This forum is where the Next Generation Leadership Series - Topic #2 will take place on July 22, from 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EST. Join us for a conversation about the organizational structure needs of emerging leaders. We will discuss what hiring and interviewing practices are best, define the term "flexible organizations", and talk about decision-making structures among other things.
NP2020 Forums » Next Generation Leadership Series
What are the organizational structure needs of emerging leaders?
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The Next Generation Leadership Series Topic #2: What are the organizational structure needs of emerging leaders? presentation will begin at 1 pm EST. We will begin the discussion with a leading question, and encourage all participants to lend their own opinions and questions to the discussion.
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Welcome to the second Next Generation Leadership Series, titled What are the organizational structure needs of emerging leaders? We will begin discussions in 5 minutes. If you have any specific topics or questions you would like to discuss please do not hesitate to post them. If you have any questions regarding the system please email Tera Wozniak @ wozniate@gvsu.edu.
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Welcome everyone, let's get started!
According to the poll we held a couple weeks ago on the NP2020 blog: http://np2020.org/blog/?p=178, 67% of blog participants would prefer a shared leadership structure, while 0% would prefer a hierarchical structure. What do you think are the reasons for the need of shared leadership, and why do you not prefer a hierarchical structure.
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I would love to hear from anyone who has thoughts about implementing a Results Only Work Environment (ROWE). This is being popularized by a new book called Why Work Sucks and has been implemented at Best Buy. It is being touted as especially suitable for Gen Y workers. You can read a bit about it at this Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROWE
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How do you encourage experimentation with new organizational structures when the bottom line is always staring you in the face and organizational efficiency is stressed so stringently? How do you sell the benefit of a new org structure?
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Maria, could you explain to us a little bit more about what ROWE is?
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I've been reading "Why Work Sucks" and am very interested in implementing a ROWE. I would like to try it with my current staff and wish we could embrace it organizationally. In working with a lot of Gen Y workers, this seems of a lot of interest to everyone involved.
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@johnsoncenter - the basic concept of ROWE is that there are no time or place constraints put on employees. They can work wherever they want, whenever they want, as long as they are getting their work done. There are no mandatory meetings. All work is evaluated in terms of output and its value to the organization.
Best Buy has been implementing ROWE in its corporate headquarters for a few years now and have great results with it. They are now trying to figure out who to bring it to the retail side - which should be a very interesting experiment.
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@atreppa - do you have the freedom to implement ROWE among your team? If so, how do you plan to go about it?
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stephen_a_bauer, when thinking about the bottom line I am sure all organizations will have trouble changing organizational structures, especially considering it may take more time than what many organizational leaders see as efficient. Do you think these organizations need case studies or examples to follow, where they have seen it work? I haven't seen much of that.
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I have the freedom to an extent. I'm finding it a challenge to build the "team" environment and build relationships with each other with people who aren't physically present, but it definitely goes back to finding the right people to begin with. I can't get away from some mandatory meetings though - organization wide.
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I can see ROWE working in a business environment. Not sure that it would work in a Human Service oriented environment. How is ROWE managed?
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Within the concept of ROWE there is still an evaluation piece to the quality of work produced. Who does that evalution? Is it your peers and coworkers or do you still have to report to someone?
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Johnsoncenter, I do think case studies would help. It is definitely a paradigm shift for the organization and it seems like the older leaders who, at least generationally, define contribution to the organization as seat-time, would have a harder time accepting it and thus have less interest in adopting the practice.
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@MariaG I like the idea of ROWE and have seen others, especially Gen Y as you have mentioned, craving a more flexible work environment, when they can work whenever they want as long as they are getting their work done. How do you think employees can talk with their executive directors about these structures?
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@johnsoncenter - I'm not sure all organizations would have trouble changing org structures. It depends on the leadership and staff makeup. If shared leadership is valued at the top, it may not be a tough sell to the rest of the organization.
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I think I like the idea of the ROWE concept. I think that some nonprofits can be "ROWE" like although the components of this type of workplace setting is not articulated. For example, does the organization have a policy regarding working at home? In essence, this still seems to be negotiated on a case-by-case basis and not at an organizational level.
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@giddbj - A ROWE is managed strictly on outcomes. If an employee isn't meeting their outcome expectations then a manager works with them to bring them up to standard. I'm not sure about the #s, but Best Buy had a good amount of turnover during their transition.
I think it would be a challenge to implement ROWE in any kind of environment where there need to be a physical presence and predictable hours. That definitely includes human services in a lot of cases. No one has figured out how to implement that yet, but Best Buy is trying.
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Agree with stephen_a_bauer on older leaders who see seat/face time as what counts. That isn't the most productive. Sometimes doesn't reward the worker.
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Hi, I'm the ED for a small organization with 4 (hopefully soon 5) part time staffers. I pretty much have the autonomy to do a lot of creative things with the staff. I've found that a mixture of structure + unstructured works well. For example, Monday is staff meeting day - we meet as a team and I meet with them individually. Everybody pretty much sets their own schedule through the week. I've found that the key is consistent communication.
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gibbdj, I agree. I think that a lot of the work conducted and completed in Human Services organizations depends on others and many times is completed with a team. For example, there are lots of collaboration projects where I can imagine having individuals work when and where they want could become problematic.
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@stephen_a_bauer - "...it seems like the older leaders who, at least generationally, define contribution to the organization as seat-time, would have a harder time accepting it and thus have less interest in adopting the practice."
Is it possible that there is resistance to this type of change because it's so difficult to identify performance metrics in the nonprofit sector? I find it's much more challenging to create quantitative measures for nonprofit employees than, for example, employees in a for-profit sales position. If the metrics were there, might that help with these issues?
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I think ROWE sounds great in theory, but what happens when human nature enters the picture? Even flexible work teams need some degree of face time and/or seat time. I feel communication would be essential. If the right information is not being communicated, people can be left to their own perceptions of what you might be doing. It sounds petty, but I've seen it happen (all generations involved).
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I think that metrics is bottom line.
Also, what do you think is the role of having appropriate technology in connecting teams virtually?
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@RhodaM I agree with you about the key being consistent communication. Do you think organizational structure changes always depend on the need for the organization to set up strict communication rules? Also, do you think everyone is suited for flexible work?
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I think that is a large part of the problem. I have heard from many Gen Y'ers who have been reprimanded for issues around seat-time and not around performance measures. Having best practices and "business cases" to reference would help. However, like many things the people that need this type of change the most are rarely the ones that seek it out. I think there needs to be more national focus on these issues to bring them to the front of conversation. The Nonprofit Workforce Coalition, which I staff, is trying to do this through our work and the work of our members.
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I like the idea of shared leadership in certain cases. We have experts in several areas in my work. We have been functioning as a leadership team during a transition. It has worked well, morale has increase. There is no one leader who tends to play favorites.
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