Integrity Matters Broadcasts
April 2, 2004
Attribute #4 - AUTHORITY: employee encouragement.
Are you able to correct a customer problem?
Do you have confidence that your actions will be supported?
*from Bracher Center's
Eight Attributes for Building an Integrity-Centered Company
Dear Friends,
The topic this month is authority and it is tied
closely to the level of trust that exists between and among
employees throughout an organization. Trust, built upon
relationships, sustained by competence and leveraged through
productive efforts, is at the heart of how authority is
exercised. When authority is managed effectively, and everyone
up and down the line knows what is expected in terms of
commitments to deliver integrity-centered service, then
productivity rises. Authority is what needs to be clearly
communicated to confident, talented and consistently high-performing
employees. Performance can be improved when front-line
employees understand their problem-resolving authority.
Authority and autonomy go hand in hand, reflecting leadership's
trust in the individuals hired, educated, trained, and
promoted. Appropriate levels of authority enable those
who face problems to fix them with integrity.
Here are two illustrations to ponder: an ineffective way
and an effective way to establish authority. The
first illustration is from the Integrity Matters column
of March 31, 2004. Example two is from the March 24, 2004,
Integrity Matters column about ways to increase the odds
of recruiting and retaining the highest caliber of talent,
capable of exercising integrity-centered authority responsibly.
Illustration
#1: AN INEFFECTIVE WAY
"HOTEL CLUB LEAVES GUEST
OUT IN COLD"
Click Here to read the full Integrity Matters column (published
March 31, 2004)
Illustration
#2: AN EFFECTIVE WAY
"INTEGRITY STILL KEY IN HIRING"
Click Here to read the full Integrity Matters column (published
March 24, 2004)
SELECTION AND INTEGRITY*
"When selecting individuals to
join an organization, or entrusting them with the responsibilities
of leadership, one must value:
Integrity above motivation,
Motivation above capacity,
Capacity above wisdom,
Wisdom above experience,
Experience above knowledge, and
Knowledge above training.
What must be known and considered
is not a list of claimed positions or achievements, but
the qualities and characteristics of the person.”
*source unknown
UNDERSTANDING THAT PREVENTS POLARIZATION
organizational and interpersonal application – strengthening teams*
When individuals:
Understand the required skill sets to make
their team productive,
Are valued by and bring value to the organization,
Are committed to the vision, mission and strategy, and
Are signed-on to the organization's supported behavior and culture,
then no issue can polarize the group or create destructive behaviors.
*Developed by James F. Bracher, November 18, 1994
As was learned recently from a project conducted with
young people, from the Boys and Girls Clubs here in Monterey
County, California, children and teens understand what authority means.
When they were asked to define the proper and effective
use of authority, here are their four responses, indented
with bullets in blue:
AUTHORITY: employee encouragement.
Are you able to correct a customer problem?
Do you have confidence that your actions will be supported?
- Use common sense to do the right thing.
- Know that you have the right to do
something, to take action.
- Explain when actions have been taken
that might not fit with our Club's rules.
- Listen, think and learn from what
has been done right, and what has been done wrong.
With insights like these coming from
local members of the Boys and Girls Clubs, the very
same individuals who will become the next generation
of leaders, we can maintain confidence that society
will rebound from current ethical and moral challenges
and be able to operate constructively and productively.
Click Here to read the full article:
"Boys
and Girls Clubs of Monterey County, California applying
Eight Attributes of an Integrity-Centered Company"
INTEGRITY MATTERS, by Bracher and Halloran,
hits bookstore shelves on May 3.
Sincerely,
Jim
