Fostering positive relationships in the workplace · No matter what organisationor workplace,...

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What matters and why?

Fostering positive relationships in the workplace

Gery KarantzasA/Prof, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin UniversityDirector, Science of Adult Relationships (SoAR) LaboratoryFounder, www.relationshipscienceonline.com


STATE OF THE UNION

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How much time do Australian’s spend @ work?

ABS, Census 2016


STATE OF THE UNION

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We have an innate need for human connection ‘from cradle to grave’ (p.129, Bowlby, 1979)

Having meaningful and positive relationships at work (with leaders, friends, co-workers) impact (Bass & Avolio, 1997; Desanctis & Karantzas, 2008. 2009; Gallup, 1999; Karantzas et al., 2012, 2016):

• Job satisfaction• Job turnover • (intention to quit)

• Organisational Citizenship Behaviour• (courteous, conscientious, altruistic, sports[person]-like, civic duty)

• Sense of empowerment and efficacy


STATE OF THE UNION

5Society of Human Resource Management (2016)


STATE OF THE UNION

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Sector disruption/innovation• Technology• Paradigm shift• Societal trends• Needs• Regulatory pressures/changes


STATE OF THE UNION

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Disruption and innovation can be viewed as an:• Opportunity• Stress, concern or challenge • Often about managing risk, uncertainty, and change• We especially need positive workplace relations in times of stress and

challenge


TIME FOR SOME QUESTIONS?

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TIME FOR SOME QUESTIONS?

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What things matters most in developing/maintaining positive workplace relations?

To what extent do you do the things that matter well?

To what extent do you do these things well in times of workplace stress and strain?


WORKPLACE STRESS & CHANGE: THE ROLE OF OTHERS…

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Workplace stress & change

Uncertainty / fear / distress

Seek out others

Regulate / alleviate

We feel ready for challenge

Feelings are exacerbated

Feelings are suppressed

• Vent• Seek support

• Say nothing • Avoid discussion • Avoid support

Social comparison


WORKPLACE SUCCESSES: THE ROLE OF OTHERS…

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Workplace success Seek out others To share the

success

Enhance readiness for

next challenge/goal

Validation of competences & effort Invalidation

• Pride • Sense of accomplishment• Positive emotions

• Negative emotions• Animosity


Formal and informal (big or small) consultation matters…

Treated with respect

Your knowledge, thoughts and feelings matter you are valued•Otherwise you are a means to an end; perceived as if you have no feelings

Mitigate risk (all change is risky)

You get a sense of how leaders want to manage organisational change

Its about fairness

CONSULTATION

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Two types of fairness (justice)…

Outcomes: Rewards/costs

Process: Transparency, having a voice (being heard)

• Even if outcomes aren’t ideal, if procedural justice is high, people come around

• Half the time its not the outcome, its that they thought the process to achieve the outcome was unfair

FAIRNESS

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Factors that are central to people’s psychology about the workplace

IN THE MINDS OF EMPLOYEES THE WORKPLACE IS HEAVILY ABOUT THE INTERPERSONAL

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Trust(Confidence/Dependability

& Faith)

Support (Sensitive & Responsive)

(Personal & Task)

Autonomy(Independent in Action &

Thinking)

Recognition(Skills & Capabilities)

OrganisationalClimate


HOW DO WE CONVEY THESE ASPECTS OF ORGANISATIONAL CLIMATE?

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Communication (Competent)

Considerate

Direct

Honest

Clear


HOW DO WE CONVEY THESE ASPECTS OF ORGANISATIONAL CLIMATE?

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LEADERSHIP MATTERS, WE ALL NEED TO BE LEADERS, BUT ITSVERY, VERY HARD

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Communication (Competent)

Considerate

Direct

Honest

Clear

Trust(Confidence/Dependability

& Faith)

Support (Sensitive & Responsive)

(Personal & Task)

Autonomy(Independent in Action &

Thinking)

Recognition(Skills & Capabilities)

OrganisationalClimate

Inspiration/Innovation

Transformational Leadership

LEADERS & MANAGERS

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LEADERS MANAGERS

Sets a new direction for a team. Directs and controls according to established principles.

Innovates Administers

Inspires trust Relies on control

Ask ‘what’ and ‘why’ Ask ‘how’ and ‘when’.

A MODEL OF LEADERSHIP

The Full Range Leadership Model (FRLM. Bass & Avolio, 1997)

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Full Range Leadership Model

Transformational Leadership Behaviours

Passive Avoidant Leadership Behaviours

Transactional Leadership Behaviours


Study of Australian Leadership (SAL)

• 8,000 individuals across 2,703 organisations and 2,561 workplaces

• Respondents included senior leaders (such as CEOs), workplace leaders and specialists (such as HR managers), frontline leaders and employees

LEADERSHIP IN AUSTRALIA

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Frontline leadership matters most for employees, shaping the experience of work and creating a positive climate for innovation and performance

Many leaders and managers are not mastering basic managementfundamentals such as:• Performance monitoring• Target setting • The appropriate use of incentives• [The interpersonal elements, even less so…]


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Too many Australian organisations underinvest in leadership development, especially at the frontline• Working with different personalities

– (often tools that do not have a strong evidence base)• Emotional intelligence

– (emotional intelligence doesn’t perfectly explain how to deal/lead people)• Communication or managing conflict

– (devoid of the all the other interpersonal components that matter)• Leadership/management training at the wrong level

– (the use of frameworks that are not supported by research)• Little if any rigorous and systematic training in interpersonal skills


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LEADERSHIP NEED NOT BE HIERARICICHAL

In traditional hierarchies the leader is responsible for the outputs of that group

As a result, leaders don’t often see the common goals of the organisation• Competition rather than co-operation is fostered

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This type of structure often leads to the formation of ‘in-groups’ and ‘out-groups’

This may result in:• Exaggerating differences between groups• Lack of collaboration between groups• Lack of communication between groups• Lack of interaction between groups

COLLABORATIVE LEADERSHIP

Effective leadership is not about having one person act as a leader

Effective leadership is about having a group of people act as leaders

The complex and changing nature of organisations requires leadership teams rather than individuals to solve problems

While leadership may sometimes fall on one individual, increasingly leadership occurs at a group level

•contributions from different people

Effective leadership is about having leaders act as their own team and ‘collaborating together’ [often this leadership is informal]

“Many hands make light work”24


A CASE IN POINT WHERE FOCUSING ON RELATIONSHIPS MATTERS

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•Training•No training

TWO GROUPS

•Trust•Support•Cohesion•Communication•Leadership

oc•Knowledge•Skills•Efficacy•Referral

Processes

Outcomes (12 mths)

Karantzas et al., (2019)


No matter what organisation or workplace, fostering positive workplace relationships is hard work

But the investment results in great things for the employee, the leader, and the organisation

Importantly, taking care of one another (and oneself) ensures that in a sea of opportunity, disruption, and innovation, people feel:

• Valued• Respected• Supported• Competent

FINAL WORDS…

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Gery Karantzas: [email protected]

Science of Adult Relationships (SoAR) Laboratory

https://www.deakin.edu.au/psychology/our-research/science-of-adult-relationships-laboratory

Relationship Science Online www.relationshipscienceonline.com.au

LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/gery-karantzas

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Fostering positive relationships in the workplace · No matter what organisationor workplace,...

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