Nothing negates effective leadership like autocracy. A more effective approach to management and leadership is to provide employees and colleagues with decision making powers and a sense that their opinions are valued. Encouraging and exploiting the team dynamic can accomplish this better than any rule or procedure enforced through a traditional hierarchy.
Given a specific goal or task, a team will inevitably organise itself and establish its own norms and behaviours. These norms and informal rules will vary from team to team according to the task at hand and the members involved. April Shetrone wrote in “Business Week” on May 18, 2011 that possible ways in which to improve employee satisfaction and productivity include providing the opportunity for greater control over their lives and providing opportunity for social interaction. It may seem counterintuitive but the more control and flexibility individuals are given the more accountable and responsible they often become.
An insecure manager may find it difficult to relinquish control but a good leader will trust his or her employees. This trust can be reciprocated and manifested in successful self-managing teams. Stephen P. Robbins, in his book “Organizational Management” describes the social facilitation effect, where individuals in the presence of others will either exhibit poor performance or they will make an effort to improve their performance. Most members of a team will naturally adhere to group goals and behaviours and adopt a positive attitude to the work at hand because not doing so risks rejection and alienation. A team will often independently identify roles for individuals to which their particular skills set are best suited. An engineering project may require a seasoned engineer to plan out project details, whereas an MBA-type may be assigned overall project management and oversight.
Companies such as NASA, Google, Face book, Apple and a myriad of other modern, innovative companies value teamwork and a cross-functional organisational structure. A good leader recognises that tolerance, patience and, most importantly, a willingness to see things from another perspective can lead to self-growth, and that teamwork presents an opportunity to learn from others. Consequently, both individuals themselves and organisations as a whole benefit from teamwork and pooled knowledge and resources. Certain companies have developed reward systems that encourage full commitment from employees and an attitude that focuses on common goals. Such reward programs are replacing the traditional “carrot and stick” approach to reward. Maximise your human capital, be a confident leader and give your teams the ability to manage themselves and they just might improve your firm’s productivity and innovation.
Resources:
Stephen P. Robbins, Organizational Behavior
Business Insider: Give Your Employees More Control if You Want Them to Be Happy
http://www.businessinsider.com/give-employees-more-control-if-you-want-them-to-be-happy-2011-5
