Susan Fowler,Ken Blanchard,Laurence Hawkins
As we discussed in Chapter 4, “Empowerment Is the Key,” the traditional hierarchy of leadership is evolving into a new order: empowerment of individuals. When self leaders can take the initiative to get what they need to succeed and leaders respond to those needs, the proverbial pyramid turns upside down, and leaders serve those who are being led. This puts the power into empowerment.
Managers must learn to let go of command-and-control leadership styles, because soon they will have no choice. In the 1980s, a manager typically supervised five people—in other words, the span of control was one manager to five direct reports. Today, companies have more mean-and-lean organizational structures, where spans of control have increased considerably. Now, it is common to find one manager for 25 to 75 direct reports. Add to that the emergence of virtual organizations—where managers are being asked to supervise people they seldom, if ever, meet face to face—and we have an entirely different work landscape emerging. The truth is that most bosses today can no longer play the traditional role of telling people what, when, and how to do everything. Managers just don’t have time, and in many cases, their people know more about the work than they do. More than ever before, companies today are relying on empowered individuals to get the job done.
A number of people are taking to this empowered environment like ducks to water. But some are becoming immobilized, unsure of how to take action without being told directly what to do by their manager. What’s the solution? How can you get people to grab hold and run with the ball that they’re being handed? How can you help people flourish as empowered problem solvers and decision makers?
Just as leaders must move from command-and-control to partnering for performance, so, too, must those who are being led move from “waiting to be told” to taking the initiative to lead themselves. If the key role of situational leaders is to become partners with their people, the new role of people is to become partners with their leaders. This is what self leadership is all about.
People need to be trained in self leadership. While many organizations teach managers how to delegate and “let go,” there is less emphasis on developing individuals to pick up the ball and run with it. Organizations on the leading edge have learned that developing self leaders is a powerful way to positively impact the triple bottom line.
For example, one of our clients, Bandag Manufacturing, experienced the value of self leadership after a major equipment breakdown. Rather than laying off the affected workforce, the company opted to train them in self leadership. A funny thing happened. Direct reports began holding their managers accountable and asking them to demonstrate their leadership abilities. They were asking managers for direction and support and urging them to clarify goals and expectations. Suddenly, managers were studying up on rusty skills and working harder.
When the plant’s ramp-up time was compared to the company’s other eight plants that had experienced similar breakdowns in the past, the California plant reached pre-breakdown production levels faster than any other in history. The manufacturer studied other measures, too, and concluded that the determining factor in the plant’s successful rebound was primarily due to the proactive behavior of the workers, who were fully engaged and armed with the skills of self leadership.
Why is it important to have an engaged workforce of self leaders? Because disengaged workers cost the United States hundreds of billions of dollars per year. According to a 2003 Gallup study, “actively disengaged” people—workers who are fundamentally disconnected from their jobs—cost the U.S. economy between $292 and $355 billion a year. The Gallup survey found that 24.7 million workers (17 percent) are actively disengaged. These workers are absent from work 3.5 more days a year than other workers, or 86.5 million days in all. While “not engaged” workers aren’t psychologically committed to their roles, “actively disengaged” workers openly express negative attitudes toward their employers. Compared with their colleagues, actively disengaged workers are significantly less productive, less loyal to their companies, less satisfied with their personal lives, and more stressed and insecure about their work.[1] Statistics show an even less engaged workforce worldwide (see the following table).
Engaged | Not Engaged | Actively Disengaged | |
|---|---|---|---|
United States | 27% | 56% | 17% |
Canada | 24% | 60% | 16% |
Germany | 12% | 70% | 18% |
Japan | 9% | 72% | 19% |
Great Britain | 19% | 61% | 20% |
Chile | 25% | 62% | 13% |
France | 12% | 57% | 31% |
Israel | 20% | 65% | 15% |
Australia | 18% | 63% | 19% |
New Zealand | 23% | 64% | 13% |
Singapore | 6% | 77% | 17% |
To see where you fall in the engaged-disengaged continuum, consider the following 12 core questions (“Q12™” research takes its name from them) that Gallup asked employees. Responses to these questions allow organizations to see and understand links between levels of employee engagement and productivity, growth, and profitability. We’ve included the kind of responses to these questions that an actively engaged self leader would make.
Q12 Questions | Self Leader Responses |
|---|---|
| I have clarified what my manager and organization expect of me in my role. I have made it my business to obtain agreed-upon key responsibility areas and corresponding goals. |
| I take the initiative to ask for and I need to do my work right? obtain the materials and equipment I need to do my work right. |
| I find the opportunity to do what I do best every day. |
| In the past seven days, I have solicited and received specific feedback regarding my work. I have internally recognized my good efforts, and, where needed, elicited acknowledgment for doing good work from those who matter to me. |
| I initiate one-on-one meetings with my supervisor to discuss the ongoing direction and support I need to pursue and achieve my goals. |
| I have fostered a mentoring relationship that encourages my development. |
| I have presented my ideas, offered my opinions, and proactively solved problems in a way that communicates my due diligence and allows others to buy into my solutions without worrying about the solution’s viability or feeling threatened by my assertiveness. |
| I have aligned my personal life vision and work-related purpose with the mission and purpose of my organization, making me feel that my job is important and supports my own values and point of view. |
| I have mentored and peer-coached my coworkers and have taken personal responsibility to help create a team environment where we are committed to doing quality work for the greater good. |
| I have fostered meaningful relationships and made connections with people at work. |
| On a regular basis, I have taken the initiative to confer with my manager regarding my progress and his or her impressions of how I’m meeting expectations. |
| In the past year, I have created opportunities at work and in my personal life to learn and grow. |
If you responded to the preceding questions with a majority of “yes” answers, chances are good that your organization has an empowering culture that supports the development of self leaders.
Individual learning—one of the key elements of a high performing organization—is essential to self leadership.[2] Organizations that do not encourage people to learn are less likely to be high performing, because the skills of an organization are no greater than the skills of its people. Unless the individual learns, the organization cannot learn.
In high performing organizations, people are treated as appreciating assets who grow more valuable with experience and knowledge. High performing organizations use formal training, mentoring, and on-the-job support to develop the skills and competencies of their people.
While self leaders should be responsible for their own learning, they shouldn’t bear the burden alone; management practices should support the development of knowledge and skills. This works best when learning activities are integrated into everyone’s work. In high performing organizations, all learning is aligned with and supports the company’s strategic direction.
Fortunately, examples of organizations that support individual learning and the development of self leaders are plentiful.
Yum! Brands—the parent company of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and KFC, among others—supports Yum! University, where associates learn the technical, business, and interpersonal skills that are related to creating customer mania.[3]
Johnsonville Foods promotes continuous learning by encouraging all employees to attend any training class—regardless of its direct applicability to their current jobs.[4] GE is another excellent example of an organization that values learning. Their Work Out initiative launched in 1989 broke down barriers to learning through cross-functional work on real applications. Work Out eliminated waste and increased productivity by removing communication barriers so that employees shared knowledge and acted on it. GE continues to build on all that employees are learning through the Work Out program—the hallmark of an organization that promotes ongoing learning and the development of self leaders.[5]
You cannot invert the hierarchal pyramid and simply tell self leaders to take responsibility. Self leaders must be actively developed by teaching people skills and mental attitudes that foster empowerment.[6] In Self Leadership and The One Minute Manager, Ken Blanchard, Susan Fowler, and Laurence Hawkins teach the three skills of self leadership: challenge assumed constraints, celebrate your points of power, and collaborate for success.[7]
The first skill of a self leader is to challenge assumed constraints. What, exactly, do we mean by an assumed constraint?
The classic example of an assumed constraint is illustrated by the training of circus elephants. The trainer takes a baby elephant and ties him to a stake with a big, heavy chain. Although the baby elephant pulls and tugs, he can’t break the chain. Eventually he stops trying. He is now a six-ton elephant with the Barnum & Bailey circus. He could easily pull the entire stake out of the ground—plus the stage—but he doesn’t even try. His inability to move beyond the length of the chain isn’t real; it’s an assumed constraint.
Consider how the elephant’s story relates to your own work experience. Do any of the following statements sound familiar? “Why should I bother? My boss won’t approve anyway. They never listen to anyone’s ideas around here. A woman has never held that position before. I’ve never been any good at that.” These are all examples of assumed constraints that might be true at some level but are not the truth that should define your experience.
Indicators that an assumed constraint may be holding you hostage are negative internal dialogue, excuses, and blaming statements. At one time or another, most of us have assumed that because we did not have direct authority or position power, we could not be leaders or influence outcomes. This is one of the most common assumed constraints in the workplace. People who have become legendary for their effectiveness—from Bill Gates to Mother Teresa—are those who go beyond assumed constraints to reach their goals. For example, Mother Teresa—a minority Albanian who spoke broken English—did not begin her amazing career with a high position and authority. She used her personal power to achieve her goal of bringing dignity to the destitute. Fame and success followed.
This is not to say that all of us aren’t constrained by outside forces, whether it’s a lack of time, money, or position of authority. Yet self leadership teaches that constraints are not the problem; the problem is that we think these things are the only sources of power that are available to us. Every successful person can almost name the time and date when they decided to let go of an assumed constraint.
The second skill of a self leader is to celebrate your points of power. Everyone has points of power, although many are not aware of them. For example, in our work in public schools, we have found that students often feel that because they are not a parent, principal, teacher, or coach, they have no power. As a result, they either go underground with their feelings of frustration, or they become hostile and rebellious. This is not just a young person’s problem. People of all ages struggle with the mere notion of power. They often don’t recognize or acknowledge that they also have some power.
The abuse of power, the use of status and position to coerce others, and the egoism associated with people who have social and political power have turned people off to the acceptance of—let alone use of—power. Situational Self Leadership teaches people that we all have points of power. In helping people recognize and accept their points of power, we suggest that “the sole advantage of power is the ability to do more good.” Self leaders can do more good for themselves, their families, their communities, their organizations, and their coworkers when they accept and tap into their power.
There are five sources of power: position power, personal power, task power, relationship power, and knowledge power.
Position power is the most recognized point of power. It is inherent in the authority of your position. You have position power when your business card has a title printed on it that indicates you have the power to manage people or command resources. But as Ken Blanchard’s dad, an officer in the Navy, always said, “The best leaders are those who have position power and never have to use it.”
Personal power comes from personal attributes such as strength of character, passion, inspiration, or wisdom. Personal power is further enhanced by strong interpersonal skills, such as the ability to communicate well and be persuasive. If people like to be around you, you have personal power.
Task power stems from a task or particular job. This is power you have in being able to help others with a process or procedure they need to do or, conversely, to block or delay others from doing a task. For example, an executive secretary for a president or CEO often has the power to influence who gets added to or deleted from the executive’s agenda.
Relationship power comes from the power of association with others—through building a friendship, understanding a colleague, cultivating a relationship, or knowing someone who owes you a favor. If you are somebody who has position power, personal power, task power, or knowledge power, you potentially have relationship power.
Knowledge power comes from having special expertise or skills but is also evidenced by having certain degrees or certifications indicating special training. You can often transfer knowledge power from job to job or from company to company. We’re all good at something, so we all have some form of knowledge power.
Everyone has some degree of each of these forms of power, and typically the distribution is uneven. We find that few people ever think about what points of power they have. Fewer still have asked others for their perceptions on this topic. If they did, they might be surprised at how others view them—their job, position, personality, and abilities.
Getting feedback on your points of power can be an enlightening experience. Chances are good that you’ll be surprised and gratified by the responses you get. With raised awareness and attention to your own power, you come to realize how to use your points of power to better advantage. You will probably also realize that while you have been taking some points of power for granted, you have been oblivious to others. The best way to increase your power base is to gather people around you who have points of power you don’t have.
Once you learn what your points of power are, you are ready to expand them. If you are strong in some points of power or weak in others, don’t assume that will be true the rest of your life. For example, it wouldn’t hurt a person with high knowledge power due to computer expertise but low personal power due to weak interpersonal skills to take a Dale Carnegie course on How to Win Friends and Influence People. To assume that people will never want to be around you is a life-limiting assumed constraint. The same can be said of people who have good interpersonal skills but lack technical skills. You’re naïve to think that the computer is going to go away. So get with the program and ask someone to help you learn.
You can maximize your points of power when you combine them with two powerful words: “I need.” Instead of directly stating what we need, many of us get trapped in asking dumb questions, like the woman in the subway. Let us explain: A man got on a subway in New York City and discovered there was only one seat left. There was something on the seat he didn’t want on his slacks, so he laid his newspaper down and sat on it. A few minutes later, a woman tapped him on the shoulder and said, “Excuse me, sir. Are you reading your newspaper?” The man thought that was one of the dumbest questions he’d ever heard. He couldn’t help himself. He stood up, turned the page, sat back down on the paper, and replied, “Yes, ma’am, I am.”
While that story is amusing, you might wonder if you ask any dumb questions. We all do. For example, suppose that a coworker is running around like a chicken with her head cut off, but you need some help. So you ask, “Are you busy?” That’s a dumb question. Of course she’s busy! So she says something like, “There just aren’t enough hours in the day.” You feel guilty, so you get flustered and leave her alone, not wanting to add to her burden.
The alternative to dumb questions is to simply state your needs to your coworker truthfully: “I need 15 minutes to discuss this project. If this isn’t a good time, I could come back at 3:00.”
What makes the “I need” phrase so powerful? When you tell somebody you want something, that person’s first thought is usually, “We all want things we can’t have.” However, when you use the “I need” phrase, you’re coming from a position of strength. You’ve thought about what it will take to succeed, and you are requesting a someone’s help. Human beings love to feel needed. They love to think they can help you.
Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need from people who have points of power you don’t have. By being assertive in this way, you will eliminate “being a victim” from your vocabulary. Remember, if you ask for what you need, you will either win or break even. Would you be excited to go to Las Vegas if the worst you could do was win or break even? Of course—you would catch the next plane. If you ask for what you need and you get it, you win. If you ask and don’t get it, you break even—you didn’t have it in the first place. Most people are afraid to ask for what they need for fear of rejection. Remember, when people say no to you, they are only turning down your idea. The only person who can turn you down is you.
“I need” is compelling. This is a key phrase when you begin to collaborate for success.
The third skill of a self leader is to collaborate for success. This is where self leaders take the initiative to get the direction and support they need to achieve their goals.
In Chapter 5, “Situational Leadership® II: The Integrating Concept,” we introduced the four development levels and the appropriate leadership styles for each. Situational Self Leadership turns the model upside down, so that direct reports can now diagnose their own development levels on a particular goal or task and take the initiative to get from their managers the leadership style they need to succeed.
To illustrate how this works, let’s return to our example in Chapter 5 of the recently hired 22-year-old salesperson. Suppose that the first thing the salesperson’s manager did with him was train him in Situational Self Leadership. Now when he and his manager set goals around his four key areas of responsibility—sales, service, administration, and team contribution—the young salesperson can collaborate for success by playing an active role in diagnosing his own development level and determining the leadership style he needs for each, rather than relying on his manager to do all the work. Not only will this increase his self-esteem and speed his journey to empowerment, but by being a good partner, he also will alleviate some of the management load for his boss. In the process, it will make it easier for his manager to invert the hierarchal pyramid and become more of a cheerleader and supporter than a director and controller.
Back to our example: Because the salesperson knows Situational Self Leadership, he is able to diagnose himself as an enthusiastic beginner (D1) in the area of selling to existing clients. He knows that he has not yet demonstrated competence in this area and that he hasn’t gained the knowledge and skills he needs to achieve his sales goals. Yet the thought of providing superior service to existing clients excites him, and his commitment is high. The salesperson should recognize that he needs a directing (S1) style, with high direction and low support. He should collaborate for success by asking his manager to teach him all about this part of the sales process, from making the first contact to completing the job. He should ask his manager to visit an existing client with him so that he can see how it’s done. He also should ask his manager to help him set appropriate goals and to plan and prioritize what he needs to accomplish to succeed in this area. Because the salesperson is excited about and highly committed to selling to existing clients, he shouldn’t need a lot of emotional support in this area of his job.
In the area of administration—specifically, filing electronic reports—the salesperson realizes that he is a disillusioned learner (D2) in need of coaching (S2). His hotel job during the summer didn’t give him a lot of computer training. After taking some beginning software classes, he thought he was on his way to computer literacy. Yet without the instructor at his side, his confidence is waning. The salesperson should admit to his manager that while he’s fairly comfortable with e-mail, he’s so baffled by the spreadsheet program that he finds himself mumbling to the computer monitor. Recognizing that he needs a lot of direction and support in this area, the salesperson should collaborate for success by asking his manager for more computer training so that he can dialogue with the instructor as he learns. He also should ask his manager for lots of praise and support to build his confidence on the computer and encourage him to keep learning.
In the area of cold calling, the salesperson is having some trouble. He has been well trained in this area and knows the step-by-step process for cold calling. During his training and for the first few weeks afterward, he had several successes. During the past couple of weeks, however, he’s made hardly any sales through cold calls. His self-doubt has come roaring back, and he’s beginning to wonder if he has what it takes to succeed in cold calling. Remembering how excited and competent he felt about cold calling just a few weeks ago, he realizes that he is a capable but cautious performer (D3) who needs a supporting (S3) leadership style. He should collaborate for success by asking his manager to listen to his concerns and questions and encourage his flagging confidence. Knowing that collaboration with a master in cold calling will give him the boost he needs, he should ask his manager to help him brainstorm and take risks.
In the area of customer service, the salesperson knows full well he’s a self-reliant achiever (D4). Having worked in the hospitality industry, he brings all kinds of customer-pleasing skills to his new position, and delighting customers comes as naturally to him as breathing. He has already won the hearts of some of the company’s biggest clients by anticipating their needs and delivering more than they ever dreamed of receiving. In this area, the salesperson should collaborate for success by letting his manager know that a delegating (S4) leadership style would work best for him. He should ask his manager to let him do the day-to-day decision making in this area, and he should let his manager know that the best way to support him is to trust him to do his job well, provide him with the resources he needs, and challenge him to deliver even higher levels of raving fan service.
It is important to remember that the process of collaborating for success doesn’t have to be restricted to your manager. You can diagnose your development level and ask for the appropriate leadership style from any number of leaders. Remember that a leader is anyone who can give the direction and support you need to achieve your goal. This is the perfect time for you to challenge your assumed constraints. What are the little voices in your head that are telling you, “Why would this person want to help me?”
Now that you know about challenging assumed constraints, celebrating your points of power, and collaborating for success, in the next chapter we introduce partnering for performance, the third skill of becoming an effective situational leader. Partnering for performance formalizes the process of collaborating for success and increases the quality and quantity of discussions between leaders and the people they support and depend on. It creates a structure in which people can ask their managers for the leadership style they need and in the process create the kind of give-and-take between leader and follower that produces amazing results.