Title: Dimensions of Values-Based Decision Making: Context, Engagement, Leadership, Process and Sustenance
1Dimensions of Values-Based Decision
MakingContext, Engagement, Leadership, Process
and Sustenance
2Session Topics
- Recalling the Larger Mission Context of Decision
Making and the Role of the Laity in It - Establishing the Organizational Context of
Decision Making Vision, Mission and Values - Engaging Employees Values A Prerequisite to
Successful Fulfillment of the Mission and
Implementation of Values-Based Decision - The Role of the Leader in Values-Based
Organizations - The Role of the Leader in the Values-Based
Decision-Making Process - Parting Thoughts On Remaining Aglow But Not
Burning Out
3Session Objectives
- Underline the importance of the mission of the
Church as the horizon of values-based decision
making within Catholic Charities agencies - Emphasize the distinction between ministry and
mission and the growing importance of laity in
carrying out both the ministry and mission of the
Church - Outline the three-fold leadership task of
envisioning, embedding and sustaining in the
formation of the organizational context for
values-based decision making - Clarify the role of vision, mission and values
statements in the values-based organization
4Session Objectives
- Indicate the need to go beyond a statement of
core values to reinforce those values in concrete
and specific ways through policies, practices,
etc. - Illustrate the importance of distinguishing
unchangeable purpose and values from
ever-changing strategies, policies, and practices - Emphasize the importance of aligning mission and
employee values as a necessary precondition to
successful implementation of values-based
decisions and accomplishment of mission - Articulate the distinction between the objective
and subjective dimensions of work and the need to
foster excellence with respect to each
5Session Objectives
- Suggest a conception of leadership in
values-based nonprofit organizations that
involves legislative rather than executive skills
and requires humility and will - Outline a general approach to values-based
decision making that is consistent with the
legislative style of leadership - Briefly emphasize the importance of regularly
finding quiet moments apart from the flurry of
workplace obligations to keep Gods larger
purposes in mind and heart
6Recalling the Larger Mission Context of Decision
Making and the Role of the Laity in It
7Preliminary Notes
- Thoughts on the relationship between ministry and
mission in the life of the Church - Ministry a role of service in the Church
- Mission The expression lay apostolate or
mission refers to what lay people do in the
settings and circumstances of the secular world
with the aim of carrying out their duties and
performing their roles in the service of God and
neighbor. (Catholic Laity in the Mission of the
Church, Russell Shaw, 117) - Ministry is, in a sense, for the sake of mission
8The Importance of the Lay Mission
- The lay apostolateis a participation in the
saving mission of the Church itself. Through
their baptism and confirmation, all are
commissioned to that apostolate by the Lord
Himself. Now, the laity are called in a special
way to make the Church present and operative in
those places and circumstances where only through
them can she become the salt of the earth. Thus
every layman, by virtue of the very gifts
bestowed on him, is at the same time a witness
and a living instrument of the mission of the
Church herself, according to the measure of
Christs bestowal (Eph. 47). Lumen Gentium,
33
9Deus Caritas Est on the Lay Mission
- The direct duty to work for a just ordering of
society, on the other hand, is proper to the lay
faithful. The mission of the lay faithful is
therefore to configure social life correctly,
respecting its legitimate autonomy and
cooperating with other citizens according to
their respective competences and fulfilling their
own responsibility. (4)
10The Dignity of the Lay State
- Men and women who find that the meaning of their
lives is to join Christ in bringing about the
reign of God, choose from among those approved by
the Church a way of life that will help them in
the service of God 177. They choose to be lay
men or lay women. Being lay ought not to be a
state of life that results from not making a
choice rather, it is a concrete possibility that
one chooses in order to realize the will of God
and to commit oneself to Gods reign. - (Peter Kolvenbach, S.J., General Superior of the
Society of Jesus, from Laymen and Laywomen in
the Church of the Millenium, in The Road From La
Storta, pp. 281-282)
11The Importance of the Host Mission
- If you were offered a donation that would double
your agencys annual budget for years to come,
but only if you agreed to become and remain
completely secularized, with no lingering traces
of your Catholic past save the services offered
themselves, would you accept the donation? - Why or why not?
12- Establishing the Organizational Context of
Decision Making - Vision, Mission and Values
13The Three-fold Task of Values-Based Leadership
- To create and maintain a values-based
organization, leaders must engage in - envisioning (conceiving and articulating the
vision, mission and values of the organization) - embedding (integrating the vision, mission and
core values into the culture, strategy, policies
and practices of the organization) and - sustaining (taking measures such as grooming
values-based successors to ensure that the
organization remains solidly grounded)
14The Respective Roles of Mission and Vision
Statements
- Mission statement what you do
- Vision statement your raison d'être, why its
important you do what you do, your loftiest
future aspirations for your organization - Why is a mission statement important?
- Why is a vision statement important?
15Effective Mission Statements
- Effective mission statements should be
- Concise enough to be easily remembered
- Narrow and substantive enough to provide guidance
in strategic decision making, etc. - Broad enough to allow the degree of flexibility
necessary to carry out the organizations
overriding purpose(s)
16Mission, Vision or Hybrid Statement?
- Catholic Charities USA is the membership
association of one of the nation's largest social
service networks. Catholic Charities agencies and
institutions nationwide provide vital social
services to people in need, regardless of their
religious, social, or economic backgrounds.
Catholic Charities USA supports and enhances the
work of its membership by providing networking
opportunities, national advocacy and media
efforts, program development, training and
technical assistance, and financial support.
17Mission, Vision or Hybrid Statement?
- Mission is the purpose for which an organization
exists it is the reason why and how services are
given. The origin of mission for Catholic
Charities agencies is found in the
Judeo-Christian tradition of sacred Scripture,
Catholic social teaching, and the tradition of
the Catholic Church itself. - To participate in the mission of a Catholic
Charities agency is to act with compassionate
love and engage in the ongoing work of bringing
to completion the kingdom of God in our midst. - The mission of Catholic Charities is to provide
services to people in need, to advocate for
justice in social structures, and to call the
entire church and other people of good will to do
the same.
18Mission, Vision or Hybrid Statement?
- Catholic Charities fulfills the Churchs role in
the mission of charity to anyone in need by
providing compassionate, competent and
professional services that strengthen and support
individuals, families and communities based on
the value and dignity of human life. - Chicago
19Mission, Vision or Hybrid Statement?
- Catholic Social Services of _____ is a non-profit
social service agency serving ____, _________,
and _________ counties with a continuum of
services for children, teens, adults, families
and seniors. - THE Miami Valley
20Mission, Vision or Hybrid Statement?
- Respecting the dignity and potential of each
human person, Catholic Charities of
___________________ collaborates with the wider
community to serve those in need. Impelled by the
love and teaching of Jesus Christ, we offer
life-giving programs, advocate for the voiceless,
and empower the poor and vulnerable to foster a
more just society. - New Orleans
21Mission, Vision or Hybrid Statement?
- Catholic Charities of ________ is a non-profit
organization that makes available a broad base of
services to all _______ County residents
regardless of religious, ethnic, racial, and
social backgrounds. Catholic Charities works
with individuals to define, design, and implement
family-friendly programs that promote economic
opportunity, educational achievement, family
enrichment, community health, and neighborhood
reinvestment. - MISSION
- Our mission is rooted in the Gospel to feed the
hungry, clothe the naked, care for the ill, visit
the imprisoned, shelter the homeless, and welcome
the stranger in our midst - Orange County
22Mission, Vision or Hybrid Statement?
23Three Themes A Vision Should Cover
- Raison d'être the organization's purpose, or
reason for being - Strategyhow that raison d'être will be achieved
- Valuesthe key assumptions, attitudes, and
beliefs embodied by the organization and
represented in the daily flow of activities
necessary for moving it closer to the raison
d'être and for supporting the strategy - From Guiding Growth How Visions Keep Companies
on Course, an interview with Mark Lipton, HBS
Working Knowledge, available online at
http//hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/3342.html
24Checklist for the Vision Articulation Process
- Will it motivate you to join this organization
and continue to motivate you once you are there? - Does it provide a beacon for guiding the kinds of
adaptation and change required for continual
growth? - Does it describe a future that is more attractive
than the present? - Will it challenge you?
- Can it serve as the basis to formulate strategy
that can be acted on? - Will it serve as a framework to keep decision
making in context? - From Lipton
25Statement of Raison d'être or Mission?
- I use a simple test to keep executives honest in
determining whether they have really defined
their raison dêtre or whether they have merely
engaged in a writing exercise that states a
mission. They must continually ask Is this what
our organization or division does, or is it
clarifying why we are in business? What tends
to be about mission. Why is the vision.
Lipton, emphasis in original
26Beyond Articulation Embedding
- Beyond the vision framework, though, getting
people to "hold" the same vision requires some
straightforward strategies. First and foremost is
communication. I no longer believe in vision
"statements," since management gets too dependent
on a piece or two of paper hung up on conference
room walls. Far more important is the way all
managers talk to people about the vision, in
their own way, using their own language.
Lipton, emphasis added
27Embedding in Policies, Practices and Procedures
- An elegant statement of vision, mission and
values will have no effect unless integrated into
the core operations of an organization - Ask Are our mission, vision and values
statements truly the basis on which key decisions
are made (or an after-thought at best)?
28Embedding in Policies, Practices and Procedures
- In which policies, etc. is it especially
important to integrate guiding principles? - Hiring
- Firing
- Performance appraisals
- Promotions and compensation decisions
- Strategy decisions
- Deciding what work to accept
- Deciding who to partner with
- Etc.
29Embedding Stories
- We found that stories are profoundly powerful
stories of the firm's history as it illustrates
part of the vision stories of organizational
heroes who exemplify values embedded in the
vision and vivid stories about what the future
can look like. I believe in preaching to the
convertedpreachers do it all the time!
Strengthening commitment, intellectual
performance and morale of those already on your
side is essential. - What stories exemplify values embedded in the
vision of your work at Catholic Charities?
30Vision Must Be Grounded to Last
- "If you have built castles in the air, your work
need not be lost that is where they should be.
Now put the foundations under them.." - Henry David Thoreau
31Strategies for Sustaining
- Weve addressed articulating and embedding, but
what is necessary to sustain a values-based
organization once formed? - Clear, credible, consistent support of leadership
at all levels - Selection and training of leaders who are
committed to the professed vision and values - Avoidance of policies, practices and actions
contrary to the professed values vision - Other measures?
32The Function of Core Values
- The values the organization embraces
- Are the basis on which we interact with one
another and conduct our work with and for others - Help carry out its mission and achieve its vision
- Solidify its organizational culture
- Attract and retain high quality employees
- Inspire and guide its employees
- Distinguish the organization from its competitors
33Values Differences Among Organizations
- What values are chosen in the first place?
- E.g., mandatory or voluntary given the nature of
the work, the industry, societal expectations,
etc.? - What is the degree of commitment to the professed
values? - Minimal or full?
- The extent to which the professed values are
realized or aspirational (put another way, the
degree of difference between the professed and
lived values of the organization)
34Aligning Action and Values, Collins
- How much time do leaders spend drafting vision
and mission statements as compared to aligning
their organizations with the values and visions
already in place? - How much time should they spend on these
respective tasks? - Why?
- Re. Aligning Action and Values, Jim Collins,
Leader to Leader. No. 1, Summer 1996
35Collins Suggested Time Allotment
36The Importance of Identifying and Correcting
Misalignment
- Helpful to ask employees in a safe environment
- Where are we doing a good job in living out our
core values/guiding principles? - Where could we be doing even better?
37The Importance of Reinforcement Mechanisms
- Reinforcement mechanisms bring values to life
and so create alignment by encouraging in
concrete and specific ways the desired
values-based behavior
38An Example of a Reinforcement Mechanism
- We ought to do more training of new people when
they come in the door so they'll learn our value
system. But that's not creating alignment.
Alignment would be to enact a process in which
"Within their first 48 hours on the job all new
employees will go through an eight-hour
orientation process to learn what this
organization is about. They'll study its history
and philosophy. They'll meet with a senior
executive." That's concrete and specific-two
requirements of an effective alignment mechanism.
It also has teeth. - Collins
39Conceiving A Reinforcement Mechanism for CC
- What reinforcement mechanism could you think of
to reinforce the value of dignity at CC or the
following guiding principle (East Bay) - Collaboration
- We work in partnership with our community.
- We are committed to developing and maintaining
collaborative relationships with the community
and other organizations within the community. - We invite and encourage client and stakeholder
participation.
40Core Values are Discovered Rather Than Declared
- First, you cannot "set" organizational values,
you can only discover them. Nor can you "install"
new core values into people. Core values are not
something people "buy in" to. People must be
predisposed to holding them. Executives often ask
me, "How do we get people to share our core
values?" You don't. Instead, the task is to find
people who are already predisposed to sharing
your core values. You must attract and then
retain these people and let those who aren't
predisposed to sharing your core values go
elsewhere. - Query Is Collins totally correct that core
values are not something people buy in to?
41Your Mars Group
- Imagine you've been asked to recreate the very
best attributes of your organization on another
planet, but you only have seats on the rocketship
for five to seven people. Who would you send?
They are the people who probably have a gut-level
understanding of your core values, have the
highest level of credibility with their peers,
and demonstrate the highest levels of
competence.
42The Unchanging Core and the Ever-Changing
Strategies, Practices, Etc.
- Your core values and purpose, if properly
conceived, remain fixed. Everything else-your
practices, strategies, structures, systems,
policies, and procedures-should be open for
change. - Collins
43Has Habitat Confused What Should Never Change and
What Should?
- The Facts In the two years following the 2004
tsunami in the Indian Ocean, Habitat for Humanity
International, the nondenominational Christian
ministry, built or repaired 8,500 houses in
Indonesia, Thailand, India and Sri
Lanka.Habitat for Humanity seemed poised to do
the same thing along the Gulf Coast after
Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. But almost 18
months after storms destroyed more than 250,000
homes, Habitat for Humanity says it has built
just 10 houses for poor hurricane victims here,
36 in New Orleans, and a total of 416 along the
entire coast, from Alabama to Texas. More are
under construction, for a total of 702.From
Charity Group Lags in Efforts On Gulf Homes,
NYT, 2/22/07, Leslie Eaton and Stephanie Strom
44Has Habitat Confused What Should Never Change and
What Should?
- The Criticisms Critics have questioned
Habitat's continued emphasis on building new
homes rather than on rehabilitation. They note
that other groups have done more with this
approach volunteers from Southern Baptist
churches mucked out 12,000 houses in Mississippi
alone, and have rebuilt or repaired 3,000, while
volunteers from Mennonite congregations have
repaired hundreds of houses and built 31 new ones
last year. Even the small Southern Mutual Help
Association, a nonprofit that reported revenues
of 3.3 million in 2005, has helped rehabilitate
or rebuild more than 500.From Charity Group
Lags in Efforts On Gulf Homes, NYT, 2/22/07,
Leslie Eaton and Stephanie Strom
45The Mission of New Orleans Habitat
- To build houses in partnership with volunteers,
sponsors, communities and homeowner families,
whereby families are empowered to transform their
own lives. - To eliminate poverty housing in the New Orleans
area while serving as a catalyst to make decent
shelter a matter of conscience and action. - Is there potential tension between these two
statements?
46- Engaging Employees Values A Prerequisite to
Successful Fulfillment of the Mission and
Implementation of Values-Based Decision
47The Background Concept of Positive Freedom
- Negative Freedom is freedom from
- Positive Freedom is freedom for
- The problem of positive freedom for individuals?
- Finding a relationship, belief, value or ideal
worthy of your commitment - The problem of positive freedom for leaders in an
organization? - Engaging the positive freedom of employees,
providing a vision that inspires and an
organization that supports employees highest
values and beliefs
48Gallup on A Connection With the Mission of the
Company
- Why is a felt connection with the mission of an
organization important to employees? - Workers thirst for something noble in which to
believe and invest themselves. (113) - The employee searches for meaning in her
vocation. For reasons that transcend the
physical needs fulfilled by earning a living, she
looks for her contribution to a higher purpose.
Something within her looks for something in which
to believe. (112) - From 12 The Elements of Great Managing, by Rodd
Wagner and James K. Harter
49Maslows Hierarchy of Needs
- Gallups emphasis on the importance of mission is
consistent with Maslows hierarchy - Self-Actualization (justice, wisdom, meaning,
etc.) - Esteem Needs (self-respect, achievement, etc.)
- Social Needs (friendship, belonging, etc.)
- Safety Needs (physical safety, job security,
etc.) - Physiological Needs (air, water, food, sleep)
50Job, Career or Calling/Vocation?
- What distinguishes those employees who see their
work as a job from those who see their work as a
career or calling? - Simply a job least engaged, a necessary
inconvenience and a way of earning money with
which they can accomplish personal goals and
enjoy themselves outside of work - Work as a career Enjoy increased pay,
prestige, and status that come as they work their
way up the corporate ladder - Work as a calling the work is an end in itself,
and is usually associated with the belief that
the work contributes to the greater good and
makes the world a better place. (all on p. 117) - From 12 The Elements of Great Managing, by Rodd
Wagner and James K. Harter
51Economic Justice for All on the Meaning of
Vocation in Business
- Persons in management face many hard choices
each day, choices on which the well-being of many
others depends. Commitment to the public good and
not simply the private good of their firms is at
the heart of what it means to call their work a
vocation and not simply a career or a job. (111)
52Drucker on the Minimum Necessary Degree of Moral
Compatibility
- To be effective in an organization, a persons
values must be compatible with the organizations
values. They do not need to be the same, but
they must be close enough to coexist. Otherwise,
the person will not only be frustrated, but also
will not produce results. - From Managing Oneself, by Peter Drucker, in
Harvard Business Review on Managing Yourself, pp.
151ff
53CST and the Moral Significance of Work
- All work has a threefold moral significance.
First, it is a principle way that people exercise
the distinctive human capacity for
self-expression and self-realization. Second, it
is the ordinary way for human beings to fulfill
their material needs. Finally, work enables
people to contribute to the well-being of the
larger community. Work is not only for one's
self. It is for one's family, for the nation, and
indeed for the benefit of the entire human
family. - Economic Justice for All, 97
54Meaning In the Objective/Subjective Dimensions of
Work and Excellence
- The objective and subjective dimensions of work
- Objective what you do
- Subjective why you do it, the meaning you find
in it - Excellence in the objective and subjective
dimensions - Objective Meeting highest standards of craft in
the industry - Subjective Meeting your highest values
55Deus Caritas Est on the Need for Excellence in
the Objective Dimension
- Individuals who care for those in need must
first be professionally competent they should be
properly trained in what to do and how to do it,
and committed to continuing care. (31)
56Deus Caritas Est on the Need for Excellence in
the Subjective Dimension
- We are dealing with human beings, and human
beings always need something more than
technically proper care. They need humanity. They
need heartfelt concern. Those who work for the
Church's charitable organizations must be
distinguished by the fact that they do not merely
meet the needs of the moment, but they dedicate
themselves to others with heartfelt concern,
enabling them to experience the richness of their
humanity. (31)
57Economic Justice for All On What is Required in
the Subjective Dimension
- Human personhood must be respected with a
reverence that is religious. When we deal with
each other, we should do so with the sense of awe
that arises in the presence of something holy and
sacred. For that is what human beings are we are
created in the image of God (Gn 127). (28)
58Economic Justice for All On The Shaping Influence
of Economic Life
- Like family life, economic life is one of the
chief areas where we live out our faith, love our
neighbor, confront temptation, fulfill God's
creative design, and achieve holiness. Our
economic activity in factory, field, office, or
shop feeds our families -- or feeds our
anxieties. It exercises our talents -- or wastes
them. It raises our hopes -- or crushes them. It
brings us into cooperation with others -- or sets
us at odds. (6)
59Pollards Description of Shirley
- Shirley sees her job as extending to the welfare
of the patient and as an integral part of a team
that helps sick people get well. She has a cause
that involves the health and welfare of others.
When Shirley first started, no doubt she was
merely looking for just a job. But she brought to
her work an unlocked potential and a desire to
accomplish something significant. - Mission as an Organizing Principle, William
Pollard, Leader to Leader, No. 16, Spring 2000
60Pollards Description of Olga
- Olga had been given a T-frame for a mop, a
filthy rag, and a bucket of dirty water. She
really wasn't cleaning the floor she was just
moving dirt from place to place. The reality of
Olga's task was to do the least amount of motions
in the greatest amount of time until the day was
over. Olga was not proud of what she was doing.
She had no dignity in her work. She was a long
way from owning the result. - Mission as an Organizing Principle, William
Pollard, Leader to Leader, No. 16, Spring 2000
61The Leadership Challenge
- To create a work experience more like Shirelys
than Olgas, leaders must - Provide a larger sense of purpose in the work
- Provide a dignified workplace environment
- Provide the resources necessary to accomplish the
work effectively
62Maslow Management as Revolutionary Technique
- Proper management of the work lives of human
beings, of the way in which they earn their
living, can improve them and improve the world
and in this sense be a utopian or revolutionary
technique. - From Maslow on Management, Abraham H. Maslow, p. 1
63Mission Statements as a Principle for
Self-Correction
- Our beliefs do not mean that everything in the
business will be done right. We experience our
share of mistakes. But because of a stated
standard and our reasons for that standard, we
cannot hide our mistakes. They are brought into
the open for correction and, in some cases, for
forgiveness. (Pollard)
64Pollard on the Need for Hospitality
- It is a leaders responsibility to set the tone,
to learn to accept the differences of people, and
to foster and environment where different people
can contribute as part of the whole and achieve
unity in diversity.
65Further Thoughts on The Leader As Practitioner of
Hospitality
- Scripture affirms the obligation to welcome
strangers and the precious gifts strangers bear - Abrahams reception of 3 strangers (Gen.181-15)
- Disciples reception of the stranger (Lk.
2413-35) - Henri Nouwen stresses that the term hospitality
should be seen as a fundamental attitude toward
fellow human beings and not only as literally
welcoming strangers into our homes
66Hospitality (contd)
- Hospitality is not to change people but to offer
them space where change can take place.It is not
a method of making our God and our way into the
criteria of happiness but the opening of an
opportunity to others to find their God and their
way. - From Reaching Out, by Henri Nouwen
67Hospitality (contd)
- The paradox of hospitality is that it wants to
create emptiness, not a fearful emptiness, but a
friendly emptiness where strangers can enter and
discover themselves as created free free to sing
their own songs, speak their own languages, dance
their own dances. Hospitality is not a subtle
invitation to adopt the lifestyle of the host,
but the gift of a chance for guests to find their
own. - From Reaching Out, by Henri Nouwen
68The Need For Both Openness and Confrontation
- Nouwen points out that the host must both
- welcome the guests as they are (openness to their
values, beliefs, etc.) and - be present to the guests as he or she is
(confronting or presenting them with his or her
substantive values, beliefs, etc.) - Real dialogue requires substantive identities,
views, etc. - I suggest substantive presence rather than
confrontation
69Creating Minestrone Soup Rather Than a Spiritual
Puree
- The challenge facing spiritual leaders within
Catholic Charities agencies is to create a
working environment within a Catholic
organization in which persons of diverse
spiritual views feel spiritually welcomed, valued
and engaged - The challenge of being both Catholic and catholic
- The task is more like creating the spiritual
equivalent of minestrone soup rather than a puree
in which distinctive spiritual identities are
ground finely and lost - The goal communion in diversity and in
commitment to a shared mission and effort
70A. Camus in Favor of Minestrone (from The
Unbeliever and Christians)
- What I feel like telling you today is that the
world needs real dialogue, that falsehood is just
as much the opposite of dialogue as is silence,
and that the only possible dialogue is the kind
between people who remain what they are and speak
their minds. This is tantamount to saying that
the world of today needs Christians who remain
Christians.
71- The Role of the Leader in Values-Based
Organizations
72Collins Two Types of Leadership Skill
- Executive
- In executive leadership, the individual leader
has enough concentrated power to simply make the
right decisions. - Legislative
- In legislative leadership, no individual
leaderno individual leader has enough structural
power to make the most important decisions by
himself or herself. Legislative leadership
relies more upon persuasion, political currency,
and shared interests to create the conditions for
the right decision to happen. - Good to Great and the Social Sectors, Jim
Collins, 11
73Finding Legislative Power
- Oh, you have the power, if you just know where
to find it. There is the power of inclusion, and
the power of language, and the power of shared
interests, and the power of coalition. Power is
all around you to draw upon, but it is rarely
raw, rarely visible. - Collins quoting Frances Hesselbein
74- The Level 5 Hierarchy
- Level 5 Executive
- Builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical
combination of personal humility plus
professional will. - Level 4 Effective Leader
- Catalyzes commitment to and vigorous pursuit of a
clear and compelling vision stimulates the group
to high performance standards. - Level 3 Competent Manager
- Organizes people and resources toward the
effective and efficient pursuit of predetermined
objectives. - Level 2 Contributing Team Member
- Contributes to the achievement of group
objectives works effectively with others in a
group setting. - Level 1 Highly Capable Individual
- Makes productive contributions through talent,
knowledge, skills, and good work habits. - From Level 5 Leadership, Jim Collins, Harvard
Business Review, January 2001
75The Paradox of Level 5 Leaders
- Collins explains that Level 5 leaders are
characterized by two traits - Personal humility (they are ambitious first and
foremost for the cause, the movement, the
mission, the work not themselves, and - Intense Professional Will (they have the will to
do whatever it takes) - What is it like to work for a leader who lacks
either personal humility or will?
76(No Transcript)
77- The Role of the Leader in the Values-Based
Decision-Making Process (A Role Fitting
Legislative Leadership)
78Two Approaches to Decision Making
Advocacy Inquiry
Concept of Decision Making A contest Collaborative problem solving
Purpose of Discussion Persuasion and lobbying Testing and evaluation
Participants role Spokespeople Critical thinkers
Content on Following Slide From What You Dont Know About Making Decisions, David Garvin and Michael Roberto, Harvard Business Review, September 2001 Content on Following Slide From What You Dont Know About Making Decisions, David Garvin and Michael Roberto, Harvard Business Review, September 2001 Content on Following Slide From What You Dont Know About Making Decisions, David Garvin and Michael Roberto, Harvard Business Review, September 2001
79Contd Advocacy Inquiry
Patterns of Behavior Strive to persuade others Present balanced arguments
Defend your position Remain open to alternatives
Downplay weaknesses Accept constructive criticism
Minority views Discouraged or dismissed Cultivated and valued
Outcome Winners and losers Collective ownership
80The Three Cs
- Adaptation of the inquiry approach to decision
making requires attention to 3 factors - Conflict
- Consideration
- Closure
81Constructive Conflict
- Conflict may be
- Cognitive (difference over ideas, assumptions,
etc.) - Affective (personal, emotional, personality
clashes, diminished willingness to listen,
cooperate, etc.) - The challenge for leaders is to increase
cognitive conflict while keeping affective
conflict low -- no mean feat.
82Consideration
- What determines whether those whose views did not
prevail resist the outcome of the decision making
process? - The reality is that the leader will make the
ultimate decision, but the people participating
in the process must believe that their views were
considered and that they had a genuine
opportunity to influence the final decision.
Researchers have found that if participants
believe the process was fair, they are far more
willing to commit themselves to the resulting
decision even if their views did not prevail.
83Voice ? Consideration
- Many managers equate fairness with voice -- with
giving everyone a chance to express his or her
own view. However, voice is not nearly as
important as consideration -- people's belief
that the leader actively listened to them during
the discussions and weighed their views carefully
before reaching a decision.
84Closure
- The challenge in effective decision making in the
organizational context is to resist tendencies to
decide either too early or too late - Leaders need the wisdom to know when to bring
conversations to a close
85Deciding Too Early
- Sometimes people's desire to be considered team
players overrides their willingness to engage in
critical thinking and thoughtful analysis, so the
group readily accepts the first remotely
plausible option. Popularly known as
"groupthink," this mind-set is prevalent in the
presence of strong advocates. - Danger Suppresses full range of options and
makes it likely unstated objections will surface
when implementation requires cooperation
86Deciding Too Late
- Two forms
- Gridlock when competing factions wont yield and
theres no way to break the gridlock (so the
argument goes on and on and on) - Excessive concern to hear every opinion, resolve
every conceivable question, and assemble
unassailable data to provide certainty that the
decision is right - Leading to endless discussion and causing some to
tune out
87Traits Associated With Effective Decision Making
Processes
- Multiple Alternatives When groups consider many
alternatives, they engage in more thoughtful
analysis and usually avoid settling too quickly
on the easy, obvious answer. - Assumption Testing Awareness of facts that are
merely asserted and assumed and a willingness to
challenge them
88Traits Associated With Effective Decision Making
Processes
- Well-Defined Criteria Clear goals are specified
at the outset that dont favor any particular
participants desired outcome - Dissent and Debate
- Questions that open up discussion rather than
bring it to and end, and - Active listening rather than waiting silently for
ones turn to speak - Perceived Fairness Reflected in a steady level
of participation rather than protest by withdrawal
89- Parting Thoughts On Remaining Aglow But Not
Burning Out
90Working for God or Doing Gods Work?
- Thomas Green suggests that in the story of Martha
and Mary, Luke 1038-42, Martha is working for
God while Mary is doing Gods work - Working for God we choose what we want to offer
to God, what we think God would or should like - Doing Gods Work we endeavor to discern what God
wants and to do it, thy will rather than my
will be done - See Working for God vs. Doing Gods Work,
Chapter 2 of Darkness in the Marketplace, by
Thomas Green
91What Doing Gods Work Consistently Requires
- Humility an accurate awareness of our strengths
and limitations as decision makers and generally - Sabbath wisdom.
- The Sabbath commands us to refrain from working
on the Sabbath but also to keep it holy (Dt.
512) - The Hebrew term for holy, kadosh, derives from
the root meaning to cut off or separate
92What Doing Gods Work Consistently Requires
- That which is holy, then, is that which is cut
off or separated for Gods purposes from that
which is not holy (the temple, the nation, etc.) - There is wisdom in keeping the Sabbath day itself
holy (i.e. separated from the other days for
Gods purposes, to be re-created in God with
others) - And in keeping Sabbath moments during other days,
moments separated from the busyness of it all to
recall Gods larger designs and purposes
93- Prayerful best wishes as you return to the holy
ground on which you do Gods work!