Workbook 3 Effective Leader 3 Motivation and ...toolkit.epic-hub.com/uploads/files/Workbook 3 Effective Leader.pdf · 2.1.2 Is Coercion Always Bad? 10 2.2 SELF-CONTROL 10 2.3 REWARD

[ Prof Dawie Smith & Wanda Bierman }

MODULE 3

Motivation & Empowerment

THE EFFECTIVE LEADER PROGRAMME MODULE 3 – MOTIVATION & EMPOWERMENT

2 2 The Effectiveness Group | +27 (0)11 787-0829 | www.stefduplessis.com | Copyright © 2003 Prof Dawie Smith, Wanda Bierman & Stef du Plessis

Table of Contents

1 PART 1: MOTIVATION 8

1.1 THE DEFNITION OF MOTIVATION 8 1.2 LIGHT RELIEF: DID YOU KNOW? 8

2 MOTIVATIONAL CONCEPTS 9

2.1 COERCION 9 2.1.1 Is Employee Motivation in the Capitalistic Workplace a Form of Coercion? 9 2.1.2 Is Coercion Always Bad? 10 2.2 SELF-CONTROL 10 2.3 REWARD AND REINFORCEMENT 11

3 INTRINSIC AND EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION 12

3.1 THE BASICS 12 3.2 THE KEY INGREDIENT: INTRINSIC MOTIVATION 13 3.2.1 Thought Leaders: Heider and Bandura 13 3.2.2 Heider’s Attribution Theory 14 3.2.3 Bandura’s Theory of Self-Efficacy 14

4 ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT MOTIVATION 15

4.1 THEORY X 15 4.2 THEORY Y 16

5 MOTIVATIONAL THEORIES 18

5.1 DRIVE REDUCTION THEORY 18 5.2 COGNITIVE DISSONANCE THEORY 19 5.3 ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION THEORY 19 5.4 INTERESTS THEORY 20 5.5 HERZBERG’S THEORY 20 5.6 MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS 22 NOTES: 23 5.6.1 How Management Can Satisfy The Needs’ Of Their People 24 5.6.2 What Happens When Needs’ Are Not Satisfied? 25 5.7 ALDERFER’S ‘ERG’ THEORY 25 5.8 SDT OR SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY 26 5.9 GOAL-SETTING THEORY 26 5.10 THE THEORY OF UNCONSCIOUS MOTIVATION 27

6 MORE ABOUT LEADERSHIP 28

6.1 CHARACTERISTICS OF INSPIRATIONAL LEADERS 28



6.2 GENERAL RULE FOR MOTIVATION 28 6.3 MOTIVATION THROUGH POSITIVE AND CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK 28 6.4 CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK 30 6.5 OTHER WAYS TO MOTIVATE PEOPLE 30 6.6 DE-MOTIVATORS 32 6.7 SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND MOTIVATION 33 6.7.1 Leaders Should Account for Four Key Variables 33 6.7.2 The Four Stages Of Maturity 34 6.8 SELF-ASSESSMENT: MOTIVATION BLOCKAGES 35 6.8.1 Motivation Blockages Score Sheet 38 6.8.2 Motivation Blockages Interpretation Sheet 39

7 PART 2: EMPOWERMENT 41

7.1 ORIGINS OF THE WORD “EMPOWER” 41 7.2 SO WHAT DO WE MEAN BY EMPOWERMENT? 41 7.3 TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU EMPOWER OTHERS? 42 7.3.1 Checklist On Attitudes To Empowerment 43 7.3.2 Rationales for the Checklist on Attitudes to Empowerment 46

8 RECENT TRENDS IN COMPANIES 48

8.1 WHAT KIND OF LEADERS DO WE NEED? 48

9 CHARACTERISTICS OF HIGH PERFORMING, EMPOWERING LEADERS 50

9.1 THE HALLMARKS OF EFFECTIVE LEADERS 50 9.2 THE DEMANDS OF INSPIRTAIONAL LEADERSHIP 51 9.3 A DE-POWERMENT SCENARIO 52

10 EMPOWERMENT AND THE FOUR LEVELS OF LEADERSHIP 53

10.1 MECHANIC OR GARDENER? 53 10.2 THE FOUR LEVELS OF LEADERSHIP WHICH HELP CREATE THE RIGHT

CONDITIONS FOR EMPOWERMENT: 53

11 BARRIERS TO EMPOWERMENT 55

11.1 BARRIERS TO EMPOWERMENT 55 11.2 BARRIERS TO EMPOWERMENT: ASSESSMENT 55

12 LEADERSHIP STYLE AND EMPOWERMENT 59

12.1 BREAKING THROUGH THE BARRIERS TO EMPOWERMENT 59 12.1.1 Control vs. Abandonment 60 12.1.2 Empowerment is the Third Alternative 60



12.2 PRACTICAL TIPS TO DEVELOP YOUR OWN CAPACITY AND THAT OF EACH MEMBER OF YOUR WORK TEAM 61

13 THE BASIS FOR MOTIVATION AND EMPOWERMENT: A WIN-WIN ATTITUDE 64

13.1 PARADIGMS OF HUMAN INTERACTION 64 13.1.1 Win-Lose 64 13.1.2 Lose-Win 65 13.1.3 Win-Win or No Deal 65

14 REFERENCES 70

15 ANNEXURE A: NUMBERS GAME 71


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5 The Effectiveness Group | +27 (0)11 787-0829 | www.stefduplessis.com | Copyright © 2003 Prof Dawie Smith, Wanda Bierman & Stef du Plessis

THE EFFECTIVENESS GROUP www.stefduplessis.com

Steve Simpson and Stef du Plessis work with organisations towards growing their people, developing their leaders, and helping them to create a culture-by-design, that will secure their future success while ensuring that theirs is a great company to work for. The Effective Leader programme, of which this module forms a part, has been designed to grow leaders at all levels, towards becoming leaders of authentic influence, who inspire excellence in their people. ABOUT THE AUTHORS OF THIS MODULE

Professor Dawie Smith - www.eplway.co.za - is a full professor of leadership. He developed post-graduate degree programmes in Personal, Interpersonal and Professional Leadership (PiPL) at Honours, Master's and Doctoral levels in the Department of Industrial Psychology and People Management, Faculty of Management, University of Johannesburg. He is also the founding director of the ELP way. Prof Smith is a significant research contributor, and has published a host of articles in accredited journals. He is also the author of a wide range of workbooks. A frequent guest on radio, and a popular motivational speaker, he also facilitates company-wide change programmes for a number of blue chip companies. Wanda Bierman - [email protected] - has been a human resources development practitioner since the early 80’s. From her humble beginning as an admin assistant, she climbed the corporate ladder to become the Executive Director for Training and Development for the Northern Metropolitan Council – then the biggest Metro Council in South Africa. She holds three degrees: in law, training management, and a master’s degree in Personal and Professional Leadership, which she graduated Cum Laude.


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The Effectiveness Group | +27 (0)11 787-0829 | www.stefduplessis.com | Copyright © 2003 Prof Dawie Smith, Wanda Bierman & Stef du Plessis

Published by: The Effectiveness Group SOUTH AFRICA +27 11 787-0829

Note: South African spelling conventions have been used throughout this workbook.

Copyright © 2003 Prof Dawie Smith, Wanda Bierman & Stef du Plessis All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including (but not limited to) photocopying, without permission in writing from the publisher.


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INTRODUCTION People are your most valuable asset. Or so the saying goes, at least. But it’s not true. People are not your most valuable asset. Here’s the truth: Motivated people, who ‘can’, and who ‘want’ to do what you hired them to do, are your most valuable asset. And it is your primary role as a leader to create an environment within which your people can indeed become more motivated, just as much as it is your duty to empower them. The Hay Group, who helped Fortune magazine to create the list of the 2010 Fortune “Most Admired Companies”, confirm that it pays big dividends when companies actually believe that their people are important, and when their managers are focussed on keeping their people motivated. Confirmation is found in the fact that industry leaders - specifically those who are resilient and who manage to stay ahead through tough times - differ from their peers in one important way: they actually believe that their employees are their most valuable asset. They behave in ways that demonstrate this belief; they create an environment conducive to keeping their people motivated. But there is a step beyond having motivated employees; namely to also empower them to see their tasks and projects through to completion. The result? They then put their full potential to work – towards the achievement of your strategic objectives. This module is aimed at helping you to achieve just that.


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1 PART 1: MOTIVATION

1.1 THE DEFINITION OF MOTIVATION

‘Motivation’, along with related words such as ‘motive’, is derived from the Latin verb “movere”, which means “to move”. Motivation, according to the Webster Dictionary, refers to ones reason or reasons for engaging in a particular behaviour. These reasons may include basic needs, pleasure (or the avoidance of pain), goal achievement, pursuit of a state of being, or an ideal. Motivation can also be attributed to less-apparent drives, like altruism or morality. ‘Motivation refers to the initiation, direction, intensity and persistence of human behaviour’, is how Russell Geen, who read for his PhD in psychology at the University of Wisconsin, defines it (from his book ‘Human Motivation: A psychological approach’). Of course there are many definitions of ‘motivation’ – but in one way or another they all boil down to the same thing: Motivation is what causes us humans to take action.

1.2 LIGHT RELIEF: DID YOU KNOW? “Motivation” is also:

• The title of two songs: One by Sheryl Crow, and the other by the Canadian punk rock band ‘Sum 41’

• An 80’s band from Manchester in the UK – who, in spite of their name, didn’t really make it

• The name of the racehorse who won the 1993 Hong Kong Invitational Cup

• The title of an episode of the reality television series ‘I Pity the Fool’, in which Mr. T travels from town to town giving advice and solving problems

Go figure…


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2 MOTIVATIONAL CONCEPTS 2.1 COERCION The most obvious form of motivation is coercion, where the avoidance of pain or other negative consequences has an immediate effect on our behaviour. The most extreme form of coercion is of course being slavery. While coercion is considered morally reprehensible in many philosophies, it is nonetheless still widely practiced on prisoners, students in mandatory schooling, within the family unit (on children), and in the form of military conscription. It is even found in the workplace.

2.1.1 Is Employee Motivation in the Capitalistic Workplace a Form of Coercion?

In fact, the critics of modern capitalism charge that without social safety networks, wage slavery (a form of coercion) is inevitable. This would suggest that capitalism is potentially a form of coercion. However, many capitalists, and commentators on capitalism, including Ayn Rand, have been just as vocal against coercion – making it clear that there is no room for coercion in a healthy capitalistic society. A quick diversion: Why should we pay any attention to Ayn Rand’s opinion? Because she is, perhaps the most significant commentator on capitalism in recent history. Rand was a Russian-American philosopher and political activist. She was also a best-selling novelist, playwright, and screenwriter (1905 – 1982). In fact, her voice was most loud in her writing. Her books continue to be widely sold and read, with more than 25 million copies having been sold by 2008. In 1991, a survey conducted for the US Library of Congress asked 5,000 academics what the most influential book in the respondent's life was. Rand's Atlas Shrugged was the second most popular choice, after the Bible. Another poll placed four of her books on the ‘Top 100 Novels of All Time’ list, with Atlas Shrugged taking the top position, and, remarkably, The Fountainhead coming in at fourth! Three out of every ten adult Americans have read Atlas Shrugged, and, of these, half say that the novel had "changed the way they think about political or ethical issues".


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10The Effectiveness Group | +27 (0)11 787-0829 | www.stefduplessis.com | Copyright © 2003 Prof Dawie Smith, Wanda Bierman & Stef du Plessis

Her political views, which were reflected in both her fiction and her theoretical work, emphasise individual rights and laissez-faire capitalism, enforced by a constitutionally limited government. A number of prominent politicians, academics, actors and business leaders - among them leading capitalists - refer to her as a prominent influence on their work.

2.1.2 Is Coercion Always Bad?

No. Coercion is not always a bad thing. In fact, successful coercion sometimes can take priority over other types of motivation. For instance, self-coercion is rarely substantially negative (typically only ‘negative’ in the sense that it avoids a positive, such as forgoing an expensive dinner or a period of relaxation, in exchange for a reward), however it is interesting in that it illustrates how lower levels of motivation may be sometimes tweaked to satisfy higher ones. But, that said, Rand was adamant that a capitalist society is indeed viable without having to rely on coercion to get people to perform their duties in the workplace. In simple terms, she says that we need not coerce people in order to get them to do certain things, or achieve stated goals. Rather, we can rely on their own unique ability to motivate themselves – as long as leaders create the conditions conducive to creating such a workplace.

2.2 SELF-CONTROL Motivation through self-control is increasingly understood as a subset of EQ (emotional intelligence): whilst a person may be highly intelligent (high IQ, as measured by intelligence tests), s/he may lack the EQ to dedicate this intelligence to certain tasks. Yale School of Management professor Victor Vroom's ‘expectancy theory’ provides one account of when people will decide to exert self-control to pursue a particular goal, or not. He describes drives and desires as a deficiency or need that activates behaviour which is aimed at a goal or an incentive. These are thought to originate within the individual and may not require external stimuli to encourage this behaviour. Basic drives could be sparked by deficiencies such as hunger, which motivates a person to seek food; whereas more subtle drives might be the desire for praise and approval, which motivates a person to behave in a manner pleasing to others.


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2.3 REWARD AND REINFORCEMENT By contrast, the role of extrinsic rewards and stimuli can be seen in the example of training animals by giving them treats when they perform a trick correctly. The treat motivates the animals to perform the trick consistently, even later when the treat is removed from the process. The same applies to us humans: A reward, tangible (bonus) or intangible (praise) is presented after the occurrence of an action (i.e. behaviour) with the intent to cause the behaviour to occur again, because of the positive meaning associated with the behaviour. Studies show that if the person receives the reward immediately, the effect is compounded. In addition, repetitive action-reward combination can cause the action to become habit – which means that the person is then likely to continue to demonstrate the action, or behaviour, even after the reward is ceased. NOTES:


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3 INTRINSIC AND EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION

3.1 THE BASICS Rewards can be extrinsic or intrinsic: Extrinsic rewards are external to the person (for example, recognition or reward); whereas intrinsic rewards are internal to the person to the extent that s/he engages in an activity, such as a hobby, without obvious external incentives because of the satisfaction that they get, or that a person excels in their work because of the sense of accomplishment that this brings. Think of an athlete: there are two types of motivation at play here, namely the extrinsic motivation of the cheering crowd, the trophies and the awards. This makes the athlete want to win. But their real drive – the motivation to train, day after day, in the early hours of a cold winter – is intrinsic: it comes from inside. They compete for the love of the sport, or to improve on their ‘personal best’. There can be no doubt whatsoever that it is intrinsic motivation that separates the champions from the also-rans. Intrinsic motivation has been studied by educational psychologists since the 1970s, and numerous studies have found it to be associated with high educational achievement by students. Beyond the separation of extrinsic or intrinsic motivation, some authors further distinguish between two forms of intrinsic motivation: one based on enjoyment, the other on obligation. In this context, obligation refers to motivation based on what an individual thinks ought to be done. For instance, a feeling of responsibility for the achievement of an organisational goal may lead to an employee helping others beyond what is easily observable, rewarded, or fun. It is the ‘intrinsic motivation’ motivation of our people that we should focus on in the workplace. Yet, there is currently no universal theory to explain the origin or elements of intrinsic motivation; and, in the absence of such framework, the manager’s task, is even the more complex.


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3.2 THE KEY INGREDIENT: INTRINSIC MOTIVATION

It is the ‘intrinsic motivation’ of our people that we should focus on in the workplace. Yet, there is currently no universal theory to explain the origin or elements, of intrinsic motivation; and, in the absence of such framework, the manager’s task is even the more complex. In an attempt to provide some context in the absence of an absolute theory on intrinsic motivation, we’ll turn to the work of Fritz Heider and Albert Bandura: specifically, Heider's ‘attribution theory’, and Bandura's work on self-efficacy, as well as his other studies relating to ‘locus of control’ and goal orientation. Before we proceed: Why should any manager consider either of these psychologists as relevant, when it comes to their endeavours to motivate their people? On the contrary, it would be absurd not to consider their opinion.

3.2.1 Thought Leaders: Heider and Bandura

Dr. Fritz Heider (1896 –1988) was a prominent Austrian psychologist who later taught at the University of Kansas in the USA, and who made significant contribution in the field of social psychology. His insights are relevant enough for any manager to take note of. Prof. Albert Bandura, born in Canada in 1925, is (at the time of writing in 2011) still a professor of psychology at Stanford University in California, USA - one of the world's leading research and teaching institutions. He has been responsible for groundbreaking contributions to many fields of psychology, and he is the originator of the theory of self-efficacy (which is what we’ll be focusing on here). Just how relevant is he? Well, according to a 2002 survey, Bandura was ranked as the greatest living psychologist, and as the fourth most-frequently cited psychologist of all time, behind Skinner, Freud and Piaget. Both of these guys are relevant, indeed. Now let’s explore for a moment what their respective theories are all about…


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3.2.2 Heider’s Attribution Theory

Heider’s attribution theory explores how people come to explain - or make attributions about – their own and other people’s behaviour, and the results that they achieve. He found that behaviour is either attributed to a disposition (like personality traits and attitudes); or that it can be attributed to situations (like external pressures, social norms, peer pressure, accidents of the environment, acts of God, random chance, and so on).

3.2.3 Bandura’s Theory of Self-Efficacy

Moving on to Bandura’s findings: He defined self-efficacy as one's belief in one's ability to succeed in specific situations. One's sense of self-efficacy can play a major role in how one approaches goals, tasks, and challenges – in fact, Bandura found that people with high self-efficacy (that is, those who believe they can perform well) are more likely to view difficult tasks as something to be mastered rather than something to be avoided. Their combined work helps us to understand that people are more likely to be intrinsically motivated if they:

• Attribute results and outcomes to internal factors that they can control (e.g. the amount of effort they put in);

• Believe they can be effective agents in reaching their desired goals (i.e. results are not determined by luck);

• Are interested in mastering a topic, rather than just participating. It’s really important to note that the idea of reward for achievement is absent here. This suggests that intrinsic reward is a greater motivator than extrinsic reward. Think of knowledge-sharing communities and organizations (like professional associations): here, people often cite altruistic reasons for their participation, including contributing to a common good, a moral obligation to the group, mentorship or 'giving back' (and they do so – give back, that is – at great personal sacrifice and expense). In work environments, money may well provide a more powerful extrinsic factor than the intrinsic motivation provided, say, by an enjoyable workplace – but managers can without doubt help their people to become more intrinsically motivated by helping them to identify their own need to do meaningful work, and to then align this with their job function.


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4 ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT MOTIVATION

Douglas McGregor based his theory of motivation on two views of humankind, “Theory X and Y”. Douglas McGregor (1906 – 1964) earned a Ph.D. in psychology from Harvard University, and went on to become a management professor at the prestigious MIT Sloan School of Management. His 1960 book The Human Side of Enterprise had a profound influence on education practices. In the book he suggested that managers hold one of two beliefs about the origins of human behaviour, and that these beliefs will impact on the manager’s approach to the motivation of their employees (to perform their duties), depending on which of the two beliefs the manager subscribes to. Typically, managers believe that employees will only respond if they are managed by means of authoritative, ‘direction and control’ methods (which McGregor coined as Theory X), whilst a minority of managers on the other hand believe that they will ‘get the best out of their people’ through integration, alignment and by nurturing self-control amongst their employees (which he labelled as Theory Y).

4.1 THEORY X Assumes that most people prefer to be directed, are not interested in assuming responsibility, and desire safety above all. Accompanying this philosophy is the belief that people are motivated by money, fringe benefits, and the threat of punishment.

How the ‘Theory X’ manager sees an employee…


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4.2 THEORY Y McGregor was a great proponent of Dr. Abraham Maslow’s teachings, so, in defining Theory Y, he made practical application of the concepts of Maslow’s Humanistic School of Psychology to management practices. (More about Maslow later). Theory Y assumes that people are not, by nature, lazy and unreliable. It postulates that people can be self-directed and creative at work if properly motivated. Therefore, it should be an essential task of management to unleash this potential in individuals. Properly motivated people can achieve their own goals best by directing their own efforts toward accomplishing organisational goals.

The same employee as seen through the eyes of a ‘Theory Y’ manager… Individual managers have a predisposition to either one or the other of these beliefs (although most subscribe to Theory X). The individual manager’s predisposition will impact on their management style in two ways: It will (1) impact on how they go about managing and motivating their people to perform their duties, and it will (2) largely determine the manager's own behaviour in the workplace. McGregor did not advocate Theory Y as a ‘new and superior ethic’ - a set of moral values so to speak that ought to replace the values managers usually accept. Rather, he hoped that his insights would lead managers to investigate the two sets of beliefs; examine their own choice of belief, and the results that this provided them with; invent others and then test out the assumptions underlying them; and that they would finally develop managerial strategies that made sense; were tested; and delivered results.


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These theories are attitudes, or predispositions, that managers have towards people. Thus, although the “best” assumptions for a manager to have may be Theory Y, it may not be appropriate to behave consistently with only these assumptions all the time. Managers may have Theory Y assumption about human nature, but they may find it necessary to behave in a very directive, controlling manner (as if they had Theory X assumptions) with some people in the short run to help them to “grow” in a developmental sense, until they are truly Theory Y people.

FACILITATOR NOTE: Workshop Activity 1 - Refer to activities section. NOTES:


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5 MOTIVATIONAL THEORIES There are enough ‘motivational theories’ to fill a chain of libraries. Outlined here are some of the most prominent, and most commonly applied motivational theories. There is overlap and support between some of the theories. And there is disagreement between - even outright contradictions – among others. The intention is not to provide an exhaustive academic thesis. Rather, to provide you with some insight and a frame of reference that will allow you to draw your own conclusions, and equip you to frame your own ‘motivational theory’ that will equip you to create a more productive workplace.

5.1 DRIVE REDUCTION THEORY There are a number of drive theories. The Drive Reduction Theory grows out of the concept that we have certain biological needs, such as hunger. As time passes, the strength of the drive increases as it is not satisfied. Then as we satisfy that drive by fulfilling its desire, such as eating, the drive's strength is reduced. It is based on the theories of Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939), an Austrian neurologist who founded the psychoanalytic school of psychiatry. He is best known for his theories of the unconscious mind and the defence mechanism of repression. He redefined sexual desire as the primary motivational energy of human life, and developed therapeutic techniques such as the use of free association. Although Freud is considered one of the most prominent thinkers of the 20th century, in terms of originality and intellectual influence, and has been called one of the three masters of the "school of suspicion", alongside Karl Marx and Friedrich Nietzsche, many of his ideas have been abandoned or modified by other analysts, and modern advances in the field of psychology have shown flaws in some of his theories. Nonetheless, his work remains influential in clinical approaches, and in the humanities and social sciences, including Marxism and feminism. Regarding The Drive Reduction Theory specifically, there are many problems that leave the validity of this theory open for debate. The first problem is that it does not explain how Secondary Re-enforcers reduce drive. For example,


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money does not satisfy any biological or psychological need but reduces drive on a regular basis through a paycheck second-order conditioning. Secondly, if the drive reduction theory held true we would not be able to explain how a hungry human being can prepare a meal without eating the food before they finished cooking it. However, when comparing this to a real life situation such as preparing food, one does get hungrier as the food is being made (drive increases), and after the food has been consumed the drive decreases. The only reason the food does not get eaten before is the human element of restraint and has nothing to do with drive theory. Also, the food will either be nicer after it is cooked, or it won't be edible at all before it is cooked.

5.2 COGNITIVE DISSONANCE THEORY Professor of psychology Leon Festinger (1919 - 1989) was a faculty member at seven universities, including Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Although best known for his Theory of Cognitive Dissonance which suggests that inconsistency among beliefs and behaviours will cause an uncomfortable psychological tension, which will lead people to change their beliefs to fit their actual behaviour, rather than the other way around, as popular wisdom may suggest. He was also responsible for the development of a number of other very substantive behavioural theories, like the Social Comparison Theory, which examines how people evaluate their own opinions and desires by comparing themselves with others, and how groups exert pressures on individuals to conform to group norms and goals.

5.3 ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION THEORY David C. McClelland (1917 – 1998) was an American psychological theorist. With a PhD from Yale University, he was most noted for his work on achievement motivation, and published a number of relevant works from the 1950s until the 1990s – including the Achievement Motivation Theory, for which he received the American Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions.


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The achievement motivation theory envisions that a person has a need for three things, and that their motivation to perform will differ in the degree to which they value these needs. These three needs are:

• Need for achievement. • Need for power. • Need for affiliation.

5.4 INTERESTS THEORY Dr. John L. Holland (1919 – 2008) was one of America’s best known, influential and respected vocational psychologists who spent much of his career at Johns Hopkins University. He is the creator of the RIASEC career development model (where RIASEC refers to the first letters of his the six personality and work environment types), more commonly referred to as the Holland Codes. The six types described by Holland are as follows:

• Realistic - practical, physical, hands-on, tool-oriented. • Investigative - analytical, intellectual, scientific, explorative. • Artistic - creative, original, independent, chaotic. • Social - cooperative, supporting, helping, healing/nurturing. • Enterprising - competitive environments, leadership, persuading. • Conventional - detail-oriented, organizing, clerical.

One way to consider motivation is that if a person has a strong interest in one of the six Holland areas, then obtaining outcomes in that area will be strongly reinforced relative to obtaining outcomes in areas of weak interest, thus motivating the individual to perform well in their areas of interest.

5.5 HERZBERG’S THEORY

Frederick Herzberg (1923 – 2000) was an American psychologist who became one of the most influential names in business management. His 1968 publication "One More Time, How Do You Motivate Employees?" had sold well over a million reprints by the mid eighties, and was the most requested article from the Harvard Business Review.


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Initially, he interrupted his undergraduate university studies to enlist to the Army during WWII. Towards the very end of the war, as a patrol sergeant, he was a firsthand witness of the Dachau concentration camp. He was adamant that this experience triggered his interest in motivation. As soon as the war was over, he returned to university to complete his studies. After gaining post-graduate workplace experience, he returned to his studies, to become a professor of psychology, but finally held the position of professor of business management at the University of Utah. He is most famous for introducing his Motivator-Hygiene Theory, also known as a form of intrinsic/extrinsic motivation. He concludes that certain factors in the workplace are essential for job satisfaction – although the presence of these factors will not necessarily act as motivators. The absence of these factors, on the other hand, will indeed cause job dissatisfaction, and de-motivation is sure to follow. • Hygiene factors – so called because, like hygiene, the presence will not

make you healthier, but absence can cause health deterioration – according to Herzberg are capable of creating dissatisfaction, but are not able to bring about positive motivation. When these factors are not in place, employees will be stimulated negatively – but their presence, on the other hand, will have a “neutral” effect on motivational drives (as opposed to being a positive motivator).

• Motivators, on the other hand, he believed, produced high levels of

satisfaction, which motivated employees. His theory of motivation is based on the satisfaction and dissatisfaction levels of employees:

• Dissatisfiers, hygiene or maintenance factors (the job context):

Employees expect certain basic conditions. Since these conditions are expected, their presence does not motivate people.

These are mostly factors such as good working conditions, fair wage, satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers, superiors, and subordinates, acceptable company policy, job security, adequate leave, and so on.

• Satisfiers or motivators (the work itself): These are achievement,

recognition, advancement, the work itself, interesting and challenging work,


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the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution, the opportunity to put one’s capabilities to good use, growth potential and responsibility for one’s own work.

5.6 MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS Abraham Maslow (1908 – 1970) overcame a difficult childhood which compelled him to commit his lifelong research to mental health and human potential. He wrote extensively on the subject, borrowing ideas from other psychologists, and from his distinguished mentors – among them Alfred Adler, one of Freud’s early colleagues - but always adding significantly to these ideas, especially the concepts of a hierarchy of needs, self actualization and peak experiences. Later, as a professor of psychology, he founded ‘humanistic psychology’ and created his hierarchy of needs. In 1967, the American Humanist Association named him Humanist of the Year. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is one of the most prominent ‘motivation need theories’ in use today. He saw human needs in the form of a hierarchy, ascending from the lowest needs to the highest. He concluded that a set of needs ceased to be a motivator as soon as the need was met. Maslow defined human needs in terms of five basic needs. In order of importance these are: SURVIVAL NEEDS These are the basic needs for maintaining life itself, such as shelter, food, water, clothing and sleep. These needs must be met before the next level of needs can be satisfied. SECURITY OR SAFETY NEEDS These are the needs to be free from physical danger and the fear of loss of a job or property, the necessity for a contract of employment and a safe working environment. SOCIAL OR BELONGING NEEDS Since people are social beings, they have a strong need to belong, to be accepted by others, or to join work or social groups.


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STATUS OR ESTEEM NEEDS Once people begin to satisfy their need to belong, they tend to want to be held in esteem both by themselves (self esteem) and by others (status). Characteristics such as pride, reputation and achievement, are typical of this level of need. SELF ACTUALISATION NEEDS Maslow regards self-actualisation as the highest need. It is the desire for people to become what they are capable of becoming: to maximise their potential and to accomplish something, for example; to achieve independence, satisfy creativity, curiosity, and ambition. Our most powerful needs at any given time are the immediate next level of needs on Maslow’s hierarchy, beyond our current level of need satisfaction.

NOTES:


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5.6.1 How Management Can Satisfy The Needs’ Of Their People

MASLOW’S NEED CATEGORY WHAT MANAGEMENT CAN DO TO HELP SATISFY THIS NEED

Pay fair and equitable wages PHYSIOLOGICAL

Provide clean change houses

Provide safe working conditions

Provide a broad programme of benefit

Provide job security

SAFETY

Treat all employees fairly and equally

Structure workforce to work in teams

Provide for interaction among different levels of employees

Sponsor recreation and company social events

SOCIAL

Encourage participation at all levels

Praise high performance

Publicise individual achievement

Give frequent and prompt feedback

Give more responsibility

ESTEEM

Promote people to higher jobs

Provide growth and career opportunities

Provide training and development

Encourage creativity

SELF-ACTUALISATION

Encourage achievement


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5.6.2 What Happens When Needs’ Are Not Satisfied?

There are four major responses by employees when their needs are not being satisfied: • Withdrawal: Some employees respond to work frustration through

absenteeism or ultimately by seeking employment elsewhere. Others become indifferent and apathetic.

• Aggression: At times, frustrated individuals strike out at the object of

their frustration. They employ various methods, such as engaging in insubordination, or, if it’s too risky to vent their anger at work, they may take out their frustration on their family, or on any other available victim (like kicking the dog).

• Substitution: Some employees become union officers and through this

position express their hostility towards management. • Regression: Some employees revert to immature behaviour such as

excessive horseplay and practical jokes.

5.7 ALDERFER’S ‘ERG’ THEORY After serving as a senior faculty member and program director at the Yale School of Organization & Management, Clayton Alderfer (1940 - ) formed a consulting firm, Alderfer & Associates, to provide organisational diagnosis and consultation services for clients in the private, not-for profit, and public sectors. Expanding on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Alderfer created the ERG theory (existence, relatedness and growth). Physiological needs and the need for safety, the lower order needs, are placed in the existence category, while love and self esteem needs are placed in the relatedness category. The growth category contains our self-actualization and self-esteem needs. He also proposed a regression theory to go along with the ERG theory. He said that when needs in a higher category are not met then individuals redouble the efforts invested in a lower category need. For example, in reference to Maslow’s Hierarchy, if self-actualization or self esteem is not met then individuals will invest more effort in the relatedness category in the hopes of achieving the higher need.


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5.8 SDT OR SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY Self-determination theory, or SDT, is an influential contemporary motivational theory developed by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, focussing on the importance of intrinsic motivation in driving human behaviour. Deci and Ryan are professors in the Department of Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology at the University of Rochester, where they direct a pre and post-doctoral training programmes. SDT is a macro theory of human motivation and personality, concerning people's inherent growth tendencies and their innate psychological needs. It is concerned with the motivation for the choices that people make without any external influence and interference. SDT focuses on the degree to which an individual’s behaviour is self-motivated and self-determined, and recognises that to be self-determined is to endorse one’s actions at the highest level of reflection. And, that when self-determined people experience a sense of freedom to do – or are motivated to do - what is interesting, personally important and vitalizing.

5.9 GOAL-SETTING THEORY Edwin Locke, Professor of Organisational Behaviour, and Gary Latham, Professor of Organizational Effectiveness, developed the Goal-setting Theory: a cognitive theory, based on the notion that individuals sometimes have a drive to reach a clearly defined end state. Often, this end state is a reward in itself. A goal's efficiency is affected by three features; proximity, difficulty and specificity. An ideal goal should present a situation where the time between the initiation of behaviour and the end state is close. This explains why some children are more motivated to learn how to ride a bike than mastering algebra. A goal should be moderate, not too hard or too easy to complete. In both cases, most people are not optimally motivated, as many want a challenge (which assumes some kind of insecurity of success). At the same time people want to feel that there is a substantial probability that they will succeed. Specificity concerns the description of the goal in their class. The goal should be objectively defined and intelligible for the individual. A classic example of a poorly specified goal is ‘to get the highest possible grade’.


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5.10 THE THEORY OF UNCONSCIOUS MOTIVATION Some psychologists believe that a significant portion of human behaviour is energised and directed by unconscious motives. According to Maslow: "Psychoanalysis has often demonstrated that the relationship between a conscious desire and the ultimate unconscious aim that underlies it, need not be at all direct." In other words, stated motives do not always match those inferred by skilled observers. For example, it is possible that a person can be accident-prone because he has an unconscious desire to hurt himself and not because he is careless or ignorant of the safety rules. Similarly, some overweight people are not really hungry for food but for attention and love. Eating is merely a defensive reaction to lack of attention. In the workplace, some workers damage more equipment than others because they harbour unconscious feelings of aggression toward authority figures. Psychotherapists point out that some behaviour is so automatic that the reasons for it are not available in the individual's conscious mind. Compulsive cigarette smoking is an example. Sometimes maintaining self-esteem is so important and the motive for an activity is so threatening that it is simply not recognised and, in fact, may be disguised or repressed. Rationalization, or "explaining away", is one such disguise, or defence mechanism, as it is called. Another is projecting or attributing one's own faults to others. "I feel I am to blame", becomes "It is her fault; she is selfish". Repression of powerful but socially unacceptable motives may result in outward behaviour that is the opposite of the repressed tendencies. An example of this would be the employee who hates his boss but overworks himself on the job to show that he holds him in high regard. Unconscious motives add to the hazards of interpreting human behaviour and, to the extent that they are present, complicate the life of the administrator. On the other hand, knowledge that unconscious motives exist can lead to a more careful assessment of behavioural problems. Although few contemporary psychologists deny the existence of unconscious factors, many do believe that these are activated only in times of anxiety and stress, and that in the ordinary course of events, human behaviour — from the subject's point of view — is rationally purposeful.


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6 MORE ABOUT LEADERSHIP

6.1 CHARACTERISTICS OF INSPIRATIONAL LEADERS • They are self-motivated. • They do not motivate employees for personal gain, but for the overall good

of the organisation and of all concerned. • They create an environment that is conducive to positive motivation – they

empower and energise those around them.

6.2 GENERAL RULE FOR MOTIVATION The general rule for motivation is that a manager or supervisor cannot motivate an employee. The manager can only set the scene and help the other person to motivate themselves. They can inspire others toward positive behaviour, rather than directly motivating them. Both supervisors and managers must note that different things motivate different people… and that each individual has different motivators at different times in their lives.

The manager creates the environment – but the employee must “flip the switch”.

6.3 MOTIVATION THROUGH POSITIVE AND CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK

More about this in the upcoming Effective Leader module: “Coaching and Mentoring”. Both positive and negative feedback (also known as constructive) are powerful motivators - both personally and professionally… but only when properly applied and received.


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It has been demonstrated that people learn more quickly if the desired behaviour is reinforced immediately with praise. Positive feedback can motivate employees to obtain their goals. Feedback can provide motivation for personal growth if it is offered and received in a spirit of genuine concern and helpfulness. Feedback from others provides perspective in areas that may otherwise be a blind spot. However, feedback is not something offered only by managers and supervisors. It is possible to create an environment in which workers learn to motivate one another through positive feedback. In order for positive feedback to be effective, it must be offered with sincerity.

Practice the following techniques when giving positive feedback or praise • Be descriptive and specific: The more detail you can include in your

positive comments, the greater the impact. Comments such as “good job” or “that looks good” can be perceived as tokens. Take the time to tell your co-worker exactly why you think he/she did a good job and why his/her report looks good.

• Focus on the behaviour: Focus your comments on demonstrated

behaviour – not personal traits. “You handled that problem in a professional, timely manner” is more effective than “You were nice to that customer.”

• Put it in writing: When appropriate, put your praise in writing. This can be

anything from a short, handwritten note to a formal letter or a memo. Putting praise in writing is long lasting. A co-worker can re-read your note, show it to family and friends, or display it proudly. When you write a memo or letter of praise, don’t forget to send copies to others who may have been affected by the worker’s efforts.

• Make your praise timely: If you are a manager or supervisor, don’t wait

until an annual performance review to tell an employee he or she is doing a good job. Praise promptly when you see an employee exhibiting the type of behaviour you want to encourage.

• Praise regularly: Catch your people doing the right thing. Don’t wait until a

co-worker does something exceptionally good to praise. Make short, descriptive praise a regular part of your interaction.

FACILITATOR NOTE: Workshop Activity 2 - Refer to activities section.


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6.4 CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK

More about this in the upcoming Effective Leader module: “Coaching and Mentoring”. Corrective feedback is an ineffective motivator for two reasons: 1. Negative reinforcement encourages employees to merely meet standards;

it does not encourage them to exceed standards.

2. Negative reinforcement requires continual monitoring by the manager to

make sure that performance is maintained at acceptable levels. Without positive reasons for maintaining performance levels, employees can fall into a frame of mind that says, “When the cat’s away, the mice can play.”

When negative reinforcement is used routinely, it creates an unproductive work environment – the managers mistrust employees and employees learn to avoid managers and their negative influence. FACILITATOR NOTE: Workshop Activity 3 – Refer to activities section

6.5 OTHER WAYS TO MOTIVATE PEOPLE

John Maxwell identified a number of ways in which to motivate people. Summarised below are some of his suggestions: 1. Appreciate the power of motivation: Motivation helps people realise

what they should do.

2. Believe in your people: “It’s wonderful when the people believe in the leader but it’s even more wonderful when the leaders believe in the people.” Many people go further than they thought they could go just because someone else believed they could.


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3. Understand the relationship between motivation and relationships: Your ability to motivate people will be determined by how close you are to those people. You cannot positively motivate people whom you feel negatively about. Good leadership from a distance will impress people, but good leadership close up will have an impact on people.

4. Walk the talk: Lead by example. 5. Show people that they are important:

• Remember their names. • Write down their quotes. • Tell others about their success. • Ask for their help.

6. Give a person a reputation to uphold: By giving people positive labels

of what they do well, you play on their strengths and award them a reputation to uphold.

7. What gets rewarded gets done: The “four to one rule” says you can get

top performance by giving four or more positive reinforcing rewards for one punishing consequence. Grandma’s law: if you eat your vegetables you can eat dessert.

• Reward people according to their interests - and not yours • Reward people only if they deserve it • Reward people immediately – the longer the delay, the less the value of

the reward

8. Hold more celebrations: Have more fun.

9. Encourage participation. 10. Set high standards: The law of magnetism maintains that who you are is

whom you attract. You personally need to be self-motivated in order to attract self-motivated people. Three conditions that are needed for people to stretch to reach high standards:

• A challenge. • Empowerment. • Significance.

11. Know the motivational moments of a person’s life: Look for these

three moments in a person’s life:

• When they hear enough they have to. • When they learn enough they want to.


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• When they receive enough they’re able to. 12. Communicate effectively: Common ground allows us to connect with

people. Keys to finding common ground with people:

• Identification (knowing what motivates people). These are the three identification questions:

− What do you sing about? − What do you cry about? − What do you dream about?

• Connect with them (knowing how to motivate them). Two things to

help with connecting or understanding someone else:

− What are we talking about? It is a recognised that what we talk about is what we’re motivated about.

− How we spend our money. 13. Reinforce motivation by placing value on habits: Motivation gets you

there, but habits keep you there. A Harvard psychologist said: “You’re more likely to act yourself into feeling than to feel yourself into action.” We overestimate the event, and underestimate the process.

6.6 DE-MOTIVATORS

We talk about motivators all the time, but being aware of de-motivators is just as important. Do you do any of the following? • Show favouritism? • Fail to give your undivided attention (for example, allow your conversations

to be interrupted by telephone calls)? • Not make a decision and keep people hanging? • Keep changing your decision? • Never tell employees how they or projects they are involved in are

progressing? • Criticise employees in front of others (especially when they have done

something worth criticising)?


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• Promise to do something and then don’t do it (because of a time constraint or whatever)?

• Belittle employees’ successes and achievements? • Be unapproachable and totally preoccupied with your own projects? • Use delaying tactics when employees want to discuss something urgently? • Always late for meetings and causing employees to sit around waiting for

you?

6.7 SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND MOTIVATION Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard built on the foundations of the Managerial Grid Theory of Blake and Mouton with their contribution of the Life Cycle Theory of Leadership, also known as Situational Leadership, 1969. They concluded that analyzing styles of leadership was not important. They argued that, successful leadership was the ability to analyze the requirements of each worker in relation to the task, thus determining his and her level of maturity. They defined the term maturity as the ability and willingness of people to take responsibility for directing their own behaviour. Maturity has two components: job maturity and psychological maturity. Individuals who are high on job maturity have the knowledge, ability and experience to perform their job tasks without the direction from others. On the other hand, individuals high in psychological maturity do not need much external encouragement. They are already internally motivated and willing to work. Hersey and Blanchard said, “An effective leader must be able to diagnose the demands of the environment and either adapt his leadership style to these demands or develop the means to change some or all the other variables.” In other words, it is not satisfactory to analyze and compartmentalize what makes a good leader. It is better to say that good leaders adapt their leadership style best suited to employee needs.

6.7.1 Leaders Should Account for Four Key Variables

V1 The environment and the organization both make demands on the

people working in the organisation and the manager must be able to adapt to both.

V2 The manager’s management philosophy is basically determined by


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the manager’s assumptions about the nature of people and how they have to be managed.

V3 The follower’s maturity level:

If employees are new to the job and are not yet to be trusted to work on their own, or

If employees don’t have the confidence in themselves and what they are doing, or

If employees have not reached a level of responsibility where they can work without strict supervision, then managers will have to watch their employees very closely, and though they would like to assign a level of responsibility, they know they cannot do so at this stage.

V4 The complexity of the job, and the demands that this places on

individual employees, also need be considered. And leaders should bear in mind that the demands of the job will have different effects on different people.

6.7.2 The Four Stages Of Maturity

M1 People are both unable and unwilling to take responsibility to do

something. They are neither competent nor confident. M2 People are unable but willing to do the necessary job tasks. They are

motivated but currently lack the appropriate skills. M3 People are able but unwilling to do what the leader wants. M4 People are both able and willing to do what is asked of them. As the followers reach higher levels of maturity, the leader responds not only by decreasing control over activities, but also by continuing to decrease relationship behaviour as well. At stage M1 followers need clear and specific directions. At stage M2, they need both high-task and high-relationship behaviour. The high-task behaviour compensates for the follower’s lack of ability, and the high relationship behaviour tries to get the followers to psychologically “buy in” to the leader’s desires. M3 indicates motivational problems that are best solved by a supportive, non-directive, participative


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style. Finally, at stage M4, the leader does not have to do much because the followers are both willing and able to take responsibility.

6.8 SELF-ASSESSMENT: MOTIVATION BLOCKAGES (INSTRUMENT DEVELOPED BY MIKE WOODCOCK AND DAVE FRANCIS) Instructions: 1. This instrument consists of three parts:

a. 36 Descriptive statements of organisations or work-units. b. Score sheet. c. Interpretation sheet.

2. Read the questions, and check each of the questions that are widely descriptive of your organisation or work-unit. Leave blank those questions that do not widely describe your organisation or work-unit.

3. Transpose the checks to the score sheet. Again, leave blank those numbers

where the question did not widely describe your organisation or work-unit. 4. Next, total the number of checks for each of the six factors (A – F), and write

the score for each row in the total column. 5. Now transpose the scores to the score column on the interpretation sheet.

This will give you your score for each of the six key workplace motivational factors.

6. Use the interpretation sheet for review and action planning.


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DESCRIPTIONS OF YOUR ORGANISATION OR WORK-UNIT:

YES

NO

1 The physical arrangements at work are unsatisfactory.

2 People are discontented with the wage and salary policy.

3 I do not feel secure about my job.

4 The company has not significantly helped my personal development.

5 High-level management is not concerned with my views.

6 There is little real interest in my job.

7 The work environment is depressing.

8 Leave arrangements are below standard.

9 I have doubts about my long–term job security.

10 Most people here have little opportunity to gain new experience.

11 I would like to be consulted more when decisions are made.

12 My job has no clear targets.

13 The toilet facilities / change houses are not in particularly good shape.

14 The sick leave and insurance benefits provide unsatisfactory protection.

15 A number of people are concerned about redundancy in their job functions.

16 I would like more feedback about my performance.

17 Employees know too little about company goals and plans.


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18 I would benefit from being more “stretched” in my career.

19 The company does not try to develop jobs to fit individual needs.

20 The company makes few worthwhile efforts to provide social facilities.

21 Bad employee relations cause major upheavals at times.

22 My training has rarely been well planned.

23 There is no systematic effort to identify employees’ views.

24 I am not given new responsibilities, even though I could handle them.

25 The work place is poorly cleaned and maintained.

26 The wage system is generally thought to be unfair.

27 Product competitiveness is poor, affecting the company’s long-term prospects.

28 I would like to have a clearer career-development plan.

29 Most people feel involved in decision-making.

30 My job no longer presents a challenge to me.

31 Food-service arrangements and facilities are below standard.

32 The total remuneration package compares unfavourably with those of similar firms.

33 If I were to leave, I feel that the company would not miss my contribution.

34 Insufficient effort is put into developing people’s skills.

35 Managers and workers should have much closer links.

36 I am often bored at work.


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6.8.1 Motivation Blockages Score Sheet

FACTOR

STATEMENT NUMBER

TOTAL

A

1

7

13

19

25

31

B

2

8

14

20

26

32

C

3

9

15

21

27

33

D

4

10

16

22

28

34

E

5

11

17

23

29

35

F

6

12

18

24

30

36


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6.8.2 Motivation Blockages Interpretation Sheet

Copy the totals from the score sheet as indicated and examine each factor in an attempt to identify symptoms and areas for improvement.

BLOCKAGE

DEFINITION

SCORE

KEY

SYMPTOMS

IDEAS FOR

IMPROVEMENT

A:

Work Environment

The extent to which people feel that the work environment is not conducive to high motivation.

B:

Remuneration

The extent to which the people feel that the reward package is not conducive to high motivation.

C:

Security

The extent to which people feel that workplace insecurity inhibits motivation.

D:

Personal Development

The extent to which people feel that the lack of opportunities for development reduces motivation.

E:

Involvement

The extent to which people feel that the lack of involvement inhibits motivation


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BLOCKAGE

DEFINITION

SCORE

KEY

SYMPTOMS

IDEAS FOR

IMPROVEMENT

F:

Interest and Challenge

The extent to which people feel that the lack of interest (in them and their work) and lack of challenge inhibits motivation.

NOTES:


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7 PART 2: EMPOWERMENT

7.1 ORIGINS OF THE WORD “EMPOWER”

ROOT “POWER”:

• The ability to act. • Capacity. • The capacity to control. • Potential. • The ability to magnify.

EM + POWER =

• To spark the power within. • To enable. • To supply with power. • To enable potential

capacity. • To magnify capacity.

PREFIX “EM” • In. • Within.

Empowerment is one of those words that has been used and abused in management circles in the past few years. There have been many organisational initiatives aimed at empowering people, many of which failed because of lack of clarity regarding the desired outcome.

7.2 SO WHAT DO WE MEAN BY EMPOWERMENT? According to Cockman and co-workers, there would seem to be five elements to empowerment at work:

1. People feel that what they are doing is significant and that they make an important contribution to the total enterprise.


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2. People feel that they are able to participate in decisions about their own targets and have control over the way they achieve those targets.

3. People feel personally valued by their colleagues.

4. There is a balance between the level of challenge inherent in the work

and the person’s feelings of competence to meet those challenges. If people are to feel empowered, there needs to be significant investment in training, development and coaching.

5. People have a sense of growth and development. This means that

each individual needs opportunities to grow within the job and for the job itself to be flexible enough to encompass new opportunities to make different contributions to the enterprise.

Obviously the way you behave as a manager will have a crucial impact on the degree to which people you work with feel empowered.

7.3 TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU EMPOWER OTHERS? The following checklist is designed to help you assess the degree to which you are predisposed to managing in a way which empowers people. (Source: Cockman, P, Evans, B & Reynolds, P 1999. Consulting for Real People. A client-centred approach for change agents and leaders. London: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company: 47 – 50). Please estimate your score before you complete the questionnaire by placing a cross where you think you are on the scale from 20 – 80.

I have a high degree of

commitment to empowerment I have a low degree of

commitment to empowerment

20 40 60 80 Now complete the questionnaire as honestly as you can.


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7.3.1 Checklist On Attitudes To Empowerment

Tick whichever column best represents your feeling.

I NEVER FEEL

THIS WAY

I SELDOM FEEL

THIS WAY

I OFTEN FEEL

THIS WAY

I ALWAYS FEEL

THIS WAY

1. I should be able to understand my people’s problems better than they do.

2. When I’m giving advice and suggestions, I really feel I’m helping my people.

3. I get defensive when challenged or confronted by my people about something really important to me.

4. Being seen and acknowledged as an expert in my field is very important to me.

5.

I like to help my people by using my experience to tell them what to do for the best.

6. I believe that my people are generally less competent and skilful at problem-solving than I am.

.

7.

I have a lot of experience and therefore know the answers to most of the problems my people have to deal with.

8 I feel rejected as a person when people criticise what I do or say.


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9 I find it difficult to accept feedback, which is detrimental to my self-image.

10 I enjoy showing how clever I am by being witty and scoring points.

11 As a manager I believe I should not ask my people for help.

12 I believe that most of my people want me to solve their problems for them.

13 I feel devalued when my people get together to solve their own work problems without my involvement.

14 I know, better than my people, what to do to solve their work problems.

15 My primary role as a manager is to know and control what goes on in my department.

16 I like being in control when working with my people, to solve work problems.

17 I do not believe that most people want to solve their own work problems.

18

If I’ve spent years developing my competence, I must be in a better position than my people to make decisions.

19 I enjoy having people come to me with problems which I can solve but which they can’t.

20 If people ask me for my advice I believe I should give it to them if I can.


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Total the number of ticks in each column:

_______

_______

_______

_______

Score 1 for each answer in the Never column Score 2 for each answer in the Seldom column Score 3 for each answer in the Often column Score 4 for each answer in the Always column

Total score:

Transfer your score to the scale at the start of this self-assessment. Now compare this score with your estimate at the start of the self-assessment. Consider the area/s you might like to work on your development. NOTES:


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7.3.2 Rationales for the Checklist on Attitudes to Empowerment

The classification of the items in the checklist is not a definitive one and some statements apply to more than one area. Generally, however, we have included statements which test your attitudes to being an advice-giving expert, your managerial attitude and style and your self-image and personal power. Advice giving expert: Items 1, 2, 4, 7, 14, 18, 19, 20 Managerial attitude and style: Items 5, 6, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20 Self-image and personal power: Items 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 18, 20 In our view these indicate the relative importance of the three areas. If managers are to rely less upon their experience and expertise and their positional power and formal authority, then they will need to develop a self-image which relies upon their personal power as people in their own right.

If you ticked very few of the often and always boxes and your score is below 40, you will probably find it fairly easy to work at empowering people in your department. You are unlikely to find it difficult to move away from the traditional way of working as a manager. Your self-image is unlikely to rest upon your formal authority or status in the company.

If you found yourself at the other end of the scale, with a score above 60, you may like to consider some areas for self-development if you are to be happy in the new environment. To find out what you need to work on, circle the item number above for all those where you scored 3 or 4. The pattern which emerges will indicate what you may wish to work on. The rationale which follows may give you some ideas:

• If your power does not depend on being seen as an expert. • If you have little desire to control other people. • If you do not automatically operate as an advice giver.


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• If you are not overly concerned about influencing others to your way of thinking.

• If you value yourself and your people even though you need each others’ help.

• If you can handle negative feedback without being destroyed by it. • If you can take pleasure from your group’s success, achieved without you…

Then you are likely to be well on the road to becoming an empowering manager already! What insights did you gain from this questionnaire?

FACILITATOR NOTE: Workshop Activity 4 – Refer to activities section.


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8 RECENT TRENDS IN COMPANIES

According to Cockman, the most significant role of today’s – and tomorrow’s – manager is helping people to initiate change or react to and embrace continually changing circumstances. People are increasingly expected to take on greater responsibility and become more proactive, empowered and committed. That cannot happen without an equally radical shift in management style. Even changes such as introducing self-management work teams, or ‘value-driven’ initiatives into an organisation cannot be fully realised in an atmosphere of authoritarian control.

8.1 WHAT KIND OF LEADERS DO WE NEED?

An important question to be asked is ‘leadership for what?’ It is impossible to identify the kind of leadership required unless we first of all understand the trends which are taking place in high-performing organisations. Cockman and co-workers identified a number of common characteristics of high-performing organisations. These companies: • Recognise the importance of change and acknowledge that the quality of

leadership is crucial to strategic organisational transformation.


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• Are customer focused. Emphasis is placed on the importance of the customer / supplier relationship throughout the organisation.

• Design organisation structures to be as simple as possible so that

communication is simplified and bureaucracy reduced to a minimum. • Are horizontal rather than hierarchical in nature. Organisations are now

much flatter than they have been in the past. This reduces the traditional management responsibility for control and replaces it with a need for everyone in the organisation to develop collaborative skills, together with a sense of responsibility for themselves and their colleagues.

• Emphasise the importance of self-managed teams of people able to

make decisions and implement new ideas. This of course requires significant investment in training and development, rewards and benefits and effective support systems.

• Encourage and support innovation. Such organisations value project

teams and support them while they develop new and innovative ways of solving problems.

• Develop a learning culture in which people share best practice, are able to

learn from mistakes and learning opportunities are sought for both individuals and teams. This is a culture in which people feel genuinely empowered.

FACILITATOR NOTE: Workshop Activity 5 - Refer to activities section. ROLES:


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9 CHARACTERISTICS OF HIGH PERFORMING, EMPOWERING LEADERS

What are the characteristics required by managers and leaders in these new high performing organisations? One important role, the one with which this module is chiefly concerned, is that of empowering, supporting, coaching and developing both individuals and teams.

9.1 THE HALLMARKS OF EFFECTIVE LEADERS • They are much more concerned with releasing creative energy at all levels

than with controlling others. • Believe that people are responsible, creative, energetic and able to solve

problems and make decisions alone as well as together, with support rather than interference, from the leader.

• Take a much more facilitative role, helping and assisting a number of self-

managed teams to improve their effectiveness. • Recognize the importance of coaching, mentoring and supporting

people. • Work in a way that is largely non-prescriptive, helping people to solve

problems and allow them to make decisions for themselves rather than telling them what to do.

• Work hard to ensure that their people are not dependent on them. • Allow people to make mistakes and help them learn from those mistakes

rather than blaming or punishing, knowing that the person who has never made a mistake has never made a decision.


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• Offer emotional support to people. They understand that as leaders they are in the business of organisational change. This means being able to acknowledge the feelings and emotions of people when they are involved in such changes.

• Recognise that when people have a sense of control, they feel better

about what they do. • Encourage feedback and open communication. Feedback on

performance is seen as essential if people are to perform effectively. Feedback, however, is not a one-way street. The effective leader also needs feedback. Candidness, openness and honesty are welcomed rather than punished, and given without fear, rancour or revenge.

• Are able to develop trusting relationships by continually working to open

up channels of communication. • Are able to engender an atmosphere in which people have fun doing their

jobs and are able to celebrate success.

9.2 THE DEMANDS OF INSPIRTAIONAL LEADERSHIP

• Leaders need to have a high level of self-awareness. They work hard to understand their own strengths and weakness and appreciate the way in which they have an impact on others.

• Have a positive self-image and a high level of self-esteem. • Have a thorough understanding of the ways in which individuals and

groups react to change. • Develop a range of interpersonal skills such as listening, communicating,

being assertive, managing conflict, influencing, negotiating, supporting, dealing with feelings, giving feedback, facilitating and problem diagnosis, etc.

• Develop a range of non-prescriptive, facilitating and coaching styles. These styles would include accepting, catalytic and confrontational approaches as well as offering solutions when appropriate.

Ken Blanchard in his Situational Leadership training material talks about the ‘upside down pyramid’. He argues that in the traditional organisation, people think they work for the level above and therefore employees spend a great deal of time and effort trying to figure out what the next level up wants from them. The manager’s role in this setting is seen as being responsible, while the employee is expected to be responsive.


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Once the pyramid is turned upside down, a change in position occurs and the role of the respective parties is reversed. Now the employee becomes responsible and the manager has to become responsive – that is supporting, facilitating, encouraging and enabling employees to function effectively. FACILITATOR NOTE: Workshop Activity 6 - Refer to activities section.

9.3 A DE-POWERMENT SCENARIO In a workshop setting, the facilitator may elect screen the ‘Max and Max’ video, and complete the following activity. FACILITATOR NOTE: Workshop Activity 7 - Refer to activities section. NOTES:


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10 EMPOWERMENT AND THE FOUR LEVELS OF LEADERSHIP

10.1 MECHANIC OR GARDENER? Effective leaders work to create conditions within organisations that tap into individuals’ abilities, allowing them to grow and contribute their maximum potential energy and creativity toward achieving a meaningful purpose, thereby meeting stakeholders’ needs. This leadership process is more like being a gardener (who tends and grows), than a mechanic (who tinkers and fixes). Gardeners cannot force a seed to grow; they can, however, create optimal conditions within which the seed can flourish. Be a gardener of people!

10.2 THE FOUR LEVELS OF LEADERSHIP WHICH HELP CREATE THE RIGHT CONDITIONS FOR EMPOWERMENT:


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• Individual Trustworthiness: Empowerment requires trustworthiness from all parties. People with both character (what a person is) and competence (what a person can do) are trustworthy. Trustworthiness is a root system that allows trust between individuals to grow.

• Interpersonal Trust: Trust is a product of trustworthiness. In order for

empowerment to work, there must be mutual trust in all significant relationships. Trust becomes the root of managerial empowerment.

• Managerial Empowerment: Leaders must exhibit a style of leadership that

fosters the release of human potential and also have the necessary skills to unleash the talents and energies of people.

• Organisational Alignment: A common mission and vision supported by

aligned strategy, structure and systems helps individuals within an organisation to identify what needs to be done, focuses their efforts and energies on the task, and allows them to accomplish the task and to be recognised and rewarded for doing so.


When you fully empower people, your paradigm of yourself changes. You no longer control others; they control themselves. You become a source of help.


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11 BARRIERS TO EMPOWERMENT

11.1 BARRIERS TO EMPOWERMENT In addition to creating conditions of empowerment, leaders must be aware of the potential barriers of empowerment. Barriers to empowerment as they relate to the four levels might include the following: • Personal: Lack of skills to do the job; reactivity; lack of motivation; lack of

commitment; lack of responsibility; overall dependent level of maturity; scarcity mentality.

• Interpersonal: Lack of integrity with others; inability to keep commitments; group norms that restrict performance; inability to deal with conflict; win-lose attitude.

• Managerial: Controlling leadership style; lack of effective leadership or management skills; lack of experience; lack of integrity or ability to walk the talk; inability to effectively communicate vision.

• Organisational: Misaligned structure and systems, restrictive policies and procedures.


11.2 BARRIERS TO EMPOWERMENT: ASSESSMENT

The Covey Leadership Centre asked over 2 000 managers from over 400 companies what major obstacles to empowerment existed in their work groups. Their responses involved organisational factors, their own lack of ability, and the character/competence of their direct reports. Some of the responses are listed below.


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Please tick those factors that you feel restrain empowerment in your work area. PART 1 What organisational factors are hindering empowerment in your work area?

The organisation has fixed methods and procedures on how tasks are performed and we are not allowed to deviate from them.

Top management wants to be involved with decision making and sometimes makes

decisions it should not make. We lack the necessary equipment/supplies to do our jobs effectively. The organisation does not have effective training programmes. Low pay makes it difficult to attract or retain the right people. We are understaffed. We have a culture that penalizes mistakes and thus discourages people from accepting empowerment. We are still working in a system that values and rewards a “directive” style of management. There is a lack of consistency in the company’s goals and priorities. We lack a true understanding of the “big picture” and where the company is going. I do not have clear direction from my boss.

FACILITATOR NOTE: Workshop Activity 10 - Refer to activities section. .


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PART 2 What factors involving you may be hindering empowerment in the workplace? My own lack of effort – I just need to “do it.” I am a perfectionist and want things done exactly my way. I fear allowing others to do work that can reflect badly on me. I do too many things myself that can and should be delegated. I get too involved in the details of the work of those who report to me. I get attached to projects and have a hard time letting go. The idea that the boss must make the decisions is ingrained in me. Employees do not trust me because of bad experiences with previous managers. My employees do not fully trust me because of errors I have made in the past. I do not know how to motivate those who work for me. I do not take enough time to completely clarify expectations. I find it difficult to balance “letting go” with “staying in control.” I do not fully know the skills and abilities of my people. Most ideas are in my head, and I do not have the time to tell people what to do. I am not organised enough to delegate. I find it difficult to create tasks that fully utilize people’s talents. I am too busy – there is no time to train or develop my people. When people ask for my help, I usually do the task for them rather than take the time to teach them how to help themselves.



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PART 3

Regarding the individuals who report to you, what factors involving their trust and trustworthiness are hindering empowerment in your work area? (If no one reports to you, respond to these items regarding people with whom you work.) They do not care as much as I do about tasks.

They lack initiative and a strong work ethic.

They are reluctant to take responsibility for their actions; instead they blame others or circumstances.

They lack teamwork and cooperation.

They are not committed to the organisation’s goals and mission.

They do not want the responsibilities associated with empowerment. They get upset when they are assigned work that goes beyond their job description. They lack integrity and honesty – I am not confident that I can trust them. A few take advantage of others in order to achieve personal gain. They do not keep promises or commitments.

They do not pay proper attention to details and quality.

They do not have the technical skills to do the job correctly.

They have the necessary skills, but lack experience.

They do not understand customer needs. They often get lost in details and lose sight of priorities. They do not possess the overall understanding of the organisation. They do not fully consider all of the ramifications to other areas of the organisation. They lack interpersonal skills – I do not feel comfortable assigning them tasks that require them to work with people outside our workgroup.



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CONTROL

12 LEADERSHIP STYLE AND EMPOWERMENT

Leadership style plays a large part in the success or failure of empowerment efforts. When leadership style is in conflict with the principles and stated purpose of empowerment, people will most likely conform with the leadership style. In this respect, leadership style can be a bigger influence on overall behaviour than the stated mission, vision, and values of the organisation or the stated objectives of empowerment efforts. For this reason, leaders must constantly evaluate their leadership style to assure that it is reinforcing the true purpose and objectives of the organisation.

12.1 BREAKING THROUGH THE BARRIERS TO EMPOWERMENT

Often, leaders struggle between two extreme leadership styles (control versus abandonment) while trying to create the conditions for empowerment. An empowering style is not a compromise between control and abandonment, but is a Third Alternative to these two extremes. • Control is the style of leadership exercised in an atmosphere of mistrust

and suspicion. Control management closely monitors assigned tasks and dictates decisions. This style can create dependence, conformity, and mediocrity.

• Abandonment, sometimes associated with “release style,” is the opposite

of control. Often resulting in chaos, it turns employees loose with no form or accountability, direction, or consequences.


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• Empowerment – somewhere between control and abandonment

12.1.1 Control vs. Abandonment

Frequently, definitions place empowerment somewhere along a continuum between control and abandonment. Basically, it is suggested that sometimes a leader needs to control people, while at other times the leader should turn the individual loose.

12.1.2 Empowerment is the Third Alternative

Most relationships are interdependent. In interdependent situations, neither control nor abandonment is effective; rather, empowerment is necessary. Empowerment is not merely a compromise or halfway point between control and abandonment; it is a Third Alternative. It recognises that individuals have the knowledge, skill, desire, and opportunity to personally succeed in a way that leads to collective organisational success.


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12.2 PRACTICAL TIPS TO DEVELOP YOUR OWN CAPACITY AND THAT OF EACH MEMBER OF YOUR WORK TEAM

TIP 1: Share Decision-making Rather than making decisions yourself, see to it that those responsible for implementing decisions make them. Is this possible in your work situation?

TIP 2: Listen to your team members at meetings The problem with most meetings is that the “boss” is the only one who talks – classic one-way communications. At meetings, try not to talk more than 25% of the time. This way you will demonstrate that you value your team members’ contributions. TIP 3: Invite people to assume responsibility When you face a tough decision, involve your team members. Ask them: “What would you do if you were me?” This approach generates good ideas and introduces your section or team to the complexity of management decisions. Go one step further by inviting your work team to take the actions necessary to implement their decisions. And back them up. Can you think of situations where this idea can be implemented?


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TIP 4: Share the big picture Imagine that you have a 5000-piece jigsaw puzzle. You dutifully hand out each and every piece to your work team and say, “Now you have all the resources you need to complete this project. Go to it!” What do you think they will say to you? How often have you been handed an assignment, given a budget, staff, and other materials, without ever really understanding what it was that you were being asked to produce? People need to know what the picture on the puzzle box looks like. They need to know how their job relates to the welfare of the entire organisation. TIP 5: Enrich people’s jobs The content of the jobs at many industries or companies is not particularly glamorous. Yet those companies have been able to augment people’s work so that they feel important and connected to the big picture. You can best liberate the leader within your workforce by understanding how the contextual factors of their jobs may contribute to lower feelings of personal effectiveness and reduced motivation. The most common reasons are excessive bureaucracy, authoritarian supervisory styles, non-merit based reward systems, and job design. The latter area may be one you can have significant influence over. Make certain that peoples’ jobs are designed so that they know what is expected of them, so provide sufficient training and technical support so people can complete their assignments successfully. Enrich their responsibilities so that they experience variety in their task assignments and opportunities to make meaningful decisions about how their work gets accomplished. Create occasions for them to form networks with others in the organisation (including both peers and senior managers). Involve them in programmes, meetings and decisions that have a direct impact on their job performance. Take a careful look at what your work team are doing in their jobs and determine – with their input – where you could be enriching their positions and consequently fostering greater self-confidence. TIP 6: Let members of your team be coaches There is a saying: “If you really want to master or fully understand something, teach it to someone else”. The best way to improve productivity is to have team members instruct others.


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Consider this: How can you improve on-the-job coaching in your workspace?


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13 THE BASIS FOR MOTIVATION AND EMPOWERMENT: A WIN-WIN ATTITUDE

13 We all grew up being educated in a Paradigm of Competition. The fruit of a paradigm of competition is selfishness and lack of cooperation. When we step away from independence to interdependence in any capacity, we step into a leadership role. We are in a position of influencing other people.

13.1 PARADIGMS OF HUMAN INTERACTION Here are the four paradigms of human interaction: • Win-Lose. • Lose-Win. • Win-Win. • No Deal.

13.1.1 Win-Lose

People with a win-lose mindset are concerned with themselves first and last. They want to win, and they want others to lose. They achieve success at the expense or exclusion of another’s success. They are driven by comparison, competition, position and power. They think independently in interdependent situations, without sensitivity or awareness of others. Characteristics: • Self-centred. • “Me first” thinking. • Scarcity mentality. • Authoritarian approach. • Use of position of power, credentials, possessions or personality to get the

“win”.


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13.1.2 Lose-Win

People who choose to lose and let others win show high consideration for others but lack the courage to express and act on their own feelings and beliefs. They are easily intimidated and borrow strength from acceptance and popularity. Characteristics: • Voices no standards, no demands, no expectations of anyone else • Is quick to please / appease • Buries many feelings

13.1.3 Win-Win or No Deal

Win-win is based on the paradigm that there is plenty for everybody; that one person’s success is not achieved at the expense or exclusion of the success of another. People who choose to win and make sure others also win practice win-win. People with a win-win paradigm take time to search for solutions that will make them happy and simultaneously satisfy others. Win-win or No Deal is the highest form of win-win. People who adopt this paradigm seek first for win-win. If they cannot find an acceptable solution, they agree to disagree, agreeably. Characteristics: • Allows each party to say ‘no’. • Is the most realistic at the beginning of a relationship or business deal. • Is the highest form of “win”. • Seeks mutual benefit. • Is cooperative, not competitive. • Listens more, stays in communication longer, and communicates with more

courage.


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Think win-win situation Identify one situation each in your personal and your professional life that could be more productive for all concerned if win-lose thinking was replaced with win-win thinking:

PERSONAL PROFESSIONAL

Now consider your general attitude toward life. Is it based on Win-Lose, Lose-Win, or Win-Win thinking? And how does this mindset affect your relationships and results?


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Think about a person who you consider to be a model of Win-Win. What is it about this person you admire?

Person:

What I admire most about him/her:

‘Win-Win’ in a nutshell:

‘WIN-WIN’ IS ‘WIN-WIN’ IS NOT

A courageous effort

The best way to get to interdependent relationships Supported by an abundance mentality (enough for everybody)

Always being “nice” Always achievable A manipulative technique


68 68The Effectiveness Group | +27 (0)11 787-0829 | www.stefduplessis.com | Copyright © 2003 Prof Dawie Smith, Wanda Bierman & Stef du Plessis

Is ‘Win-Win’ really a realistic option?

Consider your opinions about ‘Win-Win’, and the effect that it would have on your life if you were to subcribe more fully to this mindset. PERSONAL NOTES:


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MY PERSONAL LEADERSHIP GROWTH COMMITMENT: Key Learning: _____________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ My Personal Leadership Growth Commitments: A. ___________________________________________________________________

B. ___________________________________________________________________ C. ___________________________________________________________________ Potential Obstacles: A. ___________________________________________________________________ B. ___________________________________________________________________ C. ___________________________________________________________________


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14 REFERENCES 1. Douglas McGregor - Theory of motivation 2. Abraham Maslow – Hierarchy of needs 3. Hertzberg - “Hygiene factors” and “Motivators” 4. John Maxwell – Keys to motivating people 5. Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard - Life Cycle Theory of Leadership /

Situational Leadership (Based on the Managerial Grid Theory of Blake and Mouton)

6. Mike Woodcock and Dave Francis – Self Assessment Instrument for leaders

7. Cockman et al - Checklist for assessing degree of empowering leadership (from Cockman, P, Evans, B & Reynolds, P 1999. Consulting for Real People. A client-centred approach for change agents and leaders. London: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company).

8. Cockman et al - Characteristics of high- performing organisations. 9. Ken Blanchard – “Upside down pyramid” 10. Covey Leadership Centre - Empowerment survey 11. Wikipedia: www.wikipedia.com 12. About.com: http: psychology.about.com



15 ANNEXURE A: NUMBERS GAME

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NUMBERS GAME Plot your score from each round of the Numbers Game on the grid below.

TEST NUMBER

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Score

60

55

50

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

Test Number

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8



MODULE 3: Motivation & Empowerment

Workshop Activities


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Activity 1 STEP 1: What is your view of humankind and of motivating employees? Make a note of your personal views.

STEP 2: Discuss in groups.


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Activity 2 Group Discussion In view of the feedback principles discussed, think of situations where: 1) You failed to give constructive feedback

2) You could improve in giving constructive feedback


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Activity 3 Group Discussion Possible barriers to constructive, positive feedback in your workplace:


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Activity 4

Group Discussion True or false? The vast majority of people in your workplace possess more creativity, more resourcefulness, more initiative, more talent, and more intelligence than their present job requires or allows them to use.


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Activity 5 Group Discussion To what extent is yours a high performing organisation?


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Activity 6

Group Discussion: To what extent are the characteristics of successful leaders applicable to the leaders in your own organisation?


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Activity 7 Video: Max and Max This video portrays the uncanny meeting between Max (the human) and Max (the dog), where they realise that they have something in common. What are these?

What opportunities did Mr. Harold have to encourage greater growth, responsibility, and contributions from both Max and Max?


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Describe the de-powering influence of Mr. Harold on Max, his employee:

What did you learn from this video about empowerment that can be applied in your workplace?


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Activity 8 Group discussion Using the four levels of leadership as a framework, what conditions must be present for empowerment to occur within your work environment? At a personal level?

At an interpersonal level?

At the managerial level?

At the organisational level?


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Activity 9 Group Discussion What do you see as some of the barriers to empowerment in your own organisation?


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Activity 10 Group Activity: 1. Identify the top three factors that hinder empowerment in your workplace:

2. Discuss in groups – and identify the top three hindering factors in each group:

3. Inter-group discussion: what are the primary hindrances that are holding us back?


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4. What can we do to change and / or overcome these hinderances, so that we can create a more empowering environment in our workplace?


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Activity 11 Group discussion: Your own lack of ability to empower others 1. Identify the three factors that most hold you back when it comes to the empowerment of your people:

2. What can you do to eliminate or reduce the impact of these hindrances?


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Activity 12 Group Discussion: Competence of your direct reports 1. Identify the three factors that most cause your direct reports to hinder

empowerment in the workplace:

2. Discuss in small groups. Agree on the top three hindrances in the group.

3. Give feedback to the group as a whole:

4. Identify the top three hindering factors from the overall group discussion:


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5. What actions can we take to eliminate or reduce the impact of these hindrances?

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