Obstacles to Thriving as a Public Sector Leader

• In Event: Interactive Roundtable Discussions & Member Community Information Tables
  In Interactive Roundtable: Public Leadership Interactive Roundtable Discussions

Short Description

Are you thriving as a leader in a turbulent public sector organization? Thriving is different from surviving or coping with the immediate demands. Thriving creates vitality, change, and growth; not returning to the status quo. The discussion will focus on obstacles and strategies to thrive in the public sector.

Detailed Abstract

Effective leaders thrive in the face of organizational complexity in ways that can transform their perception of the events, contribute to good health and productivity, and promotes positive actions and outcomes for the organization. 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). In a narrative study on stress transformation for public sector managers dealing with complex and disruptive organizational events, Walinga and Rowe (2013) found a response pattern of thriving that was qualitatively different from coping/surviving the situation and significantly more positive than those who floundered (i.e. becoming ill, quitting or transferring elsewhere). Thriving by managers in response to stressful crisis or problematic situations is more than just a trait or personal characteristic of the individual. It describes a way of responding to crisis or problem events in the work environment, using workplace resources, that is fundamentally different from merely coping or surviving the situation (Rowe, Walinga and Anderson, 2016).

Thrivers, in contrast to survivors/copers shift their perspective from the negative elements of the stressful event or crisis to ‘reframe’ it in a positive light or as a solvable opportunity. They exhibit confidence that they can reach an effective outcome; have a personal sense of power and empowerment, and have a desire to be professional and competent. Additionally they use the language of “we”, are inclusive and oriented to open communication and transparency rather than keeping the situation secret or behind closed doors.

Thriving leaders also distinguish themselves in the kind of strategies and action they take. They immediately take action to keep them self and others calm in the situation. They involve others in looking at source issues and getting facts, while also taking a systemic perspective of related factors. They dialogue, consult and collaborate with stakeholders to arrive at integrative and systemic solutions or further action. They keep supervisors and superiors in the communication loop; seek support as well as advice. Findings also revealed that ‘thrivers’ are highly likely to reach out to peers and family/friends; seeking mentoring, coaching and support from within and outside their organizational superiors to maintain their emotional stability. Thriving managers achieve more positive outcomes for the broader community or organization through holistic, ‘systemic’ and sustainable solutions for the organization. Thriving managers speak to the well-being and sustainability of others involved in the situation.

In conclusion, managers ‘thrive’ as leaders when they seek to transform the stress situation by taking actions to calm themselves, rethink the situation, engage in collaborative strategies to address the problem or situation, and seek a variety of advice, information resources and social supports to maintain their emotional stability.

However not all managers thrive in work situations involving disturbance, disruption, crisis and serious problem events for a variety of reasons related to cultural norms, supervisor support, and stakeholder engagement or lack of (Davenport, 2015: Paterson, Luthans, & Jeung, 2015). In restricted conditions, many managers attempt to be heroic and self-reliant, often seeking to contain the events to as few as possible and looking for quick solutions and ‘fix-it’ actions (Rowe, Walinga and Anderson, 2016). Many survive and cope but with negative effects on their health and overall sense of work satisfaction. There are often significant organizational obstacles to employing strategies that would be more satisfactory to the individual and contribute to leader thriving. Common among these is lack of supervisor support and pressure to cover up or deny the existence of the problems.

In an interactive round table, the discussant facilitators will engage participants in a narrative inquiry on what are the most debilitating obstacles to thriving and to the use of thriving strategies. Is coping or surviving the turbulence or disruptive and challenging events the only options? What else is possible?

Participants

• Wendy E. Rowe, Royal Roads University

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