other employees or members of the organization do not possess (Grimsley, 2015).”

The nature of expert power is only a source of power “if others are dependent on the agent for advice. The target person must recognize this expertise and perceive the leader to be a reliable source of information and advice. Perceived expertise is more important than real expertise (Yukl, 2013).” It is imperative that organizations seek expert power like in-house legal counsel, or CPA’s for finances.

Referent power specifically comes from “when others trust what we do and respect us for how we handle situations (Abudi, 2011).” This power is “an important source of influence over subordinates, peers, and superiors, but it has limitations (Yukl, 2013).”

The nature of referent power is “a person willing to do special favors for a friend, and they are more likely to carry out requests made by someone they greatly admire. To gain the agent’s approval and acceptance, the target person is likely to comply with agent requests, imitate the agent’s behavior and have similar attitudes (Yukl, 2013).” They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, which is obviously written in regards to a leader influencing and being imitated by follower (s).

Legitimate power “comes from having a position of power in an organization, such as being the boss or a key member of a leadership team (Abudi, 2011).”  “Members of an organization usually agree to comply with rules and directions from leaders in return for the benefits of membership (Yukl, 2013).”

The nature of legitimate power is electing a leader “based on tradition and the provisions of a legal charter or constitution. Any deviation from the selection process considered legitimate by members will weaken a new leader’s authority. People evaluate not only whether a request or order falls within a leader’s scope of authority, but also whether it is consistent with the basic values, principles, and traditions of the organization or social system (Yukl, 2013).”

Reward power “is the perception by the target person that an agent controls important resources and rewards desired by the target person. More control over scarce resources is usually authorized for high level executives than for lower-level managers (Yukl, 2013).”

The nature of reward power is “the target person’s perception that the agent has the capacity and willingness to follow through on promises. The target person’s perception of agent reward power is more important than the agent’s actual control over rewards. Reward power can influence people even when the agent makes no overt influence attempt. People cooperate more with an agent who has substantial reward power in the hopes of getting some rewards in the future (Yukl, 2013).” Reward power seems to be very popular in the American business culture.

Coercive power is “conveyed through fear of losing one’s job, being demoted, receiving a poor performance review, having prime projects taken away, which is typically through threatening others (Abudi, 2015).”  

The nature of coercive power is actually “prohibited in many nations. Managers once had the right to dismiss employees for any reason they thought was justified. But it may now swing either way, up and down the corporate structure. Subordinates have the capacity to indirectly influence the performance evaluation of their boss. Subordinates can damage the reputation of the boss if they restrict production, sabotage operations, initiate grievances, hold demonstrations, or make complaints to higher management. Subordinates can also remove a leader from office (Yukl, 2013).”

There is a theory that basically “argues that leaders develop differentiated dyadic relationships with their subordinates, also known as the leader-member exchange  - LMX theory (Othman & Shi, 2010).

           

“The recognition that a leader’s behavior can sometime be dysfunctional is in line with the emerging interest in destructive leadership. These intolerable behaviors include abusive leader behavior such as bullying. This research by Otthman & Shi (2010), suggest that one form of destructive behavior exists when leaders develop high quality leader-member exchange that are dysfunctional. Such abusive behavior can include indifference, hostile actions and deviant behaviors towards a work team member. This happens when the high quality leader-member exchange developed by a leader with the in-group is based on a flawed assessment of the in-group members’ contribution and performance. As a consequence, out-group members perceive unfairness and may develop negative reactions to this situation. LMX theory is distinct from other leadership theories because of its focus on the dyadic relationship between a leader and his followers.”

I did experience a work situation with this sort of dynamic a few times. There was a leader in position at a very high level of the organization that thought his staff performed better in an abusive environment. This particular leader perceived that his team would perform better by threatening job security - a lot. The outcome from this behavior was a financial nightmare within only a few months of my employment. It turns out that this leader pushed his team so hard and so fast that the company acquired too many assets in a short amount of time. The team did not take the correct steps to process the due diligence, so the company was short on cash flow and vendors were placing the company on credit hold. The leader had to follow through on his threat of not keeping staff, and let us all go. I think it is in my best interest to find the happy medium between power and influence to lead my teams. 

References:

Abudi, Gina (2011). The 5 Types of Power. Intuit. Retrieved from http://quickbase.intuit.com/blog/2011/08/26/the-5-types-of-power-in-leadership/

Grimsley, Shawn. (2015). Expert Power in Leadership: Definition & Examples. Study.com. Retrieved from http://study.com/academy/lesson/expert-power-in-leadership-definition-examples-quiz.html

Othman, R., Ee, F. F., & Shi, N. L. (2010). Understanding dysfunctional leader-member exchange: antecedents and outcomes. Leadership & Organization Development Journal , 31 (4), 337-350.

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

A511.2.3RB_Supportive Behavior

                       

A511.2.3RB – Supportive Behavior

MSLD 511: Organizational Leadership

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Worldwide: Online Campus

October 29, 2015

         

Supportive Behavior

"Support is showing concern for the needs and feelings of other people (Yukl, 2013)." Supportive leadership behaviors are "listening, praising, and sharing information about the organization, sharing information about self, facilitating problem solving, asking for input, and providing rationale. Emotional intelligence is significantly related to supportive behaviors. There are four supportive behaviors: listening, sharing information about the organization, asking for input, and providing rationale. Managers with higher emotional intelligence are more likely to engage in supportive behaviors than managers with lower emotional intelligence (Benson, Nimon, & Zigarmi, 2012)."

The result of supportive leadership is "building and maintaining effective interpersonal relationships, essentially winning loyalty and friendship. It also increases subordinates’ self-confidence and reduces the amount of stress on the job (Yukl, 2013)." When managing staff, it is wise to be supportive when applicable. Listening to the problems that arise, addressing the dilemmas that occur throughout production and troubleshooting using problem-solving techniques are critical to effective leadership. Many situations arise during production where staff may need to troubleshoot or make decisions, but due to circumstances, may not be privy to all information as it relates to organizational needs and requirements. It is in the best interest of the organization to have a leader who shares information with the team, so team members have clear direction.

All levels of organizations

As the quality manager of a facility, I aspire to become an emotionally intelligent and supportive leader. I know that it is important to foster and maintain a stable environment in which information passes through the executive staff down to management and further downward through the chain of command as it regards direction and goals. Suggested guidelines for the implementation of supportive measures are: "showing acceptance and positive regard, providing sympathy when a person is upset, fostering a person's confidence, and being willing to help with personal problems should they arise (Yukl, 2013)." 

If one of my quality inspectors is harassed, which sometimes does occur, I immediately try to remedy the situation by pulling the harasser aside to ascertain what led to the harassment. Typically, the action has nothing to do personally with the quality inspector but more to do with personal issues the harasser is experiencing. Regardless, I continue my process by going back to my staff to assure them that I am ready to protect and help them in any situation. Because we do not have a human resource department, management must resolve all human resource issues. 

Being a Supportive Leader

If there are inquiries regarding a method I need to implement, executive management may be available to satisfy my inquiry, and likewise, I am always available to receive inquiries from my staff. This allows for open dialogue, which is imperative for everyone involved, as it results in clear lines of efficiency. For example, over the last six months, the quality, efficiency, and output have increased. As well, we work to foster cooperative relationships, a process that has improved the work environment, positively impacting employee attendance. I do not hesitate to praise and recognize subordinates who do a good job or who try a newly authorized method. And, I compliment or acknowledge top executives after they have had to make a tough decision. Being supportive of vetted decision-making is very important for everyone.

Mistakes vs. Bad Decisions

I also believe that recognizing mistakes are crucial to learning processes, because we can collectively learn what works and what does not. But what is the difference between making a mistake and making a bad decision? A mistake is something we do without intention, while the bad decision is something we make intentionally, often without regard for the consequence (Millburn & Nicodemus, 2015). This may be an important element in understanding when one needs to be a supportive leader.

Reference:

Benson, J., Nimon, K., & Zigarmi. (2012). Manager's Emotional Intelligence, Their Perceived Use of Directive and Supportive Leader Behaviors and Resultant Employee Satisfaction. Journal of Business Administration Research. Vol 1, No. 2. ISSN 1927-9507. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/docview/1436080910?pq-origsite=summon

Millburn, Joshua Fields, & Nicodemus, Ryan. (2015). Mistakes vs. Bad Decisions. The Minimalists. Retrieved from http://www.theminimalists.com/mistakes/

Yukl, G. (2013). Leadership in organizations (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall