Hey Articles!Article Directory & Elite Resources

This entire article serves to describe and detail the effectiveness of implementing a philosophy of shared leadership involving the practices of accountability, ownership, empowerment and communication.

Implementation

Once employees have the tools for improving their communication with one another, companies can then direct their attention to a model of shared leadership, or an environment in which skilled and motivated individuals are empowered to provide feedback and take action to further the vision of the company. It involves three essential steps or stages: (1) conducting Focus Groups that reach all employees in a company; (2) running Town Meetings that include large group gatherings and small group reflection; and (3) creating Action Teams that implement needed internal changes that have been identified during this three-step process.

(1)   Conducting Focus Groups

A Focus Group is a small discussion forum intended to expedite the exchange of ideas in an honest, safe and constructive way within a company or organization. Focus group teams are diverse and thoughtfully put together. Employees with different roles from all divisions within a company are selected to become co-facilitators of Focus Groups. Each two-person team runs a forum for 10-12 other employees. The co-facilitators have two roles. First, their role is to engage group members in thoughtful discussion and guide them to reflect, share and gain new understanding about company goals and future needs. Second, their role is to accurately document the ideas and suggestions of focus group members by recording verbatim comments and highlighting key themes. Focus Group questions examine issues that affect the culture and climate of the organization, such as current vision; level of trust within the company; clarity regarding employee roles and responsibilities; employee morale and commitment to company goals; degree of confidence in the organization’s leadership; and employee empowerment and willingness to take risks.

(2)   Running Town Meetings

After all data from Focus Group meetings has been collected, analyzed and prioritized, the results are communicated at a large group gathering of all employees—sometimes referred to as a Town Meeting. Town Meetings are vital public gatherings that embody and showcase not only a company’s commitment to communication, but also its willingness to act on its employees’ needs and concerns. Upper level management conducts this meeting and plays back to employees the central themes that came out of the Focus Group meetings and the specific suggestions made to improve the internal workings of the company (note that this approach demonstrates Active Listening).

Immediately following the presentation, employees are given the opportunity to reflect together on what they’ve heard, and provide feedback to upper management. They return to their small group forums, which are led by the same two facilitators who ran their Focus Group. Sufficient time is provided for these groups to respond to the presentation – specifically, what members heard that most excited them and what is still missing from the plan of action that must be addressed to improve communication, company morale, best work practices, etc. Each team reports back to the large group and agreements are made about next steps.

(3)   Creating Action Teams

Action Teams represent the next phase of committing to a shared leadership model that views its employees as a rich intellectual and strategic resource. Teams that embody the diversity of interests and talents within the organization are formed to research or carry out the mutually agreed-upon plans of top executives and company employees. It is recommended that each team is co-led by trained employee-facilitators who have knowledge about group dynamics and skill in how to conduct meetings and encourage the active participation of all members. This process of sharing leadership across all facets of the company will raise employee morale and increase personal commitment to the company’s vision and goals.

If the company’s vision is unclear or is creating conflict, then one of the Action Teams may want to take employees through a visioning exercise that helps build a common understanding of what the company’s primary mission is and where it’s going in the future. Another Action Team may want to tackle ways to introduce new rituals or company practices that help to build an esprit de corps among employees. Action Team tasks may be short- or long-term, but the team’s specific objectives always derive from Focus Group data and Town Meeting agreements. Action Teams periodically report their progress at follow-up Town Meetings to insure accountability and encourage ongoing input from employees not directly involved on the teams.

This article has six (6) parts in its entirety. Part six (6) of this article is entitled “Managing Everybody Else: Shared Leadership – Conclusion”.

Image by Hamed Saber via Flickr