Presentation for the leadership team of Grace Church, Reno, February 15, 2012

1. Leadership Progress
Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D.
www.bretlsimmons.com
Grace Church Reno
February 15, 2012

2. Agenda
• Priorities
• Fundamentals of behavior and
motivation at work
• Principles of leading others
toward meaningful progress
• Questions

3. Priorities
• What is the most important thing
that everyone in your organization
needs to understand is the key to
the organization’s future?
• What is the most important thing
you need to do on a daily basis to
help your organization make
progress toward achieving this
priority?

4. Loyal customers
Remarkable products/services
Remarkable operations
Remarkable employees
You

5. Evidence-Based
Management

6. Person
+
Environment (system)
=
Behavior

7. Behavior at Work
Person System Behavior
Personality Policies Helping
Attitudes Procedures Civility
Values Equipment Tardiness
Perceptions Hiring Absenteeism
Emotions Training Turnover
Motivation Staffing Participation
Rewards Preparation
Performance Performance
Evaluation
Supervision
Daily Events

8. Inner Work Life Effect:
“People do better work when they are happy, have
positive views of the organization and its people, and
are motivated primarily by the work itself.” (p, 47)

9. Inner Work Life System
Perceptions/thoughts Emotions/feelings
(Sensemaking about (Reactions to
workday events) workday events)
• The organization • Positive emotions
• Managers, self, team • Negative emotions
• The work • Overall mood
• Sense of
Workday accomplishment Individual
Events Performance
Motivation/drive
(Desire to do the work)
• What do to
• How to do it
• When to do it
• Whether to do it
Amiable, T & Kramer, S. (2011). The Progress Principle

10. Key Points
• Even seemingly mundane events –
such as small wins and minor
setbacks – can exert potent
influence on inner work life
• Negative events are more
powerful than positive events, all
else being equal

11. 1 The Progress Principle
Daily Events signifying progress
• Small wins
Events • Breakthroughs
• Forward movement
• Goal completion
2 3
The Catalyst Factor The Nourishment Factor
Events supporting the work Events supporting the person
• Setting clear goals Positive • Respect
• Allowing autonomy Inner • Encouragement
• Providing resources Work Life • Emotional support
• Providing sufficient time • Affiliation
• Helping with the work
• Learning from problems
and successes
• Allowing ideas to flow Amiable, T & Kramer, S. (2011).
The Progress Principle

12. Daily progress doing
meaningful work

13. Team Leaders /
Immediate Supervisors

14. Whatever your level in the organization … you bear
some responsibility for the inner work lives of the
people around you (p. 181)

15. Recommendations
• Systematic awareness
• Stay tuned everyday
• Target support
• Check in – don’t check-up
• Events change the culture
• Tend to your own inner work life

16. How do you
recognize good
leadership?

17. Leadership is..
Influence
Real Change
Relationship
Shared Purpose

18. Power (influence) is the
heart of leadership

19. Only when leaders and
followers actually intend
substantive,
transformative changes is
a leadership relationship
possible.

20. What do you know
about good work
relationships?

21. Interdependent
Partners

22. Interdependent Partnership
Responsibility
Expectations
Accountability
Learning

23. Responsibility
• Foundation of interdependence
• Unless and until you assume full responsibility
for yourself, you force others to assume
responsibility for you
• Performance
– Master your current job
– Continuously improve how that job is done
• Caring

24. Expectations
• Framework of interdependence
• Know what’s expected of you
• Share your expectations of others with them
• Make this a team activity
• Promise to deliver

25. Accountability
• Binding strength of interdependence
• Two principles
– Always starts with you: performance, caring,
expectations, encourage and enable others
– When you look at others, look for solutions rather
than blame
• Don’t look the other way when it matters

26. Learning
• Fulfillment of interdependence
• Change in behavior
• Core performance technology
• If you stop learning and growing, you will
increasingly become either a burden or a
stranger to others at work

27. REAL Relationship
• Are you dependent, independent, or
interdependent in your work relationships?
How does your style of relating affect others
at work?
• Are you really learning and growing at work?
Name one thing you are doing better now
than 3 months ago.

28. What is your
organization’s
shared
purpose?

29. Purpose: The Missing Factor
 Vision – where we are going
 Mission – who, when, how we will
get there
 Values – rules of engagement and
norms of behavior
 Purpose – why we do what we do
29

30. Purpose
• Never changes
• Short and easy for all to remember
• Serves as a guide for everyone’s daily
behavior
• When reasonable people disagree on the
“right thing to do”, purpose should be the
guiding principle
30

31. Purpose
Organizations flourish
when everyone
behaves purposefully
31

32. Wrap-up
• Priorities
• Fundamentals of behavior and
motivation at work
• Principles of leading others
toward meaningful progress

33. Your Questions

34. Leadership Progress
Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D.
www.bretlsimmons.com
simmonsb@unr.edu
(775) 336-9576