The Power vs. Empowerment Struggle
Who would want to work at a company with centralized power?
That's a question that Clark Winter, the newly appointed Chief Investment Officer at SK Capital Partner, asked me when I spoke to him last week about company mandated policies that inhibit employees from acting in the best interest of the customer.
It seems so elementary, yet so many companies still manage companies in a way that constrains employees.
The exciting thing is that the power vs empowerment struggle may be coming to an end and empowerment is winning out. That's due in part because the philosophy of taking care of employees and customers is manifesting from the current economic climate.
Winter calls it an evolution toward Transformational Leadership. Introduced in 1978 by James MacGregor Burns, this leadership style creates positive change by transforming employees to help each other, to be encouraging and harmonious, and to look out for the organization as a whole.
In this style, the leader motivates through four components: individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation, and role and identification.
If you're looking for long-term viability, you might want to read up on this 30-year-old management style. As Winter says "We have to find a new way. It's back to basics."
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In my recently published Christmas novel, Ian, one of Santa's Helpers, takes some training that could lead to a management position. During the training, he struggles to understand the difference between managing and leading. He soon finds out that management is based upon processes, order, and controls and that leadership is more about developing the potential in others. He likes the latter.
It might be a step in the right direction if we were to teach management and leadership concepts to our youth at an early age. This could certainly include the components of Transformational Leadership. Later on in their lives, they will be more adept at achieving success in different workplace environments.
All the best!
Eric Dana Hansen, Author of "IAN, CEO, North Pole"
www.ianceonorthpole.com