Transcript Design of organizational procedures for working

Backstage groups for managers
Theoretical basis, how-to-do-it and outcome
Frontiers in Leadership Research
2008-03-04
Christer Sandahl (LGC/MMC/LIME)
What is a Backstage group?
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Not supervision
Not coaching
Not psychotherapy
Not reflection group
 Goffman, I. (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
18 juli 2015
Action – reflection – learning
(Argyris, Schön, Senge etc)
Reflection &
metareflection
Backstage
On stage
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
Action
Reflection &
metareflection
Action
18 juli 2015
Themes of today’s lecture:
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Value base
Leadership theory
Learning theory
Group theory
How-to-do-it
Outcome
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
18 juli 2015
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
18 juli 2015
To be an authority
- serving the people
and the purpose
- or an authoritarian
- building personal power
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
18 juli 2015
Leadership behaviour and
employee ill health
 Over-control and correction (autocratic)
 No support or feed-back (non attentiveness)
 Manipulation, favouritism, power orientation (malevolent)
 No action on obvious injustice (low integrity)
 Laissez-faire (self- centered)
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
18 juli 2015
Lower risk for Ischemic Heart Disease if…
(Nyberg et al. 2008)
 My boss gives me the information I need
 My boss is good at pushing through and carrying out changes
 My boss explains goals and sub-goals for our work so that I
understand what they mean for my particular part of the work
 I have a clear picture of what my boss expects from me
 My boss shows that he/she cares for me and how I feel
 I have sufficient power in relation to my responsibilities
 My boss takes time to become involved in his/her employees’
professional development
 My boss encourages my participation in the scheduling of my
work
 I receive praise from my boss if I have done something good
 I receive criticism from my boss if I have done something that is
not so good
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
18 juli 2015
LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES
(Sandahl et al., 2004)
LEADER
MANAGER
DAILY
BUSINESS
”Dependency
& inclusion”
CARE
BE A MODEL
INSPIRE
SOCIAL COMPETENCE
JUDGEMENT
MORAL COMPETENCE
MOTIVATION
REPRESENT
BE CLEAR
PERSONNEL
MAKE DECISIONS
SOLVE EVERY- DAY
PROBLEMS
CLEAR GOALS
GIVE STRUCTURE
”Counter
dependency
& fight”
GIVE SUPPORT
CONFRONT
BALANCED
DEMANDS
FAIR REWARDS
COACH
GIVE
RESPONSIBILITY
CHANGE
CONTAIN
INSECURITY &
PROJECTIONS
SHOW COURAGE
LONG TERM
THINKING
SENSE MAKING
”Structure &
trust”
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
18 juli 2015
Backstage groups
 Groups of 8 first line managers
 Three hours, once monthly
 10 occasions
 Manual based
 ”Lay persons” as group conductors
 Group supervision between sessions
 Confidentiality
 Real problems or dilemmas
 Problem solving at the work place
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
18 juli 2015
Structure
 Session 1
 Introduction
 Contract (confidentiality, presence etc)
 Session 2-9
 Taking turns to update, acute problems (30 mins)
 Case introduction
 Interview
 Reflective teams (understanding the problem/dilemma)
 Defining the problem
 Generation of hypotheses
 Testing hypotheses
 Action plan
 Reflection on the learning process
 Session 10
 Summarizing development as leaders and learning about learning
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
18 juli 2015
Examples
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How to deal with an employee who does not function satisfyingly
Role ambiguity
Role conflicts
Non-productive meetings
Problems in cooperation
How to deal with a development project
Stress and worry for ones own work load
A sense of not being in control of own work situation.
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
18 juli 2015
Process
1. Personnel
2. The organisation
3. Own boss
4. Conflicts in relation to other roles (e.g. family)
5. Professional issues
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
18 juli 2015
The Stockholm Project
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Road maintenance, water supply, environmental protection,
elderly care, social services, nursery, pre-school and schools
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45 000 employees
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1 500 managers
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70 % women (also among managers)
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
18 juli 2015
All managers invited to attend
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376 registered (2004-2006)
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47 groups
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31 group conductors
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20% (M=1.6/group) drop-out before session 4
 Practical reasons
 Lack of time
 Illness
 Did not meet expectations
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
18 juli 2015
SOK
Quality of group work (Items representing phase 3 & 4)
1=”Disagree completely”
SCALE 1-5:
 
5=”Agree completely”
4,60
4,50
4,49
4,40
4,30
4,45
4,38
4,46 4,45
TRÄFF 4
4,39
4,20
TRÄFF 9
4,10
4,00
2004
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
2005
2006
18 juli 2015
My role as leader (index)
 Internal inexperienced group leader (M = 4.43, Sd = 1.2)
P > 0.05
 Internal experienced group leader (M = 4.87, Sd = 1.2)
 External consultant (M = 4.76, Sd = 1.2)
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
18 juli 2015
CHEFSENKÄT
Experience of demands
Krav
3,3
Gruppdeltagare
3,2
Övriga
3,1
3
2,9
p < .05
2,8
2,7
Före
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
Efter
18 juli 2015
Evaluation questionnaire
VARIATION 1-7
INDEX 1 – THE BACKSTAGE GROUP
MEAN VALUE: 5,69
INDEX 2 – YOU AND YOUR ROLE AS A LEADER
MEAN VALUE: 4,62
INDEX 3 – THE COOPERATION BETWEEN YOU AND THE MANAGEMENT
MEAN VALUE: 4,57
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
18 juli 2015
Evaluation questionnaire
Did you participate in all 10 meetings?
75%
How many times did
you not participate?
25%
YES
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
Mean Value = 2,13
NO
18 juli 2015
Evaluation questionnaire
Would you recommend a colleague to participate in a Backstage group?
91,2%
7,5%
1,3%
YES
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
NO
MAYBE
18 juli 2015
Evaluation questionnaire
Would you like to participate in a Backstage group again?
78,6%
9,5%
YES
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
NO
11,9%
MAYBE
18 juli 2015
Evaluation questionnaire
To what extent…
...are you satisfied with the group leader?
90,0%
4,2%
5,8%
"SMALL" (1-3)
"NEITHER NOR" (4)
INDEX 1
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
"GREAT" (5-7)
M: 6,03
18 juli 2015
Evaluation questionnaire
To what extent…
...were you able to bring up matters from your place of work that
personally concerned you?
91,7%
1,2%
"SMALL" (1-3)
INDEX 1
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
7,1%
"NEITHER NOR" (4)
"GREAT" (5-7)
M: 5,96
18 juli 2015
Evaluation questionnaire
To what extent…
…did you think the other participants brought up interesting matters?
93,4%
1,7%
5,0%
"SMALL" (1-3)
"NEITHER NOR" (4)
INDEX 1
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
"GREAT" (5-7)
M: 5,94
18 juli 2015
Evaluation questionnaire
To what extent…
…did you feel that the other participants were interested in your matters?
96,7%
0,8%
2,5%
"SMALL" (1-3)
"NEITHER NOR" (4)
INDEX 1
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
"GREAT" (5-7)
M: 6,05
18 juli 2015
Evaluation questionnaire
To what extent…
…did you feel that your experience was valuable to the other
participants?
78,1%
18,0%
3,1%
"SMALL" (1-3)
INDEX 1
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
"NEITHER NOR" (4)
"GREAT" (5-7)
M: 5,19
18 juli 2015
Evaluation questionnaire
To what extent…
…did you get useful advice and help in concrete matters?
78,1%
15,6%
6,3%
"SMALL" (1-3)
INDEX 1
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
"NEITHER NOR" (4)
"GREAT" (5-7)
M: 5,38
18 juli 2015
Evaluation questionnaire
To what extent…
…was there time to discuss matters thoroughly?
91,7%
5,0%
3,3%
"SMALL" (1-3)
"NEITHER NOR" (4)
INDEX 1
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
"GREAT" (5-7)
M: 5,78
18 juli 2015
Evaluation questionnaire
To what extent has your participation in the Backstage group made a contribution to…
...strengthening your self-confidence?
61,0%
29,0%
10,0%
"SMALL" (1-3)
INDEX 2
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
"NEITHER NOR" (4)
"GREAT" (5-7)
M: 4,68
18 juli 2015
Why better self confidence?
(Interviews with 9 managers)
1. To be able to contribute with ones own knowledge and competence
Competence
Behaviour
Self-confidence
Decisions
2. The sense of community and the support from the group
- Internalisation of the developing group? (Foulkes)
3. Instrumental problem solving
- Action – Reflection - Action
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
18 juli 2015
Focus groups with managers
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
18 juli 2015
Focus groups with managers
Support
“One dared to let go of
any prestige that you
might have in relation to
colleagues”
“We had a very, very
good relationship to each
other in the group”
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
“To be able to discuss
everyday problems
without interruptions you usually don’t have
time for that”
”Our
differences
were
a great
source of
inspiration”
“One is able to grow in
a non-competitive
group. You understand
that you are not the
only one having
problems”
18 juli 2015
Focus groups with managers
Learning
”I have learned not to
solve a problem
immediately, but to
analyse it first”
“It creates time to think
in peace and quiet. That
is something that I really
miss. It is such a rush all
the time”
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
“The best
thing was
that we
made use of
everyone’s
experience”
“The support group gives
a lot more than traditional
management programs. It
is more personal and a
useful process”
“It took a while to learn
the methodology”
“It is a little bit more
demanding”
18 juli 2015
Focus groups with managers
Action and mastery
“We focused very much
on solving problems with
the employees or
specific situations”
“One received
constructive proposals
that could be put to the
test”
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
“You did
actually solve
problems”
”I suffered from
symptoms of stress
but with help from the
group I learned how
to cope with my work
situation and could
point out what needed
to be changed”
”The others made me
see clear, things I had
not thought about
earlier. It was like
waking up, suddenly I
knew what to do”
18 juli 2015
Focus groups with managers
What is your advice to the management of the city of Stockholm?
“Make the groups part of
our ordinary organisation!”
Christer Sandahl, MMC/ LIME
18 juli 2015