Twyman 1
Portfolio Project by Ashley Victoria Twyman
A Paper Presented in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements of LEAD 500 LEADERSHIP COACHING March 2009
Twyman 2 Abstract “The spirited horse, which will try to win the race of its own accord, will run even faster if encouraged.” ~ Ovid. The essence of leadership, and its growing interest, forces us to look realistically at our own ability and progress in the developmental process. It forces companies to consider the leadership ability or said potential of each employee who adds to company culture. Corporations must look at how to expand the base with which they are working for a successful future. The lack of leadership coaching in my current organization is drastically apparent. In this paper I will point out a number of issues facing my organization and provide ideas for growth within the company concerning leadership development, mainly at my branch, and how the company may benefit from a deeper inquiry into itself.
Twyman - ii Table of Contents
Table of Contents
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Introduction
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Body
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Conclusion 9 References 10
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Twyman - 3 INTRODUCTION My current organization seems to be lacking in many areas that were presented within the Leadership Coaching course. In this paper I will address a few of the major areas which could be modified and attempt to present a case that may be implemented in order to enhance the current leadership capabilities of the company and it’s employees. BODY First and foremost I would recommend that my company sit down and use different types of feedback intensive programs in order to accurately asses the organization’s capacity for leadership, concentrating on connectivity, leadership tasks, and targets for development. I believe that my company would be amazed at how many different areas within the current structure are in need of being restructured in order to be maximally effective. The feedback process should be inclusive of all branches and all employee opinions related to these areas in order to formulate the most accurate conclusion. It may be most beneficial to use a 360 degree feedback on company leaders and managers. Once the information from these tools of assessment is presented, the company can work on the areas that appear to be problematic. Without determinations from feedback intensive programs, I attempt to address and share my personal opinion on my organization’s need for enhancement and change, which I will discuss next. The internal connectivity of this organization resides at a frustrating level, at best. Every branch, while operating under the same perceived guidelines, has their own procedures. There are general procedures that have been created, but I would suggest that all procedures and guidelines are mandated step by step. If everyone has the same
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Twyman - 4 expectations of each procedure, there will not be differences between branches, and this will lead to better customer service and higher customer ratings and returns for future products. The organization is in the process of updating procedures and has created a website where all procedures and forms are located at the click of a button. I would suggest that the company continue this process to include every single procedure in order to help employees and managers create a one-minded company unit. For example, there was an issue where a customer came into our branch and wanted to withdraw funds from a CD before maturity. We informed the customer that we were not able to fill such a request because it is against our policy. The customer was rightly upset because they were allowed to do this at another branch of our bank. Technically, we can do something like this, but we don’t make it a practice. If all the branches had set guidelines in situations such as this, it would cause less customer dissatisfaction and increase customer service. The company needs to sit down and create blanket rules that impact the entire organization so that situations such as this one don’t happen. The company should try to incorporate a leadership development program, to help employees grow and invest stock in their employees. How can a company expect employees to be loyal, and commit themselves for the long term, if they aren’t shown how valuable they are to the company? The company needs to invest stock in its employees just as employees need to develop trust and loyalty in their organization. I believe a leadership development program, such as implementing mentoring program and creating more promotional roles would be helpful in serving this purpose. Implementing a leadership mentoring program could provide both employees and the organization with
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Twyman - 5 extensive benefits. It would help employee/employer relationships by developing good relationships that include trust, loyalty, and confidence in both sides. Also, incorporating employees with different cultural backgrounds could be a useful tool in the leadership development of employees. My current company consists of mostly white women, with white men serving as the second majority. This type of environment does not facilitate understanding or inclusion of minorities or different cultures and belief systems. I believe companies benefit from this type of inclusion. If my company could focus its employee search to include minorities when hiring for open positions, they may find that the company structure would change. When a company incorporates minorities, it forces other employees to experience relationships which they are not used to. This is wonderful practice for people who work primarily with the public. When a person can identify with others who are not of their race, gender, or cultural background, a learning environment is suddenly created. I believe this could be an important step for my company to take because I have personally witnessed acts of discrimination toward customers. By implementing different cultures into the work place, we may be able to help employees change any personal biases through building these types of relationships. If the company would actively search for suitable employees of different cultures this would, ideally, help current employees with customer service issues they may not be comfortable with because they would have the confidence that they can actually build a working relationship with someone who is not exactly the same as them. A situation like this could create a challenging environment to help employees grow. It would also help the company become well rounded in general. Incorporation of different cultures, while
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Twyman - 6 difficult, would help all employees with leadership development efforts. This would go beyond the typical American belief that the leadership process is mainly individualistic by creating an overall environment that would be beneficial for the company, and all employees who would have the privilege of experiencing a multi-cultural work setting. As much as I believe this company could use some change, so could the individual employees in their outlook and attitudes toward the company. I see it as a twoway street. The responsibility to make the workplace a successful environment is not just on the organization, but also on individual employees. I have had personal experiences with co-workers that tend to bring their personal life with them to work. For example, if they are upset about something going on in a romantic relationship, everyone gets treated badly. This is not fair for the other employees to have to deal with. This type of employee needs to be dealt with accordingly, and needs to realize that the rest of the employees try to leave bad attitudes at home. Employees like this need to have more personal accountability and understand that it’s their responsibility as a front-line employee to always have a smile on their face, no matter how mad you may be at a husband, child, mother, or friend. Another employee example is the type of employee who doesn’t want more; doesn’t was any added responsibility, can’t answer customer questions without checking for approval first, always asks for help with simple things, and doesn’t have any drive to be more or do more than what they already do. As much as people like this frustrate me, from a mentor’s perspective I have to be empathetic. Getting to know your employees, co-workers and senior management is an important part of leadership, because it can
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Twyman - 7 improve your relationships with these people, and can assist you, as a leader, in finding a way to reach this type of employee. It is the responsibility of each individual to drive themselves to become good leaders, if that is what they desire. Personal motivation and drive is an absolute must. Developmental relationships are a huge benefit in the leadership process. Our text provides some helpful strategies, which one can use to aid them in this process. They are: (1) Regard the boss as a partner in development. (2) Seek out multiple relationships for development. (3) Figure out which roles are needed to help with current development goals, and find the right people for those roles. (4) Make full use of lateral, subordinate, and external relationships. (5) Do not assume that relationships need to be long-term or intense to be developmental. (6) Be especially aware during times of transition. (Velsor& McCauley, pg 94) If implemented, these steps can serve as a good direction pointer for the self-motivated future leader who is forced to seek their own way if their corporate setting is unhelpful. CONCLUSION If a company can provide an environment for employees that serve as a means of empowerment, development, and learning, they will most certainly be able to have better employees and certainly better leaders throughout the company structure. This may seem like a lot of work and a lot to monitor, but it would prove to be worth the time and effort. When a company cares, its employees care back. One of the biggest ways a company can show it cares is by developing their employees and making the time and resources available to accomplish that. Many companies would probably be surprised at the findings of feedback intensive programs after having implemented them in their
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Twyman - 8 institutions. If the corporate world, as a whole, would care more about individual employees, and their progress within the company structure, they would probably see less turn over, more dedication, less absences, and higher employee satisfaction, which would make the company far more prosperous in every aspect of its business.
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Twyman - 9 REFERENCES
McCauley, C.D. & Van Velsor, E., (2004). The center for creative leadership: handbook of leadership development. San Francisco, CA. Jossey-Bass.
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