Brandon W. Jones

In the business world change is constant. The change that has the biggest effect on the employees is the change that involves management. Whether it is someone new to leadership or someone that has been in leadership for a long time, change is always a challenge within an organization. When a new leader comes into or is moved within an organization, they bring new rules, quirks, and viewpoints. Even though each leader has their own personality and leadership style, there are a few approaches that seem to be similar amongst many leaders. There are two approaches I have experienced in my career from many different leaders that seem to have a significant impact on the morale of the employees.

The first approach is that of the micromanager. The micromanagers have the tendency to jump into a new system and make it into their own without learning the existing system first. They are change drivers. They take the approach that every system needs to be fixed, so they will fix it. These types of leaders have a hard time seeing the positive aspects of the existing system. From what I have seen, these leaders have a tendency to rub people wrong in the beginning. With time the subordinates get used to their new leader and their leadership style. Those who are under this type of leader, either learn to work with them or go on to different positions.

A second approach is that of the leader that learns the system and then makes changes. These leaders are focused first on the people within the system and then on changing the system. They spend sufficient time learning the existing system so that they have the trust of the people within the system. Once they have gained trust, they can effectively change the system with the support of the people within the system. These leaders seem to be more liked by those they lead than the leaders who go in trying to change everything right off the bat. These leaders gain the support of their subordinates and then have help in changing the system.

Although both leadership styles are needed for specific systems, the second approach seems to be the more people friendly approach. People tend to react more openly to change driven by management that is also open to ideas.

One of the biggest stumbling blocks to success in the business world is fear. Fear is the opposite of faith. Fear is difficult to overcome, and I think everyone faces a little fear all the time. What leads to success is how we deal with the fear that we face. Fear can be a strong positive motivator when it is used properly. I put together a list of three ways you can overcome fear. They are the following:
1. Know your self worth
2. Don’t be afraid to fail
3. Just ask

Know Your Self-Worth
When we can realize and understand our own self-worth, the sky is the limit. I really like the following quote by Marianne Williamson:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?” Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. ~Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of “A Course in Miracles,” 1992

As the quote points out, each individual has a great amount of self-worth. As we come to know and understand our own self-worth, we gain a greater amount of confidence. Many people will tell you that you can’t make a difference in the world, but that is not true. The most successful people in the world are single individuals that through hard work make a difference in their immediate world and then over time expand their sphere of influence so cover more and more people. Thus these individuals make a difference in the world. Realize that you can be great and then go forward and BE great.

Don’t Be Afraid to Fail
The fear of failure is a major stumbling block to success. To overcome the fear of failure, it is important to realize what failure is. Failure is the only way that people can learn to be successful. We learn from our own failures and from the failures of others. With each failure, we get a little closer to success. In many of my undertakings I like to take the shotgun approach. By that I mean that I throw myself out there as much as possible and fail many times with the knowledge that I will at some point in the future reach a success. All the failures are essential to reaching the successes. Don’t be afraid to fail because with each failure you are one step closer to success. By failing ourselves or seeing others fail, we gain powerful insights into what not to do, which leads to our success.

Just Ask
In the business world many times there is a fear that develops when we don’t know the answer. In every position there are specific core competencies that must be in place in order to get the job in the first place. Beyond the core competencies, don’t be afraid to just ask questions or even for help. If you have a question, do everything you can to find the answer on your own and then don’t be afraid to ask for help. Everyone in the business world has had help from someone else at some point in their career. They will understand and be willing to help, especially if they know that you have done all your homework and tried to find the answer on your own. When asking for help, be sure to choose your timing wisely. Don’t ask right when the person first gets in and don’t ask right when they are about to leave. At those times, they already have other things on their mind and are not in a position to take on a big question or project.

Although fear is very difficult to overcome, when it is directed in the right direction it can lead to a great amount of success. Fear can motivate us to do our very best and be the best we can be.

As this article pointed out, there are many times when organizations don’t create an environment that is conducive to constructive criticism. What does it take to set up a system that encourages feedback from the employees to the management? What can be put in place within a system to eliminate the system communication barriers? Is it possible to have a strong leadership team within an organization and still be able to have the good communication from the bottom up?

I think that the answer is yes. It is possible to have good communication from the bottom up if the right system features are in place within a system. One system feature that could be put in place to facilitate the communication from the employees to management would be management forums. During the management forums, the employees would be able to ask questions of the middle and upper level management teams.

The management forums would be somewhat effective for the employees that were willing to speak up, but its effectiveness would be limited. Another approach that would be more effective would be to set up a system where the managers go amongst the employees on a regular basis. The managers should meet with the employees on a one-on-one level. The managers would take suggestions from the employees and use their suggestions to change the system. In order for this system to work, the managers would have to be held responsible for their responses to the employees.

Allowing the employees to have power to change the organization would help an organization to succeed. If any of you that follow my blog have any suggestions of ways to promote feedback, please let me know.

The article spoke about the importance of changing yourself before you encourage others to change. I am a strong proponent of changing from within first and foremost. People are always talking about change. People are always trying to change others. It is very easy to find all the faults and mistakes in others while it is more difficult to find areas to change yourself.

Some of the best leaders are the servant leaders. They have a great ability to change first and then expect others to change. I am continually trying to be a better servant leader. A true servant leader does two things. First, they lead by example and change themselves and then they humbly help others to change themselves.

In order for a leader to change, they have to initially realize they are doing something wrong. In order to figure out change areas, it is very important for the leader to get feedback from others. There are times that I have been frustrating someone else and I didn’t know it until I received their feedback. Feedback is essential.

Once someone has changed themselves, they can then help others to change. Personal testimonials are one of the biggest marketing tools used today. Testimonials effect people in a special way. When people hear testimonials, they feel like “if they can do it, so can I”.

The article mentioned ten points to help develop change. The points are listed below.

1. Seeks to Create an Emergent System
2. Recognizes Hypocrisy and Patterns of Self-Deception
3. Personal Change Through Value Clarification and Alignment of Behaviors
4. Free Oneself From the System of External Sanctions
5. Develops a Vision for the Common Good
6. Takes Action to the Edge of Chaos
7. Maintains Reverence for the Others Involved in Change
8. Inspires Others to Enact their Best Selves
9. Models Counterintuitive, Paradoxical Behavior
10. Change Self and System

In this case, there were many problems within the Treadway Tire Lima factory plant. All of the problems were caused by the inefficient system that was in place. Most of the lower level leaders within the company were either under trained or not trained at all. Three things that could have been done to fix the system would be an organized training system within Treadway Tire, less pressure on the foreman and supervisors for immediate results on things that were outside their control, and shorter shifts.

If Treadway Tire implements an organized training program, the supervisors and managers won’t have to come up with everything on their own. It will eliminate the sink or swim mentality forced on the foreman and supervisors. The training should have the following important aspects:
1. Plant operations
2. Interactions between Treadway Tire employees and Union Workers
3. Proper disciplinary actions for employees
4. Areas for personal management education and advancement

In starting an organized training program, the initial training would have to happen right away for all management from foreman to managers. The initial training would help all of the leaders to be on the same page. After the initial training, it would be important to have a refresher training course every six months to a year so that the leaders would know what they could and couldn’t do. As the training program continued, the foreman and supervisors would be asked for feedback and the training program could be further developed to meet the needs of the organization. The training would help to empower the leaders to be able to make the proper decisions.

In addition to the training, it would be important to put less pressure on the foreman and supervisors for things that are outside their control. They were seeing an increase in pressure each year and the increase in pressure was reducing the quality of the performance due to stress. If Treadway Tire continues to add more and more pressure to the foreman and supervisors with out providing the necessary resources, the company as a whole will fail because there will be higher turnover rates and the production will decrease. Pressure for results should only be applied when the employees are given the proper resources to succeed. Upper management can increase pressure when there are inefficiencies within the system, but they should not increase the pressure without additional resources once the system has reached a high level of efficiency because it will lead to failure.

I am not an expert in the manufacturing processes that occur at Treadway Tires, but I don know that natural fatigue occurs after a period of time. The current length of time for each shift could be reduced so that it causes less stress on the individuals. People can work strong for a time, but once they reach fatigue, they begin to make more mistakes and they’re more irritable.

By implementing a few of the changes mentioned, Treadway Tire will see an increase in the morale of the employees and a better relationship with the unions. In addition, the stress on the foreman and supervisors will be reduced. With the reduced stress, the company will see less turnover and higher production.

This case study discussed some of the techniques used by The Men’s Wearhouse during the late 1990’s that helped them to be successful through what was a recession. The management team put their people as their number one priority. In an industry where people put their marketing and selling as the focus of the organization, it was unusual for Men’s Wearhouse to place their people as their number one priority.

Currently we are facing one of the deepest economic recessions that we have had in a very long time. With the current situation, it is very common for layoffs to occur and people to be unemployed. This brings up the question of whether or not people are still the most important asset in the workforce. I would like to answer with a resounding YES! People are the source of innovation, customer relations, interaction, and growth. This case pointed out three principles that the Men’s Wearhouse followed that would greatly help people in today’s economy. The three principles are:
1. Maximize the individual’s self-esteem
2. Servant leadership is to listen carefully and to demonstrate understanding
3. Management should ask for help in solving the problem

If each of these principles were followed in today’s economy, we may have not had the recession that we currently have. In line with the first principle, when the individual’s self-esteem is maximized, the collective morale of the organization increases. As the morale increases, it is very important that the people know where to direct their motivation.

In order to direct the motivation in the right way, the second step must be followed. Management must follow the principle of servant leadership. In addition to listening carefully and demonstrating understanding, a servant leader must go and be with the people they lead. By being with the people they lead, they are able to create a stronger working relationship. The leaders are also able to lead by example when they are with those they lead.

The third principle is to ask for help in solving the problem. By taking suggestions from the workforce, the management team can gain additional perspectives. With the additional perspectives, it is possible to make a much more educated decision.

Each of the three principles helps to emphasize the importance of the people within the organization. The people are the most important asset of any organization. The people are the source of the success within the organization. Without the people, the buildings and clothes are just buildings and clothes. People are essential for an organization to function properly.

As the case pointed out there are a few different options that can be looked at prior to any action. The approach that Robin brought to the table was too narrow. He should have gone to the other executives and brought up the financial situation and then said, “How are we going to fix this situation?” By putting the problem on the group he is making everyone figure out a solution. In addition, he would be working to bring the team together.

The approach that Robin should have taken, in order to maintain high morale within the company, would be to have layoff’s be the last resort. He should have looked at more options for recovering from the financial struggles. One way that Robin could have handled the situation would have been to cut the executives’ salaries before layoffs would occur.

He should have made each person come up with solutions to the problem. There is a tendency for people in the group setting to begin to do group think. To avoid group think, he could have everyone go to their offices and think of several ideas on their own before going over ideas as a group. If he did that, he would have to set a minimum number of ideas that everyone had to come up with before the meeting so that everyone would be forced to be creative. In order for this method to work, Robin would have to require everyone in the group to bring their ideas to the table in a large brainstorming session. From that point, they would be able to narrow down the ideas to the most feasible option and proceed from there. By forcing the executive team to come up with their ideas individually, each one of the executives would have to formulate their own stance. They would not be able to jump on the backs of the more dominant personalities in the group and resort to group think.

Overall, the approach that Robin used to resolve their financial crisis was too narrow minded. It seemed as though many of the executives didn’t care that much how they did the layoffs because it wouldn’t affect them personally. Robin needed to make the financial position of the company a problem for whole team to solve.

Introduction
In this article, Stephen R. Covey described three steps that must be taken for a leader to go from an authoritarian leader to a servant leader. First I will show the three steps and then I will explain my feelings about each step.

The three steps are:
1. Build a new relationship – go from a vertical relationship to a horizontal one.
2. Create a new psychological contract or performance agreement – be upfront with all expectations especially in the five areas mentioned.
3. With the transfer of power and responsibility for results, the leader becomes the servant and a source of help
In the article, Covey presented the different steps, but he didn’t give specific techniques for applying the steps. I will attempt to explain how to apply the three principles.

Step 1: Build a new relationship
This is a very valuable leadership technique. In the article, Covey presented the idea of going from a vertical to a horizontal relationship. I would like to suggest a few ways of applying this technique. First, it is very important to explain to the employees the roles of the leader as more of a guide and less of a judge. In explaining this role, it is essential to explain that there are certain consequences for specific behaviors. Once the followers understand that their leader is a guide to help them get to where they are going, they will trust them more and they will ask for feedback. If the follower thinks the leader is a judge, they will go to others to get help. They will not use the leader effectively. Because this is a change in the normal thinking, the leader must actively express their willingness to guide and they must be available. The only aspect in which the leader needs to be the judge, is when there are specific actions that must be done and the follower isn’t following them.

Step 2: Create a new psychological contract or performance agreement
Covey explained that the leader and the follower must set up a specific performance contract. This is a good philosophy. My suggestions for applying this would be for the leader to communicate with the follower the specific expectations. This can be done in a one-on-one personal setting or in through written communication. The best way would be to start with some written communication and then have a sit down meeting. In the sit down meeting, the leader and the follower can review the expectations and see how the follower can live up to the expectations.

Step 3: The transfer of power and responsibility for results
Covey gave a fairly good explanation on how this principle can be applied. It is important for the leader to express their trust in the follower. Once the follower understands they have gained the trust of the leader, they can work much more effectively. They will go to the leader when they need suggestions, but they will have the confidence to work independently.

This article shows what leaders of today must do. In today’s world, there are so many people out there willing to deceive others to make a quick dollar. This is especially sad because in the past the motto of society that a man’s word was his bond. Now it is getting to where a person’s word means almost nothing. In order to be a good leader it is essential that the leader is honest and forthright.

In this article, Michael Leven understood the importance of honesty. The other leaders he associated with did not understand the importance or value of their word. Michael Leven realized that in order to be a good leader he had to put the shareholders first. He even lost his own money by putting the shareholders first. His example was a good example to follow because he put others first.

In a leadership role it is very important to put others first. It is also very important to be a servant leader. Leaders are not better than the followers; they are just at a different spot on the same journey. The leaders should have the attitude that they are there to help others to succeed. The leader is successful when their followers are successful. With this approach, the leaders are there to serve there followers. By serving others, they must put themselves last to be successful.

In this case the main theme was how to become a level 5 leader. Although the attributes explained in the article are good attributes to obtain, after reading the case study “Good to Great, or just Good” by Bruce Niendorf and Kristine Beck, I have the strong tendency to discount the research that he states backs up his findings. Because the research that he states was not properly obtained according to a statistics analysis, I will just review the value of his thoughts as a suggestion and not as being backed by research. The two qualities he stated leaders should have are personal humility and professional will. These two qualities are very valuable and important to have.

When an individual or leader has the quality of personal humility, they are then teachable and open to change. Without change an organization will fail. Change is essential to growing the business because customer needs are continually changing. It is not good to change in the sense of sound moral values and principles; the change I am referring to is the change in product, production techniques, marketing, etc. Leaders need to be humble to effectively create change in an organization. If the leader is not humble and he or she tries to create change, the individuals within the organization will resist the change and then when the leader is not around they will go back to their old ways. When the leader humbly instigates change, the followers will be more likely to buy in.

In addition to being humble, great leaders must also have a professional will that drives them to do their best. The professional drive must come from within. The professional will is the desire the leader has to do their very best and be great even when no one else is looking. It is the drive the leader has to continually do more with less. Professional will is the desire to succeed. As Jim Collins pointed out, professional will is essential for a leader to reach the next level in their leadership ability.