Organizational Leadership Pro-Seminar Chapter 16 Reading Notes

lOMoARcPSD|23780900 Chapter 16 Reframing in Action: Opportunities and Perils ● Life in organizations is often governed by routine, with undercurrrents of suppressed conflicts, jealousies, or unhealed egos from past skirmishes. ○ Periodically, past or present issues come to the surface, and tensions are laid bare. ○ One recurrent scenario is transition from one boss to another. ○ How participants frame their circumstances is fearful for the outcomes. Reach and Grasp ● Put yourself in the shoes of Cindy Marshall. ○ You’re headed to the office for your first day in a new job. ○ Your company has transferred you to Kansas City to manage a customer service unit. ○ It’s a big promotion, with a substantial increase in pay and responsibility, but you know you face a major challenge. ○ You are inheriting a department with a reputation for slow, mediocre service. ○ Senior management places much of the blame on your predecessor, Bill Howard, seen as too authoritarian and rigid. ○ Howard is moving to another job, but the company asked him to stay on for a week to help you get oriented. ○ One potential sticking point: he hired most of your new staff. ○ Many may still feel loyal to him. ● When you arrive, you get a frosty hello from Susan Bond, the department secretary. ○ As you walk into your new office, you see Howard behind the desk in a conversation with three other staff members. ○ You say hello, and he responds by saying, “Didn’t the secretary tell you that we’re in a meeting right now? ○ If you’ll wait outside, I’ll be able to see you in about an hour.” ● As Cindy Marshall, what would you do? ○ You’re in the glare of the spotlight, and the audience eagerly awaits your response. ○ If you feel threatened or attacked--as most of us would--those feelings will push you toward either fight or flight. ○ Escalating the conflict is risky and risks collateral damage. ○ Backing away or fleeing could suggest that you are too emotional or not tough enough. ● This is a classic example of a manager’s nightmare: an unexpected situation that threatens to explode in your face. ○ Howard’s greeting has a good chance of throwing you off stride and putting you in a bind. ○ It carries echoes of historic patterns of male arrogance and condescension in relating to women (similar to those that surfaced in the Anne Barreta). ○ Whether or not he intended it that way, Howard’s response appears well designed for disconcerting a younger female colleague. ○ He makes it likely that, as Cindy, you will feel trapped and powerless, or you will lOMoARcPSD|23780900 do something rash and regrettable. ○ Either way, he wins and you lose. ● The frames suggest a broader range of possibilities. ○ They offer the advantage of multiple angles to size up the situation. ○ What’s really going on here? ○ What options do you have? ○ What script does the situation demand? ○ How might you reinterpret the scene to create a more effective scenario? ○ Reframing is a powerful took in a tough situation for generating possibilities other than fight or flight. ● An immediate question facing you, as Cindy Marshall, is whether to respond to Howard on the spot or to buy time. ○ If you’re at a loss for what to say or if you fear you will make things worse instead of better, take time to “go to the balcony”--try to get above the confusion of the moment long enough to get a sharper perspective. ○ Find an effective response on the spot. ● Each of the frames generates its own possibilities, creatively translated into alternative scenarios. ○ They can also be misapplied or misused. ○ Success depends on the skill and artistry of the person generating and implementing a given script. ○ Each of the four lenses can produce both effective and ineffective reactions. Structural Frame A Structural Scenario ● A structural scenario casts managers and leaders in fundamental roles of clarifying goals, attending to the relationship between structure and environment, and developing a clearly defined array of roles and relationships appropriate to what needs to be done. ○ Without a workable structure, people become unsure about what they are supposed to be doing. ○ The result is confusion, frustration, and conflict. ○ In an effective organization, individuals understand their responsibilities and their contribution. ○ Policies, linkages, and lines of authority are straightforward and accepted. ○ With the right structure, the organization can achieve its goals, and individuals ca nsee their roles in the big picture. ● The main job of a leader is to focus on task, facts, and logic, rather than personality and emotions. ○ Most people problems stem from structural flaws, not personal limitations or liability. ○ The structural leader is not rigidly authoritarian and does not attempt to solve every problem by issuing orders (that is sometimes appropriate). ○ The leader tries to design and implement a process or architecture appropriate to the circumstances. ● You may wonder what structure has to do with a direct, personal confrontation, but the lOMoARcPSD|23780900 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● structural scenario in the bx can be scripted to generate a variety of responses. Here’s one example. Howard: Didn’t the secretary tell you that we’re in a meeting right now? ○ If you’ll wait outside, I’ll be able to see you in about an hour. Marshall: My appointment as a manager of this office began at nine this morning. ○ This is mow my office, and you’re sitting behind my desk. ○ Either you relinquish the desk immediately, or I will call headquarters and report you for insubordination. Howard: I was asked to stay on the job for one more week to try to help you learn the ropes. ○ I doubt that you’re ready for this job, but you don’t seem to want any help. Marshall: I am now in charge of this office. ○ Headquarters assigned you to stay this week to assist me. ○ I expect you to carry out that order. ○ If you don’t, I will submit a letter for your file detailing your lack of cooperation. ○ Now, [firmly] I want my desk. Howard: We were working on important office business but since the princess here is more interested in giving orders than in getting work done, let’s move our meeting down to your office, Joe. ○ Enjoy your desk! In this exchange, Marshall places heavy emphasis on her formal authority and the chain of command. ○ By invoking her superiors and her legitimate authority, she takes charge and gets Howard to back down, but at a price. ○ She unwittingly colludes with Howard in making the encounter a personal cofrontation. ○ She risks a long-term tension with her new subordinates, who surely feel awkward during this combative encounter. ○ They may conclude that the new boss is like the old one--autocratic and rigid. There are other options. ○ Here’s another example of how Marshall might exercise her authority. Howard: Didn’t the secretary tell you that we’re in a meeting right now? ○ If you’ll wait outside, I’ll be able to see you in about an hour. Marshall: She didn’t mention it, and I don’t want to interrupt important work, but we also newed to set some priorities and work out an agenda for the day anyway. ○ Bill, have you developed a plan for how you and I can get to work on the transition? Howard: We can meet later on, after I get through some pressing business. Marshall: The pressing business is just the kind of thing I need to learn about as the new manager here. ○ What issues are you discussing? Howard: How to keep the office functioning when the new manager is not ready for the job. Marshall: I have a lot to learn, but I feel up to it. lOMoARcPSD|23780900 ○ ○ ○ With your help, I think we can have a smooth and productive transition. How about if you continue your meeting and I just sit in as an observer? Then, Bill, you and I could meet to work out a plan for how we’ll handle the transition. ○ After that, I’d like to schedule a meeting with each manager to get an individual progress report. ○ I’d like to hear from each of you about your major customer service objectives and how you would assess your progress. ○ What were you talking about before I got here? ● This time, Marshall is still clear and firm in establishing her authority, but she does it without appearing hars or dictatorial. ○ She underscores the importance of setting priorities. ○ Note the deft use of a question when she asks whether Howard has a plan for making the transition productive. ○ That lets her engage Howard while declining his invitation for combat. ○ She emphasizes shared goals and defines a temporary role for herself as an observer. ○ She focuses steadfastly on the task and not on Howard’s provocations. ○ In keeping the exchange on a rational level and outlining a transition plan, she avoids escalating or submerging the conflict. ○ She also communicates to her new staff that she has done her homework, is organized, and knows what she wants. ○ When she says she would like to hear their personal objectives and progress, she communicates an expectation that they should follow her example. Human Resource Frame A Human Resource Scenario ● The human resource leader believes that people are the center of any organization. ○ If people feel the organization is responsive to their needs and supportive of their personal goals, they will deliver commitment and loyalty. ○ Administrators who are authoritarian or insensitive, who don’t communicate effectively, or who don’t care can never be effective leaders. ○ The human resource leader works on behalf of both the organization and its people, seeking to serve the best interests of both. ● The job of the leader is support and empowerment. ○ Support takes a variety of forms: showing concern, listening to people’s aspirations and goals, and communicating personal warmth and openness. ○ The leader empower through participation and inclusion, ensuring that people have the autonomy and support needed to do their job. ● The human resource frame favors listening and responsiveness, but some people go a little too far in trying to be responsive. ● Howard: Didn’t the secretary tell you that we’re in a meeting right now? ○ If you’ll wait outside, I’ll be able to see you in about an hour. ● Marshall: No, she didn’t. ○ I just feel terrible about interrupting your meeting. lOMoARcPSD|23780900 ○ ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● I hope I didn’t offend anyone because to me, it’s really important to establish good working relationships right from the outset. ○ While I’m waiting, is there anything I can do to help? ○ Would anyone like a cup of coffee? Howard: No. ○ We’ll let you know when we’re finished. Marshall: Oh…Well, have a good meeting, and I’ll see you in an hour. In the effort to be friendly and accommodating, Marshall is acting more like a waitress than a manager. ○ She defuses the conflict, but her staff are likely to see their new boss as wea. ○ She could instead capitalize on an interest in people. Howard: Didn’t the secretary tell you that we’re in a meeting right now? ○ If you’ll wait outside, I’ll be able to see you in about an hour. Marshall: I’m sorry if I’m interrupting, but I’m eager to get started, and I’ll need all your help. ○ [She walks around, introduces herself, and shakes hands with each member of her new staff. ○ Howard scowls silently.] ○ Bill, could we take a few minutes to talk about how we can work together on the transition, now that I’m coming in to manage the department? Howard: You’re not the manager yet. ○ I was asked to stay on for a week to get you started--I doubt that you’re ready for this job. Marshall: I understand your concern, Bill. ○ I know how committed you are to the success of the department. ○ If I were you, I might be worried about whether I was turning my baby over to someone who wouldn’t be able to take care of it. ○ I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t feel ready. ○ I want to benefit as much as I can from your experience. ○ Is it urgent to get on with what you were talking about, or could we take some time first to talk about how we can start working together? Howard: We have some things we need to finish. Marshall: As a manager, I always prefer to trust the judgment of the people who are closest to the action. ○ I’ll just sit in while you finish up, and then we can talk about how we move forward from there. Here, Marshall is unfazed and relentlessly cheerful; she avoids a battle and acknowledges Howard’s perspective. ○ When he says she is not ready for the job, she resists the temptation to debate or return his salvo. ○ She recognizes his concern but calmly communicates her confidence and focus on moving ahead. ○ She demonstrates an important skill of a human resource leader: the ability to combine advocacy with inquiry. lOMoARcPSD|23780900 ○ ○ ○ She listens carefully to Howard but gently stands her ground. She asks for his help while expressing confidence that she can do the job. When he says they have things to finish, she responds with the agility of a martial artist, using Howard’s energy to her own advantage. ○ She expresses part of her philosophy--she prefers to trust her staff’s judgment-and positions herself as an observer, gaining an opportunity to learn more about her staff and the issues they are addressing. ○ By reframing the situation, she has gotten off to a better start with Howard and is able to signal to others the kind of people-oriented leader she intends to be. Political Frame A Political Scenario ● The political leader believes that managers have to recognize political reality and know how to deal with conflict. ○ Inside and outside any organization, people and interest groups, each with their own agenda, compete for scarce resources. ○ There is never enough to satisfy all parties’ demands, so there will always be struggles. ● The job of the leader is to recognize major constituencies, develop ties to their leadership, and manage conflict as productively as possible. ○ Leaders need to build a power base and use power carefully. ○ They can’t give every group everything it wants, but they can create arenas where groups can negotiate differences and come up with a reasonable compromise. ○ They also need to work at articulating interests everyone has in common. ○ It is wasteful for people to expad energy fighting in each other when there are enemies outside to battle. ○ Any group that doesn’t get its act together internally tends to get trounced by outsiders. ● Some managers translate the political approach into managemen tby intimidation and manipulation. ○ It sometimes works, but the risks are high. ○ Here’s an example. ● Howard: Didn’t the secretary tell you that we’re in a meeting right now? ○ If you’ll wait outside, I’ll be able to see you in about an hour. ● Marshall: In your next job, maybe you should train your secretary better. ○ I can’t waste time sitting around in hallways. ○ Everyone in this room knows why I’m here. ○ You’ve got a choice, Bill. ○ You can cooperate with me, or you can lose any credibility you still have in this company. ● Howard: If I didn’t have any more experience than you do, I wouldn’t be so quick to throw my weight around. ○ If you think you know it all already, I guess you won’t need any help from me. ● Marshall: What I know is that this department has gone downhill under your leadership, lOMoARcPSD|23780900 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● and it’s my job to turn it around. ○ You can go home right now, if you want--you know where the door is. ○ If you’re smart, you’ll stay and help. ○ The vice president wants my report on the transition. ○ You’ll be a lot better off if I can tell him you’ve been cooperative. Moviegoers cheer when bullies get their comeuppance. ○ It can be satisfying to give the verbal equivalent of a kick in the groin to someone who deserves it. ○ In this exchange, Marshall establishes that she is tough, even dangerous. ○ Such coercive tactics can be expensive in the long run. ○ She is likely to win this battle because her hand is stronger. ○ She may lose the war. ○ She increases Howard’s antagonism, and her attack may offend him and frighten her new staff. ○ Even if they dislike Howard, they may see Marshall as arrogant and callous. ○ She lays the groundwork for a counterattack, and she may have done political dmaage that will be difficult to reverse. Sophisticated political leadersprefer to avoid naked demonstrations of power, looking instead for ways to appeal to the self-interests of potential adversaries. Howard: Didn’t the secretary tell you that we’re in a meeting right now? ○ If you’ll wait outside, I’ll be able to see you in about an hour. Marshall: [pleasantly] Bill, if it’s okay with you, I’d prefer to skip the games and go to work. ○ I expect this department to be a winner, and I hope that’s what we all want. ○ I also would like to manage the transition in a way that’s good for your career, Bill, and for the careers of others in the room. Howard: If I need advice from you on my career, I’ll ask. Marshall: The vice president has asked me to let him know about the cooperation I get here. ○ I’d like to be able to say that everyone has been helping me as much as possible. ○ Is that what you’d like, too? Howard: I’ve known the vice president a lot longer than you have. ○ I can talk to him myself. Marshall: I know, Bill; he’s told me that. ○ I just came from his office. ○ If you’d like, we could both go see him right now. Howard: No, not right now. Marshall: Let’s get on with it. ○ Do you want to finish what you were discussing, or is this a good time for us to develop some agreement on how we’re going to work together? In this politically based response, Marshall is both direct an diplomatic. ○ She uses a light touch in dismissing Howard’s opening salvo. ○ (“I’d prefer to skip the games.”) ○ She speaks directly to both Howard’s interest in his career and her subordinates’ lOMoARcPSD|23780900 interest in theirs. ○ She deftly deflates his posturing by asking whether he wants to go with her to talk to the vice president. ○ She is confident of her political support and knows that his bluster has little to back it up. ● In both political scenarios, Marshall draws on her power resources. ○ In the first, she uses those resources to humiliate Howard, but in the second, her approach is subtler. ○ She conserves her political capital and takes charge while leaving Howard with as much pride as possible, achieving something closer to a win-win than a winlose outcome. Symbolic Frame A Symbolic Scenario ● The symbolic leader believes that the most important part of a leader’s job is inspiration-giving people something they can believe in. ○ People become excited about and committed to a place with a unique identity, a special place where thye feel that what they do is really important. ○ Effective symbolic leaders are passionate about making the organizaiton unique in its niche and communicating that passion to others. ○ They use dramatic symbols to get people excited and to give them a deep sense of the organization’s mission. ○ They are visible and energetic. ○ They create slogans, tell stories, hold rallies, give awards, appear where they are least expected, and manage by wandering around. ● Symbolic leaders are sensitive to an organization’s history and culture. ○ They seek to sue the best in an organization’s traditions and values as a base for building a culture with cohesiveness and meaning. ○ They articulate a vision that communicates the organization’s unique capabilities and mission. ● At first glance, Cindy Marshall’s encounter with Bill Howard might seem a poor candidate for the symbolic approach were just outlined. ○ An ineffective effort could produce embarrassing results, making the would-be symbolic leader look foolish. ● Howard: Didn’t the secretary tell you that we’re in a meeting right now? ○ If you’ll wait outside, I’ll be able to see you in about an hour. ● Marshall: It’s great to see that you’re all hard at work. ○ It’s proof that we all share a commitment to excellence in customer service. ○ I’ve already made up buttons for all the staff. ○ Here--I have one for each of you. ○ They read, “The customer is always first.” ○ They look great, and they communicate the spirit that we all want in the department. ○ Go on with your meeting. ○ I can use the hour to talk to some of the staff about their visions for the lOMoARcPSD|23780900 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● department. ○ [She walks out of the office.] Howard: [to remaining staff] Did you believe that? ○ I tild you they hired a real space cadet to replace me. ○ Maybe you didn’t believe me, but you just saw it with your own eyes. Marshall’s symbolic direction might be on the right trac, but symbols work only when attuned to the context--both people and place. ○ As a newcomer to the department culture, she needs to pay close attention to her audience. ○ Meaningless symbols antagonize, and empty symbolic initiatives backfire. A skillful symbolic leader understands that a situation of challenges and stress can serve as a powerful opportunity to articulate values and build a sense of mission. ○ Marshall demonstrates how, in a well-formed symbolic approach to Howard’s gruffness. Howard: Didn’t the secretary tell you that we’re in a meeting right now? ○ If you’ll wait outside, I’ll be able to see you in about an hour. Marshall: [smiling] Maybe this is just the traditional initiation ritual in this department, Bill, but let me ask a question. ○ If one of our customers came through the door right now, would you ask her to wait outside for an hour? Howard: If she just came barging in like you did, sure. Marshall: Are you working on something that’s more important than responding to our customers? Howard: They’re not your customers. ○ You’ve only been here 5 minutes. Marshall: True, but I’ve been with this company long enough to know the importance of putting customers first. Howard: You don’t know the first thing about how this department functions. ○ Before you go off on some customer crusade, you ought to learn a little about how we do things. Marshall: There’s a lot I can learn from all of you, and I’m eager to get started. ○ For example, I’m very interested in your ideas on how we can make this a department where as soon as people walk in, they get the sense that this is a place where people care, are responsive, and genuinely want to be helpful. ○ I’d like that to be true for anyone who comes in--a staff member, a customer, or just someone who got lost and came into the wrong office. ○ That’s not the message I got from my intuition just now, but I’m sure we can think of lots of ways to change that. ○ How does that fit with your image of what the department should be like? Marshall recasts the conversation. ○ She recognizes newcomers usually experience an initial test or “hazing.” ○ Instead of engaging in a personal confrontation with Howard, she focuses on hte department’s core values. ○ She brings her “customer first” commitment with her, but she avoids positioning lOMoARcPSD|23780900 that value as something imposed from outside. ○ She grounds it in an experience everyone in the room has just shared: the way she was greeted when she entered. ○ Like many successful symbolic leaders, she is attuned to the cues about values and culture that are expressed in everyday life. ○ She communicates her philosophy, but she also asks questions to draw out history to advantage in rekindling a commitment to customer service, she passes her first test and is off to a good start. Benefits and Risks of Reframing ● The multiple replays of the Howard-Marshall incident illustrate both the power and the risks of reframing. ○ The frames are powerful because of their ability to spur imagination and generate new insights and options. ○ Each frame has limits as well as strengths, and each can be applied well or poorly. ● Frames can be used to generate scripts, or scenarios, to guide action in high-stakes circumstances. ○ By changing your script, you can change how you appear, what you do, and how your audience sees you. ○ Create the possibility of a makeover in everyday life. ○ Few of us have the dramatic skill and versatility of a professional actor, but you can alter what you do by choosing an alternative script or scenario. ○ You have been learning how to do this since birth. ○ Both men and women, for example, typically employ different scenarios for same-sex and opposite-sex encounters. ○ Students who are guarded and formal when talking to a professor become energized and intimate when talking to friends. ○ Managers who are polite and deferential with the boss may be gruff and autocratic with subordinates and then come home at night to romp playfully with their kids. ○ The tenderhearted neighbor becomes a ruthless competitor when his company’s market share is threatened. ○ The tough-minded drill instructor bows to authority when facing a colonel. ○ Consciously or not, we all read situations to figure out the scene we’re in and the role we should fill to that we can respond in character. ○ It’s important to ask ourselves whether the drama that seems to be an offer is the one we want and to recognize that we can choose which character to play and how to interpret or alter the script. ● The essence of reframing is examining the same situation from multiple vantage points. ○ The effective leader changes lenses when things don’t make sense or aren’t working. ○ Reframing offers the promise of powerful new options, but it cannot guarantee that every new strategy will be successful. ○ Each lens offers distinctive advantages, but each has its blind spots and lOMoARcPSD|23780900 shortcomings. ● The structural frame risks ignoring everything outside the rational scope of data, rasks procedures, policies, and organization charts. ○ Structural thinking can overestimate the power of authority and underestimate the authority of power. ○ Paradoxically, overreliance on structural assumptions and a narrow emphasis on rationality can lead to an irrational neglect of human, political, and cultural variables crucial to effective action. ● Adherents of the human resource frame sometimes cling to a romanticized view of human nature in which everyone hungers for growth and collaboration. ○ When they are too optimistic about integrating individual and organizational needs, they may neglect both structure and the stubborn realities of conflict and scarcity. ● The political frame caputres dynamics that other frames miss, but it has its own limits. ○ A fixation on politics easily becomes a cynical self-fulfilling prophecy, reinforcing conflict and mistrust while sacrificing opportunities for rational discourse, collaboration, and hope. ○ Political action too often is interpreted as amoral, scheming, and oblivious to the common good. ● The symbolic frame offers powerful insight into fundamental issues of meaning and belief, as well as possibilities for bonding people into a cohesive group with a shared mission. ○ Its concepts are subtle and elusive; effectiveness depends on the artistry of the user. ○ Symbols are sometimes mere fluff or camouflage, the tools of a scoundrel who seeks to manipulate the unsuspecting or awkward gimmicks that embarrass more than energize people at work. ○ In the aura of an authentic leader, symbols can bring magic to the workplace. Reframing for Newcomers and the Marginalized ● Marshall’s initial encounter with Howard exemplifies many of the challenges and tests that managers confront as they move forward in their careers. ○ The different scenarios offer a glimmer of what they might run into, depending on how they size up a situation. ○ Managers feel powerless and trapped when they rely on only one or two frames. ○ This is particularly true for newcomers, as well as for women, people of color, and other outsiders who experience “the dogged frustration of people living daily in a system not made for them and with no plans soon to adjust for them or their differences”. ○ These outsiders are less likely to get a second or third chance when they fail. ● Though progressive organizations have made heroic strides in building fairer, more just opportunity structures, the path to success is still fraught with obstacles blocking particularly people of color, women, and members of the LGBTQ community. ● Most organizations have failed to “walk the talk” in delivering on long-held promises to further diversity and inclusion. lOMoARcPSD|23780900 ○ This lack of progress has fueled discontent and disengagement: ■ What we see and hear from Black America is that “WE ARE NOT OKAY.” ■ We African Americans. ■ We people of color. ■ We women. ■ We in the LGBTQ community. ■ We global colleagues, and more. ■ We are not okay. ■ Even if you don’t identify with one of these groups, many of your clients and customers certainly do, and they are not okay, and neither is your organization. ● While the marginalized and disenfranchised continue to hope for institutional change, judicious reframing can help them transform managerial traps into promising leadership opportunities. ○ The more often individuals break through the glass ceiling or out of the corporate ghetto, the more quickly those barriers will fade. ○ Career barriers can feel as foreboding and impenetrable as the Berlin Wall did-until it suddenly fell. Conclusion ● Managers can use frames as scenarios, or scripts, to generate alternative approaches to challenging circumstances. ○ In planning for a high-stakes meeting or a tense encounter, they can imagine and try out novel ways to play their roles. ○ Until reframing becomes instinctive, it takes more than the few seconds that Cindy Marshall had to generate an effective response in every frame. ○ In practicing any new skill--playing tennis, flying an airplane, or handling a tough leadership challenge--the process is often slow and painstaking at first. ○ As skill improves, it gets easier, faster, and more fluid. ● This skill is particularly critical for the marginalized: people of color, women, and members of the LGBTQ community who often face more barriers and get less support from members of the majority community.