Week 2: Engagement
I am thankful that this week brings us to a focus on engagement. It is a welcome break from all of the reading that I had to do for a recitation I am teaching on Social Innovation/Entrepreneurship. All of the readings this week were about how entrepreneurs are above engagement and should only look out for themselves. True leaders, however, don’t do that. True leaders spend time learning about and from others.
This week I am also reminded of an article that Diane Doberneck gave me last year about levels of participation. The most important part of the document was the participation spectrum. The five levels of participation are inform, consult, involve, collaborate, and empower. Inform is the lowest level because the point is to simply relay information. Empower is the highest level as this gives participants the ability to make the final decision. This is difficult but can be done.
Why do I bring this up? Leaders need to know the level of participation they are comfortable with as it pertains to what they want from their followers. They nay need to then be willing to step it up a notch to challenge themselves. How can they (the leaders) open themselves up to growth by accepting more engagement from their followers. Additionally, followers need to know what level of participation they are comfortable with. Some of this understanding comes from knowing followership styles (Kelley). How people are challenged needs to be rooted in understanding who they are. There is not a one size fits all model for all followers. Again, I think about my situation at work and the people who make up my staff. I have a star follower who is great at collaborative followership. I would like to allow/empower her to make more decisions. I also know that she will need to be coached in to that role. This is why engagement is the key because without understanding those with whom I work, I could cause more harm than good.