1. MGT 450 – Spring 2017 Class 8 – Chapter 5
PARTICIPATIVE LEADERSHIP AND EMPOWERMENT

2. Winston Churchill “Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat
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3. Chapter 5 Learning Objectives
Different forms of participative leadership and empowerment.
The situations in which participative leadership is most likely to be effective.
Procedures for the effective use of consultation.
The potential benefits and risks of delegation.
When and how to use delegation effectively.
Copyright© 2013 Pearson Education Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Leadership In Organizations

4. Nature of Participative Leadership
A variety of different decision procedures may be used by a manager that involves differing amounts of influence over a decision by subordinates or group members
Copyright© 2013 Pearson Education Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Leadership In Organizations

5. Continuum of Decision Procedures
Autocratic Decision Consultation Joint Decision Delegation
_________________________________________________________________________________________
No Influence High Influence
By Others by Others

6. Varieties of Participation
Autocratic decision – managers make decisions alone without asking for input from subordinates. These people have no direct influence on the decision – therefore no participation – therefore, no psychological buy-in
Consultation – leader asks for opinions of others and makes the decision alone after seriously considering their suggestions and concerns
Copyright© 2013 Pearson Education Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Leadership In Organizations

7. Varieties of Participation
Joint decision – Leader meets with others to discuss the situation and make a decision together – the leader has no more influence over the final decision than any other participant
Delegation – Leader gives the individual or group the authority and responsibility for making and implementing the decision. The leader typically sets boundaries and may require approval.

8. Varieties of Participation
Laissez-Faire Leadership
A non-authoritarian leadership style.
Self-managed teams
Laissez-Faire leaders try to give the least possible guidance to subordinates, and try to achieve control through less obvious means. They believe that people excel when they are left alone to respond to their responsibilities and obligations in their own ways.
Frequently described as the absence of effective leadership
Requires competent and self-managing subordinates.

9. Self-Managed Teams
A self-organized, semiautonomous small group of employees whose members determine, plan, and manage their day-to-day activities and duties under reduced or no supervision
Benefits
a. Have greater ownership of the tasks they perform and the end product or service they deliver.
b. Tend to be less costly and more productive than employees working within a traditional hierarchical structure because the team performs both technical and management tasks.
c. Team members may also fill in for each other to cover holidays and absences.
d. Decisions made by self-managed teams are more effective because they're made by the people who know most about the job.

10. Self Managed Teams Disadvantages
Although a cohesive self-managed team may create a sense of trust and respect between team members, overly cohesive teams can lead to "groupthink": Team members are more likely to conform with team norms than raise issues that may upset other team members.
This may lead to reduced effort or stifle innovation.
Teams may struggle to make the transition from supervisor-led management to self-management, either due to lack of interpersonal skills or poor implementation of the self-managed team concept within the organization.

11. Groupthink Symptoms
Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome.
Groupthink symptoms
A sense of invulnerability leading to overconfidence;
Members rationalize problems and explain away threats to success;
A feeling of moral superiority to non-group members and justify their actions as part of the greater good.
Group thinkers stereotype opponents as unintelligent and easily defeated
Feelings of unanimity, self-censorship to spare group tension and the urge to block the criticism of others.

12. Leading A Self-Managed Team
They still require guidance from leaders within the organizational hierarchy.
External leaders provide the link between the wider organization and the self-managed team, empowering the team, and advocating on its behalf.
External leaders may struggle to find the appropriate balance in their leadership style;
Their own managers may expect them to be more hands-on, while the team may resist perceived interference.

13. Benefits of Participative Leadership
Decision quality – offers more discussions and possible solutions from which to choose
Decision acceptance – people who have influence in solving the problem tend to identify with it and perceive it to be as much their decision. There is ‘buy-in’
Process satisfaction – having a voice in the decision-making process can have beneficial effects regardless of the actual influence the individuals have over the final decision. They feel that their opinions matter! (Buy-in)
Copyright© 2013 Pearson Education Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Leadership In Organizations

14. Benefits of Participative Leadership
Differing objectives
Downward – Draws on the knowledge and problem-solving expertise of subordinates;
Lateral – Peers may have relevant knowledge about the cause of the problem and likely solutions
Upward – Draws on the expertise of superiors. Also allows a leader to find out how his boss feels about the problem – leading to greater buy- in

15. Some Disadvantages of Participative Leadership
Decision making slows down
Some decisions have to be made on the spot - no time for deliberation
Security Issue of Information
Others must possess knowledge of the subject
Assumes all parties are interested in the situation
Some employees will be frustrated if their ideas are not accepted
Time consuming with too many view points
Managers may feel that their power is eroding

16. Guidelines for Participative Leadership Diagnose Decision Situations
Decision importance – How important is this decision,
e.g. What color should the machine be vs. what is the ease of serviceability or cost per hour of running this machine
Expertise – who has the relevant knowledge?
Likely cooperation – i.e. personal politics, power & influence
Likely acceptance – W.I.I.F.M.
Meeting feasibility – Do we have enough time to gather the group together to hash things out?
Copyright© 2013 Pearson Education Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Leadership In Organizations

17. Quality Circles – (Kaizen)
a group of workers who do the same or similar work, who meet regularly to identify, analyze and solve work-related problems;
the group is usually led by a supervisor or manager and presents its solutions to management;
where possible, workers implement the solutions themselves in order to improve the performance of the organization and motivate employees

18. Guidelines for Participative Leadership
Solicit and acknowledge everyone’s concerns
Solicit tentative proposals, i.e. brainstorming
Record ideas and suggestions – who said what
Build on ideas – focus on strengths vs weaknesses of proposed solutions
Always employ tact when expressing concerns about a suggestion
Listing to dissenting views without being defensive
Show appreciation for suggestions

19. Guidelines for Delegation
What to Delegate
Tasks that can be done better by a subordinate
Urgent but not high priority
Relevant to a subordinate’s career – a teaching moment
Appropriate difficulty
Both pleasant and unpleasant tasks
Tasks not central to the manager’s role
Copyright© 2013 Pearson Education Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Leadership In Organizations

20. Benefits of Delegation Similar to the Benefits of Participative Leadership
Develop subordinate skills and confidence
Enable subordinates to deal with situations quickly without have always to consult with the boss
Improve decision making by moving them close to the action
Increase subordinate commitment to the task
Make the job more interesting for the subordinates
Reduce or refine your workload to improve effectiveness & time management
Copyright© 2013 Pearson Education Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Leadership In Organizations

21. Risks of Delegation Confidentiality of information
Secure vs. insecure manager
Inherent risks of power sharing, e.g. 2 Type A personalities
Mistakes by subordinates – can you afford them?
Personal achievement by manager = ego trip
Subordinate characteristics – are they capable of doing the work and not screwing it up
Distrust – of subordinates
Leader authority – I’m the leader; I’m supposed to make these decisions
Copyright© 2013 Pearson Education Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Leadership In Organizations

22. More Guidelines for Delegation
How to Delegate
Specify responsibilities clearly – who does what
Provide adequate authority limits – what you can and cannot do
Specify reporting requirements – who, what, where, when, how
Ensure subordinate acceptance of responsibilities
Inform others who need to know – particularly colleagues and subordinates
Monitor progress
Provide support & assistance when asked for or necessary
Copyright© 2013 Pearson Education Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Leadership In Organizations

23. PSYCHOLOGICAL EMPOWERMENT
This describes how the intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy of people are influenced by:
leader behavior
job characteristics
organizational structure
Individual needs and values

24. Psychological Empowerment
Four defining elements
Meaning – when the content and consequences of the work are consistent with a person’s values;
Self-determination – When one has the capability to determine how and when the work is done;
Self-efficacy – When one has high confidence about being able to do the work effectively;
Impact – the person believes that it is possible to influence important events and outcomes

25. Guidelines for Empowerment
Involve people in making decisions that affect them
Delegate responsibility and authority for important activities
Insure that the people have the right KSAs to achieve the objectives
Provide access to relevant information and resources to carry out responsibilities
Remove bureaucratic constraints and unnecessary controls
Encourage and support initiative and problem solving

26. Participative Leadership Decision Making
Scenario: My company is a “Mom & Pop” style grocery (non-chain) store in the rural Adirondacks small town of Speculator, NY. We currently employs 27 men and 32 women. Our profit margins – typical for a grocery store business - are approximately 2% per year. The owner has been asked by the employees and other involved citizens of the community to consider voluntarily making the Family and Medical Leave Act a paid entitlement? Under the concepts of Participative Leadership, what are some of the KSAs that are necessary in order to be invited to the brainstorming sessions? Some KSAs to consider: Cost factors to the company Impact on other community businesses Potential for discrimination Impact on employment labor laws Social and political pressure KSAs of the participants What is FMLA

27. FIN DE CLASS 8
Homework for Class 9 Re-read and understand Chapter 5 Read Chapter 6 Team 5 = Prepare to lead Chapter 4 Review and Discussion Questions Team 6 = Prepare to analyze and discuss the Case Study for Chapter 5