CAPELLA UNIVERSITY LEARNERS
To position yourself as a marketable candidate upon graduation, the Career Center
encourages you to begin thinking about your career goals and planning immediately upon
entering your degree program. This list of career activities is not intended to be an
exhaustive individualized list of recommendations, nor as a guarantee of employment.
Please customize it for your own timeline, needs and career progression (for instance,
adding check boxes for the activities and groups you are already involved in.) Please
note that this checklist does not include academic requirements.
Early in Your Program
Career exploration
Explore the Capella Career Center to learn about the many resources available to
help you develop your career management strategy.
Watch the career exploration video series that will guide you through activities
to help you to identify your career goals and develop a personalized action plan.
Identify positions of interest within your career field (refer to the job posting
sites on the Career Exploration Guides or O*Net as a starting point)
• Clarify skill gaps by reviewing job postings in which you have an interest;
identify the required and preferred skills.
• Compare this list to the skills you have demonstrated in your experience
and education.
Professional affiliation membership and involvement
Start investigating professional associations and industry information resources
that are specific to your career goals. Explore the websites and literature you
find there.
Join the local chapter of a relevant association.
• Get active! Regularly attend meetings or events. Volunteer for a
committee as a means of gaining professional skills and meeting people.
If you live in an area without a local chapter, seek out opportunities to connect
virtually:
• Participate in discussion groups or blogs.
• Contact members in your area of interest to engage via phone, email.
Networking
Visit the Connect section of our website to find tips and tools to help you make
connections and build your professional network.
Join Capella Connect and begin connecting with other Capella learners and alumni
or check out the Career Mentoring program.
Join LinkedIn, including groups associated with your current and past schools
(including Capella), employers, and functional and industry specific groups.
Identify networking contacts by accessing the professional association
directory, LinkedIn, and understanding how to connect with Capella learners
and alumni.
Licensure
If pursuing a career which will require licensure, learn what the requirements are
in your state. Capella has created comprehensive licensure resources for the
Last Updated: 2/17/2020
page 1
fields that typically require licensure.
Experience
Read Volunteering as a Career Development Strategy to learn more about the
value of volunteering.
• Volunteer for related tasks or stretch assignments in your current
organization.
• Volunteer for positions through www.volunteermatch.org, or present a
proposal to a small business or nonprofit organization for conducting
pro-bono consulting work.
Shadow a professional at an organization in which you have an interest and/or
connections.
Seek out internships in your geographic area of interest.
• The Job Search and Practicum and Internship sections have
information on how to conduct your search.
• Review the learner manual for Practica or Internship if you are enrolled
in a program which requires one, to ensure you are on track with
timeline and requirements.
Portfolio
Review the portfolio information on Campus to learn how to create or enhance
your own professional portfolio if it is recommended in your field.
Begin compiling assignments related to your coursework, job, and other
relevant experiences such as volunteer work to add to your portfolio.
Mid-Way through Your Program
Professional affiliation membership and involvement
Volunteer to help with meetings, conferences, or other activities for your
chapter.
• For more information on how to leverage professional associations, refer to
the Making the Most out of Your Professional Association Membership
resource.
Licensure
Review and ensure you understand the requirements in your state and that you
are moving toward attaining what you need. It is crucial to develop the habit of
keeping current.
Application documents
View the resume rubric or CV rubric to learn how to improve your documents.
• Incorporate the suggestions while being sure to weave in what you’ve
learned in your academic program, network contacts, and new
experience.
Seek feedback on your resume or CV by submitting it to the Career Center team.
• Incorporate suggestions you deem appropriate.
Ensure you have incorporated all of your new skills and experiences in your
resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile.
Networking
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page 2
Conduct informational interviews and begin narrowing down your areas of
interest in terms of industry, employers, and specific job titles.
• First, prepare to talk about yourself as a professional, and how you can
apply what you are learning in your program.
• Tailor your questions to find out information about specific types of jobs
and organizations in which you have an interest.
Consider asking, “Based on my experience and education, what else might you
suggest I do to better prepare myself for [specific position]?”
Confirm what you have discovered about licensure requirements, if applicable.
Job search strategies
Review the Effective Job Search Strategies YouTube video series offered by the
Career Center.
• Develop and implement your job search plan that includes multiple
methods (applying online at employer websites, connecting with people
in industries and companies of interest, working with recruiters, etc.).
Utilize your record keeping system to write down specific position titles of
interest and potential employers based on your research.
• Reflect back on what you learned in your research and networking
conversations. The research toolkit will help you further identify
specific employers.
Gaining experience
Assess where any remaining gaps are in terms of experience and education.
• What skill gaps still exist? How can you address those? The article,
Advice for when you have limited experience, outlines possible methods
for your reference.
Portfolio
Review the Portfolio content on the Career Center website to determine what
type of portfolio is preferred for your functional area and employers of
interest. Begin developing the portfolio and continue to update it throughout
your program.
Late in Your Program
Job search strategies
Identify ways to fit your search into your schedule; mark specific times in your
calendar.
Routinely assess your job search. How are you progressing? Where are potential
roadblocks?
• If you aren’t offered interviews, review your resume based on the Career
Center resources. Ask a professional in your field to review the document
and offer suggestions. Request a resume review via the Ask a Career
Counselor form on Campus.
• If you aren’t offered interviews, review your job strategy. If it is
comprised of mostly online applications, refer to the job search
information on the Career Center website and identify what other
elements of the multi-pronged job search you can integrate (i.e.,
networking).
• If you are interviewing and aren’t receiving offers, refer to the interview
Last Updated: 2/17/2020
page 3
preparation resources on Campus and conduct a mock interview with a
Career Counselor or trusted colleague.
When offered a job, review and integrate salary negotiation information.
Record keeping
Refer back to your list of positions and employers for your job search. Develop
a document that allows you to input information on what jobs you applied for
and when, and a reminder of when to follow up.
Networking
Inform your network of your job search plans and goals. Remember not to
specifically ask for a job, but ask for information and suggested contacts in your
area of interest.
Interviewing
Practice your interviewing skills using Big Interview. Select questions that you
will find particularly challenging and practice your responses.
Ongoing Career Management
Remember that career management is an ongoing process. As you move forward in your
career, EXPLORE the possibilities, CONNECT with others, PREPARE next steps, and ACT on
your goals.
Graduation
Congratulations! As a graduate of Capella University, you have free access to a wide variety
of benefits including access to the Career Center and a variety of other resources at your
described on the Alumni Campus. Visit Alumni Campus to discover ways you can continue to
be involved with Capella University and proactively manage your career.
Last Updated: 2/17/2020
page 4
Chapter 6
Organizational
Management—Team
Building, Management, and
Motivation
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Copyright © 2015. SAGE Publications. All rights reserved.
The student will
•• evaluate the importance of team building in today’s workplace,
•• describe leadership actions that build teams as well as leadership actions that
impede teams,
•• differentiate the roles and processes of responsible managers,
•• explain the procrastination equation, and
•• compare and contrast intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and determine which
is most influential in workplace engagement.
TEAM BUILDING
Working in teams has become the way of the 21st century workplace. Search
committees interview potential employees about their accomplishments in a team
environment to ensure, if hired, the candidate’s integration into the team will be
seamless and the new hire will collaboratively drive the team in a positive d irection.
In 2006, the Center for Creative Leadership conducted their annual leadership survey, which revealed that 91% of top-tier managers believe teams are central to
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117
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the success of organizations (Martin & Bal, 2007). FranklinCovey’s (2012) ongoing study of workplace productivity uncovered that teams contributed 35% of the
effort toward the organization’s goals. Work teams, committees, advisory groups,
task forces, cross-functional teams, and so on are prevalent in all sectors of the
workplace.
Lean budgets, a by-product of a tightened economy, continue to force organizations to operate with leaner staffs that can meet the organizations’ diverse
needs, eliminating the need for specialized departments. The quantity and quality
of programs and services required in today’s marketplace demands an “all hands
on deck” approach. The old adage, “two heads are better than one,” becomes real
through cross-functional work teams comprised of employees with diverse skill
sets and experiences. Organizations face complex problems; therefore, it is not
uncommon for groups comprised of several locally, nationally, or globally based
organizations to work together in search of solutions.
Copyright © 2015. SAGE Publications. All rights reserved.
REFLECTION: YOUR TEAM EXPERIENCES
You work as a member of a team in all facets of your life, from work, to school, and
in your community. In spite of this daily interaction with groups and teams, it is
not uncommon for you to feel uneasy engaging in these experiences. Rest assured,
your feelings are not uncommon. Maybe you had to deal with an unpleasant group
member, believed the group leader was inefficient or ineffective, felt “stuck” doing
all the work, or saw the team leader take all the credit. Conversely, maybe your
group experience was energizing. Everyone pulled his or her weight, great ideas
flowed, and the end result not only garnered a solution to the original problem but
also left you feeling inspired and prepared for your next group project. Lencioni
(2002) describes true teamwork as rare and difficult to achieve, but not impossible.
Lencioni and others encourage us to achieve this state of true teamwork because it
is so powerful and can make a measurable difference for team member happiness
as well as the success of the organization. Answer these questions from the “Team
Leadership Questionnaire” (Morgeson, DeRue, & Karam, 2010) regarding your
last experience working in a team:
1. What was the purpose or mission of the team? Was the mission clear to everyone on the team? Did everyone agree on the mission?
2. Was the selection for the team based on people’s talents and skills? Were the
members of your team aware or made aware of your talents and skills?
3. Were you aware, or made aware, of the others’ talents and skills? How were
the team’s roles assigned? Were the decisions based on talents and skills?
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Chapter 6 ◆ Organizational Management—Team Building, Management, and Motivation 119
4. Did the team have the talents and skills needed to accomplish the goal(s)?
Was training provided or offered?
5. Did the team establish goals, expectations, and a work plan (sometimes
referred to as a team contract)?
6. Did the organization leader meet with the team? Did the leader provide support or assistance with group identified challenges?
7. Was progress monitored and feedback provided to team members?
8. Were new ideas welcomed?
9. Were adequate resources provided?
10. Did the team leader promote the work of the team within the organization?
With outside stakeholders? Was credit given to the team leader, the team, or
individuals?
Copyright © 2015. SAGE Publications. All rights reserved.
11. Based on your assessment, was it a good group work experience? Why or
why not?
Now, reflect beyond the quality of the work experience; did you feel part of a
team? Maybe you were just part of a work group but were hoping to be part of a
team? How important is the sense of belonging in a work team? How important is
feeling that your ideas are important to the group? What is the difference between a
team and a group? Can a group transition into a team?
How does leadership play a role in work groups and work teams? Does the
leader’s role change between the two? If you want to lead a work team, what steps
should you take? How will you help your group transition to “team” status? What
does it mean to be a successful team leader?
DIAGNOSIS: WORK TEAM OR WORK GROUP
Susan Wheelan’s (2010, p. 2) definition of work groups and work teams:
A work group is composed of members who are striving to create a shared view
of goals and to develop an efficient and effective organizational structure in
which to accomplish those goals. A work group becomes a team when shared
team goals have been established and effective methods to accomplish those
team goals are in place.
It would seem obvious for organizations to want to rally around the success of
work groups given the importance and size of the workload most groups carry in
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PA RT II: DE V E L O P M E NT OF S E L F A ND TEA M
the workplace. Those who study and coach work groups have found otherwise.
Wheelan’s (2010) 35 years of experience as a research analyst and writer focused on
work groups and teams revealed that only 46% of 700 work teams, in existence for
6 months or longer, were capable of contributing to their organization’s goals. Only
17% were what she considered to be high performing teams.
Wheelan (2010) also identified organizational support for work teams as a key
factor in their success. Yet upper management rarely invests in actions that will
make the difference in group performance. It is like planting seeds for a harvest
in poor soil. Without a quality growing medium, fertilizer, sun, and rain, the seeds
will not produce a harvest. Likewise, work groups will not produce their intended
results if the organization’s leadership does not become a student of successful
work teams. Below are Wheelan’s recommendations to positively influence group
performance by organizational leadership:
Copyright © 2015. SAGE Publications. All rights reserved.
••
••
••
••
••
••
••
••
Clearly define the organization’s mission.
Support innovation.
Expect success.
Value superior quality and service.
Pay attention to detail.
Value group recommendations.
Set clear expectations for group output, quality, timing, and pacing.
Reward group and teamwork rather than individual performance.
Using a meta-analysis, Morgeson et al. (2010) report a perspective about team
leadership concerning the source of leadership. Their report also outlines key
leadership processes that result in increased team performance as well as the phases
of team activity. Their findings indicate team leadership is not from a single source
but from many sources. Work teams today address complex problems and have
many needs that are best met from multiple sources of leadership, both internal and
external to the group. These leaders may have formal roles such as project managers,
team advisors, or department managers. However, not all work team leaders are
assigned a formal leadership role within the organization. Examples of informal
leadership include a team member leading through a shared leadership approach or
stakeholders who emerge as champions of the team and have no direct responsibility
for the group’s performance. Team leadership functions consist of two phases of
team activity: first, a transition phase and then an action phase. The list in Table 6.1
details the various functions team leaders play in each phase.
Wheelan (2010, pp. 26–31) also identified phases in work group to work team
development and transition. She compared the growth of a group to the growth
stages of human development from children to adults.
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Chapter 6 ◆ Organizational Management—Team Building, Management, and Motivation 121
Table 6.1 Team Leadership Functions
Transition Phase
Action Phase
Compose team
Monitor team
Define mission
Manage team boundaries
Establish expectations and goals
Challenge team
Structure and plan
Perform team task
Train and develop team
Solve problems
Sense-making
Provide resources
Provide feedback
Encourage team self-management
Support social climate
Copyright © 2015. SAGE Publications. All rights reserved.
Source: Morgeson F. P., DeRue, D. S., & Karam, E. P. (2010). Leadership in teams: A functional approach to
understanding leadership structures and processes. Journal of Management, 36(5), 10. doi: 10.1177/0149206309347376.
Wheelan’s (2010) stages 1 and 2 are comparable to Morgeson’s et al. (2010)
transition state and Wheelan’s stages 3 and 4 are comparable to Morgeson’s
et al. action stage. All groups go through these stages as they develop into teams.
Some groups move through these stages several times as the growth to become
a team is not linear, but cyclical. Teams will also cycle back into previous
stages as membership changes, organization goals evolve, and external demands
impact strategic plans.
Using the columns that outline each stage’s characteristics in Table 6.2, you
should be able to determine the growth stages and organizational support needed
of work groups you encounter. Facilitating the transition from work group to work
team requires engagement from all stakeholders of the team. Team members, leaders, and the organizational leadership team all play an important role. It is when the
group develops as a team that effectiveness increases exponentially.
PRESCRIPTION: HIGH PERFORMANCE TEAMS
As with any change process, becoming an effective group member requires understanding what behaviors are associated with effective team members and effective
teams. Knowing what high performance team behaviors look like gives team members a target for change. Again, Wheelan (2010) details these attributes in Table 6.3.
Some organizations believe it is helpful to gather the troops for an outing:
bowling, rock climbing, intra-office softball, or building a float for community parades. These social events are important in establishing esprit dé corps,
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Stage 2
Counterdependency and Fighting
Emerging conflicts about values
Disagreements about goals and
tasks
Feelings of group-member safety
allows dissent to occur
Dissatisfaction with roles
Members challenge leader and
each other
Subgroups and coalitions form
Attempts at conflict management
begin
Goal clarification begins
Member engagement increases
Group intolerance of subgroups
and coalitions is evident
Deviation from emerging group
norms begins
Conflict resolution increases trust
and cohesion
Stage 1
Dependency and Inclusion
Members concerned with
personal safety
Need for acceptance and
inclusion by others
Fear rejection
Communication is tentative and
polite
Members want dependable and
directive leadership
View leader as competent and
benevolent
Expect leader to provide
direction and personal safety
Do not challenge leader
Group’s goals are not clear to
members, nor do they try to clarify
Do not express disagreement
with initial goals
Initial role assignments not based
on members’ talents and skills
High member compliance and
conformity
Table 6.2 Work Group to Work Team Phases
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Member satisfaction increases
Cohesion and trust increase
Tolerance of subgroups and
coalitions increases
Coalitions and subgroups
continue to emerge
Helpful deviation tolerated
Pressures to conform increase
Communication content more
task oriented
Leader’s role less directive,
more consultative
Communication structure more
flexible
Roles and tasks of members
adjust to increase likelihood of
goal achievement
Goal clarity and consensus
increase
Stage 3
Trust and Structure
Implements and evaluates
decisions and solutions
Uses participatory decision
making
Spends time defining and
discussing problems and decisions
Team gets, gives, uses feedback
about effectiveness
Appropriate ratio of task and
supportive communication
Open communication structure,
all members participate, are heard
Communication structure
matches demands of task
Delegation is prevailing
leadership style
Role assignments match talents
and skills
Members clear about and accept
roles and status
Tasks require team, not
individual effort
Members clear and agree on
group goals
Stage 4
Work
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123
If conflict resolution efforts are
successful, consensus about group
goals increases near end of this
stage
Engagement limited to vocal few
Group works to clarify and build
a group structure facilitating
goal achievement
More conflict, but managed
effectively
Greater division of labor
Individual commitment to group
goals is high
Cooperation more evident
Periods of conflict frequent
but brief due to effective
communication and conflict
management strategies
Members are cooperative, team
is cohesive
Tasks contain variety and
challenge
Subgroups work on important
projects, rewarded by team
Team contains smallest number
members to accomplish goals
Team accepts subgroups as
well as coalition formation;
integrated into team
Members pay attention to details
Team norms support high
performance and quality
Team encourages innovation
Team expects success
Task-related deviance tolerated
High voluntary conformity
Source: Adapted from Wheelan, S. A. (2010). Creating effective teams: A guide for members and leaders (pp. 26–31). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Subgroups and coalitions are rare
Group commitment based on
identification with leader
Lack of group structure and
organization
Minimal conflict
Conformity decreases
Communication tracks through
leader
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PA RT II: DE V E L O P M E NT OF S E L F A ND TEA M
Table 6.3 High Performance Teams
High Performance Team Members
High Performance Teams
Don’t blame others for group problems.
Members are clear about and agree with the
team’s goals.
Encourage the process of goal, role, and task
clarification.
Encourage adoption of an open
communication structure in which all
member input and feedback is heard.
Promote an appropriate ratio of task and
supportive communication.
Promote the use of effective problem-solving
and decision-making procedures.
Encourage the establishment of norms that
support productivity, innovation, and freedom
of expression.
Members are clear about and accept their
roles; role assignments match member’s
abilities.
Leadership style matches team’s development
level.
Open communication structure enables all
members to participate.
Team gets, gives, and uses feedback about its
effectiveness and productivity.
Go along with norms that promote group
effectiveness and productivity.
Team spends time defining and discussing
important problems and decisions.
Promote group cohesion and cooperation.
Team uses effective decision-making
strategies.
Interact with others outside the group in
ways that promote group integration and
cooperation within the organizational context.
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Tasks are appropriate to team rather than
individual solutions.
Support the leader’s efforts to facilitate group
goal achievement.
Team implements and evaluates solutions and
decisions.
Subgroups are integrated into teams as a
whole.
Team members have sufficient time
together to develop a mature working unit
and to accomplish the team’s goals.
Team norms encourage high performance,
quality, success, and innovation.
Periods of conflict are frequent but brief, and
the group has effective conflict management
strategies.
Source: Adapted from Wheelan, S. A. (2010). Creating effective teams: A guide for members and leaders (pp. 71–76).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
as well as achieving interpersonal understanding, friendship, and fun in the
workplace. However, they do not replace the best practices and behaviors for
high performing teams.
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Chapter 6 ◆ Organizational Management—Team Building, Management, and Motivation 125
Leaders must exercise patience, be supportive, coach, as well as be able to let go
(become less controlling) as the needs and maturity of the group evolve. Although
each work group is different, allow approximately 6 to 9 months for a group to
begin to approach stage 4. Help the group members learn to manage the group
themselves and understand the four stages of group development. Understanding the process helps everyone work through the stages instead of assuming the
conflicts are inappropriate and interpreting the disagreements as personal attacks.
In fact, Wheelan (2010) suggests three productive forms of group intervention if a
group becomes stuck in a stage:
•• Goal setting – helps refocus the group on why they exist
•• Feedback – course corrections are accepted more readily if delivered as regular feedback
•• Attention to group development issues – keep the future team informed on
their progress as a team as well as the tasks and goals
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Lencioni (2002, p. 97) describes five group dysfunctions that impede their ability
to function as a team. The diagram in Figure 6.1 shows the five issues in a pyramid
structure. They are not to be treated as linear stages but instead as an interdependent
chain of qualities that prevent a group from achieving high performance. One broken
link creates a problem that touches all levels of the model.
Although a simpler model of team development, Lencioni (2002) emphasizes
similar recommendations as Wheelan’s (2010) detailed framework. L
encioni (2002)
describes several group-member behaviors and leader actions to avoid the five
Figure 6.1 Five Group Dysfunctions
1. Inattention
to Results
2. Avoidance of Accountability
3. Lack of Commitment
4. Fear of Conflict
5. Absence of Trust
Source: Lencioni, P. (2002). The five dysfunctions of a team: A leadership fable (p. 188). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
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PA RT II: DE V E L O P M E NT OF S E L F A ND TEA M
dysfunctional levels. Achieving trust (level 1) requires shared group experiences
over time. It also requires a leader who shares authentic v ulnerability and creates
a work environment that encourages and does not punish vulnerability among the
group. Only when you are a part of a group that has established a level of trust, will
you allow yourself to be vulnerable by admitting your mistakes and weaknesses.
Trust makes conflict (level 2) possible. All relationships require productive conflict
to make good decisions and be able to grow. Conflict regarding ideas and priorities
should be welcomed as opposed to personal attacks, back stabbing, and office politics. Therefore, it is imperative for the leader to create a safe environment for group
members to be honest when sharing their opinions. To do this, group members will
have to resolve previous disagreements to prevent old animosity from contaminating the group’s dynamics. Fear of making a decision due to risk aversion or fear of
conflict is common for groups at level 2.
Healthy debates lead to buy-in and commitment from group members (level 3).
Knowing your opinion was heard and considered enables you to feel committed
to the group’s proposed solution, even if it was not your first choice. Lack of
commitment can occur when a group practices consensus as their ideal decision
strategy. Groups unable to resolve controversy and who believe that 100% agreement is necessary for a decision will bring the forward motion of any group to
a standstill. Consensus does not require 100% agreement about the decision but
instead requires 100% agreement that all members felt heard and thus able to
support the decision. Leaders can facilitate this process by bringing clarity to the
issues and decisions. Then the leader can compile the information and decisions
in time-lines, which outline the group’s goals and their plan for execution to all
the group’s members. Holding everyone accountable to the decisions and the
time-line becomes infinitely less challenging when everyone has a clear understanding regarding the expectations. Accountability (level 4) of the group to the
group’s goals is sometimes lost to members prioritizing their own advancement
instead of the advancement of the group as a whole. This is a common mistake
made by group members focused on their own self-interest. When commitment
is higher to individual goals than group goals, members of the team do not hold
themselves or each other accountable to the group’s goals. If there is no accountability for the collective goals, the group is unable to focus on the results. If individual rewards and status (level 5) are connected to the group’s achievements,
then group members will be focused on the advancement of the group rather than
their own self-interest. The leader must look beyond self-interest as well. A key
role of the group’s leader is to develop the group’s members into future leaders
and the group into a team.
The level of commitment from the group’s leader is imperative not only to
the success of the group but also to the dedication of its members, leading by
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Chapter 6 ◆ Organizational Management—Team Building, Management, and Motivation 127
example and design. Focus and rewards on the collective goals must become
the mantra of the leader.
SUMMARY
Teamwork is a much desired state of working together, but least understood in
the process of leading a group to this level of ability. A work group and a team
are not one and the same. Not every work group needs to become a team and
not every project needs a high functioning team. Teams require time to develop
as well as attention and resources from the leaders and other stakeholders of the
organization. Teams are also subject to the changes within the organization and
need time to adjust to new members, new leadership, or strategic goals. L
earning
to lead and coach a team to its highest functioning level is a desired skill set.
There is nothing more effective and productive in an organization than a high
functioning team.
MANAGEMENT
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Employees who rise in the ranks of the organization are soon asked to be responsible
for supervising the work of others in a department or work group. Such employees
become known as team leaders, supervisors, managers, or bosses. What is the job
of a supervisor or manager, and how do you successfully transition from being a
colleague and friend to the boss?
REFLECTION: EARLY LEARNING EXPERIENCES
ABOUT MANAGING
At one time or another, you have imagined yourself as a manager, either living up
to or exceeding the example that was set by a previous manager in your career.
Maybe you had a manager who led in a way that exhibited the characteristics you
now believe managers should possess. You observed this person and since have
modeled your behaviors after theirs. Conversely, maybe you had a manager who
made you feel micromanaged or expendable and thus taught you about the type of
manager you did not want to become. When tapping employees to serve as managers, many small- to mid-sized organizations offer little in the way of training for
new managers. Too often it is the observations of other managers that fully informs
manager behaviors.
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The word boss is an older Dutch word that means overseer, a word that
mericans preferred to the aristocratic term master (http://www.etymonline.com).
A
Over time, other terms, such as supervisor and manager, were adopted and deemed
to be more favorable. However, these additional terms also carry some negative
connotations. The word supervisor can elicit visions of someone who is authoritative or domineering. The word manager paints a picture of administrative work,
someone who is in the middle hierarchy of the organization. For the purposes of
this chapter, we will use the term manager. Today that role has expanded to include
both supervisory and administrative functions.
As a manager, you are responsible for monitoring the processes of the
organization, delegating responsibilities to team members, monitoring employee
progress, and reporting the results to the executive director. Yet, as the manager,
you have a responsibility to do so much more. Think of yourself as the conductor
of the orchestra. The conductor doesn’t only show up for tryouts, dress rehearsal,
and the performance. There are an array of responsibilities that comprise a high
performing orchestra. The conductor serves as the catalyst, coaching and pushing each musician to ensure all performances are error free and high quality.
The conductor monitors pitch, sets rhythms, and seeks a udience response. To be
a manager, first, you must picture yourself on the platform holding “the baton.”
When was the first time you experienced having responsibility for someone else,
when your words and actions had a significant impact on others? Was it your first
time babysitting, after the parents’ departure, and you realized you were in charge
of the kids? Maybe it was the summer you were a lifeguard at the community pool,
where you enforced the pool’s rules to ensure the safety of everyone under your
watch? Or possibly it was when you were elected to a leadership role for your
college student group, and it was your responsibility to ensure the success and
longevity of the organization? How did you approach this responsibility? Were the
experiences successful? Do you remember making decisions in advance about how
you were going to interact with others in the new role? These are examples of your
early experiences managing others and how you might have been influenced as a
new manager.
Consider a time when you were new to a work situation and wanted ongoing
assurances as you stepped through your first day. The good manager at Organization X spent time with you to demonstrate your job, answer questions, introduce
you to colleagues, and even got to know you. This good manager touched base
with you the first several days of your employment and provided encouraging
feedback at the end of each day. Conversely, the manager at Organization Z
took you to your work site, made a few general comments, and said you would
figure it out. Discreetly, you watched others performing the same task and
mimicked their every move. As your day progressed, you even hoped someone
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Chapter 6 ◆ Organizational Management—Team Building, Management, and Motivation 129
would become a friendly face, ask about you, and you would find something in
common, maybe even a friend. At the end of the day, you wanted someone to
say you had done a good job and wanted you to return. You are remembering
situations when time and attention from a manager was both wanted and needed.
Good managers (Organization X) make a positive difference in the daily work
of an organization and its employees (Buckingham & Coffman, 1999). What are
other manager actions and choices that add value and enable people of highly
productive organizations?
Diagnosis: Manager Responsibilities
The question contents below are considered responsibilities of good managers.
Think about your current or most recent work experience. Check yes or no as you
answer the following questions.
Workplace Measures
1. On your first day as well as into your first week, your manager worked with
or met with you for at least 50% of your workday?
___yes ___no
2. You know what your manager expects of you?
___yes ___no
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3. Your manager is visible in your work area at least once a week?
___yes ___no
4. Your manager taps stakeholders beyond the leadership team for input on
major decisions?
___yes ___no
5. Your manager demonstrates interest and care for you by knowing your name and
several interesting facts about you, such as but not limited to your spouse/children’s names, hometown, college/high school attended, favorite snack, favorite
sports team, favorite leisure activity, career goals to which you aspire, and so on?
___yes ___no
6. Your manager encourages your development?
___yes ___no
7. Your manager shared with you the importance of the organization’s mission,
vision, and values and outlined how your job impacts the accomplishment of
all three?
___yes ___no
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8. Your manager communicates with you frequently and clearly?
___yes ___no
9. Your manager provides the tools and resources you require to do your job?
___yes ___no
10. Y
our manager clearly communicates the measurements by which your work
performance is evaluated?
___yes ___no
11. Y
our manager expresses appreciation/praise at least weekly for your contributions toward the organization’s goals?
___yes ___no
12. Y
our manager appears to communicate with and support all employees
equally within his or her team in an equitable fashion?
___yes ___no
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Source: Questions adapted from Gallup’s Measures of the Workplace, Buckingham and Coffman (1999).
Were you able to identify managers from your employment history represented
in the 12 questions? In what areas were these managers strong? What were their
challenges? Can you derive from this question set the types of manager actions and
behaviors that might be desirable in the eyes of both the employees and organization?
Organizations need engaged employees, leaders with vision, and managers who are
able to identify, hire, and coach the new employees so that they become successful
members of the team. Buckingham and Coffman (1999) call it the organization’s
power supply, the catalyst role. It’s like a chemical reaction between the employee’s
talents and the organization’s goals.
PRESCRIPTION: THE JOB OF A GOOD MANAGER
A good manager is the alchemist of the organization. Buckingham and Coffman
(1999) identify four core stages within the catalyst role for managers:
Manager Catalyst Roles
1. Select a person
2. Set expectations
3. Motivate the person
4. Develop the person
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Chapter 6 ◆ Organizational Management—Team Building, Management, and Motivation 131
Buckingham and Coffman (1999) believe too few large organizations see value
in the expert deployment of these four catalyst roles by a manager. Many large
organizations have deferred these responsibilities to human resources (HR) and training
departments who respond with assembly line-like precision. The on-boarding and
training processes become carbon copies for every employee in every department. For
an initial orientation to the organization, this may be efficient. To provide professional
development for employees beyond the orientation, it requires a more individual
approach guided by the department manager responsible for the employees. However,
in smaller organizations, the chief executive officer carries out the leadership and
management functions. Many times this results in a CEO who has difficulty carving
out time for all the many hats she wears. The hat of manager includes the HR roles
including supervision, coach, training, evaluation as well as monitor of the internal
workings of the organization. Balancing the leader and manager roles is difficult in
a small organization. Returning to the orchestra example, the manager/conductor
knows all of the musicians in each section, their strengths and weaknesses, who are
the principles, who is cross-trained in other instruments, each individual’s style of
play, and who has untapped musical capabilities. The manager/conductor works hard
to interpret the musical piece so that it highlights the strengths of the players in that
orchestra while remaining true to the composer. It is an important job, and when done
well, is successful for both the orchestra and the individual musicians. In addition
to the catalyst responsibilities, the manager/conductor must also perform leadership
responsibilities to ensure the orchestra meets all of its goals. For these roles, I might
refer to her as the leader/conductor. The leader/conductor is focused on comparing
success strategies of nearby orchestras, interests of donors, coming trends for orchestras,
long-term planning, community support, guest musicians’ availability, the musical
selection interests of the audience, and which musical selections would expand the
ticket-holder demographics. Both manager and leader roles are very important to the
organization’s success. Unfortunately, it is the manager roles that tend to be given less
priority or are ignored as today’s workplace has evolved into a task- and time-oriented
environment with a focus on external growth as opposed to internal development.
Based on the four catalyst roles, there are six important processes for managers to
deploy:
Management Processes
Process 1 – Hiring and On-Boarding
Employee Need: Comfort and competence in the new role of an organization.
Organizational Need: New employee needed to start quickly, HR paperwork
completed, and the new hire trained to perform error free.
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Most organizations have rules and policies regarding hiring practices. If you
have questions regarding your organizations’ policies, inquire to the executive
director or human resources department to ensure you are in
compliance.
The first part of the hiring process includes writing and reviewing job
descriptions. Consider how you would write a job description that emphasizes
both relationships and results. Job descriptions that overly prescribe methods
decrease employee innovation and the new perspective that comes with a
new hire. The upcoming section in this chapter on motivation will help you
understand more on this topic.
The tendency in the workplace is to overlook the employee’s need for comfort
and job competence, a tendency that results in a rushed training with little more
than a review of the employee handbook. Instead, show the employee the worksite and his or her office or location. Let him or her shadow you and others for a
defined period of time. Let the new employee practice the job then observe him or
her in action. Immediate, helpful feedback is imperative. This is the time to coach
for your expectations as a manager. (In Chapter 11, you will learn more about
feedback skills.) Abandoning this employee after the first hour of training and
instructions will cause them to feel like an outcast and further delay their ability to
bond with the team. Do not overlook the employee’s need to have someone to go
with on break, to lunch, or even be invited to an office happy hour. As the manager,
plan your schedule to include blocks of time for several days over the course of a
week or two to orient, train, monitor, and mentor the new employee. You are building a working relationship, demonstrating you are trustworthy, approachable, a
dependable resource, and that you want her to succeed. Investing your time during
her initial days pays huge dividends later in a very loyal, well-trained employee.
Quality client services and relationships between employees and c lients/customers
are rooted in the relationship between the employer and employee. Employees give
what they get. If they work in a high quality, relationship-oriented environment,
that behavior is what they will mirror and deliver.
Process 2 – Monitoring Results and Appreciating Success
Employee Need: To see you in his or her work space seeing the job through his
or her eyes; noting and relaying appreciation for good work as well as to provide
helpful feedback for improvement.
Organizational Need: To spot-check efficiency and effectiveness at the point of
client/customer contact, noting observable results, and to provide “course correction” where needed to ensure results are on schedule and aligned with the organization’s goals. To enable employees to practice state of the art methods.
The manager’s tendency is to look for and comment on the negatives they
observe and make no notes of average or above average work until the annual
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Chapter 6 ◆ Organizational Management—Team Building, Management, and Motivation 133
evaluation. One of the top five employee complaints is the manager’s inability
to express appreciation for good work. Establishing a culture of appreciation is
important to sustain positive employee motivation. This is different than rewards,
which, you will see shortly, are not always a motivator. A note, kind word, or office
celebration when an employee or work team is “caught doing good” is key to a
giving, team-oriented, and supportive work environment. Another management
tendency is to see the improvement the employee needs to make and saving the
feedback for the annual review. Sharing current feedback is helpful not only for the
employee but also for the organization. Who can remember what really happened
last week much less 3 months ago? Withholding helpful information makes the
employee feel set-up during her annual performance review and is harmful to your
relationship as well as the overall work environment.
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Process 3 – Attract, Value, Develop, and Retain Human Capital
Employee Need: To feel valued and respected, to give skills and talents to the
organization, to grow and develop increased capacity and new skills, to network at
professional meetings, and to know that there are opportunities for advancement
within the organization if they so choose.
Organizational Need: To attract and retain the top-tier employees, to provide the
resources for training and development, and to establish a positive organizational
reputation in the community and related professional associations to continue to
attract talented candidates.
Organizations become unhealthy and weak due to a lack of investment in their
people. Low employee motivation, high turnover, increased number of complaints
and backstabbing, high absenteeism, poor communication, and low productivity
are signs of a weakened organizational state (Maxwell, 2011). Organizations need
to grow their people. Employees need to know they will have adequate resources
provided for professional growth and to continue meeting professional standards. It
is the responsibility of the managers to advocate for the professional development of
employees. To say one belongs to a profession or hires professionals implies employees are certified, qualified, proficient, and authorities in their fields. When employees
help managers create plans for learning and professional growth, employee motivation to carry out the plan is high. The Center for Creative Leadership’s (CCL)
research study on future trends in leadership development explores improved practices in teaching and learning leadership. In the report, Petrie (2011) emphasizes the
importance of employee involvement in their professional development plans and
describes it as key to organizational success. The CCL also recommends employees
think about their development in two directions—horizontally and vertically. Horizontal growth is the set of learning skills that help employees expand responsibilities
within their current role. Vertical growth is when employees develop the skills to
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take on new roles in the organization or even in another organization (Petrie, 2011).
Too often organizational budget cutbacks consistently attack employee development
funds first. Yet studies reveal (Maxwell, 2011) that the organization’s quality and
capacity will deteriorate when investment in employee development and organizational capacity is eliminated. If this inability to stay current continues, programs and
services will soon fail to meet the needs of clients and constituents. The reputation
of the organization will decline and donors and other sources of funding will redirect
resources to competitor organizations.
The most common mistakes managers make in supporting employee development and organizational capacity is (1) the lack of planning and purpose for the
training followed by (2) the failure to apply the training. Unfortunately, it is not
common for organizations to ask employees for perceptions on their own skill
needs and the coming capacity needs of the organization. Selection of training
for professional employees is generally made based on self-selection to attend
predetermined, annual meeting-themed programs of professional associations or
marketing efforts of consulting firms. Rarely is the effort focused around training
to meet a specific organizational or individual need. Even more troubling is the
frustration of the employee who attends a training program, yet has no mechanism
to incorporate the new skills or share what they learned with their manager or other
employees. And worse, the manager provides zero support or appreciation for the
employee to implement the new skills. Yes, even when the organization pays to
send employees to training, most treat it like a weekend excursion. Alternately,
when managers develop learning goals for training sessions collaboratively
with employees and connect them to the employees’ overall learning goals and
development plan, the level of learning and achievement increases dramatically.
The employees’ new knowledge is not only valued, but the time and effort to apply
and share their new skills is important and worthy of the organization’s investment.
Process 4 – Clarity About Mission, Vision, and Goals
Employee Need: Meet expectations, to feel that he or she matters to the success
of the organization, and to have less confusion regarding goals and priorities.
Organizational Need: Meet goals, engage employees, and realize measurable
results.
A mission statement (discussed in Chapter 8) serves as the compass for the organization, guiding the manager’s direction to employees. The manager must talk
the talk in addition to walking the walk of the mission statement. He or she must
understand it, be able to state it, and educate employees regarding the essence of
it. The manager must insist all employee tasks advance the organization’s mission.
Use of the mission statement is the key to success for all leaders and managers in
an organization.
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Chapter 6 ◆ Organizational Management—Team Building, Management, and Motivation 135
While a mission is the long-term look at the organization’s direction, goals are
the short-term victories that help achieve the larger mission. Too often organizational goals are set at a staff retreat by upper leadership with little input by entrylevel employees or mid-level employees or managers. Many times the resulting
goals have no plan to ensure their achievement. Goals are infrequently discussed
with the team, which over time, results in employees prioritizing other tasks and
asking, “Are we still doing that?” It is the management’s role to communicate and
monitor the goals, implementation plans, and results. Goals, plans, and results
should be discussed frequently and posted in a central place for everyone to reference and see the progress. Some organizations call this their “dashboard” because
the information is usually displayed as pie charts, tables, or graphs much like the
dials on the dashboard of a car. The organization dashboard also gives key information on the organization’s progress and current status; even a warning light if a
system is not working.
Managers should provide systems to keep employees informed about progress
on goals. The dashboard is such a system. If an employee cannot see how her job
connects to the organization’s goals, she feels disconnected and unimportant to the
group. As such, she is less likely to give the same level of effort as the employees
who can see “the needle move on the charts of the dashboard” as they complete
their tasks. Humans feel part of the group/community when what they contribute
matters to the results of that group. Employee motivation is connected to this concept called mattering (Schlossberg, 1989). All employees should know specifically
what their role was in the accomplishment of each organizational goal.
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Process 5 – Performance Appraisals
Employee Need: Fairness; no surprises; coaching, feedback, and course correction; and appreciation and recognition.
Organizational Need: Connection to organizational goals, opportunity for course
corrections, and employees who want to achieve.
Performance appraisals are annual events that all too often both employees and
managers dread. Employees fear the year of unknown/missing feedback and are
forced to wonder if the organization has been happy with their work. Adding to
the dysfunction of the process, the organization requires the manager to complete
a generic, one-size-fits-all organizational evaluation form that does not describe
any specific or unique features of the employee’s job, nor does it mention the mission or current goals of the organization. The manager does not have employee
observations or data on results, so he or she is writing general remarks about
employee collegiality, general leadership skills, and adherence to company policies. Good performance appraisals are processes driven jointly between employees
and managers with mutually agreed upon targets and goals, and quarterly meetings
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to discuss progress made toward the established goals. Such progressive evaluation
methods are least common in government, public service, education, and nonprofit
sectors.
To develop a quality performance appraisal, the manager should consider setting
meetings with each direct report.
•• Meeting 1: The manager discusses with the employee the mission and goals of
the organization. It is important that during this process the manager outlines
how the employee’s job contributes to the overall big picture for the organization.
Even if the employee is an entry-level employee and entrusted with limited
responsibilities, this will help her understand that they are important and
integrated into the team. The manager then asks the employee to take some time
to develop individual goals that will advance the organization’s mission and an
action plan to achieve them.
•• Meeting 2: The manager will review the employee’s individual goals to ensure
they are measurable and aligned with the organization’s goals. The manager
will also review the action plan to ensure the pre-set deadlines are realistic.
In this action plan, the manager and employee agree to quarterly meetings to
review the employee’s progress. It is important for the employee to know that
additional meetings are welcome, but will be scheduled at the discretion of the
employee. This process prevents the annual feedback surprise and assures that
asking for feedback is encouraged.
•• Meeting 3: The meeting’s focus is to review with the employee the agreed
upon goals and timeline. It is during this meeting that the manager and
employee also discuss the employee need for additional resources to be successful. This could include trainings, conferences, or even new technology.
The manager should seek to create opportunities for their employee’s growth.
Process 6 – Grow New Leaders
Employee Need: Guidance and support to grow professionally, to transition from
a colleague to a manager/leader, to have a mentor from among other m
anagers and
leaders, and to expand capacity to manage and lead the organization.
Organizational Need: To have a viable leadership succession plan and organizational growth and to create a pool of new managers and leaders who are ready for
new responsibilities
The best managers and leaders are always learning and helping others to learn.
The highest function of organizational leadership is to produce new managers who
can lead as well (Maxwell, 2011). Mentoring is a strong component in new manager
development. An established manager transfers wisdom, experience, and skills in an
effort to mold a new manager. Maxwell (2011) explains the established leader must
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Chapter 6 ◆ Organizational Management—Team Building, Management, and Motivation 137
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demonstrate a commitment to the new leader’s success by adding value through
constant encouragement. When an organization grows managers and leaders, the
organization also grows. An organization that does not identify new management and
leadership talent, support mentoring programs for potential leaders, or provide formal
and informal leadership development will be relegated to mediocrity, or worse, closing their doors. The leadership circle will become a closed group with no new blood.
Talented employees will leave the organization as soon as they realize there are no
potential openings at the top or no developmental path to get there.
Managers who facilitate and encourage members of the leadership team to
serve as mentors are especially helpful in the development of a pipeline of future
leaders for the organization and a succession process. Mentoring is neither an
accidental process nor a scripted assignment. It takes commitment from both the
mentor and the protégé to develop the relationship. Larger organizations may
have formalized programs that invite employees to participate in such relationships. Some of the strongest mentoring relationships are formed at the request of
the protégé. It is flattering to be asked to serve as someone’s mentor: therefore,
it is unlikely an invitation to be a mentor will receive a negative reply. Multiple
mentors early in a career are very beneficial, one inside the organization and
another who works outside of it. Each can provide insight to guidance through
the many decisions made in career advancement. If your manager is a helpful
resource and guide, invite him or her to serve as your mentor. Plan to meet with
each of your mentors several times a year, more often if you have a specific need.
Be sure to tap him or her for recommendations for important books or articles you
should read, as well as identify professional meetings and training opportunities
you should attend.
Promoted to Manager
Being selected, groomed, and promoted to a manager/leader position speaks to the
potential and confidence your manager sees in you. Many times promotions are given
based upon success in an individual entry-level role in the organization. Too often, the
organization does not support the newly promoted employee in the leadership role.
According to Carol A. Walker (2011, p. 78), new leaders fail to realize “that their
jobs are no longer about personal achievement, but instead about enabling others to
achieve, that driving the bus can mean taking a back seat, and building a team is often
more important than cutting a deal.” Walker continues, “Organizations of rookie managers assume management skills will be learned by osmosis. The rookie manager’s
boss plays a key role by engaging in intensive coaching and training” (p. 78). Walker
(pp. 80–81) recommends five key skills needed by rookie managers:
Delegating – You can’t do it all yourself. Empower your direct reports to
become a trusted, talented team. Everyone wins.
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Getting Support from Above – Engage your boss in yours and your direct
reports’ success at the beginning. Don’t wait for problems, and don’t be afraid to
ask for assistance. This is a partnership directed to the success of all. Even if you
have the same boss as before, expectations are different and new ways of communicating need to be clarified.
Projecting Confidence – Confidence is neither arrogance nor spouting the organization’s line. Direct reports need to see a manager who is both capable and considerate.
Focusing on the Big Picture – Don’t let the organization’s strategy get lost in
fighting the daily fires. Plan time in your day to work on the important goals, not
just the urgencies that erupt. Guide your direct reports to do the same.
Giving Constructive Feedback – Managers who avoid giving feedback to direct
reports cost them their credibility as managers. Practice giving positive and negative
feedback to direct reports. Ask them to provide feedback to you. This is part of the
job of being a manager.
The next important relationship to strengthen (Eikenberry & Harris, 2011) is
with your direct reports. Arrange a meeting and carefully plan and prepare. Know
what you want to take away from the meeting as well as what you want them to
take away. There will be additional dynamics if you were a former peer within the
group you now supervise; heed Eikenberry and Harris’ suggestions (2011, p. 16):
•• Acknowledge the transition. Be genuine. Share that this is an adjustment for
you as well as the group.
•• Talk about the changing relationships. Share your hope the changes will be
positive and that some changes might be different for different people and individual needs will be taken into account. Your goal is for a smooth transition.
•• After you have clarified your new role with your boss, share that description
with the group.
•• Outline your expectations for them. Preparing ahead of time for this conversation will give you the opportunity to have clarity regarding what you plan to
help them accomplish.
•• When you are finished, ask for their feedback. What are their expectations for
you? Listen carefully, take notes, and clarify their meaning. You can ask for
clarification regarding their suggestions, but do not negotiate about what they
share—maybe later. For now, understand your starting point with the group.
•• Ask for their help and patience. Even the best leaders do not know all the
answers. If they did, why would they need a team of direct reports? Likewise,
you do not know all the answers, even if you have good ideas.
Give yourself time to have these conversations, to allow the transition to evolve,
to reflect on its progress, and to make an action plan with input from your boss and
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Chapter 6 ◆ Organizational Management—Team Building, Management, and Motivation 139
your group. Following this process as a new boss you will grow into the position
with an increased likelihood of support and receptivity.
SUMMARY
Whether the role of manager is in a separate position or part of a CEO leadership
position, developing and enabling your staff and teams to perform at their highest
level is a key component of your job. It is likely role modeling good management
behaviors was not part of your previous experience in the workplace. Sadly, today’s
workplace overloads managers and leaders with administrative tasks that create
unhealthy time compromises. Only by reevaluating your important roles as a manager, evaluating what your staff needs from you, and setting priorities that allow
you to invest time in beneficial ways for your team and the organization will you
change the cycle of limited staff and team support.
MOTIVATION
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The American Psychological Association (http://www.apa.org) defines motivation as the process of starting, directing, and maintaining physical and psychological activities, including mechanisms involved in preferences for one activity over
another and the vigor and persistence of responses. As managers and leaders, it is
your job to motivate your work group and at the same time, feel motivated by your
manager as well. How do you create a motivating workplace? As a leader, what
influence do you have? How do you keep yourself motivated?
REFLECTION: MOTIVATION THEORY AT WORK
Studies of workplace psychology were first recorded in Frederick Taylor’s research
published in the 1910s. In it, he described methods of improving efficiency within
the manufacturing workplace. He believed if management rewarded positive
behaviors and punished negative ones, the manager would motivate the workers to produce in the correct manner (Pink, 2009). Daniel Pink (p. 18) refers to
this motivation method as “carrot and sticking.” In the 1940s, psychologist Harry
Harlow studied motivation in primates and discovered that carrots (or raisins in
the case of the monkeys) were not enough to induce a repeat of primates’ problemsolving behaviors he had observed earlier. This led him to hypothesize primates
and humans are motivated by things other than extrinsic motivators (raisins and
carrots). Therefore, he proposed, internal motivators might also be an unexplored
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driver in human behavior (Pink, 2009). Harlow influenced the research of Abraham Maslow, the psychologist most recognizable for his 1943 study, “Theory of
Human Motivation,” which was based on his humanistic perspective of psychology. He did not see humans as sick, dysfunctional creatures, or cogs in an assembly line. He believed humans have an ascending order of needs, the lower-level
ones (needs based on survival, safety, and belonging) that must be satisfied first
before meeting the higher-order needs such as learning, having confidence and
self-esteem, and reaching their full potential. Researchers McGregor and Herzberg
expressed a similar philosophy regarding human motivation. Herzberg wrote The
Motivation to Work in 1959, which described a framework of workplace and job
characteristics. Some characteristics met a few basic needs and satisfied workers
while others motivated and pushed them to do more. McGregor wrote the Human
Side of Enterprise in 1960 in which he described the behaviors of management in
relation to employee behaviors. One set of behaviors is Theory X, which described
employees as s hying away from responsibility and as such required their managers
to micromanage them. Conversely, Theory Y stated employees do seek responsibility, possess self-direction, and are dedicated to the organization’s mission.
McGregor observed management in organizations that employed either Theories
X or Y to determine which was more successful. He discovered managers who
acted using Theory Y were more successful than mangers using Theory X. Equally
important to the successful task results; he learned that employees were happier
and more loyal in a Theory Y environment.
Consider previous jobs or even classes in which you have been an employee or
participant. Were you happier and more motivated in some situations over others?
Answer the questions in Table 6.4.
DIAGNOSIS: EXTRINSICALLY OR INTRINSICALLY
MOTIVATED?
You just finished describing how you felt in a workplace environment that was
either autocratic (Theory X) or student/employee empowered (Theory Y). Build on
those ideas by answering the following questions.
•• What motivates you on the job?
•• What motivates you in the classroom?
•• What motivates you while working on a favorite activity?
In fact, when you are working on a favorite activity, does it feel like work? Does the
motivation for favorite things come almost automatically? If so, describe how this feels?
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Chapter 6 ◆ Organizational Management—Team Building, Management, and Motivation 141
Table 6.4 Environmental Motivation Theories
What did you experience? Think about a recent/current workplace or classroom
experience.
• A Theory X
environment
• Employer/teacher
behaved as if you were
a number, allowed you
to do mostly low-level
activities, was demanding,
no thank-yous, one-way
communication
• A Theory Y
environment
• Employer/teacher knew
you as a person, had
high expectations of you,
and challenged you with
work and learning when
you requested
• Describe your
environment, is it X
or Y?
What did you do in this job/classroom?
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Check the boxes below to describe how you responded/felt in the situation above:
Did what I had to
Was caring and committed
No knowledge of results
Couldn’t wait to get started
Boss received the credit
Took initiative
Result was good enough
Gave my best effort
Resented feedback, received
only if there was a mistake
All shared the credit
Celebrated success
Withheld my best effort
Felt energized
Became a clock-watcher
Asked why we were
doing this
Felt like quitting
Lost interest
Wanted to do/learn more
Didn’t trust others
Looked for excuses to not go
Shared with anyone who
would listen how good/bad
it was
Let’s explore why in some cases you feel very motivated and not so much in
others. Leaders want to influence their teams to be a motivated force. Here’s what
you need to know about motivation.
The earliest research observed that motivators came from human biological
needs. Because humans don’t live alone, researchers observed additional motivators that came from the environment. Volunteering is a good example to use when
studying motivation. You experienced enjoyment going to a nonprofit agency to
volunteer because the volunteer coordinator greeted you with a smile, talks happily
with you, and thanks you profusely for your assistance. You might be presented
with a certificate annually at a reception printed with the number of volunteer
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hours you contributed. The smiles, attention, statements of appreciation, and certificates are all extrinsic rewards. But what if there was a budget cutback and the
agency had to reduce the work hours of the volunteer coordinator and could not
purchase certificates. Would lack of certificates and interaction with the volunteer
coordinator curtail your interest in volunteering? There may be a few individuals
who are only motivated by extrinsic rewards, but most all humans have an inner
drive that is motivated by intrinsic rewards. These are the internal drives that bring
satisfaction and delight when you solve problems, create an idea, or master a new
concept. The enjoyment comes from performing the task (Pink, 2009). The act of
volunteering at the agency continues because of the intrinsic satisfaction you get
from knowing you are making services available to members of your community
who are in need.
Self-Regulation and Choices
Motivation is more complex than the feelings of satisfaction from a task. It is
also about self-regulation and choices. What motivates you to make choices about
how you spend your time? In their 2006 meta-analysis on the theory of motivation,
Steel and Konig defined motivation using this formula:
Motivation =
Expectancy x Value
Impulsiveness x Delay
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Decode the formula through the definitions of each value in the equation:
•• Expectancy – the confidence in your ability to complete the task with excellence.
•• Value – your perception of the worthiness of the task (can also be influenced
by your perception of how others see the worthiness of the task).
•• Impulsiveness – your sensitivity to delay, loss of focus, and distractibility.
•• Delay – length of time until feedback, reward, and appreciation are received.
(Longer time frames impact motivation negatively.)
According to the formula, the ability to stay focused on a high value task that will
be accomplished with pride is diminished by things that distract us as well as the
length of time it will take to see the task to completion. The path to big important
mission-driven goals is difficult to keep in focus unless there is a deliberate effort
to break it down into smaller steps that can be achieved in short time blocks so
participants can feel short-term success and progress regularly.
Several drivers influence how we make choices to spend our time and maintain
our interest. Opportunities that meet our need to be liked and to affiliate are important drivers in humans. Those drivers impact our desire to have friends and a friendly
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Chapter 6 ◆ Organizational Management—Team Building, Management, and Motivation 143
work environment. Your desire to feel self-confident impacts your ability to begin the
task as well as the belief you will do a good job (expectancy theory). Therefore, the
interests you value are placed in a higher position on your list of priorities such as
the list of goals you created in Chapter 5 when you framed your life plan. Wanting a
high grade-point average while in college is both desirable and valued, but the length
of time until graduation (delay) can diminish the likelihood you might choose to
spend time studying or writing a paper when the immediate opportunity for fun and
affiliation are present. Knowledge of these motivational drivers highlights how easily
you might choose to spend your time at a social event with friends rather than writing
a paper in the library. You might refer to that choice as a procrastination behavior.
Procrastination behaviors are major impediments to achievements and productivity.
Surfing the Internet, playing with your pet, cleaning or other tasks seem more
appealing than the prioritized items needed to be completed to reach your long-term
goal. Piers Steel and Cornelius Konig and (2006) report that procrastination affects
50% of children and 25% of adults. To be an effective leader, you need to know how
to locate and keep your focus. It not only affects your personal or organization’s
goals, but also impacts your employees. Your leadership should drive others’ decisions in how they make their commitments and allocate their time for the success
of the organization. What will motivate you and your employees to change established negative behaviors? The final chapter of this book will offer some ideas about
changing personal habits.
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PRESCRIPTION: FINDING AND
MAINTAINING YOUR FOCUS
Researchers have written about motivation in regard to general psychology, the
workplace, education, volunteerism, economic choices, and the behaviors of consumers (Steel & Konig, 2006). Many times the language is different, but people
are still people and require something either intrinsic or extrinsic to drive them forward. Since 2005, researchers from many disciplines began to compare notes and
connect ideas and concepts to develop one basic descriptive theory of motivation.
Motivation is complex to identify and describe, yet you know when you feel motivated. You might describe this feeling as being “in the zone.” In his book, Flow:
The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1990) described
motivational experiences as follows:
•• Framed by purpose and achievement
•• Challenging to one’s mental and physical state (just enough)
•• Transported to a focused state of being where one’s sense of time, place, and
self melt away in the accomplishment of an audacious goal
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Find Your Focus
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We will begin by outlining how to find your focus. Identifying your goal is the
first step, staying focused on the goal is the more difficult second step. Everywhere
you look, there is something or someone jockeying for your attention. Your motivation drivers are cued to satisfy your important needs. Unfortunately, those needs do
not have a separate gatekeeper looking at your long-term goals, making decisions
for you. That hard work is up to you. This is the work we call self-regulation, having the ability to say no to an immediate need (such as impulse shopping) when
there is a long-term goal at risk (such as saving money). You have already begun
part of the journey to understand self-regulation in Chapters 3, 4, and 5 when
topics were covered on understanding individual style, values, time management,
life plans, and organization. Your roles and how time was allocated were analyzed
for effectiveness. (In Chapter 9, you will learn more about connecting the vision
of where you are going to the specifics of a measurable goal.) The following list
provides tools for improving self-regulation:
•• Organizing
•• Identifying and protecting your peak productive hours (10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for
many)
•• Allotting appropriate time to the task
•• Planning, prioritizing, and calendaring
•• Using a quota, target, or benchmark to accomplish so many (pages, miles,
hours, etc.)
•• Self-control and the elimination of distractions and temptations
•• Ability to start a task
•• Ability to stay on task
•• Ability to finish a task
The ability to master the skills of self-regulation is key in the ability to overcome
procrastination and maintain a motivated state. When focus is lost, we must make
another decision to focus and start again. As you can see, multiple decisions to start and
refocus drains energy and risks a future focus decision never getting off the ground.
The second question to address is how to lead others to make commitments
and follow through with their best effort for the purposes of the organization. If
you were to quiz a group of employees and ask what motivated them to come to
work every day, the most probable initial response is the paycheck. Remember,
the paycheck is an extrinsic motivator and provides the means to cover people’s
basic needs of food, water, and shelter as is outlined by Maslow’s lowest rung of
human needs.
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Chapter 6 ◆ Organizational Management—Team Building, Management, and Motivation 145
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation
“But wait,” you say, “how can the paycheck be the motivator if I’ve just
spent the past two pages singing the praises of intrinsic motivators?” To help
you understand, Herzberg’s research on motivators and hygiene factors (1959)
as well as the model of employee motivation developed by Nohria, Groysberg,
and Lee (2008) will illuminate the relationship rewards have with motivation.
Herzberg referred to rewards, such as paychecks, as hygiene factors. In reality
phrases such as “necessary but not sufficient” are better descriptions. Humans
need a salary that meets their basic needs, buys a few extras, and is equitable
to the salary of others in the field. Salary becomes part of the web of hygiene
factors and when considered together, become a foundation or launching pad
to motivation in the workplace. Other hygiene factors forming this foundation
include the following:
••
••
••
••
••
••
Status
Security
Relationship with others at work (subordinate, peers, supervisor)
Work conditions
Supervision
Policies and administration
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The external motivators Herzberg identified include the following:
••
••
••
••
••
••
Personal growth
Advancement
Responsibility
The actual work
Recognition
Achievement
External motivators are the engine of motivation according to Herzberg (1959).
Once our needs for financial support are met, it no longer motivates, and the intrinsic
motivators drive us to commit and achieve. If financial needs are not met, employees
feel taken advantage of and become resentful and bitter.
Nohria et al. (2008) explained their employee model of motivation through a
model built around four drives: to acquire, to bond, to comprehend, and to defend.
Employees need to fulfill one of the four emotional drivers. If an organization
wants to motivate an employee, the organizations leaders must identify the driver
and have created a work environment that creates a conduit to the employee’s work
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motivation drive. Each of the four drives is identified with the conduit described
and related actions the organization can take.
1. Acquire – an organizational reward system with a pay scale equitable to competitors as well as performance accountability and rewards.
2. Bond – a supportive and collaborative work culture valuing teamwork, sharing, and friendship.
3. Comprehend – a workplace and specific job that emphasizes competency and
expertise in a role that is critical to the success of the goals of the organization.
4. Defend – a workplace led with fairness, transparency, and colleagues who
build trust.
Impact of Managers on Motivation
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Nohria et al. (2008) also reported how important employees’ perceptions of
managers were to motivation. Employees believe their managers have a responsibility to provide a positive work environment and control over company policies
to enable them to meet their four drives: acquire, bond, comprehend, and defend.
If even one drive is not fulfilled, the manager is rated poorly. In this model, it
is a combination of the direct manager and organizational factors that influence
employee motivation. Just as you have expectations about your manager maintaining a motivating environment, your employees have expectations for your role as a
leader that include enabling motivational factors.
SUMMARY
Motivation is not something you can do to someone else. Instead, leaders and managers set the stage by enabling and influencing the organization to establish a motivating work environment for all members of the team. Coach employees to find
what activates their internal motivating choices. Lead consistently in how the four
drives are fulfilled for employees. Set compensation packages to be competitive
and equitable. Organizations should reward teamwork, not just individual accomplishments. Your team has expectations of you as a leader to create a work environment that empowers and encourages them to stay focused and energized on goals
that really matter. However, building and sustaining your own motivation are also
integral to creating a positive, motivated work environment for others. Therefore,
you must role model skills of self-regulation, organization, and maintaining focus.
These skills will help you create and maintain an empowered team.
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Chapter 6 ◆ Organizational Management—Team Building, Management, and Motivation 147
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REFERENCES
American Psychological Association: http://www.apa.org/research/action/
glossary.aspx
Buckingham, M., & Coffman, C. (1999). First, break all the rules: What the
world’s greatest managers do differently. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New
York, NY: HarperPerennial.
Eikenberry, K., & Harris, G. (2011). From bud to boss: Secrets to a transition to
remarkable leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
FranklinCovey. (2012). The five choices to extraordinary productivity: Two-day
seminar facilitator manual. Salt Lake City, UT.
Hertzberg, F. (1959). The motivation to work. New York, NY: Wiley.
Lencioni, P. (2002). The five dysfunctions of a team: A leadership fable. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Martin, A., & Bal, V. (2007). The state of teams. The Center for Creative Leadership White Paper. Retrieved from http://www.ccl.org
Maslow, A. H. (1943). Theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50,
370–396.
Maxwell, J. C. (2011). Five levels of leadership: Proven steps to maximize your
potential. New York, NY: Center Street.
McGregor, D. (1960). The human side of enterprise. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Morgeson, F. P., DeRue, D. S., & Karam, E. P. (2010). Leadership in teams: A
functional approach to understanding leadership structures and processes.
Journal of Management, 36(5). doi: 10.1177/0149206309347376
Nohria, N., Groysberg, B., & Lee, L. E. (2008). Employee motivation: A powerful
new model. Harvard Business Review, 86(7/8), 78–84.
Petrie, N. (2011). Future trends in leadership development. Greensboro, NC: The
Center for Creative Leadership.
Pink, D. H. (2009). Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. New
York, NY: Riverhead Books.
Schlossberg, N. (1989). Marginality and mattering: Key issues in building community. New Directions for Student Services, 1(48), 5–15.
Steel, P., & Konig, C. J. (2006). Integrating theories of motivation. Academy of
Management Review, 31(4), 889–913.
Walker, C. A. (2011). Saving your rookie managers from themselves (pp. 77–90).
HBR’s 10 Must Reads: On Managing People. Boston, MA: Harvard Business
Review Press.
Wheelan, S. A. (2010). Creating effective teams: A guide for members and leaders.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Harley-McClaskey, Deborah. Developing Human Service Leaders, SAGE Publications, 2015. ProQuest Ebook Central,
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Chapter 12
Multicultural Leadership,
Politics and Influence,
Collaboration, and Social
Entrepreneurship
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
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The student will
••
••
••
••
••
••
••
••
••
compare and contrast the terms assimilation and acculturation,
examine four strategies for leading multicultural teams,
describe politically smart behaviors,
draw an influence diagram of his or her professional network,
list and describe six principles of influence,
list, describe, and apply the six factors that enable successful collaboration,
create examples of a leader’s sunshine and shadow power,
describe six concerns to investigate before agreeing to collaborate, and
apply the eight variables that contribute to a successful social venture.
MULTICULTURAL LEADERSHIP
Multicultural leadership brings a commitment to advance people who reflect the
vitality, values, and voices of our diversity to all levels of organizations and society
(Bordas, 2007, p. 8). In the United States, you can find a diverse selection of ethnic foods in grocery stores, hear many genres of music on satellite radio, purchase
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281
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PA RT IV: INF L UE NCE
a multitude of items from every corner of the world in your local shopping mall,
and attend school with students from many nations, ethnicities, and religions. However, in spite of our cultural diversity, leadership in our government, businesses, and
organizations is practiced from an ethnocentric orientation—a universal standard
built on one cultural orientation.
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REFLECTION: THE IMPACT OF EXCLUSION AND
THE CALL TO BECOME INCLUSIVE
Have you ever felt excluded from the favored and popular group at work or school?
Maybe you felt rejected because all you could afford to wear were off-brand jeans,
the office technology updates were prioritized for upper-management (all males)
and their technology “hand-me-downs” were redistributed to their support staff
(all females), or you had to miss office happy hours because they were always
scheduled on Fridays when you and your family were headed to the synagogue for
Shabbat. Take a moment to remember times when you felt excluded. When was it?
What were the circumstances?
Have you or someone close to you ever felt excluded because of your race,
ethnicity, faith, gender, sexual orientation, disability, height, or weight? How did
you respond? Did that experience shape your choices and how you behave today?
Exclusion experiences evolve in new and obstructive ways, negatively affecting
how you interact with the world. The perceived patterns in which work is organized
seem to contradict workplace responses to diversity initiatives, and the result is
complacency about perceived progress in eliminating discrimination (Ryan, 2006).
Exclusion is a problem if people are physically prevented from participating; if
there are barriers, physical or emotional, to an activity; or if they risk negative
consequences by their participation. Multicultural leadership’s mission is to be
inclusive, value multiple perspectives, as well as engage and empower people.
As a future leader of a human services organization, becoming an inclusive,
multicultural leader is part of the calling to commit to a profession of social justice
and civic responsibility. Bordas (2007) used the Latino concept destino and the
Native American tradition of vision quest to invite those who have accepted the
calling to lead on a journey of learning, listening, and reflecting. Destino requires
thinking about your life, family, significant events, talents, and attributes to develop
a deeper understanding of the possibilities for your future. Vision quest reveals the
meaning and purpose of one’s life. This view is quite different from the American
one of self-determination. Bordas (pp. 183, 185) calls the quest a “dance between
individual efforts and the lessons, gifts, and experiences life brings … being in
sync with the pulse of the times.” You have already done much of the same type
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Chapter 12 ◆ Multicultural Leadership 283
of reflective work for vision quest in previous chapters throughout this text. The
focus of destino is on the journey of life rather than on the destination. The question changes from “What will I be when I graduate?” to “What challenges will
I face and how will I continue to grow as I take each step on this exciting journey?”
Destino is more than your life’s journey; it is also the commitment you make to
the journey to act with determination and heart for purposes greater than yoursel...
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