Presented May 6, 2010

1. Bret L Simmons, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Management, UNR www.bretlsimmons.com Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 1 www.slideshare.net/bretlsimmons

2. What are we going to do today? Turn ALL cell phones OFF Relax! Keep an open mind Ask questions Interact with me and your colleagues Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 2

3. Agenda Breaks 1.5 to 2 hours Lunch 11:30 Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 3

4. Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 4 Creative Tension Goal/Ideal “the way things could be” Current State “the way things are” Gap Delay

5. Topics Today Behavior Leadership Purpose Change Followership Assertive Communication Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 5

7. What things do people do at work to perform their jobs?

8. What other things do people do that are not part of their job performance?Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D.

9. Behavior At Work Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 7 Task Behaviors Extra-Role Behaviors

10. Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 8 Always remember…. Behavior is a function of both the person and the environment (system). B = f (P/E) Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 8

11. Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 9 Why it matters Your explanationfor the behavior that you observe (caused by a combination of person and environment factors) is critical because it determines your reactionto the behavior, and the thing you control the most at work is your ownpersonal behavior. Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D.

12. Think of an example at work where a behavior is strongly influenced by a process. What changes could you make to the process to get a different behavior? How much authority do you have to make those changes to the process? Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 10 Exercise 2: B = f (P/E)

13. Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 11 “When we attribute behavior to people rather than system structure, the focus of management becomes the search for extraordinary people to do the job rather than designing the job so that ordinary people can do it.” (Sterman, 1994) Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 11

14. Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 12 What is the single best predictor of work performance across many occupations studied in both the US and many different cultures? Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 12

15. 13 Single Best Predictor of Performance General Mental Ability (Intelligence) Ok, so what? Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D.

17. Everyone can learn to work smarterBret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 14

20. Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 16 Implications The law of crappy systems trumps the law of crappy people Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 16

22. Encourage people to be nosy and noisy - it promotes wisdomBret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 17

24. Noisy troublemakers: always point out others’ mistakes, but do so to help them and the system learn, not to point fingers (purposeful vs. egocentric)18

29. Extra-role performance (OCB)

30. Lateness

31. Absenteeism

33. Commitment Conclusion: A sound measurement of overall job attitude is one of the most useful pieces of information an organization can have about its employees Harrison, D.A., Newman, D.A., Roth, P.L. 2006. How important are job attitudes? 22

34. 23 Job Satisfaction What are the most common things (5) that people have degrees of satisfaction with at work? Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D.

36. Opportunity for promotion

37. Supervision

38. Co-workers

39. The work itself

40. Which are the most important?Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D.

41. Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 25 Organizational Commitment A belief in the goals and values of the organization. A willingness to put forth effort on behalf of the organization. A desire to remain a member of the organization.

43. Participation

44. Job security

46. What makes a good follower?

47. Is there a crisis in leadership today? If so, what is it?Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 27

48. Management vs. Leadership Managers Do things right Masters of existing routines Efficiency Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 28

49. Management vs. Leadership Leaders Do the right thing Vision and judgment Effectiveness Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 29

50. Leadership vs. Management To do the right thing, a leader needs to understand what it takes to do things right (Bob Sutton) 30 Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D.

52. Recognize the opportunities for leadership all around you and act like a leader to influence others and bring about changes for a better future.Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 31

53. Leadership An influence relationship among leaders and followers who intend real changes that reflect their shared purpose. (Daft, 2002) Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 32

55. What is your organization’s vision?

56. WHY do you do these things?Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 33

58. Vision– where we are going

59. Values– rules of engagement and norms of behavior

60. Purpose – why we do what we do34 Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D.

63. Short and easy for all to remember

64. Serve as a guide for everyone’s daily behavior

65. When reasonable people disagree on the “right thing to do”, purpose should be the guiding principle36 Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D.

66. Purpose Followers and leaders both orbit around thepurpose, followers do not orbit around the leader. But if the purpose is not clear and motivating, leaders and followers can only pursue their perceived self-interest, not their common interest. 37 Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D.

68. Leadership necessitates change

69. Successful leadership requires continuous personal changeBret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 38

71. What are the biggest sacred cows in your organization?

72. What is it that keeps people from leading these sacred cows to pasture? What are the barriers to change in your organization?Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 39

74. Understanding: Give people detailed information about why actions, especially actions that upset and harm them, were taken40

76. Compassion: Convey sympathy and concern for the disruption, emotional distress, and financial burdens that people face41

78. Why does the climate of fear exist? What is driving and sustaining fear?

81. Avoid pompous jerks whenever possible. They not only can make you feel bad about yourself, chances are you will eventually start acting like them

82. The best test of a person’s character is how he or she treats those with less power

86. You will probably lead the way that you follow.47

87. Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. Effective Followers Effective followers are active, responsible, autonomous in their behavior, and critical in thinking without being disrespectful (?) or insubordinate (?). 48

89. Other-centered, committed to the organization and its purpose. Not self-centered or self-aggrandizing.

90. Invest in competence and professionalism (they assume the responsibility to develop themselves)

92. 51 Effective Followers What about loyalty? Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D.

93. Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 52 Loyalty Both leaders and followers are entering into a contract to pursue the common purpose within the context of their values. The loyalty of each is to the purpose and to helping each other stay true to that purpose.

94. Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 53 At its best, leadership is shared among leaders and followers, with everyone fully engaged and accepting higher levels of responsibility and accountability to each other (Daft, 2002)

95. Courageous Followership Courage: The ability to step forward through fear Accepting responsibility Nonconformity Push beyond your comfort zone Ask for what you want and say what you think Fight for what you believe Whether leading or following, strive to encourage, not discourage those around you Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 54

97. Because courage implies risk, you should develop contingency plans

99. To assume responsibility

100. To serve

101. To challenge

102. To participate in transformation

103. To take moral action, and possibly even leave

104. Effective leadership requires the courage to listen to followersBret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 56

105. Courageous Followership All of the following material on courageous followership (slides 57- 81) is based on the work of Ira Chaleff (2009) The Courageous Follower: Standing Up To And For Our Leaders Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 57

107. Do not hold a paternalistic image of the leader or the organization

108. Initiate values-based, purposeful action to improve processes

110. Courage to assume responsibility for yourself Interdependent relationships: when every one assumes responsibility for themselves Dependent relationships: follower does not assumer responsibility for himself or the leader does not acknowledge the follower’s responsible behavior Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 61

111. Do your people come to you with complaints or suggestions that they then expect you to resolve? Or do your people come to you with suggestions for improvement that they are willing to take some leadership in implementing? Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 62 Courage to assume responsibility for yourself

113. Risk taker, purpose driven, holds self and others accountable, confronts sensitive issues, peer relations with authority

114. Implementer: high support, low challenge

115. Dependable, supportive, defender, team oriented, compliant, respectful of authority

116. Individualist: low support, high challenge

117. Confrontational, self-assured, independent thinker, self-marginalizing, unintimidated by authority

118. Resource: low support, low challenge

120. “This sucks (and so do you) and YOU need to fix it. What’s wrong with you?”

121. Partner followers challenge the leader, but also try to share responsibility with the leader for correcting the situation

123. Think about it When was the last time your challenged your supervisor’s behavior or policies? Why did you do it? What were the results? Do you have any partner followers? Share a specific example with the group. If you don’t have any partner followers, why not? Discuss the implications with your group If you do have partners, why do they behave like that? Again, what are the implications of having these folks? Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 66

124. Improving the Process Stop thinking its not your problem. Realize it is your responsibility. Courageous followers don’t just tell the leader “something should be done about this,” adding to the burden of leadership, but present ideas for improving the process that the leader can consider and they offer to help with the implementation. Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 67

125. Eliciting Feedback Focus on performance and behavior – things that you can control and change Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 68

126. Courage to Serve the Purposeful Leader (Look outside yourself) Assume new or additional responsibilities to unburden the leader and serve the organization Stand up for the leader and the tough decisions a leader must make for the org. to achieve its purpose Are as passionate as the leader in pursuing the common purpose Stay alert for areas in which their strengths complement the leader’s and assert themselves in these areas. Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 69

128. Willing to stand up, stand out, to risk rejection, to initiate conflict in order to examine the actions of the leader and group when appropriate

129. Willing to deal with the emotions their challenge evokes in the leader and group

131. Courage to Challenge Should be willing to challenge a leader’s behavior and policies – behavior is the most difficult Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 72

132. Challenging indirectly Find ways to engage rather than alarm the leader. Questions to shift perspective: “Is there another way we can look at this situation?” Anticipating questions others might ask of the leader about her policy: “How would we respond to the concern that….” Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 73

134. Don’t ask for and don’t expect an immediate action or decision – allow time for the leader to “think about it”

135. Keep the door open for the leader to reflect

136. The duty to obey

137. If we choose to continue being a follower of this leader and if the policies are not morally repugnant to us, we have the responsibility to implement the policies.

140. May say one thing, but behavior and polices encourage other behaviors from followers

141. Acid test: do followers actually come to you with tough issues about corporate issues or your own behavior and policies?

142. What messages are number twos sending?

144. Courage to Listen to Followers If you react defensively when criticized, you are unlikely to hear further about the matter or to hear further from the individual. A requisite of good leadership is to override naturally defensive feelings, statements, and behaviors, and display genuine interest in what sources of critical feedback are telling you. Demonstrate responsiveness to feedback Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 78

145. Courage to Listen to Followers Inviting creative challenge Proactive vs. reactive Distinguish between challenge to your authority and challenge to your ideas Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 79

147. A culture of communication, not complaints Complaints should be taken to the person or persons who need to be addressed for it to be resolved. Are there complaints about you that you are not hearing? Leaders that listen to complaints are colluding with the dysfunctional culture. If you listen to complaints, you are creating dependent, not interdependent relationships Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 81

150. Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 84 I-statements: Three components A specific and nonblaming description of the behavior exhibited by the other person The concrete effects of that behavior The speaker’s feelings about the behavior

151. Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 85 I-statement examples

153. Empathize with the other person’s position in the situation

154. Specify what changes you would like to see in the situation or in another’s behavior, and offer to negotiate those changes with the other person

156. www.slideshare.net/bretlsimmons Thanks! simmonsb@unr.edu Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. 89