Leader Thriving in Organizational Disturbance

• In Event: The Breakroom and The Corner Office: We All Drink the Coffee

Short Description

Thriving leaders experience energy as well as growth and development during challenging and disruptive events in their organizations. The presenter will share the results of research on strategies that organizational managers use to thrive as leaders during difficult times, in contrast to those who are only coping or surviving.

Detailed Abstract

Effective leaders thrive in the face of organizational turbulence in ways that reduce stress, ensure health and productivity, and promote positive actions and outcomes for the organization (Walinga and Rowe, 2015). Spreitzer and her colleagues (Spreitzer et al, 2005; 2012) defined thriving as a “psychological state in which individuals experience both a sense of vitality and a sense of learning at work” (p. 538). Thriving is different from simply coping or resilience it generates high engagement and new learning and growth (Carver, 1998; Park, 1998).

We sought to understand how managers experience organizational disturbances and complex problems in an effective manner and eventually thrive, as leaders, in their organizations. Ten managers from pubic sector organizations in western Canada were asked to provide lived experience narratives regarding an organizational crisis or complex problem they had experienced in the recent past. Using ‘critical incident’ technique (Fivars, 1980), participants provided four narratives of stressful management events, and participated in a structured interview on how they had responded to the organizational disturbances. Thematic analysis revealed three response patterns—a non-coping response, a coping (or resilient response) and a thriving response. Of the 18 positive narratives, nine matched the thriving response patternmanagers exhibiting sustained high energy, behaviors of high engagement, personal satisfaction, learning and growth in an environment of high work-related stress. In contrast, managers who were labeled as ‘copers’ described having low energy and feeling stressed when responding to the challenging situation at work, expressed resignation or acceptance, and expressed only relief that it was over either as a fixed, eliminated or minimized problem. Non-coping responses were observed for some managers—experiencing distress, anger, despair, helplessness or hopelessness—sometimes choosing to remove themselves from the position or seeking to transfer the problem to someone else.

It should be noted that only six of the managers were able to describe having thrived through the organizational disturbance they had described, and only three of these individuals were able to demonstrate thriving in both of their reported narratives. The other three revealed they had only thrived dealing with the situation on one occasion. Our research was focused on learning more about the specific strategies used by managers dealing with the organizational disturbance, crisis or problem that lead to eventual thriving and positive organizational outcome. We carried out a comprehensive thematic analysis on the coping versus thriving response patterns of these managers in terms of their initial reactions, their secondary appraisal (Folkman and Moskowitz, 2000), cognitive perceptions (Walinga, Cunningham, and Macgregor, (2011), involvement of others and actions taken. Differences resided in what thinking and actions the managers took to transform the disturbing situation into a positive opportunity.

Our results showed thrivers were able to shift their perspective so as to transform the event, often reframing the event as a learning and growth opportunity and then undertaking a more productive response pattern. Thrivers expressed confidence that they could achieve an effective outcome; they exhibited a personal sense of power and empowerment. They involved others immediately and looked at the issue from an organizational systems perspective. Thriving leaders also described their role as only one part of an organizational system responseone that involved many other individuals and perspectives. These types of managers used the language of “we”, were inclusive of many others at all levels of the organization, and were oriented to open communication and transparency rather than keeping the situation secret or behind closed doors. In contrast, managers who were only ‘coping with the disturbance’ viewed themselves as ‘heroic’ and responsible for fixing or managing the issue to reduce or minimize its impact on the organization. Often this meant keeping issues contained and very quiet.

Although the managers who demonstrated a thriving capability were confident and had a personal sense of power, they all sought to enhance their personal resources by obtaining additional external resources. They confidently reported that resources were available, even if not within their own repertoire. In fact, most of these individuals viewed the issue as truly solvable with positive outcomes but only if alternative resources are drawn upon. The thriving managers immediately engaged in dialogue, as well as listened to ideas and input from many others rather than relying on only themselves or a select few in positions of authority. It is this acceptance of their own limitations and faith in the capacity of others that seems to define the thriving leader.

The thriving managers dealing with the disturbance sought to generate integrative and systemic solutions. They reported they would take time to access systematic, accurate facts so as to view the situation and related issues widely and from multiple perspectives. In adopting a collective and inclusive perspective on how to respond to the issue, thriving leaders maintained an open and transparent communication style rather than withdrawing or keeping matters restricted only to a few. It appears this systems view helped them to avoid defining the issue as a simplistic problem requiring standardized rules or procedures to ‘fix it’.

It was our conclusion that managers who engage in systems thinking and inclusive strategies with others are more likely to thrive and achieve more enduring outcomes for the organization, indicated not only by the growth and high energy of the manager themselves, but the well-being and satisfaction of all impacted by the events. In contrast, managers who adopt solitary ‘fix it’ responses and who describe themselves in terms of coping with the situation report only satisfactory outcomes for the organization—saying the organization was able to ‘move on’ but only through strategies of control and with negative ramifications for individuals or particular parts of the organization.

Recognizing and promoting higher levels of ‘leader thriving’ among managers has considerable significance for individuals as well as organizations. We argue these managers become more effective leaders but also that organizations and employees benefit in multiple ways—resulting in more transparency, trust, safety and workplace wellness for individuals as well as more effective organization outcomes related to the originating issues.

Participants

• Wendy E. Rowe, Royal Roads University

• Maria F. Anderson, Anderson Leadership Consulting, Inc.

• Jennifer Walinga, Royal Roads University