Leaders breaking hierarchical norms

One of the most important aspects of being a leader is generating creativity – innovation – in the organisation. This is often perceived as being an issue to do with product or service development; rarely about how the very structures in which people operate can be loosened – the hierarchical norms in fact. These structures are often the very constraints which render useless all the brainstorming and team building in the world.

Leaders themselves must set an example. Here are five crucial areas in which leadership behaviour can help break the pattern of hierarchical norms which stunt growth:

1. leaders need to explain things
2. leaders need to engage in two-way discussions with the led
3. leaders need to make achievement the only basis for reward
4. leaders need to hold everyone accountable for standards, given and recognising the limitations that may be inherent in operational conditions
5. leaders need to seek continuous improvements in practice

Checklists are easy to formulate, but breaking down each statement into its constituents, and verifying its reality is not. If you are a leader try answering these questions for starters:

'explain things' – which things? in how much detail? to whom?

'engage …. two-way' – what level of intensity is implied by 'engage'? Substitute a synonym to attempt to find out – 'enter'? See the difference? What implications does 'two-way' really have?

'only' – can we really mean this?

'accountable … standards' – how? which/whose?

'continuous improvements' – feedback? what mechanisms for processing information?

And so on.

Also, consider this whole issue as an ongoing and unstructured problem. Thus, in this scenario three pieces of practical advice are relevant:

establish a core team with a wide remit to address the problem. This team will be 'rich' in diversity of experience, power, position, information and contacts. Careful thought will need to be given to its leader – avoid the obvious, whilst simultaneously not ruling out the same if they have the necessary skills to drive the process. Invest the core team with authority.

 

adopt a flexible approach – planning suggests we know where we want to go. In this instance, 'direction' is more important than detailed knowledge of the destination. Thus, measurable goals are not too important – 'what will emerge?' is the question. Vision will become sharper as a result of the journey; thus, it will not necessarily precede it.

 

be prepared to establish temporary structures in order to enable experimentation and the achievement of various tasks deemed necessary. Learning through doing is important – ensure it is resourced.

Finally, it might well be worth reflecting on the following: that self-efficacy, the belief in one's own ability to perform particular tasks, is central to performance generally. Research consistently shows that those who have a high level of self-efficacy outperform those whose self-efficacy is low. This belief in one's self may well depend on several factors, but certainly an individual's self-esteem is one of them. Thus, it is crucial to maintain an individual's self-esteem – carping, negative criticism can only damage an individual's performance, and any criticism, even positive, has to be handled with extreme care.