Professional Documents
Culture Documents
While many managers and business leaders already think about these things on a
regular basis, organizational behavior theories can help to speed up problem-solving
and more quickly produce results. When your team is behind in meeting projections
and you need a solid plan, it's a relief to know there's a solid body of knowledge there
to help you craft a plan and proceed with confidence rather than trepidation.
In this theory, when seeking to increase performance on a team, you'd consider each
team member's relationship with one another as well as with the team as a whole.
Your team members' level of engagement and role can shift over time with new
projects, illnesses, the introduction of new team members, new policies and more.
Instead of crafting rigid ideas about how the team must function forever, complexity
theory leaves room for a certain level of dynamic flexibility and change.
In French and Raven's five bases of power, there are five identified sources of power
that could help you figure out who has the most influence in your organization:
Legitimate: Those with legitimate power are those who actually do hold the titles of
power within your organization. These are managers, team leaders and executives. How
much power they have depends on whether they also gain power from the other sources
listed here or team up with others who do.
Reward: People who have this kind of power earn it through their ability to reward
others for doing what they're supposed to do. Reward isn't always financial. Often, it comes in
the form of positive reinforcement or cheering others on.
Expert: Most professional settings have someone in the mix who's famous for being
incredibly knowledgeable and skilled at what they do. When others need information, they go
to the expert who helps them learn what they need to know in order to succeed.
Referent: Referent power comes through the ability to relate with others and practice
incredible relational skills in the workplace. These individuals are well liked and respected
because of who they are, their personality and their ability to unify people across their
differences.
Coercive: People who have coercive power tend to be the company manipulators who
don't always have the best people skills. In contrast to those who have power through reward,
these characters accumulate power through emotional punishment of others. These are
generally not the healthiest people to team up with in your leadership, although awareness of
them is important to managing them so they don't stand in the way of those who hold more
positive and helpful forms of power.
Even if your company isn't an official hybrid organization, you can include these
principles into the strategies you employ for managing your team. Consider organizing
a team effort to make a difference for homelessness, human trafficking or another
cause. As you reach certain team goals, your reward can be the opportunity to give
back together.
If Suzy has a legal question about accounting, Erica is likely to help her out and Joe
will probably back up whatever decisions the two of them make together. As a
business leader, it's important to take note of friendships and other alliances that form
within your organization. These informal alliances can help you to better achieve your
goals. They can also stand in the way of them when they're not healthy.
In other words, instead of drawing the company's structure, when you create an
organigraph you show how it actually works. For instance, in the engineering
department of a telecommunications company, an organigraph would use hubs and
webs to show how planning engineers interact with field engineers, upper
management, customers and even that they go out to lunch with suppliers. If
someone from the sales department wants information on suppliers, this organigraph
would show them that the best person to call would be a planning engineer. A
traditional organizational chart wouldn't show any of this.
Controlling: The controlling stage isn't about controlling others but rather controlling
outcomes. During this stage, you ensure expectations are realistic, examine results and make
any changes necessary to improve outcomes.
Organizational Behavior and Management Style
Whether you're commanding or shy, bubbly or down to business, the concepts and
principles of human behavior in an organization setting, as well as the five functions of
management, can apply to you. As long as you understand where your own strengths
and growth areas are as a leader, you can plan around them and incorporate others
on your team who make up for your deficits. Remember that management and
organizational behavior is about relationships most of all, so keep your relational skills
sharp and you're more likely to navigate the road to change with grace.