A521.1.4.RB - Stories in Your Organization

In my currently assigned organization, the one story that keeps rearing its head is the one dealing with the federal government budget.  This is a story that has many faces and points of view. I have been an employee of the federal government for over 27 years in many capacities and the story changes from year to year.  The story always starts with a negative story line and depending on who is telling the story, it can be very descriptive.  Many time these stories describes how events will happen and what will happen if certain situations do not happen…and so on and so on.  However with all this negative rhetoric, so far the world has not ended, the US economy has not imploded and collapsed, people have not started jumping off cliffs yet and we are still the most influential country in the world as we know it.  Personally, I feel these repetitive stories cause undue stress while feeding on the fears of individuals (like the stories of old concerning plagues, werewolves, and vampires) and speaks volumes about "who we are and what we stand for as a people".  Do we intentionally manipulate stories to benefit our own personal agendas?  There is no doubt in my mind that the individuals telling the stories provide meaningful and dramatic details so that the audience will want to hear the story.  At the same time, the story tellers of this situation often spark imagination by inserting phrases such as “Just imagine…”  and “What if…”; adding just enough audience-engaging drama and revealing just enough personal past experiences to provide validity and strengthen the story’s believability.  I know from prior experience that this very circumstance has affected many peoples idea's about the United States government culture as a whole.  The thought of inefficiencies, selfishness, the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, all paint a negative image of the government to the average citizen.  From personal perspectives, I have learned to try to avoid these stories because normally they focus on situations I cannot influence.  However, every now and then some radical individual tells the story and baits me in with their long term synopsis of the organization and what direction they may go in the future.  Although such stories may seem harmless, they have both a direct and indirect impact on organizations.  These stories are often bottled up as negative rumors that flow from agency to agency, from office to office, and even cubicle to cubicle. Good luck to anyone who tries to tame this grapevine of rumors.  With these stories, morale often takes a downward spiral, you can often see the stress such stories cause in the faces of some employees.  Although we know these stories are often over dramatic, when told with passion, we listen to them knowing that they will stress us out. With such stories being told, the culture of the organization has become one of distrust, uncertainty and disloyalty.  So to answer the question of whether these stories promote the goals and ideals of the organization, the answer is definitely no.  I don’t think such stories will ever go away; they will just be changed to fit the audience.  These types of stories were here before I arrived and will be there when I am long gone.    

A520.9.5.RB – Power

Are you comfortable developing sources of personal influence to gain power? I think I am very comfortable with developing sources of personal influence to gain power. I feel that as long as your actions benefit the organization, the use of power can be a good thing.  The part of personal power I use the most is expertise.  I am always trying to upgrade my experience level; using sources of personal power to be seen as an expert at my job, thus influencing my sources of influence. This is one of the reasons I have been taking educational class for 15 years, which takes extra time and effort in learning.  The more knowledge I possess about the aspect of my duties, the more I can influence my peers to making good decisions.  As an expert you gain a positive reputation.  I truly believe that your reputation is vital when you are considered as a field expert by subordinates, peers and organizational leaders.   

 

Do you embody the characteristics of likeable people depicted in Table 5.4 (p. 290)? The answer to this question is no.  I do not feel that I embody the characteristics depicted on Table 5.4 (p. 290).  The most important thing to me is a professional relationship, not how much someone likes you.  I am not big on social exchanges that do not relate to the task at hand.  I normally do not go out of my way to have conversations with individuals, unless it is job related. One factor that has influenced my actions is a large part of my career was spent as a supervisor. As a rule, I tend to associate with my work colleagues within the workplace (work related), and I choose not to have relationships with my colleagues outside of work. One for the flaws I have when I do have social exchanges with peers is the fact that I find myself gravitating to those with similar interests and backgrounds.  I have to be careful here as to not single individuals out. 

 

Are you able to use influence both up and down your organization considering the information in Table 5.5 (p. 293)? To be a great leader / teacher, you must also be a great follower / student.  Serving both roles helps to appreciate what the other has to endure on a daily basis.  Due to this experience of being in both roles, I feel confident that I am able to use my influence both up and down my organization.