Managing for Performance in Organizational Culture and Leadership Styles

1. MANAGING FOR PERFORMANCE Walter C. Farrell, Jr. Professor School of Social Work SEPTEMBER 11, 2012

2. Faith Hedgepeth, UNC Student, 1993-2012 • Biology Major, Aspiring Physician • Native American Role Model (Haliwa-Saponi American Indian Tribe) • American Indian Center Volunteer • Member of Education and Outreach Group, Carolina Indian Circle • Performer in A Cappella Group, Unheard Voices

3. Organizational And Psychological Work Climate Psychological Climate--Employees’ perceptions of how their work environment impacts them Positive Climate:___________________ Negative Climate:__________________ Organizational Climate—the extent to which employees agree on their perceptions How would you go about determining the organizational climate of your class environment—SOWO 874

4. Organizational Culture • Culture--Shared values, norms, and beliefs • Climate and Culture • Property of social system—Culture • Property of individual--Climate • Social processes by which members share their beliefs, values, and norms—Culture • List the similarities and differences

5. Impact of Climate and Culture On Delivery Of Social Services • Relationships and interactions between service providers and service recipients • Tone—Give examples • Role of service systems norms and expectations • Role of ethnicity, race, and gender

6. Climate and Culture In Organizations • Why they differ • How do climate and culture develop in an organization? • How are they maintained? • Certainty • Power • Socialization of new employees

7. Climate and Culture Between Different Types Of Organizations • Human Service vs. Non-Human Service • Profit vs. Nonprofit • Pluses • Minuses • Public vs. Private

8. Developing A Leadership Style • Visionary • Moving workers toward a new set of shared dreams • Articulates where a group is going • Does not determine how it will get there • Setting people free to innovate, experiment, take risks • Style is most appropriate when an organization needs a new direction • Describe a visionary you have observed, read about or worked under

9. Developing A Leadership Style • Coaching • One-on-one focus on individual development • Show how to improve performance • Show how to connect to personal goals and organizational goals • Works best with employees who show initiative • Can backfire when employee perceives it as micromanaging • Have to be careful not to undermine employee self confidence

10. Developing A Leadership Style • Democratic • Draws on employees’ knowledge and skills • Creates a group commitment to resulting goals • Works best when the direction the organization should take is unclear--Why? • The leader taps into the collective wisdom of the group • This consensus-building can be disastrous in a time of crisis—Why?

11. Developing A Leadership Style • Affiliative • Emphasizes teamwork • Creates harmony in a group by connecting people to each other • Valuable when trying to heighten team harmony, increase morale, improve communication, or repair broken trust in an organization • Do not use this approach alone • Have to be careful not to allow emphasis on group praise to allow for poor performance by an individual to go uncorrected

12. Developing A Leadership Style • Pacesetting • Leader sets high standards for performance • S/he is obsessive about doing things better and faster • S/he demands this of all employees • Style should be used sparingly because it can undercut morale and make people feel as if they are failing • More often than not, “Pacesetting” poisons the organizational climate—Michael Jordan example

13. Developing A Leadership Style • Commanding • Classic model of “military” style leadership • Rarely involves praise of individuals • Frequent use of criticism • Undercuts morale and job satisfaction • Probably the most often used but least effective. Most effective in a Crisis!

14. Critical Role Of Information • Getting right information/selecting measures • Deciding what to measure is critical—Why? • Training for service events • Staff support and morale, avoiding burnout • Some services invite staff “Burnout” • Availability of necessary resources and efficiency • Using results to empower staff • IT applications---Best approach

15. THE FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS OF A TEAM

16. THE HIERARCHIAL ORGANIZATION(Can It Function As A Team?) (Policy) Board (Management) Executive Staff (Workers)Professional, Clerical Community Members, Clients Constituencies

17. THE 5 DYSFUNCTIONS OF A TEAM Inattention to RESULTS Avoidance of ACCOUNTABILITY Lack of COMMITMENT Fear of CONFLICT Absence of TRUST

18. #1 BUILDING TRUST (Ascending) • Trust is the foundation of teamwork • On a team, trust is all about vulnerability, which is difficult for most people • Building trust takes time, but the process can be greatly accelerated • Like a good marriage, trust on a team is never complete; it must be maintained over time

19. #2 MASTERING CONFLICT • Good conflict among team members requires trust, which is all about engaging in unfiltered passionate debate about issues • Even among the best teams, conflict will at times be uncomfortable • Conflict norms, though they will vary from team to team, must be discussed and made clear among the team • The fear of occasional personal conflict should not deter a team from having regular, productive debate

20. #3 ACHIEVING COMMITMENT • Commitment requires clarity and buy-in • Clarity requires that teams avoid assumptions and ambiguity. And that they end discussions with a clear understanding about what they decided upon • Buy-in does not require consensus. Members of great teams learn to disagree with one another and still commit to a decision

21. #4 EMBRACING ACCOUNTABILITY • Accountability on a strong team occurs directly among peers • For a culture of accountability to thrive, a leader must demonstrate a willingness to confront difficult issues • The best opportunity for holding one another accountable occurs during meetings, and the regular review of a team scoreboard provides a clear context for doing so

22. #5 FOCUSING ON RESULTS • The true measure of a great team is that it accomplishes the results it sets out to achieve—focusing like a laser beam! • To avoid distractions, team members must prioritize the results of the team over their individual or departmental needs • To stay focused, teams must publicly clarify their desired results and keep them visible

23. Celebrating End Of “RAMADAN’, • August 20, 2012* And 9/11 • A most Holy Holiday Period for members of the Islamic Faith. Would you acknowledge it for the Muslims on your staff? Why or why not • How would you deal with other employees on your staff who lost family members on 9/11 if you were managing a Human Service Organization in New York City in view of the “Burn the Koran” controversyacross the nation? • How would you observe 9/11 in your workplace if at all? • Given these challenges, how would you EMPOWER all staff? • *The Publisher of the Portland Press Herald (Maine) apologized for acknowledging the end of Ramadan (pursuant to the celebration of 3,000 Muslims at the Portland Expo) on page 1 on September 10, 2010 without mention of the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attack. Should 9/11 have been mentioned in the article?