Feeling Valued at Work

"Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others."  Philippians 2:3-4 (ESV)

 

 Over the last few days, I have asked a number of people, “What makes you feel valued in your workplace?” It seems to come down to three things: Trust, Respect and Input.

 Trust – “assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.” (Merriam-Webster)

Trust is the building block for transformational leadership.  Leaders want their followers to trust them, but to gain trust one must first prove himself to be trustworthy. One way to build trustworthiness is to place trust in the other person. The more trust I show you, the more I increase the likelihood that you will trust me. Delegation of responsibility is a huge way to build trust. Sharing of information and sharing personal prayer requests are also trust builders.

Respect –“a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements.” (Oxford Dictionary)  

The simplest recognition of the other person’s experience, contributions or individual accomplishments can go a very long way toward making the person feel respected. Another simple way to show respect is to put down the smart-aleck phone and give the person your undivided attention. 

 Input – “advice or opinions that help someone make a decision.” (Merriam-Webster).

This is about feeling you have the opportunity to share Information and Insights.  Being given the opportunity to share these three I's creates a feeling of empowerment. 

 

Information x Input x Insight = Empowerment  ( I³ = E ).  

 

The word “empowerment” is often confused with delegation of authority.  People do not necessarily have to be given a delegated authority, however, to feel empowered.  The opportunity to give input up line with absolute confidence that they will be heard makes people feel they actually make a difference. This is more than just having the opportunity to influence decisions. It has to do with simply being heard, knowing that your manager has an open ear and will give attention to what you have to share--even if your idea is not implemented.

The ability to give input also helps to build trust that leads to respect. Of course, if a person's input is repeatedly rejected outright, then that becomes a trust-buster, making the person feel disrespected and devalued. 

 

All of this boils down to helping people feel that they are persons of worth, that they are known and valued for who they are and not just for what they do. Who you are amounts to much more than just what you do in your job at work. 

Hint to the Leader:

Imagine what your organization would look like if leaders would go out of their way to demonstrate a genuine value for every worker at every level throughout the organization.  What could you do to start building such an organization right now?   What could you do to show that you are genuinely TRI-ing? (Remember, Trust, Respect, Input.)

 

Hint to the Follower:

Even if you are not feeling valued at work, you can make others feel valued. Consider starting your own campaign by showing respect for your manager or supervisor. Offer your input with an attitude of helping.  By the way, would your family members say they feel valued by you? Would they say you are TRI-ing?

© Dr. Larry N. Gay, October 16, 2015
 

Don’t Confuse Me with the Facts

 

“How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?” …And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”

(King Ahab, before he rejected the counsel of Micaiah and was defeated and killed at Ramoth-gilead by the king of Syria.
[1 Kings 22:16-18, ESV])

 

In her confirmation hearings before the U.S. Senate, Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch was asked if she would be willing to say no to the president. Concern was expressed over comments by the outgoing Attorney General, Eric Holder, referring to himself as “the president's wingman.” 

 

Lynch responded, “I think I have to be willing to tell not just my friends but colleagues 'no' if the law requires it. That would include the president of the United States." When asked how she would be different than her predecessor, she said, "I will be myself. Loretta Lynch."

 

Are you looking for a man or a “yes man”?

 

Great leaders do not just take yes for an answer.  Some disagreement and low-level conflict can lead to better consensus decisions.  The best leaders encourage dialogue and welcome challenges to their decisions when there might truly be a better idea. Then, once the decision is made, they can reasonably expect their followers to follow through with commitment.  

 

While attending the annual convention meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1987, I was introduced to a liaison from the Catholic Church. Our mutual friend had recently been named to a position of leadership for what was then the FMB. As he tried to equate that position to his own organization’s structure, he commented that a bishop once told him, “Once you become a bishop, it marks the last time two things will ever happen. It’s the last time you will ever be served a bad meal and it’s the last time anyone will ever tell you the truth.”  

 

Sadly, the farther up the chain of leadership one moves, the more difficult it becomes for subordinates to feel free to share bad news or facts that contradict the leader’s stated position. Often, leaders say they want to know what is really going on out there in the trenches or on the frontline, but they express their preconceived conclusions in such a way that others receive the message, “Don’t confuse me with the facts.”

 

I have a button on my desk with that inscription. It hangs in front of a yellow Tweety Bird pen holder, a gift from my sons years ago. Together, the button and Tweety remind me of at least five things outlined in the hints below.

 

Hints to the Leader and to the Follower:

1)  Remember to Stop, Look and LISTEN to others first, before expressing your own opinions (better yet, before FORMING my own opinions).

 2)  Don’t draw conclusions too quickly.

 3)  Don’t think too highly of your own opinions.

 4)  Stay open to the possibility of altering, changing or perhaps even ditching what you thought was a “final” conclusion.

 5)  Don’t take yourself too seriously.

 
 

 

(For more hints, see also the earlier article “Leaders Need Three I’s”  (http://mylead360.blogspot.com/2010/01/leaders-need-three-is.html).

 

© Dr. Larry N. Gay, January 2015

http://mylead360.blogspot.com 

Effective Leaders Are Good Mobilizers

            The most effective leaders are good mobilizers. They know how to recruit the right people to do the right job and then release them to do it. For a great example of a leader who knew how to mobilize people, look at Joshua.  As he was preparing to march on Jericho, Joshua sent two spies who would report directly to him. To read the story, click here. (Joshua 2:1‑24)

An Effective Strategy for Mobilization

1.    Select the right people.

A.   Choose people you know you can trust to do the job.  Not everyone needs to know everyone else's business. Give specific assignments to specific persons for specific tasks.

B.   Choose people who are already committed to the project.

C.   Choose people who clearly understand the task when you give instructions.

2.    Trust them to do their job. 

A.   Although they used some unconventional methods to accomplish their task, they got the job done because they felt empowered by their leader.

B.   They were confident that their leader would back them up when they gave their word.

3.    Clarify the limits of delegated authority. 

Joshua made it clear that the two would to report only to Joshua. They would give their report secretly to the final decision maker.

4.    Value their influence, from three "I's."

A.   Encourage their input.

B.   Receive their information.  

C.   Ask for their insight.

5.    Wait for the right timing.

A.   What a difference a generation can make! (Compare Numbers 13-14):

                                                  i.    Moses had sent out twelve spies who were already leaders among the tribes. They were chosen by the tribes, not by Moses.

                                                ii.    The twelve were sent to explore the land, not to decide if, how, or when to attack. That was a strategic decision that was never intended to be decided democratically or by consensus.

                                               iii.    The ten majority spies were afraid and used their power, position, and influence to turn the people against their leader.

                                               iv.    The people were predisposed to follow a negative leadership.

                                                v.    Only Caleb and Joshua saw that the decision was really the responsibility of a higher authority than their own.

B.   Joshua must have learned from the negative experience of his mentor, Moses. He recognized that this was not a decision to be made by tribal representatives on a consensus basis, so he sent only two chosen and anonymous spies who reported only to him.

Hint to Leaders

            What can you learn from Joshua's example about empowering your followers and mobilizing them to complete the task you have been given?

Hint to Followers

            What can you learn from Joshua's example about effective followership? How can you use your empowerment and influence to help your leader be even more effective?

© Dr. Larry Gay, revised October 2010

http://mylead360.blogspot.com/

The Cost of Empowerment

     I had never thought of empowerment as something I could choose to experience. Until I read the following paragraphs from Daryl R. Conner, I thought empowerment was something that only leaders could give to followers. Conner, however, challenges us to think of empowerment as a two-way transaction wherein the follower must also make an investment before true empowerment takes effect. As you will see below, there is a price to be paid for receiving empowerment.
[LNG]

EMPOWERMENT


Exceprt from:  Daryl R. Conner, Managing at the Speed of Change: How Resilient Managers Succeed and Prosper Where Others Fail. New York: Villard Books, 1993, (194-7).


     "Empowered employees are those who provide true value to the organization, influencing the outcome of management's decisions and actions. The antithesis of empowerment is victimization. Victims believe they are faced with a negative situation offering no alternatives. In actuality, most victims face alternatives they refuse to act on because they view them as too expensive.

      "Victims resent feeling as if they are being used and tend to feel depleted by change. Therefore, they demonstrate little interest in contributing beyond what is necessary to protect their employment during unsettled times. Subsequently, the organization profits little, if any, from its investment in such people. For foxholes to form, employees must overcome their fear of victimization and engage management in an empowered fashion as key contributors to a team effort. The basis for this approach is not blind faith, but the knowledge that they hold management's bullets, which provides a healthy balance of power in the relationship.

Empowerment Should Not be Confused with Delegation, Courage, or Autonomy

Empowerment Is Different from Delegation

     "Many organizations mistakenly refer to "empowering" the work force when they encourage people to make their own decisions about some aspect of their job. When someone has been assigned the right to make his or her own decisions, it is more appropriate to call this delegation. The term empowerment should be reserved for those situations where employees are not granted permission to take action on their own, but instead are asked to provide input to management as decisions are being made. You are empowered when you are valuable enough to others to influence their decisions--not when you are allowed to make your own.

      "Even if your suggestion is not implemented, you are empowered if your ideas are genuinely considered before the final decision is made. Empowered peoplef do not always get what they want, but their input is always considered important and it carries weight with those making decisions.

Empowerment Is Not the Same as Courage

     "It is possible to act on one's convictions, but not be really influential with others. The act of offering someone your ideas or thoughts does not constitute empowerment unless you are considered valuable by that person. Therefore, empowerment represents both a person's willingness to provide input to decision makers and an environment where that input is valued.

      "When someone chooses to express his or her opinion despite the fact that the decision makers do not seek nor value such input, the act is referred to as courageous, not empowered. The students at Tiananmen Square were courageous, but they lacked the value to be influential with their governmental leaders. Therefore, they were not empowered.

Empowerment Is Not Synonymous with Autonomy

      "It is possible to be independent yet still be incapable of generating a desired result. To be empowered is to believe that you can significantly influence your own destiny. Empowered people do not think they control all the elements of their lives, but they do believe that, most of the time, they are responsible for a great deal of what happens to them.

     "In this context, responsibility implies neither blame nor acclaim, but rather the belief that most of the circumstances in which we find ourselves are the result of how we have defined the situations we face, the decisions we make, and the price we are willing to pay for what we want. So, the hallmarks of an empowered person are the creativity to frame the situation so success is possible, the capacity to face and make tough decisions. and the motivation to pay the price of success.

     "An empowered person has the creativity to define a situation in such a way that the likelihood of success improves. There are three different ways to define and approach situations.

     "1. Opportunities: Opportunities are potential benefits that require appropriate action to fully realize; opportunities can be exploited.

     "2. Problems: Problems have solutions. They may be elusive. but they can be prevented or resolved if you pay the price.

     "3. Dilemmas: Dilemmas have no solution. They are an inherent part of the situation at hand and, therefore, they must be accepted as inevitable. Sibling rivalry among young children is not a problem to be solved, but a dilemma to be managed.

     "Empowered people do not try to fix unresolvable problems: they learn instead how to live with the dilemma, or they shift from viewing a situation only as a problem to seeing the opportunities they might exploit. People spend their careers in one of two ways: (1) as victims of missed opportunities, unsolved problems, and unaccepted dilemmas, or (2) as architectural managers affecting these situations through their own creative actions.

     "The capacity to face and make tough decisions is the second essential component of empowerment. Either consciously or unconsciously, people are constantly making decisions that help determine the situations in which they later find themselves. For example, being unhappy in a marriage is, in part, the result of a prior decision regarding who to marry. Being successful in one's job is partially the result of a previous career decision. Since all decisions are made with insufficient data, once decisions are made, they can be sustained, modified, or reversed based on new information that is obtained over time. Sometimes, living an empowered life requires making tough decisions. The responsibility for what happens, or continues to happen, lies primarily with you.

     "The motivation to pay the price for success is a third key aspect of empowerment. Empowered people approach life as if it were an expensive pastime. They believe that people either pay dearly for getting what they want, or they pay dearly for not doing so. Since both invoices are expensive, they choose the one that represents the least cost for the most gain. They always know, however, that a price will be paid. How much is paid and what is received for that payment are the only options.

     "Although the organization must provide the appropriate environment, it also includes a self-concept earned through creative reframing, tough decisions, and expensive payments. This aspect of empowerment is not something that the organization grants employees and managers or transfers through training. Work environments can be established that attract empowered people And empowerment can be fostered, but it is not a quality that can be given to people simply because the organization has decided that it would be a good idea."

----------------- 

So, according to Conner, I must choose to be empowered.

Hint to the Leader

     What kind of environment are you creating for the people you lead? How can you let them know that you value their input and that you do not merely tolerate them expressing their views?

Hint to the Follower

     Have you been acting like a victim, or like an empowered manager? What price will be required of you to feel empowered? Are you willing to pay the price?

© Dr. Larry Gay, July 11, 2010 http://mylead360.blogspot.com/  "Lessons on Leadership and Followership"