| Fourth Quarter 2012 | story by JANA DAWSON, CornerBank, Sr. Vice President, Human Resources & Marketing, Chief Marketing Officer |
Kristi is a 30-something, mid-level employee who coordinates electronic delivery channels for her organization. While she doesn’t have any direct reports, she wields great influence within the company, particularly with those well above her pay grade. She doesn’t have the authority to make purchasing decisions on her own, but her leadership on those issues determines the company’s direction. Welcome to 21st Century organizational management.
If you’ve spent any time reading about generational studies, you know that our workplace is changing rapidly. Today’s younger workers have little use for authority or hierarchy. Th ink about how learning has changed. Back in the day, if you wanted to learn to play the guitar, you signed up for lessons and learned from an expert. Today, if you want to learn to play guitar, you go online, watch a few videos, listen to tips from your peers and take initiative to make it happen. Th at kind of learning mentality flies directly in the face of traditional organizational structure, so it’s no wonder that we see dissension among our work place teams, which, in some cases, span four generations.
We need to make a distinction between exercising authority and exercising leadership. Authority provides protection, direction and order and comes from those in formal authority roles (think CEO and department manager). Leadership is about behaviors or acts that instigate thoughts or actions toward addressing an issue. All of your employees can and should exercise leadership within the organization.
We tend to intertwine the two even though they are distinctly different. Authority brings us comfort because it is a known entity, but true leadership is inherently risky as it involves managing losses and risking casualties.
Kristi sticks her neck out every time she calls the VP to discuss shortcomings in the customer delivery process because, in most organizations, people reward you for delivering to them what they want. What is hard is delivering to them what they need when it is different from what they want. The list of risks is long: friendships, reputation, labels and career.
So, why is Kristi comfortable exercising leadership in her organization? Because her CEO is comfortable with Kristi exercising leadership in her organization and her department manager is comfortable with her exercising leadership. They’ve recognized that providing Kristi with that level of autonomy makes her a much more valuable asset to the company. Kristi is much more inclined to respect the CEO, work within her role and take opportunities to advance because she feels that same respect from upper management. Additionally, this respect has to extend to the full peer group. All parties have to work toward the concept of continuous improvement and work together to solve problems versus focusing on blame and retribution when something goes wrong. Th e CEO’s expectation that every employee has the responsibility to intervene to address issues for the common good has to be coupled with an understanding that there is no intent to get someone else in trouble. Th e intent is to solve the problem.
With this culture, the CEO also is exercising leadership rather than exerting his authority and demanding respect solely based on his role. He, too, is taking a risk in that once he has intervened and taken a course off the traditional management path; he has lost some control over the outcome. He is risking his reputation by trusting the leadership of his employees. Recognizing the distinction between exerting authority and fostering leadership and developing that level of trust, top down and side-to-side, is how you build a very different kind of team. Th is team is a culture full of leaders who care enough to take the risks required to make progress on their organization’s most pressing business objectives.
64 Comments
This is a topic that is near to my heart… Take care! Where are your contact details though?
I like reading an article that can make men and women think. Also, many thanks for allowing me to comment!
Everything is very open with a very clear description of the issues. It was definitely informative. Your site is extremely helpful. Thanks for sharing!
Excellent post. I will be facing a few of these issues as well..
I want to to thank you for this great read!! I certainly enjoyed every bit of it. I have you book-marked to check out new stuff you post…
It’s nearly impossible to find experienced people on this subject, but you seem like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks
Spot on with this write-up, I actually feel this web site needs a great deal more attention. I’ll probably be returning to see more, thanks for the information!
I seriously love your site.. Great colors & theme. Did you make this website yourself? Please reply back as I’m hoping to create my very own website and would love to know where you got this from or just what the theme is called. Thank you!
Hello! I could have sworn I’ve visited your blog before but after browsing through many of the articles I realized it’s new to me. Regardless, I’m definitely delighted I came across it and I’ll be bookmarking it and checking back frequently!
I like it whenever people come together and share thoughts. Great website, continue the good work!
Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you writing this write-up and also the rest of the website is also very good.
Greetings! Very helpful advice in this particular article! It is the little changes that produce the biggest changes. Thanks a lot for sharing!
I couldn’t resist commenting. Exceptionally well written!
I’m impressed, I must say. Seldom do I come across a blog that’s both equally educative and interesting, and without a doubt, you have hit the nail on the head. The problem is something that not enough people are speaking intelligently about. I’m very happy I found this during my search for something concerning this.
An impressive share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a co-worker who had been conducting a little research on this. And he actually ordered me breakfast simply because I discovered it for him… lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending some time to discuss this issue here on your blog.
Good article. I will be experiencing many of these issues as well..
You should be a part of a contest for one of the finest sites online. I’m going to highly recommend this web site!
Hi there, There’s no doubt that your site could possibly be having internet browser compatibility issues. When I look at your blog in Safari, it looks fine however when opening in IE, it’s got some overlapping issues. I merely wanted to provide you with a quick heads up! Besides that, wonderful website!
You made some decent points there. I checked on the net for more information about the issue and found most individuals will go along with your views on this site.
I really like reading a post that can make men and women think. Also, many thanks for allowing me to comment!
Aw, this was a very good post. Spending some time and actual effort to generate a really good article… but what can I say… I put things off a lot and never manage to get nearly anything done.
I’m more than happy to uncover this site. I want to to thank you for ones time for this particularly wonderful read!! I definitely liked every little bit of it and I have you book marked to see new things in your website.
I’d like to thank you for the efforts you’ve put in penning this blog. I really hope to see the same high-grade content by you later on as well. In truth, your creative writing abilities has encouraged me to get my own, personal site now 😉
I used to be able to find good advice from your blog posts.
I truly love your website.. Excellent colors & theme. Did you create this amazing site yourself? Please reply back as I’m looking to create my own personal website and would love to find out where you got this from or exactly what the theme is called. Cheers!
This website definitely has all the information I wanted concerning this subject and didn’t know who to ask.
I enjoy reading a post that will make men and women think. Also, many thanks for allowing me to comment!
Having read this I thought it was really informative. I appreciate you taking the time and energy to put this information together. I once again find myself spending way too much time both reading and commenting. But so what, it was still worth it!
You made some good points there. I checked on the net for additional information about the issue and found most people will go along with your views on this website.
I really like reading through a post that can make men and women think. Also, thanks for permitting me to comment!
I could not resist commenting. Exceptionally well written!
Everything is very open with a very clear explanation of the issues. It was truly informative. Your website is useful. Many thanks for sharing!
This website was… how do you say it? Relevant!! Finally I have found something that helped me. Thanks a lot!
An impressive share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a co-worker who was doing a little homework on this. And he actually ordered me breakfast simply because I discovered it for him… lol. So let me reword this…. Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanks for spending time to talk about this topic here on your blog.
You made some decent points there. I looked on the web to find out more about the issue and found most individuals will go along with your views on this site.
It’s hard to find experienced people on this subject, however, you sound like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks
I quite like reading through an article that will make men and women think. Also, thank you for permitting me to comment!
Hi, I do think this is a great web site. I stumbledupon it 😉 I may return yet again since i have book-marked it. Money and freedom is the best way to change, may you be rich and continue to help others.
The very next time I read a blog, I hope that it does not fail me as much as this particular one. After all, I know it was my choice to read, however I really believed you would probably have something interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of crying about something you could fix if you weren’t too busy looking for attention.
May I just say what a relief to discover someone who really knows what they’re discussing on the net. You actually know how to bring an issue to light and make it important. More people ought to read this and understand this side of the story. I was surprised that you are not more popular since you definitely have the gift.
Everything is very open with a clear clarification of the challenges. It was truly informative. Your site is very useful. Thank you for sharing!
Good post. I learn something totally new and challenging on websites I stumbleupon everyday. It will always be exciting to read through content from other writers and practice something from their sites.
You should take part in a contest for one of the highest quality sites on the net. I am going to highly recommend this site!
I blog quite often and I really appreciate your information. The article has truly peaked my interest. I will book mark your website and keep checking for new details about once a week. I opted in for your RSS feed too.
Everything is very open with a very clear clarification of the issues. It was really informative. Your website is extremely helpful. Thank you for sharing!
Having read this I believed it was very informative. I appreciate you spending some time and energy to put this information together. I once again find myself spending a significant amount of time both reading and commenting. But so what, it was still worthwhile!
Good post. I learn something totally new and challenging on websites I stumbleupon on a daily basis. It will always be helpful to read articles from other writers and practice something from their websites.
The very next time I read a blog, I hope that it does not fail me as much as this one. After all, I know it was my choice to read through, however I genuinely believed you would probably have something interesting to talk about. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something you could possibly fix if you were not too busy searching for attention.
I’m amazed, I must say. Rarely do I encounter a blog that’s both equally educative and entertaining, and let me tell you, you have hit the nail on the head. The issue is something which too few people are speaking intelligently about. Now i’m very happy that I stumbled across this during my search for something concerning this.
This excellent website certainly has all the information and facts I needed about this subject and didn’t know who to ask.
Right here is the right webpage for anyone who hopes to find out about this topic. You understand so much its almost tough to argue with you (not that I actually will need to…HaHa). You certainly put a fresh spin on a topic that has been discussed for years. Excellent stuff, just wonderful!
This is a topic that’s close to my heart… Many thanks! Exactly where are your contact details though?
When I originally left a comment I appear to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on every time a comment is added I recieve 4 emails with the same comment. Perhaps there is a way you are able to remove me from that service? Thanks!
Excellent blog you’ve got here.. It’s hard to find excellent writing like yours nowadays. I seriously appreciate individuals like you! Take care!!
Having read this I believed it was extremely informative. I appreciate you spending some time and energy to put this article together. I once again find myself personally spending a lot of time both reading and commenting. But so what, it was still worth it!
This website was… how do you say it? Relevant!! Finally I’ve found something which helped me. Appreciate it!
This site definitely has all the information and facts I needed about this subject and didn’t know who to ask.
It’s hard to find experienced people about this subject, but you seem like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks
An impressive share! I have just forwarded this onto a coworker who was doing a little research on this. And he actually ordered me dinner due to the fact that I discovered it for him… lol. So let me reword this…. Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanks for spending some time to talk about this subject here on your site.
I could not refrain from commenting. Very well written!
You are so cool! I don’t think I’ve truly read a single thing like that before. So great to discover somebody with genuine thoughts on this topic. Really.. thank you for starting this up. This web site is something that’s needed on the web, someone with a little originality!
I was very pleased to uncover this web site. I want to to thank you for your time due to this wonderful read!! I definitely enjoyed every part of it and I have you saved as a favorite to check out new stuff on your web site.
Greetings! Very useful advice in this particular article! It’s the little changes that make the largest changes. Thanks for sharing!
This page certainly has all of the information I wanted concerning this subject and didn’t know who to ask.