To this statement, with which I also agree, Carold had an intriguing
answer...
> LE>As stated earlier in this group, most managers (not all) are "control
> LE>freaks". Put another way, based on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator data
> LE>collected over many decades, all have J preferences (80-90%). This
> LE>preference makes it tough to let go of control issues.
>
> I agree with this response. We started our transformation in 1991.
> Now, four years later, employees do not get to realize what empowerment
> means. The Leaders speak it, the Leaders talk it, the Leaders do not
> walk the talk. Each one describes what empowerment means. These
> descriptions vary with how much control the leader wants to maintain.
>
> I like the concept, I left the management ranks to become an internal
> consultant because I could not condone and support the control that
> Leaders wanted to maintain.
I took the other road. I had an internal consultant job (Quality Manager,
actually) and switched to line management. Scary thing at the beginning -
having to do what you preached for a few years. I guess I'm more
optimistic.
Looking at the message Carold was responding to, the first thought to come
to my mind was: "Most managers are control freaks, J-type. Did they become
managers because they were control freaks ?" My first crack at the answer
would be yeah, for most of them. And I think it's the very essence of this
thread. Will Sr. Managers Change ?
Like it was said a couple of times in this thread, most Sr. Managers were
previously successful Managers that got promoted. Let me argue they also
were control freaks before they became Sr. And (a big) part of their
success was based on this control. But becoming Sr., this control has to
operate a a greater scale - much more unpredictable and uncontrollable
(another scary thing). And I don't know that many people who are so strong
they can fundamentally change a deeply rooted key for previous success...
However, alternative ways exist. We have to have successful leaders that
aren't control freaks. Maybe they'll open the eyes of a few more. Maybe
this 20-30% proportion can grow by the very fact that these "alternative"
managers get this sacred Sr. in front of their title...(and hope THEY
don't change).
I haven't worked as a line manager long enough (2 years) to dare make a
statement about my own success. But I still believe in my capacities to
reach out to people, promote a collaborative environment in the group "I
was made responsible for" (put between "" because I don't like the
wording). That's how I personally define empowerment, freedom and will to
work TOGETHER, collaborate.
My main message here is DON'T GIVE UP !!!
Sincerely,
Christian
--Christian Giroux <lmccgir@lmc.ericsson.se> System Support Manager, Technical Assistance Center Ericsson Research Inc. Montreal
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>