ENCOURAGING PARTICIPATION APAMSA Leadership Development Module

Encouraging Participation  Participation is not effective unless people are actively involved  Encourage participants to brainstorm ideas, make suggestions, state preferences, express concerns  Value people for their active involvement with public praise and awards Relations-Oriented Behaviors Source: G. Yukl, Leadership In Organizations (New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006, p )

Relations-Oriented Behaviors  Encouraging Participation Active participation breathes life into work performance Describe your approach to Encouraging Participation and briefly explain how your methods facilitated active involvement of team members Leadership Challenge (24)

Encouraging Participation Guidelines For Encouraging Participation Source: G. Yukl, Leadership In Organizations (New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006, p )  Expression of concerns  Tentative proposals  Ideas and suggestions  Build on ideas  Be tactful with concerns  Do not get defensive  Follow suggestions  Show appreciation

Encouraging Participation  Encourage people to express their concerns by addressing their concerns  Consult with relevant team members, superiors, and partners who can be affected by changes  Organize a special meeting to address the concerns of all persons involved Expression Of Concerns Source: G. Yukl, Leadership In Organizations (New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006, p )

Encouraging Participation  Participation is more likely if proposals are described as tentative rather than final  Encourage team members to improve tentative proposals  Final proposals inhibit people from expressing concerns that may appear critical and unsupportive Tentative Proposals Source: G. Yukl, Leadership In Organizations (New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006, p )

Encouraging Participation  When suggestions are made, acknowledge the idea and discuss it  List all ideas on a blackboard or flipchart so they are not forgotten  During meetings, have a scribe take note of all ideas and suggestions Ideas & Suggestions Source: G. Yukl, Leadership In Organizations (New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006, p )

Encouraging Participation  Consider the strengths of an idea before its weaknesses  Discuss weaknesses of ideas and how they can be overcome  Take an idea and build it up to a better one Build On Ideas Source: G. Yukl, Leadership In Organizations (New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006, p )

Encouraging Participation  Avoid harming the self-esteem of persons making suggestions and discouraging future suggestions  Avoid outright rejection of any idea  Express concerns with shared interest (i.e., How can we do this without going over budget?) Be Tactful With Concerns Source: G. Yukl, Leadership In Organizations (New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006, p )

Encouraging Participation  Listen to dissenting views without getting defensive or angry  Restate the person’s concerns in your own words to verify understanding  Do not make excuses, try to consider objectively if revisions are needed Do Not Get Defensive Source: G. Yukl, Leadership In Organizations (New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006, p )

Encouraging Participation  Do not dismiss suggestions without serious consideration and discussion  It is critical to follow through on suggestions agreed to be beneficial  Failure to utilize good suggestions will make your requests for ideas appear manipulative Follow Suggestions Source: G. Yukl, Leadership In Organizations (New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006, p )

Encouraging Participation  Give credit where it is due  Explain how their suggestion was incorporated into the plan  Acknowledge those who give helpful ideas and suggestions with timely recognition Show Appreciation Source: G. Yukl, Leadership In Organizations (New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006, p )

Relations-Oriented Behaviors  Encouraging Participation Participation is not effective unless people are actively involved Encourage participants to brainstorm ideas, make suggestions, state preferences, express concerns Utilize the Guidelines for Encouraging Participation to encourage active involvement of team members and improve work performance Summary

Relations-Oriented Behaviors  Increasing Learning And Innovation Our next module discusses guidelines to encourage learning and facilitate advancement of work activities Next Topic…

Relations-Oriented Behaviors  G. Yukl, Leadership In Organizations, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006, p  Free Management Library Sources