Leadership Training: Is Discretionary Effort the Primary
Objective of All Leaders?
With the constant challenges and pressures faced by managers
around the world today, it can be difficult to determine where
to focus our time and energy. We must lead our teams, provide
our customers with outstanding service, increase the strength of
our brand, and in many cases accomplish all this and more with
fewer resources. Okay, perhaps we should fly the white flag and
give up now.
No, surrender isn't necessary; but increased understanding and
application of the principles of leadership is. As members of
management teams, we must ensure that we must are carrying out
our responsibilities as managers (e.g., taking care of
processes, machinery, things) and perhaps more importantly, as
leaders who are responsible for the people on our teams. One of
the ways we can accomplish these objectives is to tap into the
discretionary effort that every member of every team possesses.
Discretionary effort is the level of performance above that
which is required for the team member to maintain their
employment. It is an employee's desire to go beyond the
collecting of a salary. It is a willingness to be interested and
involved in assisting the organization in the accomplishment of
corporate goals. Essentially, it's what every one of us is able
to do with regard to our jobs and in support of our
organizations/corporations that we don't have to contribute to
keep our jobs.
If we all agree that discretionary effort exists in every member
of every team and that it would benefit us, how do we, as
leaders, tap into the discretionary effort that all members of
our teams possess? One way is to understand and practice
transformational and transactional leadership styles.
Transformational leadership has been extensively researched and
written about by Bernard M. Bass (distinguished professor
emeritus of management and director of the Center of Leadership
Studies at Binghamton University). Leaders who are effective in
this area create an environment where team members can
contribute new ideas. These leaders strive to treat each team
member as partners. By so doing, they increase their team
members' understanding of issues faced by their organizations,
they help employees rise above self-interests to be more
interested in the good of the whole team and/or organization;
and inspire them to work even harder than they may have expected.
The other leadership style that dovetails very effectively with
transformational leadership in the pursuit of discretionary
effort is transactional leadership dimensions. Leaders who are
effective in this area influence members of their teams to
behave and perform in desired ways through the productive use of
rewards or some other benefit desired by the team member. These
behaviors include courage, integrity, humility, etc. When
transformational leadership is used together with transactional
leadership, we can be even more effective as leaders and
managers.
How can we be more effective leaders by tapping into the
discretionary effort of our team members? By understanding and
being more effective in our daily application of our
transformational and transactional leadership behaviors and
skills. To do this we must engage in a lifelong journey of leadership
training, learning, and growth. Read articles on these
subjects, seek out those in our networks who have exhibited
strong abilities in tapping into discretionary effort and
utilizing transformational and transactional leadership, and
participating in personal development opportunities.
CMOE (Center for Management & Organization Effectiveness) has
several courses that we have created or can customize for your
leadership
training needs. Several of the courses focus on the
qualities and behaviors of leaders such as courage, integrity,
humility, conviction and accountability. We also deal with the
skills of collaboration, alignment, communication and enabling.
Gaining a deeper understanding of these leadership training
elements and how they can be applied in every day situations
will increase our abilities to help each member of our teams
realize the benefits of sharing their discretionary effort.
Other leadership courses share the behaviors and skills that can
help us become effective coaches, which personal experience has
proven is a key method in helping employees increase their
understanding of where they fit and why that fit matters.
Our opportunity to travel far on our leadership journey can be
increased through effective understanding of and tapping into
the discretionary effort possessed by every employee at every
level of every organization. Best wishes on your journey!