Adaptation & Presence in Practice
There are three essential principles in offering flexibility-CG5. Each looks different depending on whether we take the management's or the employee's perspective .
■ Engagement: Be Engaged
■ Sensitivity: Be Sensitive
■ Responsiveness: Be Responsive
A management culture may value flexibility, but only a person can be engaged, sensitive, and responsive. The account below will therefore consider employee presence before noting how management adaptation manifests and enables flexibility.
Disturbances are common here on both sides and are major factors for persistent distress and disruption in organizations. When management has difficulties in facing up to new organizational realities, it is no longer functioning properly as management.
Engagement: CG53
Function: To get oneself in the correct frame of mind to effectively handle evolving work issues and interact with relevant staff.
Employee Presence
As an employee, you need to be alert and attentive, especially keeping up to date in regard to priorities and pressures. These generalities can be made far more precise using our framework.
Required Components
g5: Knowledgeably evolve your mindset (CL7)
to ensure the situation is understood and any proposals presented to you are reasonable and suitable.
+
g4: Collaboratively channel your aspirations (CL6)
to ensure that there is a mutual sharing of deep interests and personal ambitions with others at work.
+
g3: Acceptably use information (CL5)
to ensure that you do not embarrass yourself or others or bring the organization into disrepute.
+
g2: Formally set directions (CL4)
to make it evident to all that your values and goals align and mesh with the organization's.
+
g1: Deliberately grip issues (CL3)
to demonstrate your willingness to address anything of importance, whether inside or outside your department.
Disturbance
Disengagement can be evidenced by deficits in the various components. Staff may exhibit distance, disconnection, sitting on the fence and similar behaviours. Some staff, including managers, simply do not seem to participate properly—as if they are not really there.
Management Adaptation
CEO and line-managers need «everyone on board» to deliver unexpected requirements or major change projects. They cannot automatically assume «buy-in», and so must be ready to adapt their initial ideas: perhaps in terms of pace and timing, perhaps in terms of methods, perhaps even in regard to some goals or priorities.
Facilitation & Problems
Facilitation: Outsiders may help both senior managers and their staff by using models, principles, theories and explanations to shift the mindsets-CL7 as well as assisting with channelling aspirations-CL6, using information-CL5, setting directions-CL4, and gripping issues-CL3.
Disturbance: Dysfunctional engagement is evident in bosses who are deceptive, secretive, avoiding or manipulative about issues and changes affecting employees. They may claim to be fully engaged with the organization, but proper engagement with their staff is lacking.
Back to Top
Sensitivity: CG52
Function:To take account of another person's experiences and circumstances when interacting around work issues.
Employee Presence
As an employee, you need to sense how others are feeling and in particular be alert to internal conflicts between personal interests and organizational needs (i.e. management's interests and goals). These generalities can be made far more precise using this framework.
Required Components
g5: Knowledgeably channel aspirations (CL6)
to present your aspirations in a way that makes it likely they can be incorporated within the common vision, and so enabled by superiors and supported by others.
+
g4: Collaboratively use information (CL5)
to work on the implications of information together with others, rather than jumping to conclusions.
+
g3: Acceptably set directions (CL4)
to ensure that personal differences in values are handled, while getting agreement on your goals despite differing interests.
+
g2: Formally grip issues (CL3)
to identify intrinsically problematic and often political issues in such a way that they can be put on an agenda for resolution.
+
g1: Deliberately be accountable (CL2)
to ensure that basic work obligations do not suffer and nothing improper occurs, while being alert and attentive to the feelings of others.
Disturbance
Insensitivity interferes seriously with work efficacy. Relationships with superiors do not go well. Cooperation from co-workers will be unsatisfactory. Subordinates will become fearful and distant as a way to protect themselves.
Management Adaptation
Managers require sensitivity to be able to find solutions that will work both for the employee and for the organization as a whole.
Facilitation & Problems
Facilitation: Sensitivity with awkward people can be difficult. So advice from those within (who know the person or group affected) and without (who are are experienced in such situations) may be useful.
Problems: Insensitive managers ignore legitimate concerns, trample over feelings, do not provide talk-time or make feedback unreasonably difficult. Other flaws are pigeon-holing staff and springing surprises. Some bosses become over-emotional, but the bigger problem lies with bosses who are emotionally remote, self-absorbed and even robotic.
Back to Top
Responsiveness: CG51
Function: To sustain effective relating during interactions on work issues by doing whatever is constructive and helpful.
Employee Presence
As an employee, you work with others all the time. It is beneficial all round if you listen carefully, communicate promptly and respond positively. These generalities can be made far more precise using this framework.
Required Components
g5: Knowledgeably use information (CL5)
to ensure that an objective and realistic contribution is made.
+
g4: Collaboratively set directions (CL4)
to ensure mutual understanding and a genuine consensus.
+
g3: Acceptably grip issues (CL3)
to handle others appropriately in relation to sensitive matters and so avoid disruptive reactions.
+
g2: Formally be accountable (CL2)
to accept responsibility for whatever lies within your remit and avoid intruding on the sphere of accountability of another.
+
g1: Deliberately take action (CL1)
to unhesitatingly play your necessary part in any relevant task.
Disturbance
Unresponsiveness is usually intensely frustrating. It may manifest as passivity, apathy and self-absorption; as blankness in communications; as coercive relations; or as a mechanistic, procedural way of working.
Management Adaptation
Managers' responsiveness is a direct function of their capability to carry the responsibility in their role, and to use their assigned authority. Unresponsiveness, via shirking duty or displacing blame, must therefore be taken as a warning signal of a manager out of their depth.
Facilitation & Problems
Facilitation: Where unresponsiveness is based on uncertainty and new situations, team building and similar events can break down barriers. When unresponsiveness is a pathological response, due to a lengthy conflict and inflexibility, intermediaries, negotiators, mediators or arbitrators may be useful.
Disturbance: Line-managers who comply with new policies resentfully, or respond to a subordinate's request with "bring me solutions not problems", epitomize unresponsiveness. Managers are commonly unresponsive through holding on to knowledge as an instrument of power: riding their own hobby horse.
Back to Top
Significance of the Line Manager
The line-manager is (or should be) the immediate face of management for employees. He or she is «the boss». But as well as assigning work and making appraisals, the line-manager should:
► engage with subordinates in a way that fits their nature, and enables their engagement with their work, the organization and its evolution;
► show sensitivity to the impact of changes, specific situations and personal needs of subordinates; and
► be responsive to staff requests and explanations.
Together this adds up to management adaptation. Naturally, line-manager relationships powerfully affect how it feels to come into work and the willingness of staff to apply and adapt themselves.
► Continue now to the next level of psychosocial integration needed in organizations: showing commitment(CG6).
Originally posted: 11-Nov-2011