Encourage Mentors Online mentoring and coaching

Balance task and process to tap and direct the reservoir of talent

"The only things to evolve by themselves in organisations are chaos,
disorder, malperformance and friction." P F Drucker

How things can turn to custard

The challenging experience of a recent EncourageMentors client, illustrated perfectly P F Drucker's famous remark. A senior executive, she confronted a colleague's long-standing and seriously unprofessional behaviour. The incident uncovered other malpractices, irresponsibility, festering resentment, strained alliances, and led to a downturn in business. Arguments within the Executive Team about possible solutions were eventually settled by uneasy compromises, including agreements that Certain People would no longer talk to or work with Certain Other People. These "solutions" were confidently expected to cause major problems further down the line.

That's where we came in, when things had completely turned to custard. Here was another demonstration that all kinds of inappropriate methodology and inattention to detail in relationships can be tolerated until the goodwill runs out. Unfortunately, the former tends to cause the latter.

The reservoir of talent

There is in every group of people a vast reservoir of potential goodwill, talent, energy, skill and initiative. Tapping, facilitating and directing the flow from this reservoir is what leadership and people-management is for. The purpose is to bring out the best and best-directed efforts in everyone. Unfortunately, conventional practices for drawing on this reservoir do not always help, and frequently obstruct the flow. The result is a thin trickle of energy for which it is usual to blame individuals or various aspects of "the system". (After T S Dyce.)

The wastage may be unnoticed or regarded as inevitable and unchangeable. In times of rapid change or under high pressure, it can be extreme. Improvement efforts often degenerate into arguments about conflicting solutions.

The problem and its effects

It's clear that most groups, organisations, teams and meetings suffer to some degree from this waste of potential. Derek Sheane (UK) estimates that in large organisations as much as 60-80% of the potential human energy is consumed in these ways. It takes various readily identifiable forms such as -

Some causes of the problem

There are many causes. Some lie within everyday management and leadership behaviours, some within others' practices. For example:

  1. Those who should lead, view leadership as (higher level) management and thus allow a leadership vacuum to exist. Others may try to fill the gap but fail without the authority to lead. Commitment to direction and focus weakens. Energy drops. People tire.

  2. Inconsistent, conflicting or improvisational (non-systematatic) models of leadership and management confuse the heck out of people. It's hard to work out where the boss (leader, chair or facilitator) is coming from. That's difficult and can be scary.

  3. Managers and leaders use stereotypes, make negative assumptions and apply self-defensive behaviours about and towards staff.

  4. Staff use stereotypes, make negative assumptions and apply self-defensive behaviours about and towards managers and leaders.

  5. These (3 and 4) combine to lock the parties into unhealthy self-perpetuating relationships.

  6. Managers are often unaware of the extent to which their behaviours originate or exacerbate fear, mistrust and suspicion in those they manage.

  7. Workers are often unaware of the degree to which their thoughts and feelings about leaders and managers are derived from their early conditioning around authority, discipline and control, and are unconsciously projected on to others.

  8. Leaders confuse their role with managing, to the extent that managers' capacity to manage is compromised or frustrated through unwelcome interference. Managers learn dependency and helplessness, become powerless.

  9. Managers underestimate their potential for leadership over what is important to them or don't believe it is their role. Opportunities for inspiring and motivating others' efforts are lost.

  10. Leaders and managers avoid monitoring the quality of their leadership and people management practices as experienced by some of the prime customers of those services - their staff and team members. (For those who lead meetings, those attending are their customers.) Gaps between their actual practices and those necessary, increase.

  11. Leaders and managers behave as though others can easily give them feedback on their behaviours in those roles. In fact, this is usually the most seriously difficult issue for staff and colleagues to confront appropriately and the most studiously avoided need. (Ryan and Oestreich, 1998.) Covert frustration, negativity, resentment and hostility increase.

  12. Leaders and managers under-estimate the significance of their role-modelling: good, bad or indifferent, their behaviours set the standards and reference-points. The negative influences of unhelpful modelling compound. Opportunities for positive influence are lost.

Efforts to get together sometimes widen the gap

Other causes may be found at the time relationships are first formed. There's usually a lot of Maximising the Attraction and Minimising the Differences at the start of any relationship which the parties desire. We want this to happen so let's just get on with it. We're mature, responsible people and if there are other things to work out, we'll sort them later. In this exciting and often delusional state, many important things may be and frequently are, overlooked.

"Other things to sort out" may comprise "hidden agenda" (which can include the REAL purpose of the job, relationship, team, project or the problem to which it is intended as a solution); the beliefs and ethics our respective approaches are based on; specifics and interpretations of roles and responsibilities; expectations of what will Characterise "success".

Equally vital matters for constructive relationships are those that deal with the "how" of them: processes, methodology, systems. These, the "soft-side" of management, are more frequently overlooked, especially by task-, goal- or achievement-oriented people. All of this is boring stuff, of course, not very sexy. But if it all turns to custard later on we'll regret not sorting them sooner:

You expect me to WHAT . . ?

You call THAT professionalism . . ?

But surely . . ?

When did that become part of my job . . !

Oops! I thought . . .

Why didn't you tell me . . ?

That's not MY understanding of supervision . . !

You want us to employ WHOM . . ?!

Whaddya mean, open an office in TOKYO . . !?

WHAT investment policy . . ?

Market supremacy THIS year . . !?

THAT's not leadership . . !

I thought we agreed . . !

If I'd known that . . .

I'd assumed . . .

You can't be serious . . !

In the midst of the turmoil that goes with this territory is not usually the best time to begin establishing best practices for clarifying the misunderstandings that led to it.

How can we make a difference?

Incremental improvements can be made immediately, once the problem and some of its causes are understood.

EncourageMentors' services focus on the 20% that generate 80% of the problem and emphasises the need to balance managerial attention to the Primary Task (what the organisation must do in order to survive) with increasing people's capacity for the Primary Task (what people need in order to grow and survive in their job-related roles). It is rare for managers and leaders (and therefore many organisations) to achieve this balance.

It's a big topic, one that the work of EncourageMentors is dedicated to addressing. Visit our website for details of our approach. Consider both digging-in for the long-haul to address the underlying causes, and making small-step change immediately. The following uncommonly-practiced, common sense ideas may help you make a start.

A: Translate the organisation's values and ideology (about both its external and internal focus) into a useful behavioural interpretation that says, in effect, "These specific behaviours demonstrate what we stand for . . . ". Without this clarity we can argue forever about the meaning of words like Trust, Honesty, Integrity and Respect and how they should be interpreted; at best they'll remain vaguely appealing. Start where there's the greatest need.

BENEFITS: clear focus and practical guidelines; improved behaviours; increased cohesion.

B: Set behavioural indicators of your own ideal management, leadership or facilitation, drawn from the organisation's, your own and your team's values and requirements. The team's contribution can be facilitated by a paper exercise or group-work completed in your absence, for safety and validity. (EncourageMentors has considerable expertise in this: see below.)

BENEFITS: your clarity and the team's about your ideals and how they are to manifest; your clarity about the team's needs; the process deals safely with some sensitive issues.

C: Every two or three months, monitor your management and/or leadership against those indicators (see B, above).

BENEFITS: ideal-reality gap minimised; deviations and problems identified for remedial action; strengths acknowledged and affirmed.

With EncourageMentors' support this can be a four-minute confidential survey analysed and reported back within 36 hours, and discussed (by you) with your team within seven days.

D: Providing the philosophy is already clear (something many clients need our support with) we can help you establish the behavioural requirements of your organisation's (team's or meeting's) values and principles - a collaborative process that improves focus and cohesion.

We can help you and your team define useful management and leadership models (in which you can also coach others) and receive feedback on your practices, safely and constructively at regular intervals over the next one to three years.

BENEFITS: your practices will improve; your staff or team will appreciate the collaboration, have greater clarity, confidence and commitment, and find it easier and to give you necessary feedback; gaps between the ideal and the reality will be reduced.

"I've used these tools for five years: it's one of the best things you've ever done for me."
(EncourageMentors client: General Manager, Auckland, New Zealand)

Recommended reading

Kathleen D. Ryan and Daniel K. Oestreich, Driving Fear Out of the Workplace: Creating the High-Trust, High-Performance Organisation (San Francisco; Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers, 1998).

© Copyright 2002 - 2007 Tom Watkins Group. All rights reserved.

Select and contact a Mentor if you'd like to discuss these ideas or want support to make progress with your own issues.

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