Leadership on the Line Heifetz & Linsky (2002)
Fall 2017 Discussion Outline – Hold Steady (Chapter #7)
By: Anju Wilson, Oscar Fernandez & Deliane Quiles
Brief Overview
“... By taking the heat, you can maintain a productive level of disequilibrium, or creative tension, as people bear the weight of responsibility for working their conflicts. By holding steady, you also give yourself time to let issues ripen, or conversely to construct a strategy to ripen an issue for which there is not yet any generalized urgency. Moreover, you give yourself time to find out where people are at, so that you can refocus attention on the key issues...”
Highlight Key Issues
Take the Heat o Taking the heat means receiving people’s anger in a way that does …show more content…
It is best not to personally interpret information.
• “It may be more than enough simply to ask a straightforward question in order to bring the underlying issue to the surface.” (pg. 158)
• If that doesn’t work, you can always take more drastic steps.
Professional Challenge
Currently I’m a manager at Dressbarn, a retail store, where I lead a group of 8 stylists.
Among my responsibilities I have to make sure the store follows the guidelines established and achieves the goals set by the company, while still offering an exceptional customer service experience.
Taking the Heat o When I started at Dressbarn I was inexperienced. o The company perceived the need for some change. o Dressbarn was my second job and my first time as a manager. It was challenging! o The entire team saw me as an outsider. o In multiple occasions I found myself doubting my capabilities as they openly criticized me and showcased their anger.
Can I really implement these new policies and procedures?
How can I best take their criticism and answer to it?
Should I answer at all or should I wait until they start to see how my professional behavior and the changes in procedures affect our …show more content…
Or should I rather offer them a vision of what the future of our store may look like if we are to effectively applied the new procedures and techniques established by the company? o Quote from the book (pg.152)
“… If you are the person in authority, you are not only expected to set the agenda, but also to select the issues that warrant attention…”
Focus Attention on the Issue o I needed them to focus their attention on changing our procedures, therefore I decided to call a meeting o After the meeting was over, and all had realized the importance of change and how that could affect our business positively the questions for me was no longer how to make them realize the urgency for change, but instead:
How to keep them motivated for such a long period of time?
How much pressure should I put on them to achieve our goals?
How could I make sure that they wouldn’t lose track of our goal?
And finally how could I most effectively gain their respect and win their support, not just because they now believed in the changes that were being put forward by the company, but because they trust me as their leader? o Quote from the book (pg.154)
“… Getting people to focus their attention on the problem can be a complicated and difficult
Fall 2017 Discussion Outline – Hold Steady (Chapter #7)
By: Anju Wilson, Oscar Fernandez & Deliane Quiles
Brief Overview
“... By taking the heat, you can maintain a productive level of disequilibrium, or creative tension, as people bear the weight of responsibility for working their conflicts. By holding steady, you also give yourself time to let issues ripen, or conversely to construct a strategy to ripen an issue for which there is not yet any generalized urgency. Moreover, you give yourself time to find out where people are at, so that you can refocus attention on the key issues...”
Highlight Key Issues
Take the Heat o Taking the heat means receiving people’s anger in a way that does …show more content…
It is best not to personally interpret information.
• “It may be more than enough simply to ask a straightforward question in order to bring the underlying issue to the surface.” (pg. 158)
• If that doesn’t work, you can always take more drastic steps.
Professional Challenge
Currently I’m a manager at Dressbarn, a retail store, where I lead a group of 8 stylists.
Among my responsibilities I have to make sure the store follows the guidelines established and achieves the goals set by the company, while still offering an exceptional customer service experience.
Taking the Heat o When I started at Dressbarn I was inexperienced. o The company perceived the need for some change. o Dressbarn was my second job and my first time as a manager. It was challenging! o The entire team saw me as an outsider. o In multiple occasions I found myself doubting my capabilities as they openly criticized me and showcased their anger.
Can I really implement these new policies and procedures?
How can I best take their criticism and answer to it?
Should I answer at all or should I wait until they start to see how my professional behavior and the changes in procedures affect our …show more content…
Or should I rather offer them a vision of what the future of our store may look like if we are to effectively applied the new procedures and techniques established by the company? o Quote from the book (pg.152)
“… If you are the person in authority, you are not only expected to set the agenda, but also to select the issues that warrant attention…”
Focus Attention on the Issue o I needed them to focus their attention on changing our procedures, therefore I decided to call a meeting o After the meeting was over, and all had realized the importance of change and how that could affect our business positively the questions for me was no longer how to make them realize the urgency for change, but instead:
How to keep them motivated for such a long period of time?
How much pressure should I put on them to achieve our goals?
How could I make sure that they wouldn’t lose track of our goal?
And finally how could I most effectively gain their respect and win their support, not just because they now believed in the changes that were being put forward by the company, but because they trust me as their leader? o Quote from the book (pg.154)
“… Getting people to focus their attention on the problem can be a complicated and difficult