Why your Managers should join Rotary

Misconceptions about Rotary

Rotary is an organisation principally made up of successful professionals. Many non Rotarians seem to think of it as purely a networking organisation or a do-gooders club. Obviously doing good things for your community, country and even world wide is facet of Rotary and a basic part of the reason for its existence. As for networking, well of course, again as with any group you join, the crucial personal success factor of networking is part of the deal.

From a business owners point of view however, Rotary is much more valuable!

I often read articles claiming there is currently a shortage of business soft skills, particularly in our younger workers.

Over my 30 years in Rotary and looking at it from a business persons perspective I have found that the organisation has an important benefit not often mentioned in its literature. Rotary represents possibly the cheapest and most effective staff "soft skills" development tool available to organisations both private and public. 

Although a British example from the "National Careers Service" here is a list of essential soft skills they published that I believe also fairly represent the skills requirements/problems employers also face in Australia and many other countries.

They state: "…[essential] soft skills, which tend to be either personal characteristics or skills that have been fine-tuned over a period of time are:"

Communicating; Making decisions; Showing commitment; Flexibility; Time management; Leadership skills; Creativity and problem-solving skills; Being a team player; Accepting responsibility; Ability to work under pressure

"When you look at that list and how valuable these skills can be to organisations, it’s a wonder they call them ‘soft skills’, because they are very important and hard to learn!"

ref:  https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/aboutus/newsarticles/Pages/Spotlight-SoftSkills.aspx

Again from "career-advice.monster.com" 

Six Soft Skills Everyone Needs

Communication Skills: written and real, persuasion, presentation and succinct explanations

Teamwork and Collaboration: Working with others, leading and following, monitoring progress, meeting deadlines, sharing a common goal and working across department cultures

Adaptability: "Understand the need to have a passion for continuous learning and the ability to continue to grow and stretch skills to adapt to the changing needs of the organisation,"

Problem Solving: "What to do, how approach a problem, how to involve others to help and how to assess the outcome in real, measurable results."

Critical Observation 'Collect and manipulate data and importantly analyse and interpret it.' Understand what questions are raised and assess what the data tells us about the next steps to take.'

Conflict Resolution: The ability to persuade, negotiate and resolve conflicts is crucial at all organisational levels. "Wherever people gather there will be politics", personality differences and competing agendas.

Can Staff "Learn Soft Skills"?

"The good news is that, like any skill, soft skills can be learned. The better news? Boosting your staffs soft skills not only prepares them for a promotion or taking on more responsibility, it will also have obvious applications in all areas of a person's life, both professional and personal."

OBVIOUSLY BETTER SKILL LEVELS WILL IMPROVE STAFF PERFORMANCE AND THEREFORE YOUR BUSINESS

What are the options?

'Offer staff a training or an academic course': Sure however that can be expensive. Example: A well know leadership course in Australia costs $2,100.00 for two days of training (ref: Blanchard)

"Seek Mentors": A great option however as the boss do you have the time and/or do your senior managers have the skills to be mentors? Wouldn't it be great to get some 'free' outside help?

"Volunteer: Working with nonprofit organisations gives participants the opportunity to build soft skills." Aha here comes Rotary. 

ref http://career-advice.monster.com/career-development/getting-promoted/six-soft-skills-everyone-needs-hot-jobs/article.aspx

From the Rotary Club of Sydney's 'Why Join Rotary Page'

"Team building, fundraising, public speaking, planning, organisation, and communication are just a sampling of the leadership skills that club members can exercise and enhance. Being a Rotary leader provides further experience in learning how to inspire and guide [manage] others."

Well that's a start however it's pretty much an unsubstantiated claim… where's the proof.

Lets look at a few skills and see how being a Rotary member helps

Firstly I should point out that Rotary gives it's elected officers power. The important point is that the power comes without any legitimate authority. Because it is an organisation of volunteers even as the president you cannot insist on anything. You must convince the board and members that doing what you ask of them is in the best interests of all concerned. Not an easy task at times. From a business owners point of view it is better for managers to learn how to do that in a volunteer organisation than having them destroy the morale of your workers though the misuse of their legitimate authority at work.

A FEW OF THE MANY SKILLS GAINED THROUGH ROTARY

Communication. There are many opportunities to speak in meetings. As a member individuals will be called upon to introduce or thank guest speakers. As a director individuals will be asked to present/report on what their committee is doing regarding projects you are involved in. If you act as club sergeant you will need to tell stories about other members for which they will pay a small 'fine'. In this role you will also learn how to develop a little comic relief into your public speaking. As you progress you will need to do presentations to the wider public.

Making Decisions. This critical business skill will be developed through involvement in club, district or global projects. As with any organisation money is involved and other peoples money at that, so well considered actions and an understanding of desired outcomes is essential. Example: Your club is offered the parking duties at a local event in return for gaining permission to hold out a gold coin donation bucket. You will have to assess, will the funds to be raised warrant the manpower needed. Is the organisation running the project legitimate and capable of making it a success? Does your club have the levels of manpower required or will you need to negotiate a joint venture with another group in order to do the job properly. What other resources such as shelter, refreshments, signs, money collection procedures, safety procedures, to mention just a few, do you need? What support for the workers must you provide and how will the work be divided up?

Showing Commitment. What can I say. Those that are not committed in Rotary even have their own anagram, they are called RINOs, Rotarians in Name Only. They are the one's that come late, eat and leave early. They are the one's who never volunteer and when they do tend to stand around and watch other members work. They are the one's that see Rotary only as a place to sell their wares. The social pressure that results from other members usually sees them out of the club pretty quickly. If however an individual shows commitment to the clubs goals they become a great ambassador for your business.

Teamwork. I guess I don't have to go into the theory of teamwork however, as I have run effective teamwork courses for major global companies over many years throughout Asia I believe I understand what is important for effective teamwork to exist. A few quick requirements. Individuals must be able to: 

(a) Communicate: Provide clear and accurate information, Listen effectively, Ask questions, Acknowledge requests for information, Openly share ideas, Attend to non-verbal behaviours

(b) Manage Interpersonal Relations and Share the Work: Seek mutually agreeable solutions, Consider different ways of doing things, Manage/Influence disputes

(c)  Be involved in Group Decision Making/Planning Identify problems: Gather information, Evaluate information, Share information, Understand decisions, Set goals

(d) Develop skills of Adaptability/Flexibility: Provide assistance, Reallocate tasks, Provide/Accept feedback, Monitor/Adjust performance

I have only mentioned a few of the benefits of being a Rotarian here, however if you want to develop the leaders of your organisation I state again Rotary represents a great opportunity for your organisation to do that and in a cost effective manner.

AN EXAMPLE OF TEAMWORK IN ROTARY

A personal story.

Some years ago I was involved in a project in the western suburbs of Brisbane to improve the facilities at a school for aphasic children. The project called the raising of the school on higher stumps and the building of three classrooms under the raised building Construction required everything from architectural design & engineering to the manufacture and fitting of walls, windows & doors, plastering, painting, pluming and electrical. New paths, stairs and balconies where also required. Two Rotary clubs collaborated on the project. The time to do the project was six months and required fairly constant work. The technical skills were drawn from club members. money was raised through grants and Rotary fundraising activities.

Thinking about the team skills mentioned above obviously they all came into play. The team that did the work were not contractors but Rotarians themselves. I still remember sitting on a trestle next to a 70 year old GP while we chatted and painted outside walls of the building. They guys and girls in the team included, architects, insurance company and bank managers, a plumber, a service station proprietor, doctors, a car dealer, a grocery wholesaler, solicitors, retail managers just to mention a few. All the mentioned effective teamwork skills came into play and I learnt valuable lessons for life. All were volunteers so no one had the authority to boss other around however through their demonstrated human relations skills they bossed us around plenty… I mean they effectively elicited our eager cooperation and we all learned a lot about ourselves and how to work with others across a broad spectrum of society. By the way the 70 year GP was a pretty lousy painter… then again I wasn't that good at it myself.

THE INVESTMENT

So will you nominate one of your managers with high potential in your organisation to become a Rotarian AND make the monetary investment as well? Oh… how much will it be for all these staff development benefits? Best estimate: Membership $280 p.a., Meals $25.00 X 26 a year $650, Meals $10 X 12 a year $120 and Events $35 X 5 a year $175. Total $1225. Time the (paid or unpaid) staff member will need to invest 156 hours or 6.5 days. No that large an amount to invest when you consider the training cost for just 2 days of leadership training only I mentioned above. This is easy surely to justify for any successful business.

SO HOW DO I CONVINCE THE STAFF TO JOIN

Well you know better than I how that needs to be done. In my case my boss Chris Fletcher called all the senior executives of the finance company together at a small ceremony and said: "congratulations on being appointed to Manager of our third biggest branch at Parramatta, you are the youngest manager we have ever appointed, I am sure you will do a great job and of course enjoy your TIME IN ROTARY". "What" I said "I don't want to hang around with all those ancient old blokes". To which he replied, "do you want the promotion Richard". "YES" I said… and the deed was done… and now thirty years later I am glad he insisted. 

Richard Townsend

President - The Rotary Club of Maleny

December 2013

http://www.orglearn.org

http://www.malenyrotary.org

Management is Different to Leadership - John P. Kotter

'Management is different from leadership' John P. Kotter states. Leadership he says is concerned with "the development of vision and strategies, the alignment of relevant people behind those strategies and the empowerment of individuals to make the vision happen, despite obstacles. This stands in contrast with Management, which involves keeping the current system operating through planning, budgeting, organising, staffing, controlling, and problem solving. Leadership works through people and culture. It's soft and hot. Management works through hierarchy and systems. It's harder and cooler".

So there is a conflict for those who are expected to take dual roles!

'The fundamental purpose of management is to keep the current system functioning. The fundamental purpose of leadership is to produce useful change, especially non-incremental change'.

Strong leadership with no management however risks chaos... strong management with no leadership tends to entrench an organisation in deadly bureaucracy'.

The percentage of time managers need to spend leading is growing rapidly and Kotter goes on to say... "increasingly, those in managerial jobs can be usefully thought of as people who create agendas with both plans and budgets (the management part) and visions and strategies (the leadership part), as people who develop implementation networks both through hierarchy (management) and a complex web of aligned relationships (leadership) and who execute both through controls (management) and inspiration (leadership)".

A critical issue that Kotter observes is the issue of POWER (and dependence). He says that "because managerial work is increasingly a leadership task and because leaders operate through a complex web of dependent relationships, managerial work is increasingly becoming a game of informal dependence on others instead of just formal power over others".

A great danger for those that are ineffective leaders Kotter can come from all levels of the organisation:

'The wily employee near the bottom of the hierarchy... can make life difficult (or easier) for the "important" manager through any number of strategies'. "An increasing part of managerial work involves actively dealing with dependence on others who are above or below in the hierarchy, peers inside the organisation and even people outside". I don't think this is any revelation to those of us who have worked as managers for some time, however as he points out it is not often directly discussed.

One of the most difficult issues for managers I have trained in a number of industries (and countries) is how to deal with this dependence on others. This issue will be covered in the sections of LEADERSHIP and POWER. Some of the strategies that I have seen staff use are as obvious as 'hiding the files' (burning in one case) or 'badmouthing bosses' to customers, or as subtle as holding back an important communication for a critical few minutes or 'poisoning' the mind of another colleague regarding your motives and on whom you depend. Kotter goes on to say, 'a focus on the dependencies is superior to a traditional emphasis on only formal powers'.

Finally as I was advised at the first management school I attended and as I advise all participants at courses I conduct today, networking is critical (success versus effective) and the development of good working relationships with people in the network (bosses, peers, staff, other departments, customers, and any other stakeholders) is a major part of every managers role. As Kotter puts it, "Having focus beyond direct subordinates is obviously necessary". A fundamental point, "actively managing relations with the boss is a necessity for the good of the enterprise" and I suggest for your survival.

More management articles at orglearn

Management: Don't Forget The Real Work

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DON'T FORGET THE "REAL WORK"

A short however critical lesson!

"Real Work" is term coined by Abraham Zaleznik (Professor Harvard Business School) to describe management activities related to producing products and services, offering them to a market and making sure we satisfy our customers. 

He contends that many managers spend too much time focusing on organisational processes and politics (the "rituals of psycho-politics" - roughly defined as "the art and science of asserting and maintaining dominion over the thoughts and loyalties of individuals...") or the pursuit of social expectations in the workplace.

As Zaleznik suggests managers need to exert considerable effort doing the "real work of thinking about and acting on ideas relating to products, markets, and customers". 

Functional and technical competence needs to be developed. This important issue and you should do considerable research on competence modelling as part of your early time in management and this issue will be covered more fully later when I upload "COMPETENCE". The real work of the manger according to Zaleznik should always include 'the thinking that informs and directs action'. 

The next article on management is:

FAMOUS GURUS THOUGHTS ON MANAGEMENT

Main website is at: orglearn

references are at : career_advice/management-lesson-references.html

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Want to be a Great Manager? What do the Staff Want?

WHAT DO THE STAFF SAY ABOUT WHAT MAKES A GREAT MANAGER?

As part of a training exercise I conduct in many countries I ask the participants to tell a two-minute story about their best boss or their worst boss. The stories (some horrifying and some inspiring) show that to be a respected manager and leader we need to develop a particular set of attributes. 

Now you have read lots of stuff about management and leadership in your your textbooks however it could be argued they are just theories. For those theories and their conclusions it is essential for us to listen to what staff, (those we get things done through), say is important to them. 

So to be a respected manager we need to develop and exhibit the following ATTRIBUTES:

Normal - being culturally compatible with the staff under our supervision by understanding and respecting the cultural norms of the group that we are both responsible for... and responsible to.

Organised - being well managed in our own personal work and being able to meet our own deadlines, being on time for meetings and calls and allocating our own time effectively.

Trainer - facilitating the constant growth of expertise and personal development of the staff and by showing them what a 'good' job looks like and helping them to achieve success.

Transparent - letting staff know what is going on with us, why we are acting in a certain way and what is influencing the decisions we are taking.

Reliable - constantly living by the adage of, 'saying what we will do and then doing what we say'... without exception.

Impressive - presenting ourselves as a professional in the way we speak, dress and our general demeanour in public and particularly in the presence of customers and competitors.

Consistent - being reasonably predictable in our habits and work methods and by not changing the 'rules' without consultation and agreement.

Knowledgeable - possessed of some area of technical expertise that the staff can relate to as relevant to the position we are holding, without necessarily being the top expert.

Fair - being equitable in our dealings with those we are managing by avoiding favourites and demonstrating willingness to discipline in private and praise in public.

Accessible - making ourself available to help solve problems, give ideas, act as a coach or mentor, settle disputes and provide support for staff needing resources.

Competent - knowing what needs to be done, by whom, by when and how to bring to bear the necessary resources.

Ethical - placing the interest of the group, the company, the customers and the community ahead of any personal desires and by not operating a personal agenda.

Disciplined - being calm in times of crisis and by remaining focussed on what needs to be done and by constantly working towards the group and organisation goals.

Now I guess to be all these things is a big ask however miss one and your not going to make the grade from the staff's point of view.

Want to see how you do? Why not distribute a questionnaire getting you staff to rank you from one to ten for each? Not game?

The Inner Conflict Between Management and Leadership

REMINDER - TRADITIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON MANAGEMENT

As I said in my last post Henry Mintzberg offers managers three areas of competence or roles central to our responsibilities as a manager that we should also consider. These he calls: “interpersonal”, “informational” and “decisional”. Our “interpersonal” responsibilities include being the figurehead, providing the central liaison point and acting as the leader. “Informational” responsibilities include monitoring activity, disseminating information and acting as spokesperson for the group. Finally “decisional” activities are, being entrepreneurial, handling disruptions, allocating resources and negotiating on behalf of the organisation. These issues will also be expanded in the various other management lessons.

Management is about all the issues that Mintzberg defines and hence the polarities or two head problem, as managers today need to be leaders so perhaps the following will explain the dilemma further…

POLARITIES IN ORGANISATIONAL LIFE (DO WE NEED TWO HEADS)

Traditional management (in the bad/good old days) used to concern itself with; supervision, checking, delegating, controlling, inputs and how to make sure the staff did what they where told. Managers where seen as fitting along a style line somewhere between laissez faire (lax) and autocratic (despotic), with us all being encouraged to be somewhere in the middle as democrats. 

Today the issue is more complex with the newly ‘empowered’ better educated workforce that most of us today manage, our personal style preference is perhaps less relevant and we as managers need to become ‘more things’ to a more demanding workforce. The concept of a manager also fulfilling a leader role is prevalent in most companies. Some even argue managers are no longer required at all and it is only leaders that will drive the companies of the future. This is fine in theory however corporate culture can take a long time to change and for the majority of us the expectation is that we will be required to fulfil the duel roles. This creates inner conflict as the ideals of the two disciplines are at opposite ends of the spectrum. 

The following list gathered from a wide range of sources gives some insights into the problem facing most managers:  

MANAGEMENT is about: CONTROLLING... Don’t leave our department, check what they’re up to, define competence requirements and ‘our title and position give us the authority’ to act within the company procedures and policies. 

V.’s 

LEADERSHIP, which is about: FREEDOM... Finding ways to encourage liberalization, creativity and initiative by letting our ‘followers’ participate in a flexible situation where we share authority and perhaps break the rules

MANAGEMENT is about: SURVIVING... Dealing with short-term operational needs and processes whilst strictly controlling costs and watching the budget, and sweating on the monthly targets. 

V.’s 

LEADERSHIP, which is about: GROWTH... Identifying new and possibly risky ventures that could be the basis for future income (and perhaps losses) and allowing unplanned changes of direction in and attempt to capitalize on fleeting market opportunities

MANAGEMENT is about: MANAGING... Instructing, allocating, delegating, following up, disciplining, organizing and directing. 

V.’s 

LEADERSHIP, which is about: LEADING...Inspiring, helping, encouraging teamwork, coaching, supporting, constant feedback, continuous personal development and goal alignment

MANAGEMENT is about: ADMINISTRATING... Overseeing activities, processes & individual tasks, control, supervision and testing against norms and agreed procedures 

V.’s 

LEADERSHIP, which is about: STRATEGISING... Seeking process improvement, implementing change, agreeing goals and empowering followers whilst constantly questioning the value of the plans in light of unfolding events

MANAGEMENT is about: ORDER & CONSISTENCY... Protecting the existing structure, systems, traditions and ‘the status quo’, belief that past successes give insights into the way forward and relying on accumulated ‘facts’ or ‘truths’ 

V.’s 

LEADERSHIP, which is about: CREATING CHANGE... Vision, direction, values and destruction of ‘the way we’ve always done it’, or as Jack Welsh (ex GE) and others put it engaging in ‘continuos creative destruction’

MANAGEMENT is about: COMPETING... Seeking the winning edge, overcoming those in the way & moving up the ‘ladder’, being your own ‘spin-doctor’ and being heavily involved in corporate politics. 

V.’s 

LEADERSHIP, which is about: COLLABORATING... Showing love and respect for individuals and seeking win-win solutions and actively promoting the success of our team members and presenting them in a good light

MANAGEMENT is about: DOING THINGS RIGHT... Organising, setting the rules and seeing rules are followed (compliance), being the inspector, keeping up with the latest technical advances and controlling information. 

V.’s 

LEADERSHIP, which is about: DOING THE RIGHT THINGS... Developing trust and taking risks (commitment) to ensure all ‘followers’ meet their full potential and know what is the most desirable way forward through full disclosure of operational needs and wants.

MANAGEMENT is about: INPUTS... Amount, type and quality of resources, understanding of cash flow and cash burn rates, effective plant utilisation, staff allocation and efficient use of raw materials.
V.’s 

LEADERSHIP, which is about: OUTPUTS... The level and volume of satisfied customers we can create, the market and how it perceives our organisation and how we can become the best in our field and how to provide more value to our customer.

MANAGEMENT is about: MANAGING THINGS. Being operations focused, having high levels of technical expertise (or at least understanding) and using people as production inputs or resources. 

V.’s 

LEADERSHIP, which is about: LEADING PEOPLE... Our charisma, socialised power, expertise in human relations, superior communication skills, inspiration & motivation and seeing human beings as potentials.

Not sure where the original material above came from as it was part of a training course I inherited, however I found some excellent additional reading with references listed here:

http://www.odnetwork.org/resource/resmgr/2011_conf_ppts/c2_polarities_are_everywhere.pdf

With the conflicting nature of these requirements we really need to be a bit of a two-headed monster if we are to be successful as a manager and the dilemma will continue throughout our working life.

So What Do Mangers Actually Do?

Now you may think that it is a pretty basic question however with the recent spate surveys showing that management skills around the world are pretty poor, perhaps it's time to get back to some basics. This is the first part of a series which I will post over the next week or two.

TRADITIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON MANAGEMENT

The definition of management that stands out and is perhaps the most widely recognised is: "management is about getting things done through other people". According to the text books the primary functions of management are, planning, organising, controlling and leading. All these issues will be covered in this series of posts however alone they are inadequate in describing what management is really all about. Lets start by defining the core issues with which management is concerned.

Renowned management writer Peter Drucker introduced the concepts of efficiency and effectiveness. Drucker sees efficiency as "doing things right" and effectiveness as "doing the right things". The problem with being efficient alone is that you can efficiently produce a bunch of less than desirable goods or services, or even efficiently run and ineffective operation that creates no customer value at all. If 'companies only exist to serve customers' (which they do) and if the organisation is not effectively customer focussed as first priority... all the efficiency that we can muster will be of no use at all. You might think that this is common sense however many new ventures, including a large number of dot-coms in the late nineties where extremely efficient technically, however in market terms were totally ineffective, hence the crashes.

Henry Mintzberg offers managers three areas of competence or roles central to our responsibilities as a manager that we should also consider. These he calls: "interpersonal", "informational" and "decisional". Our "interpersonal" responsibilities include being the figurehead, providing the central liaison point and acting as the leader. "Informational" responsibilities include monitoring activity, disseminating information and acting as spokesperson for the group. Finally "decisional" activities are, being entrepreneurial, handling disruptions, allocating resources and negotiating on behalf of the organisation. These issues will also be expanded in the various sections that follow.

Management from my experience is about all the above however today it is so interwoven with leadership and that fact is perhaps is the wrinkle that has created so many problems particularly with those promoted from within or for those with no actual management training. Most mangers (in the companies I have looked at) unfortunately are selected in their technical proficiency rather than their proven leadership or management competence.

So traditional management (in the bad/good old days) used to concern itself with; supervision, checking, delegating, controlling, inputs and how to make sure the staff did what they where told. Managers where seen as fitting along a style line somewhere between laissez faire (lax) and autocratic (despotic), with us all being encouraged to be somewhere in the middle as democrats.

ORGANISATIONAL LIFE AND THE 2 HEAD PROBLEM

Today the issue is more complex with the trend in ever more countries towards the newly 'empowered' better educated workforce that most of us manage. Our personal style preference is perhaps less relevant and we as managers need to become 'more things' to a more demanding workforce. The concept of a manager also fulfilling a leader role is prevalent in most companies. Some even argue managers are no longer required at all and it is only leaders that will drive the companies of the future. This is fine in theory however corporate culture can take a long time to change and for the majority of us the expectation is that we will be required to fulfil the duel roles. This creates inner conflict as the ideals of the two disciplines are at opposite ends of the spectrum. The next post will define this problem further with lists gathered from a wide range of sources gives some insights into the dilemma facing most managers. 

Next issue we take a look at...

POLARITIES IN ORGANISATIONAL LIFE (DO WE NEED TWO HEADS)

Human Behaviour, the Basics

CULTURE, MOTIVATION AND OTHER INFLUENCES

CULTURAL INFLUENCES

Firstly, culture can be defined as; a perceived truth (rather than reality) about a group and its members regarding their beliefs, values, attitudes and norms of behaviour, which have evolved from a common history, collective knowledge and similar conditioning. Culture is strongly influenced by race, religion, political and social structures and the geographical and physical environment. Culture manifests as etiquette, communication style, the arts, groupthink, symbols, traditions, behaviour patterns, shared ideas, common ideals and a way of life.

A few definitions to make sure you and I are thinking similarly;

Reality: What is! …or as the dictionary puts it “real things or the real nature of things rather than imagined, invented or theoretical ideas”.

Truth: A narrow perspective on reality developed as a result of the accident of the place and time of our birth, reinforced by those who seek an ally to support and perpetuate their own version of the ‘truth’. The dictionary defines truth as ‘all the facts… rather than that, which is imagined or invented’.

Beliefs: Faith in a set of learnt ‘truths’ formed as a result of our indoctrination by the influential when we are to young to resist, or if you prefer the dictionary definition, ‘a feeling of certainty that something exists, is true or is good (or bad)’.

Values: A subjective point of view regarding the worth of our beliefs and the worth of the assumed or perceived beliefs, values and attitudes of those we view or interact with, based on our own narrow perspective. Once again the dictionary, “the values of a person or group are the moral principles and beliefs that they think are important”.

Attitudes: Personal opinion governing rules of behaviour we think we can get away with when dealing with others from whom we are taking, or to whom we are giving, in the interests of our personal wellbeing. The dictionary ‘the way that you (or others) think and feel about something, especially when it shows in the way you (or others) behave’.

Perhaps you could see these definitions as a little cynical however when we get into the motivational theories and ‘motivational rules’ you may change your mind and agree with the thinking.

To understand what is happening with cultural influences perhaps the following ‘cultural iceberg’ will shed some further light. The iceberg is made up of the above factors and is shown below.

 

				Behaviours: the way we do or say things and the things we are prepared to do or say. The bit we see above the waterline!
			Attitudes: a stance we take and how a we feel and what we think (based on our values) regarding situations and individuals and our interactions between the environment and other people
		Values: a set of moral standards or rules (based on our beliefs) that govern they way we make judgements regarding the goodness or badness of factors in our environment and that influence what we set as the norms of a correct existence.
	Beliefs: an unquestioning view on how things should be and what is important based on our cultural assumptions and the ‘truth’ of our existence as a social being that we consciously or subconsciously buy in to.
Cultural assumptions: ‘the truth’ regarding our existence and our place in the world inherited and reinforced through indoctrination (usually at an early age) and based on the history and traditions of our predecessors.

Remember as a manger (or for that matter as a human being) that you can only see what is above the waterline and that your actions and influence will only at best encourage or discourage behaviours. Perhaps if you are extremely effective you may (and should) change attitudes, however it is almost impossible and would be foolhardy to attempt to change another’s Cultural Assumptions, Beliefs or Values. You just don’t have the time to invest.
 

In the 1980’s Geert Hofstede came up with four contrasting dimensions that influenced how people from different nationalities behaved at work. Based on studies of over 116,000 workers in 50 countries he found that people where inclined towards four fundamental dimensions, SMALL v’s LARGE POWER DISTANCE (minimal status differences v’s wide gap between those in power and the ‘followers’), INDIVIDUALISM v’s COLLECTIVISM, (my interests take priority v’s the groups wellbeing takes priority), MASCULINITY v’s FEMININITY (no sexism intended), (assertive, quantity v’s caring quality of life) and LOW v’s HIGH UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE (risk is OK v’s safety first tendencies). He later added the fifth dimension of SHORT TERM versus LONG TERM orientation.

Hofstede’s dimensions and a few of the consequences;

‘Power distance, that is the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power be distributed unequally. This represents inequality (more versus less), but defined from below, not from above. It suggests that the followers endorse a society’s level of inequality as much as the leaders’ back it’.

Small Power Distance

Large Power Distance

Inequality is ‘bad’ and best avoided and everyone has equal rights and interdependence exists between less and more powerful people. Parents and children treat each other as ‘equals’ and teachers develop students’ initiative and are experts who transfer impersonal truths. Hierarchy in organizations means an inequality of roles established for convenience and decentralization is popular. Subordinates expect to be consulted and the ideal boss is a competent democrat. Local management theories focus on role of employees. Managers’ privileges and status symbols are frowned upon. Skills, wealth, power, and status need not go together and power is based on formal position, expertise and the ability to give rewards and the use of power should be legitimate and is subject to criteria of good and evil.

Inequality is natural and desired and the powerful have privileges and less powerful people should be dependent on the more powerful. Parents teach obedience and children show respect and teachers are expected to take initiative and are gurus who transfer personal wisdom. Hierarchy in organizations reflects a natural state of human inequality and centralization is popular. Subordinates expect to be told what to do; the ideal boss is a benevolent autocrat, good father. Local management theories focus on role of managers. Managers’ privileges and status symbols are expected/popular. Skills, wealth, power, and status should go to together and power is based on association with powerful individuals, charisma and the ability to use force; might prevails over right; whoever holds the power is right and good.

‘Individualism on the one side versus its opposite, collectivism, that is the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups. On the individualist side we find societies in which the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after him/herself and his/her immediate family. On the collectivist side, we find societies in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, often extended families (with uncles, aunts and grandparents) that continue protecting them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty.

Individualism

Collectivism

Everyone grows up to look after him/herself and his/her immediate (nuclear) family only, with identity is based in the individual who in turn thinks 'I' Speaking one's mind is a characteristic of an honest person regardless of the situation or circumstances. The purpose of education is learning how to learn and academic qualifications increase economic worth and self-respect. Relationship employer/employee is a contract supposed to be based on mutual advantage. Hiring and promotion decisions are supposed to be based on competence and rules only. Management is of individuals, task prevails over relationship and individual interests prevail over collective interests. Everyone has a right to privacy and is expected to have a private opinion. Ideologies of individual freedom prevail over those of equality and an individual’s self-actualisation (fulfilment) is an ultimate goal.

People are born into extended families that protect them in exchange for loyalty; identity is based in ones social network and individuals think ‘we’. Harmony should be maintained and direct confrontations are avoided, there are times when nothing should be said. Purpose of education is learning how to do and qualifications are seen as important to provide entry to higher status groups. Relationship employer/employee is perceived in moral terms, like a family link. Hiring, and promotion decisions take employees' in-group into account Management is management of groups, relationship prevails over task and collective interests prevail over individual interests. Private life is invaded by group and opinions predetermined by group membership. Ideologies of equality prevail over those of individual freedom and harmony and consensus in society are ultimate goals.

‘Uncertainty avoidance deals with a society's tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity. It ultimately refers to a persons search for truth and indicates to what extent members feel either comfortable or uncomfortable in unstructured, novel, unknown, surprising or different from usual situations. Individuals from uncertainty accepting cultures are more tolerant of differing opinions; they try to have as few rules as possible. People within these cultures are more matter-of-fact, thoughtful and reflective and not expected by others in their environment to express emotions’. The opposite type uncertainty avoiding cultures try to minimize the possibility of such situations by strict laws and rules, safety and security measures and tend to believe in one absolute truth’; 'there can only be one truth and we have it'. ‘People in uncertainty avoiding cultures are also more emotional and motivated by inner nervous energy’.

Low Uncertainty Avoidance

High Uncertainty Avoidance

Socialized, calm acceptance of the unknown, risk taking is accepted and often seen as desirable. Tolerance is shown toward those with differing opinions and standards of behaviour and individual or group differences or beliefs are not seen as a threat. Individuals feel relatively safe and secure and time focus is now and the future. Relationship with the environment is domination or harmony and individual activity is about doing or controlling. People are seen as either good or a mixture of good and bad and individuals or groups see themselves as responsible for their own wellbeing. Space is seen as private or a mixture of public and private. Empowerment is accepted and initiative is shown and mistakes are seen as learning.

Individual/group stress and aggressiveness induced by anxiety about an uncertain future. Low tolerance for deviant ideas/ behaviour, formal rules and mechanisms to reduce risk and members strive to believe in a common set of absolute truths. Individuals feel relatively threatened and time focus is the past and now. Relationship with the environment is subjugation or at best harmony and individual activity is about being. People are seen as evil or at best a mixture of good and bad and the group or the hierarchy determines wellbeing.   Space is public.    Instructions are sought, responsibility avoided and mistakes are seen as ‘sins’ that will exact punishment.

‘Masculinity versus its opposite, femininity, refers to the distribution of roles between the genders. The studies revealed that (a) women's values differ less among societies than men's values; (b) men's values from one country to another contain a dimension from very assertive and competitive and maximally different from women's values on the one side, to modest and caring and similar to women's values on the other. The women in feminine countries have the same modest, caring values as the men; in the masculine countries they are somewhat assertive and competitive, but not as much as the men, so that these countries show a gap between men's values and women's values.

Masculine Societies	Feminine Societies
Assertiveness is valued. Money and material gain is desirable.	Sensitivity is valued.   Relationships and group members’ welfare is paramount.

Long-term versus short-term orientation: this fifth dimension was found in a study among students in 23 countries around the world, using a questionnaire designed by Chinese scholars. It can be said to deal with virtue regardless of truth. Values associated with long-term orientation are thrift and perseverance; values associated with short-term orientation are respect for tradition, fulfilling social obligations, and protecting one's 'face'. Both the positively and the negatively rated values of this dimension are found in the teachings of Confucius, the most influential Chinese philosopher who lived around 500 B.C.; however, the dimension also applies to countries without a Confucian heritage. The following is my interpretation of the consequences.

Short Term Orientation	Long Term Orientation
Only ‘now’ exists and we should live for now and ourselves. Consumption and spending is acceptable. Success is a result of applied intelligence and competence.  face.    The demands of the user or customer are the most important. Tradition is of little interest.	We should work for the future and for the next generation. Thrift and saving for the future is a virtue. Perseverance will ultimately lead to success; failure leads to shame and loss of face. Following the demands of the hierarchy is desirable. Tradition is important.

Obviously if you manage/lead, a group of people with a collective attitude, that see you the boss as all-powerful, who value relationships over material gain and that ‘suffer’ from high uncertainty avoidance, they are going to become quite unsettled if you casually announce say, a company, division or department restructure.

Often the culture issue is subtler than obvious ‘national differences’. Perhaps more importantly for those in management are the problems and misunderstandings occur between those that are often seen as integrated groups of one nationality or of one company. For managers, cultural differences between, a sales team, financial control, administration, human resource, production, service, and research & development can cause difficulty and hamper the performance of both the individual and the organization. Cultural diversity and the difficulties associated with this diversity is the subject of much intense debate in many companies. One company for whom I conduct training surveyed their managers to find the areas of their function that created the most operational stress and the results showed interdepartmental cultural differences as a major cause of problems.

Example; you can see why difficulties may occur between members of the research & development department who are interested in ‘long term visions, superior features, safety, the best product for the customer and who talk a lot of technical jargon’, when they are meeting with the finance division who are interested in ‘cost minimization, immediate cash flow, long term profitability and the shareholders who talk using a lot of financial jargon’. Add a representative from sales, ‘market share, need it now, the price has to be more competitive, using sell, sell, sell talk’ and perhaps a HR director, ‘they’re not trained, it’s too much of a strain on the staff and they’ll all leave, who is using long words from the last book he/she read on the psychology of the workplace’ and cultural issues can explode.

As leader/managers with an ever increasing mix of people from different backgrounds combined with ever increasing rates of change and the need for greater levels of specialisation, we all need to spend more time in understanding and managing the cultural differences in our organizations. To help us there are some guides that we should personally adopt and encourage others to embrace.

·         Stereotyping is an intellectually unsound practice
·         No one is an expert in your, culture not even you
·         No one can be an expert on someone else’s culture
·         Don’t make assumptions about people, ask questions
·         Never try to tell someone about their culture… ask
·         Moral judgements on a persons value based on culture are best left to the stupid
·         Another culture may not be better or worse, just different  

A major point for you to consider…

Generalising about people based on preconceived ideas, cultural background, gender, race, technical or professional disciplines and career choices or on any other basis you can think of has no place in a manager’s mind or heart. Although this chapter offers for your consideration a number of ideas based on research and to some extent categorizes or groups people by such things as cultural predispositions, personality type, or ego states this is done purely to demonstrate the complexity of individuals. As an astute manager you will always need to see people as infinitely complex individuals that have their own hopes, desires and motivations that will be constantly changing as an almost unlimited variety of personal and business situations evolve.  

References

Culture's Consequences – Geert H. Hofstede, Publisher: Sage Publications, Incorporated Pub. Date: April  2001 2nd Edition
“A summary of my ideas about national culture differences” - Geert H. Hofstede, http://cwis.kub.nl/~fsw_2/iric/hofstede/page3.htm, (permissions Geert Hofstede BV at fax +31-26-361-1021 or g.hofstede@kub.nl
Narcissistic Leaders’ (Article) - Michael Maccoby (anthropologist and psychotherapist), Harvard business Review/OnPoint, January-February 2000.
Transactional Analysis in Psychotherapy - Berne, Eric (1961), Grove Press, New York.
 Games people play - Berne, Eric (1964), Grove Press, New York.
The ITAA Development Committee Task Force on Transactional Analysis Core Concepts, http://www.itaa-net.org/resrcsonline.htm - http://www.claudesteiner.com/core.htm, Claude Steiner, Chair, August 2000 
I’m OK Your OK – Thomas A. Harris – Harper and Row (Avon books Inc). - 1973 
The Power To Succeed: More Principles For Powerful Living, Book II - Dr. Joe Rubino - Vision Works Publishing 47A Sheffield Rd. Boxford, MA 01921 Phone: 978/887-3125, Fax: 630/982-2134, Email: visionworksbooks@email.com Web: www.VisionWorksPublishing.com
http://www.centerforpersonalreinvention.com/sample_4_book_2_the_power_to_suc.htm,
A Theory of Human Motivation - A. H. Maslow (1943) - Originally Published in Psychological Review, 50, 370-396.
The Motivation to Work - Frederick Herzberg, Mausner, B, & Snyderman, B.B. (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1959
One More Time: How Do You Motivate Employees? – Frederick Herzberg Harvard Business Review: (Sept./Oct. 1987)   
The Human Side of the Enterprise – Douglas McGregor, McGraw Hill New York 1960
Existence, Relatedness, and Growth; Human Needs in Organizational Settings
- http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books&field-author=Alderfer,%20Clayton%20P./104-3787426-8056713 - Clayton P. Alderfer, Publisher: New York Free Press; March 1972
Human Motivation – by David C. McClelland, Publisher, Scott Foresman & Co; (August 1983) 
Achievement Motivation - David C. McClelland, Publisher: Irvington Publishers, Dec. 1992 - http://www.accel-team.com/human_relations/hrels_06_mcclelland.html" - Accel-Team.Com
Power Is Still the Great Motivator, With a Difference! - David H. Burnham, http://www.burnhamrosen.com/Power_is_Still.shtml, © 2002 Burnham Rosen Group
 Cross-Task Generalization of Intrinsic Motivation Effects - MICHAEL E. ENZLE, University of Alberta, EDWARD F. WRIGHT, St. Francis Xavier University, ISABEL M. REDONDO, Dalhousie University, - http://www.cpa.ca/cjbsnew/1996/ful_enzle.html
Goal Setting for Individuals, Groups, and Organizations - Edwin A. Locke, Publisher: Merrill Pub Co April 1984
 Goal Setting: A Motivational Technique That Works! – Edwin A. Locke and Gary P. Latham: Prentice Hall Trade; January 1984
 Motivation MGMT 352 – Organization & Human Resource Management, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, http://www.uwosh.edu/faculty_staff/rau/motivation.htm
 Organizational Behaviour, Chapter 6, pages 226 – 231 - Stephen P. Robbins, Prentice Hall International Editions 7th Edition 1996 <
Expectancy theory of Motivation - OBNotes.htm by WILF H. RATZBURG http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/1650/htmlexpectancy.html

Richard Townsend
Corporate Learning Consultant
Social Media and Web Consuultant

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Copyright orglearn - Richard Townsend 2008-12

Managers as Entrepreneurs

Some time ago I was listening to the chief executive of a very large international telco talk about the chances of ongoing succes of the organisation and what he saw as the principal drivers that were needed. A major point that stuck with me was his belief that the organisation would need what he called more "entrepreneurial managers".  I discussed this with some of my management trainees over the next couple of courses I conducted to see what they thought or even new about what it meant to "entrepreneurial". The lack of understanding was I guess predictable (they were all telco engineers) however it was also somewhat troubling given the chief executive's statement.

I think the development of the entrepreneurial spirit in the management team is an excellent idea however what do we know about being entrepreneurial.

Definition of an Entrepreneur

Someone with the ability and willingness to introduce new products or services, that sell, to a market where those products or services where previously either unavailable or not desired.

Characteristics of an Entrepreneur

Risk taker that can live with uncertainty

Adaptable to change and able to improvise

Can see how new innovations satisfy a market

Interested in effectiveness rather than efficiency

Either creative him/herself or able to utilise those who are

Has a desire to lead in his/her area of operation or market

A continuos learner willing to make and or tolerate mistakes

Flexible, willing to change direction as the circumstances dictate

Self possessed of a sense of urgency and stimulates that sense in others

Recognises his/her shortcomings and empowers others who compensate

Managing entrepreneurial teams

Train members on how to disagree constructively

Seek methods of getting honest points of view (perhaps anonymously)

Encourage all to contribute and reward dissension and diversity

Abandon the concept of a good team player

De-politicise meeting roles and ensure roles are not aligned to hierarchical status

Counteract any ‘herd instinct’ of ‘we’re all in this together’

Encourage leadership changes to the current ‘expert’ as the needed arises

Now this is a pretty tall ask for mangers to become more entrepreneurial however if it can be achieved a more fluid and responsive organisation can be achieved. Lets face the experts in their job are those doing them so if properly managed much can be learned about where opportunities exist from our own staff.

 Of course those suffering from group think and a reliance on the way things were just won't be able to undertake such an ambitious approach however for many companies that don't they will just go the way of Kodak.... and nobody should want that. You will need to have a risk taking culture in your organisation and for many this will also present a major problem.

More management tips from Ric can be found on orglearn just follow the management tips link.

Ten Tips to be an Effective Manager

Tip one:

Delegate don't abdicate... when giving tasks to subordinate staff we need to maintain responsibility for the result (the thing many of us want the least), whilst giving away our authority (the thing many of us want the most). In other words, effective managers do not forget about the task, they follow up to see the desired result is achieved.

Tip two:

When giving instructions confirm understanding by soliciting feedback... the worst three words ever spoken at work are, 'do you understand', 99% of the time to save face the person being instructed will answer yes. We should ask the person being instructed to repeat the instructions in their own words to ensure our message has been understood.

Tip three:

The 80/20 principle, 80% of your business will come from 20% of your customers... be wise with your time and focus 80% of your attention on the top 20% of your customers.

Tip four:

The 20/80 principle, 20% of our staff will produce 80% of our results... we should therefore avoid the natural tendency to spend the bulk of our time ‘fixing’ our poor producers. We are better off if we support the top producers, who, because of their competence, are often left to their own devices (and can then feel unnoticed and unappreciated).

Tip five:

Traditional company procedures are viewed as ‘a guide for the wise and the rules of fools’! Being flexible and adaptable in business situations, rather than always following 'the system' in the current complex and fluid climate means we may well benefit if we are prepared to modify our attitudes and take a different course of action to the norm, (easily said however hard to do).

Tip six:

Before answering staff questions, ask them to suggest a solution to the problem... if staff are encouraged to offer their suggestions true mentoring/coaching can begin, plus it's a good way to find new approaches to solving old problems.

Tip seven:

Allow staff to make and learn from mistakes, (within reason)... by allowing mistakes and then coaching to improve performance, 'subordinates' will be more willing to take responsibility. A common tendency to ridicule or 'hit' those who make mistakes is a major reason for the failure of many empowerment programs.

Tip eight:

Manage the in-tray using the "ABC method", split the in tray into 3 piles (A, B & C) then assume there is no B... take B pile items and place them in A or C, then bin the C pile, (or have it filed, if you must). Immediately take at least one positive step on each task in the "A" pile, respond, instruct, seek clarification, or delegate.

Tip nine:

When delegating agree (rather than set) deadlines, if you don't agree a deadline you run the risk of getting a, "I haven't had time yet". By agreeing a deadline the other party has to be up front about their current workload and will have little or no excuse for not performing the task allotted.

Tip ten:

Check progress... confirm progress on tasks delegated to staff or assigned to colleagues. A good formula is to seek a report at "half time" and in the "final quarter".

Note: Better habits makes for better management and it supposedly takes twenty one days to a month to form a habit... best start now!

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Contact, email me!

Management, Leadership, Career and Resume Help

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MANAGEMENT LEADERSHIP CAREER SUCCESS COMMUNICATION TEAMWORK and a BLANK RESUME WITH EXAMPLES Free Resources Management Leadership and Resume Help Historically management and a managers attributes have been seen as falling along a line that runs from: autocratic --- through --- democratic --- to --- laissez-fair. Mangers once picked a style and stuck with it. Modern attitudes and practices are a little more enlightened and beliefs in such old methods need to be dismissed. With managers needing to be leaders a dilemma occurs because management has been about rules, input control, supervision, discipline and maintaining the status quo. Leadership is though more about vision, risk taking, inspiration of followers, destroying the old, seeking new opportunities and creating more effective outputs. A major requirement for modern mangers/leaders is to have or develop high levels of Emotional Intelligence (EI or EQi emotional quotient intelligence) which is said to contribute 80-90% of the competencies that distinguish outstanding from average leaders. IQ is obviously important in understanding the technical aspects of a leadership role, particularly in creating your vision setting and strategic planning; however, in higher levels of organizations, differences in technical skills become less important or perhaps as some argue, of no importance at all. Vision, excellence in communication and the ability to inspire others is where success lies The site "orglearn" is dedicated to providing at least some basic management/leadership information and links to other resources that will help at work students of management and human behaviour, to at least make a start into what, if you are to be successful, will need to be a "lifetime study". Not every manager has the time or resources to undertake formal study or courses. Most of my time is spent in training young managers in the competencies needed to fulfill their role particularly when they move from being the technical expert to become "the Manager" and I thought the resources provided on orglearn may help. The second role of this site is to provide individuals with advice on how to complete their resume. This section grew through popular demand and resume writers from all over the planet have found the free blank resume form and it is used constantly. You fill in the resume form online edit it print it out (see resume form instructions) and even send it to Ric for backup. > USE THE FREE BLANK RESUME TEMPLATE < Resume - Curriculum Vitae - Your Brand Your resume is perhaps one of the most important career documents you have and investing time on resume improvement is never wasted. A generic or all-purpose resume is OK however you must edit or make your resume to specifically match the particulat job you are applying for. If you require personal help with preparing/editing your resume their is a link and further information at the bottom of the blank resume form, resume samples and examples and resume help tips page here: resume examples samples form and resume writing tips Ric Site updated December 30 2011 Text within this web site is: Copyright©1999-2012 Richard Townsend Corporate Learning Consultant