Asking for Help

The business world is constantly changing around the innovations of technology, and those people running the business world need to adapt to the changes. The Wall Street Journal reveals that the traditional method of the older and wiser teaching the youngsters of the business is beginning to not be as beneficial. With technology constantly evolving in the workplace people in senior management positions, who tend to be older, are looking up to their younger employees to show them the way when it comes to everything that the internet and capable gadgets have to offer. They call this reverse mentoring. Reverse mentoring not only allows the higher manager to learn new things from the lower employee, it also gives the manager the opportunity to slip in words of wisdom to the employee, giving both people a welcomed advantage in the business world.

Sometimes it can be easily forgotten that upper management has struggles, and it’s nice to see a leader come out and say they would like some help. It’s not just subordinates that need to feel empowerment from a job, everyone should feel empowered and like their work is meaningful, but that can be a challenge when they don’t understand the technology surrounding them. This reverse mentoring helps form relationships built on trust and communication between upper management and the employee, allowing the new-bee to feel more comfortable and open in a “stiff” environment. Not only is this mentor/mentee program teaching the older individuals in the business world how to utilize the technology around them, it is also allowing those working for them to use the technology with their bosses in new ways.

While not everyone needs a Twitter or Facebook account, knowing you way around the web is invaluable in this day and age. I’d like to know if you guys have seen anything like this reverse mentor program in any of the organizations you have worked at or researched, and what did you think? Although we’re young, do you feel totally up to date on the current technology? I certainly don’t. And if you could would you try and implement a reverse mentoring program among people you know who are not tech savvy?

Kwoh, Leslie. “Reverse Mentoring Cracks Workplace.” The Wall Street Journal. Nov 28, 2011. B7

--Kaitlin Reichel

Heroes Care

Intro
Its true, heroes really do care or why would they do the great things they do? Superman wouldn't have saved anyone if he didn't care. It wasn't for his own glory, but for saving others. The article discussed in this blog references leaders who care and how affective it is for organizations. I'll also discuss how it related to more contemporary leadership styles to care for employees. Old-school leaders tended to treat employees mechanistically and very distant. This article cites a different type of leader.

Businesses in the world seem to be going away from the traditional ways of leadership to more conventional ways of leadership. Our textbook describes leaders who have a high respect and care for their employees and how much it will benefit them and the organization because of it. The author says, “If leaders want to attract and retain good people, they need to show they care about their people.” The book describes this type of leader as part of being a transformational leader. One of the three important parts of being a transformational leader is called “individualized consideration.” This is exactly what the authors are describing in this article. When leaders show personal care, it’s proven through their research that followers enjoy their jobs more. Research specifically indicated 80 percent of people don’t like their jobs and 80 percent leave their jobs because they don’t like their bosses. Research also has indicated that these unhappy followers aren’t being creative and used to their full potential because they aren’t asked about their opinions and suggestions at work. This is a waste of human capital. Transformational leaders allow followers share opinions and creativeness to solve problems. They treat them with respect which makes the followers want to actually follow. The book indicates that when leaders show a transformational leadership style that followers trust leadership. Trust is the key because when a suggestion is made by a follower and when it’s taken with respect and put into action, followers feel needed and cared for.  It is easy to see then that when followers are heard and allowed to be part of a community and contribute to something greater, that employees are happy and will be used to their full potential. The authors’ research indicated that half of the people in the study would rather have their boss care about them then receive extra financial benefits.

Conclusion

In closing, businesses aren’t machines, but complex systems that adapt. Because the people are doing the adapting and evolving, it’s important to retain and create an environment that leads to happy employees. Real leadership heroes care about their followers. Villain leaders treat their employees like there are just another number. This is in my opinion the wave of the future and what the book describes a lot of when discussing contemporary leadership theories. I think it’ll be key for me in the future to adopt these characteristics in order to be a good leader.

Questions

How you do you feel about this “caring-type” leader?

Will you adopt this is in your future as a leader?

Lewin, Roger, and Birute Legine. "The Soul at Work." Executive Excellence 17.11 (2000): 14-15. Business Source Premier. Web. 19 Nov. 2011. <http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.lib.ilstu.edu/ehost/detail?vid=8&hid=108&sid=a0f4f242-cc30-4d19-b9ec-568c61c50a5f%40sessionmgr114&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=buh&AN=3826046>.

-Ryan Luginbuhl