The Value-Added Employee

Edward J. Cripe, Richard S Mansfield

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2007
• ISBN:
  9781136355721
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

A handy guide offering a practical plan for targeting skills any employee wants to develop and employers most desire. It's hard to tell if today's competitive job market is more unsettling for employees seeking job security or companies trying to retain loyal workers. The Value-Added Employee provides fresh insights on what makes employees valuable to the organization and how companies can keep productive employees on the job. Employees will understand how to increase their personal marketability by developing specific skills, knowledge, and attitudes. Managers and coaches will find the tools and resources to make employees more valuable to the organization. Even policymakers and human resource professionals can drive change and business improvement through the application of competency modeling processes.The Value-Added Employee is a step-by-step plan for targeting the competencies an employee wants to develop and employers most desire. It discusses 31 core competencies, including interpersonal competencies, business competencies, and self-management competencies. Designed as a handbook, The Value-Added Employee is a toolkit of ideas and a workbook to be written in and referred to on a regular basis. Through its use, employees and their companies will discover a firm foundation for meeting future goals.

Competencies Dealing with People

DOI: 10.4324/9780080520391-5

1 Establishing Focus

Definition: The ability to develop and communicate goals in support of the organization’s mission.

An employee demonstrating this competency:

• Acts to align own unit’s goals with the strategic direction of the business.
• Ensures that people in the unit understand how their work relates to the business’ mission.
• Ensures that everyone understands and identifies with the unit’s mission.
• Ensures that the unit develops goals and a plan to help fulfill the business’ mission.

Importance of this Competency

This is a key leadership competency because it involves providing direction and meaning to people’s work. By establishing focus, you can motivate your staff, establish teamwork, and maximize the chances of achieving your most important business goals.

General Considerations in Developing this Competency

To use this competency, you must first ensure that you have a clear understanding of the strategic direction and plans for the overall organization and business. Then, with your staff, you should make a strategic analysis of your own unit. Who are its internal and external customers? What are its existing and potential strengths? What should its mission be? What does it need to do to support the strategic direction of the overall business? If you want your staff to support you, you should involve them in answering these questions. Next, you should develop a plan for the unit that includes both short-term and longer-term goals. This should be done with the involvement and participation of people in your unit. Finally, you should communicate the plan clearly and repeatedly, to ensure that everyone in the unit understands it and is setting personal goals in alignment with it.

Developing this competency involves strategic thinking, planning, facilitation, and communication skills. Because this competency is complex, it is important to develop a broad understanding of what you should do and the various means for accomplishing it. The best way to learn this competency is to work with a leader or consultant who is using it. If this is not possible, consider learning from experts: leaders who have demonstrated this competency in your own or another organization. It may also be useful to read books describing this process.

When you have an understanding of what you want to do, consider obtaining some help. Ideally, consider enlisting an internal or external consultant to work with your unit and facilitate the process. If this is not possible, seek feedback and suggestions from the most knowledgeable persons you can find, on what you plan to do, before doing it.

Practicing this Competency

Obtain and read documents about the strategic direction of your organization, business, and department.

Invite the management of the larger unit (e.g., organization, business, plant, department) to meet with your unit to discuss the larger unit’s strategic direction and what your own unit can do in support of that strategic direction.

Interview your unit’s internal customers or invite them to meet with the staff of your unit. Ask the internal customers to identify their goals and needs and ways your unit can support them.

Meet with the employees who report directly to you to review information about the business’s strategic direction and decide what your unit should do to support that strategic direction. Consider what changes should be made. Find out with what other groups should your unit be cooperating? Whose support should you obtain? Develop a plan with specific action steps, dates for their accomplishment, and persons accountable for each step.

Share your unit’s plan with your management and ask for feedback and suggestions.

Communicate your unit’s plan to everyone in the unit. Consider multiple vehicles for communication. Include a meeting(s) in which people have a chance to voice their suggestions, questions, and concerns.

Keep a copy of your unit’s plan available (e.g., on flip charts) and use every opportunity to explain decisions and actions by referring to the plan.

Periodically (at least quarterly) review and update the unit’s plan.

Obtaining Feedback

After a unit meeting to establish focus or develop a plan, conduct an exercise to “pro/con” the meeting. On a flip chart draw a vertical line and write “Pro” and “Con” at the top of each column. First ask people what went well. Capture responses in the “Pro” column. Then ask what could have been done better. Capture responses in the “Con” column.

Before a unit meeting to establish focus or develop a plan, review your agenda and planned process with someone whose judgment you respect. Ask for suggestions. After the meeting, ask a participant for feedback about your process and facilitation.

Learning from Experts

Interview someone who has successfully established focus for a business or organizational unit. Consider people both inside and outside of your organization and company. Ask that person to walk through the process. How did he/she decide to approach the task? Why? What specifically did he/she do? What would you have seen and heard if you had been present? Obtain descriptions of what happened at key meetings. What problems or issues arose? How did the person deal with these problems or issues? What, if anything, would the person do differently.

Coaching Suggestions for Managers

If you are coaching someone who is trying to develop this competency, you can:

• Model the process in your unit so that the person you are managing can see how to go about this process.
• Arrange for the person to meet and talk with others in the organization who have established direction in their units.
• Meet with the person and the staff in his/her unit to explain the larger business goals and direction of your unit and provide your perspective on what the person’s unit needs to do to align itself with the direction of the larger unit.
• Help plan communications and provide your suggestions and feedback.

Sample Development Goals

• By December 1, I will interview Mary Jones and Curt Morrow to learn how they established focus in their organizational units.
• By November 15, I will read The Leadership Challenge, by James Kouzes and Barry Posner, and prepare a written list of ideas that I can implement in establishing focus in my own unit.
• By November 8, I will obtain and review the business’s strategic plan and prepare a list of ideas about how my unit can specifically support the business’s strategic plan.
• By December 15, I will have my plant manager speak to my unit about the plant’s strategic direction and what our unit should do to support the plant’s strategic direction.
• By February 1, I will hold a meeting with my unit to develop a plan for the unit, with specific tasks, accountabilities, and dates for their accomplishment.
• By February 15, I will hold a meeting with all unit staff to present and review the unit plan.

Books

• 2020 Vision: Transform Your Business Today to Succeed in Tomorrow’s Economy by Stan Davis and Bill Davidson. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992.
• On Becoming a Leader by Warren Bennis. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1989.
• The Change Masters by Rosabeth M. Kanter. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1983.
• Competitive Strategy by Michael Porter. New York: Free Press, 1980. Provides a conceptual framework for developing a business strategy—often a key aspect of a vision.
• Managing Beyond the Quick Fix by Ralph Kilmann. Jossey-Bass, 1989. Provides a high-level discussion of how to implement organizational change.
• The Leadership Challenge by J. M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner. Code E76ATA, if ordered through Pfeiffer & Co., tel.: [phone].
• The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. Especially Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind. Can be ordered through Covey Leadership Center, 1-800-553-8889.

Seminars and Workshops

• Managerial Skills for Experienced Managers. Three days. American Management Association Course. Various locations. Tel. [phone]. Mtg. No. 2525T23.
• Operational Planning. Two days. UA Consulting & Training Services. Various locations. Tel. [phone]. Code: OP-PC.
• Applied Strategic Planning. Three days. UA Consulting & Training Services. Various locations. 619-552-8901. Code: ASP-PC.
• Managing Performance—With Competence. (Adding Value through PM.) Three days each. MasteryLab. Tel. [phone].
• REACH™ Coaching Performance Excellence. Two days. MasteryLab. Tel. [phone].
• Developing Value-Adding People and Adding Value (for employees). One-Two days each. MasteryLab. Tel. [phone].

Other Resources

• The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. Six audio cassettes. Order through Nightingale Conant, 1-800-525-9000. Code786PAS.

2 Providing Motivational Support

Definition: The ability to enhance others’ commitment to their work.

An employee demonstrating this competency:

• Recognizes and rewards people for their achievements.
• Acknowledges and thanks people for their contributions.
• Expresses pride in the group and encourages people to feel good about their accomplishments.
• Finds creative ways to make people’s work rewarding.
• Signals own commitment to a process by being personally present and involved at key events.
• Identifies and promptly tackles morale problems.
• Gives talks or presentations that energize groups.

Importance of this Competency

Providing Motivational Support is a key competency distinguishing leaders from managers. It is by providing motivating support that a manager gets results through other people. The productivity and creativity of your unit is likely to depend to a significant degree on your ability to keep your staff motivated. The emphasis here is on self motivation, with the manager responsible for creating an environment in which each employee feels motivated to perform at a superior level.

General Considerations in Developing this Competency

Your own behavior and personal style contributes to your effectiveness in motivating others. If you demonstrate a high energy level and a positive attitude, even in the face of ...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• The Road to Value Creation and Career Success
• Performance Now, Career Success Next
• Capitalizing on Strengths and Building Competencies
• Where Do You Want to Go, and What Are You Willing to Do to Get There?
• Obtaining the Resources and Support You Need
• Guidelines for Developing 31 Core Competencies
• Competencies Dealing with People
• Business Competencies
• Self-Management Competencies
• appendix1 Core Competencies
• appendix2 Worksheets for Career Planning and Self-Assessment
• appendix3 Example of a Job Competency Model
• appendix4 Team Competencies
• appendix5 Position Analysis
• appendix6 A Note for Human Resource Professionals: Applications of Competency Modeling
• Index
• About the Authors