Here is number #2 on my list of Things I’ve Learned @ Brescia:
2. Being a leader means collaborating with others, but it does not mean abdicating responsibility for the process or the outcome of what you do.
I know I just used a lot of big words in that sentence. Let me explain:
I think a lot of people view leadership as telling others what to do. The “leader” is the one with the vision, and the “followers” are the ones who do whatever the leader says. As a leader myself, I’m not really comfortable with the idea that “I have all the answers” and that I’m going to boss other people around. I believe that everyone has something unique to offer, and that leadership is about building relationships, articulating common goals, and working to implement a shared vision with others.
Based on my dislike of a more bossy or “autocratic” leadership style, I have tried really hard to be a “participative” leader whenever I was placed in a position of power. In organization behaviour theory, participative leadership basically means involving others in the decision making process. Using participative leadership can make people feel more included, involved, and positive about decisions, leading to decisions that are more informed and better quality.
Because of my dislike of autocratic leadership and all the benefits of being participative, I assumed that participative leadership would be the answer to ALL leadership problems, and that it would work great in all situations. However, I was really suprised to discover that there are situations in which making “participative decisions” was not effective. In fact, it was downright disastrous!
But why?
Here are three situations in which I learned that “getting people involved” is counterproductive instead of truly participative.
1. Using “participation” without having a process in place
I feel that every group benefits from having an understanding of how they are going to work together. If 10 people in a group are all “participating” but none of them are following the same process, nothing is going to get done. People will be talking over each other, contradicting each other, focussing on different points, not listening, etc. Using “participation”, then, is not a substitute for outlining how things are going to be accomplished. Leaders still have to make sure that the group has a defined way of going about things that everyone can agree on. This is not about preventing people from sharing their opinions or getting involved, but it is about ensuring that everyone’s contributions are productive and serve the wider goals of the group.
It’s funny, because I think this concept can apply across a lot of situations. Just this week, a guest speaker in my counseling class, John Field, reminded us of how important it is for a therapist to keep control of the process in a counseling situation. This isn’t to say that the client isn’t involved at all in defining and following the process, but it’s the therapist’s job to keep things on track. Letting the client get off track and engage in meaningless power struggles isn’t going to benefit the client OR the therapist!
2. Using “participation” as a substitute for proper planning and groundwork
I have personally found that I am most tempted to rely on group “participation” when I have not bothered to do enough of my own planning and work in advance. Many times, I would come to group meetings without having bothered to think through what needed to be accomplished and what the constraints were. Instead of being truly participative, I was trying to compensate for the fact that I was not prepared, or that I didn’t have a clear idea of our direction. This ended up being a massive waste of time and a frustration for everyone involved.
For example, have you ever done a class presentation and had someone ask a tricky question? In order to avoid having to answer it, you ask the class “what do YOU think?”. This is a great strategy if the class really can come up with the answer, and that whatever answer they come up with is going to work for you. BUT if the class can’t come up with the answer or they come up with the wrong one, you are going to be in big trouble.
Not having a clear idea of what you want to accomplish or what kinds of constraints you have becomes an even BIGGER problem when you are the formal group leader. In formal leadership situations, the leader often has real control over what happens, and a real responsibility for defining the parameters. Let’s say you are the President of Students’ Council and you want a social committee to plan a big event. If you don’t bother to establish what the budget is and what kinds of safety concerns need to be addressed, you are going to be in big trouble when they plan a giant Kegger with a $5000 price tag. You will quickly realize that there really WERE some constraints…you just didn’t bother to think of them.
3. Using participation because of lack of confidence, or to “diffuse responsibility”
I have found that sometimes I felt the urge to use “participation” when I just wasn’t comfortable making a decision myself, or I felt uncomfortable in my role as leader. Getting a whole group to make a decision “diffuses responsibility”, meaning that it makes it look like everyone is responsible for the outcome– this means the leader is way more off the hook if things go wrong!
However, I think that being a leader requires healthy confidence and belief in your ideas and your ability to make good decisions. You are the leader for a reason, and if you are in a formal position of power, you are ultimately the one responsible for what happens.
Trying to always “pass off” decision making onto others undermines your belief in yourself and it also undermines others’ belief in you.
However, there are MANY times when people who act as leaders don’t have the answers. It can definitely be helpful to use a group to generate ideas. But there is a big difference between coming to a group on occasion and saying “Look, everyone, I really don’t know how to deal with this situation. Can we try and think of some possible solutions together?” and constantly relying on the group to try and figure things out as you go.
I have found that if there are situations where I am in charge and consistently don’t know what to do (for example, having trouble making financial decisions on Students’ Council or having trouble dealing with behavioural issues at camp), then that is the time for me to go and get some training or some support from someone who can help build up my confidence in that area. Or, if that is not my specialty, perhaps it is best for someone else to be leading the group at that time!
So how CAN you be a participative leader?
Okay! So I’ve learned a lot about what participative leadership is not, but I have also learned a lot about what participative leadership is!
Here are some ways I think you can be a participative leader:
- Get people together and talk about what you want to accomplish.Leadership is not about just hanging around- it’s about DOING something. And before you can do something, you have to know what it is. Engaging people in identifying your group’s goals and purpose helps get everyone on the same page.
- Decide how you want to accomplish it. As a group, you can start to identify how you want to meet your goals. This might involve discussing different people’s strengths and what they feel they can commit to.
- Talk about how you want to treat each other as a group. Taking time to discuss expectations can help people to feel included, safe, and respected. It gives you an important tool to help the group maintain these positive norms– since everyone has bought into them at the beginning, it can be easier to enforce them as you go along.
- Don’t be scared of conflict. Working with others is going to involve conflict. However what conflict is really just difference- differences of values, beliefs, ways of doing things, etc. Conflict doesn’t have to involve yelling, screaming, anger, upset, and hurt feelings. When you address conflict proactively and calmly, you recognize that differences are not necessarily a big deal- it’s often how we interpret and respond to them. So you can sit down, discuss people’s different feelings, opinions, etc., and decide what needs to be done to reconcile them and move forward.
- Celebrate together! I think a big part of being a good leader and building a great group is celebrating your accomplishments and making people feel valued.
Pheeew! That was a long one. Apparently I have learned a lot about leadership in the last four years!