Organizational Effectiveness

Delivering Results

Leadership is about doing your best and bringing out the best in others. This is my favorite definition of leadership, because you don’t have to be the leader in order to be a leader. As leaders, we have the obligation to ensure that our decisions, actions, and resources effectively support the organization’s mission, vision, and values.

Organizational effectiveness is the efficiency in which an organization delivers results. People often ask me about specific ways in which they can contribute to their organization’s effectiveness. Below are two helpful frameworks for exploring this topic. 

Cybernetic Leadership 

In the book How Colleges Work, Robert Birnbaum describes characteristics of cybernetic leaders: 

 

The Valley of Fire 2016

Know their staff well. They achieve status by being able to sincerely articulate the unspoken concerns of others.

Recognize that listening and influencing are reciprocal in nature. The more we listen to others, the more others listen to us. We influence others by allowing ourselves to be influenced.

 

Seek out diversity of thought. They find ways to support norms that encourage diversity of thought in discussion and analysis.

 

Pay substantial attention to the processes through which information is disseminated. To the extent possible, communications should be timely, open, and transparent. Good leaders consistently provide forums for interaction, feedback, and questions.

 

Demonstrate humility. When facing undesirable behavior, ask “what am I doing that may be influencing what is happening?” (Birnbaum, 1988, p. 210). Upon encountering a problem ask “what is within my power to do to solve this problem that will not create more serious problems in the future?” (p. 211).

 

Birnbaum also highlights the importance for leaders to recognize and understand culture. Culture determines “what is done, how it is done, and who is involved in doing it” (Tierney, 2008, p. 24). It influences what individuals believe and how they behave. Understanding and honoring culture: 

• reinforces belief in supporting the mission;
• helps with understanding and managing an organization;
• leads to a shared understanding of what constitutes excellence;
• reduces the negative effects of adversarial relationships; and
• helps with understanding how to best communicate to various groups. 

 

Translating Leadership into Strong Management 

Daniel Stid and Kirk Kramer, partners at the Bridgespan Group, authored a white paper on organizational effectiveness and found that effective organizations demonstrated strength in five areas: 

1. Leadership. Leaders must be able to translate their strategic vision into specific goals and action items. They must be highly effective at communicating their vision, strategy, and priorities throughout the organization. 

2. Decision making and structure. Pay close attention to decision-making roles and processes in order to make efficient, responsive, and transparent decisions. Doing so will also create a pathway for people to effectively coordinate their work across organizational boundaries.  

3. People. It’s paramount for employees to feel that their work aligns with and supports the priorities of the organization. Performance evaluations should be leveraged to ensure employees are evaluated, developed, and rewarded in alignment with the organization’s priorities. In addition, leaders should place an emphasis upon building leadership capacity throughout the organization to assist with leadership transitions and succession. 

4. Work processes and systems. Increase employees’ productivity and quality of work by spending time clarifying and refining work processes, and making them explicit and accessible to employees. 

5. Culture. Culture is ever-changing and dynamic. Effective leaders find ways to build upon the strengths of an organization’s culture.

 

 

Reflections 

Being a good leader and manager is the key to organizational effectiveness. Improving and refining your leadership and management skills requires constant inquiry, learning, and practice. It’s all about the journey, not the destination. Each day is a new opportunity to do our best and bring out the best in others.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

 

Birnbaum, R. (1988). How colleges work. San Francisco: Jossey Bass. 

Tierney, W. G. (2008). The impact of culture on organizational decision making (pp. 3-27). Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC.


Nicole Schultheis is an innovative executive in higher education hailed by institutions as “Collaborative…Forward Thinking…a Thought Leader.” With more than 20 years of leadership experience at large research universities and the U.S. Army, and a Ph.D. from Saint Louis University, Schultheis is known for her leadership in student success, organizational effectiveness, information technology, and enrollment services. When Schultheis is not being a very busy and sought after administrator, she enjoys traveling, exercising, and experiencing nature.

Stop Talking

Looking through a New Lens

In today’s fast-paced, ever-changing environment leaders are expected to move with speed and agility, and to drive results. Individual talent, skill, and effort are highly valued and rewarded. At times, I feel myself getting caught up in this mantra, watching life fly by. Yet, I know I feel and do my best when I find ways to slow down and reconnect with nature. Thinking about this inspired me to examine the intersections of my leadership style and personal identity, as a Chippewa with a tribal affiliation of the Turtle Mountain tribe in North Dakota.

 

The book Stop Talking: Indigenous Ways of Teaching and Learning and Difficult Dialogs in Higher Education provided me with a starting point to reflect upon leadership lessons. Even though higher education is the contextual backdrop, the lessons are relevant to any profession, and to new as well as experienced professionals. 

Interconnectivity 

Experiencing Nature in Michigan

Native American culture emphasizes the principle of the interconnectedness amongst all things. All things are related and deepen our sense of connection to the world – which is at the heart of living and learning.

 

Our mental constructs are one with our bodies, spirits and hearts. Land, ancestors, elders, language, culture, arts, and storytelling are intertwined. Parts of our being cannot be separated. Some of the most important human characteristics are to listen; revere all of life; experience the world without words; respect others; affirm others, and feel the connection to all that is.

 

Discourse

We can foster an environment in which individuals feel free to speak with confidence by honoring these Native American discourse values: 

• Treat each other with respect;
• Keep in mind that everyone has their own truth, and their own starting point;
• Listen without agenda; refrain from thinking about your own response while the person is talking;
• Never talk over someone else;
• Affirm other speakers;
• Instead of disagreeing, say something positive about the previous speaker and then simply add your own thoughts;
• Be polite, courteous, and thoughtful; and
• Be supportive of each other.

The rhythm to indigenous discourse is purposefully slow. There is a pause after each person speaks, allowing time for reflection and observations. Silence is valued. Too much talking interferes with observing, listening, and experiencing the world and others around us. 

Relationships

Non-hierarchical leadership is important. When gathered, no one is more or less important than any other person. Indigenous leadership is not limited to individual actions or characteristics. There is a greater emphasis placed upon having respectful and meaningful relationships with others, and a sense of community before self.
Relationships go beyond who we know or how many followers we have on social media – they serve as reminders of the responsibilities we have to the collective.
 

Being in the Moment

Let go of your electronic devices, go outside, and take time to stop thinking. Focus your energy upon the sights and sounds around you. Listen to the birds, the sound of traffic, and the wind. Notice the air. Observe the dewdrops and bees on flowers. What do you notice and how do you feel?  
 
Merculieff and Roderick summarize this concept very well: 

“Modern Western society centers intelligence in one place only: in the brain. But our Elders tell us that the brain is all about the past or the future, never the now. We need to slip out of our thoughts in order to be present in the now. This is one reason we learn from the animals, because the animals are profoundly present. We watch them closely and see how they use their innate intelligence to live and survive and thrive. This is how we begin to feel spirit in all things. But as soon as I slip into my brain, I disconnect from everything else: my body, my being, my relationship to animals and other people and the earth. The Elders say that when we separate from our bodies, we separate from All That Is” (Merculieff and Roderick, 2013, p. 89). 
 

Reflections

Leadership lessons from Native American culture include characteristics of interconnectivity, having meaningful relationships with others, putting others first, engaging in respectful discourse, and being in the moment. How do you experience interconnectedness of the world? How will you leverage these leadership lessons in the everyday business world?

 

Word cloud of this blog post

 

 

Reference

 

Merculieff, L., & Roderick, L. (2013). Stop talking: indigenous ways of teaching and learning and difficult dialogues in higher education. Retrieved October 9, 2017, from www.difficultdialoguesuaa.org/images/uploads/Stop_talking_final.pdf

Nicole Schultheis is an innovative executive in higher education hailed by institutions as “Collaborative…Forward Thinking…a Thought Leader.” With more than 20 years of leadership experience at large research universities, and the U.S. Army, and a Ph.D. from Saint Louis University, Schultheis is known for her leadership in student success, organizational effectiveness, information technology, and enrollment services. When Schultheis is not being a very busy and sought after administrator, she enjoys traveling, exercising, and experiencing nature.