The Trustworthy Leader by Amy Lyman

Author:Amy Lyman
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Published: 2011-11-10T21:00:00+00:00

ENHANCING PARTICIPATION

People at Hoar Construction, a real estate contracting and construction firm, often describe themselves by what they are not. They are not bashful, they are not shy to speak up, and they are not passive if something has happened that they disagree with. In part because of what they are not, what they are is part of a very successful company with a strength of character and depth of reserve that is now propelling the company forward as the construction market—dismal in the global recession that began in 2008—begins to pick up steam.

Hoar Construction has been recognized as one of the Best Small & Medium Companies to Work For since 2007. Leaders there invite people to participate in the life of the organization, just as they do at Scripps—by first helping people to understand. Communication at the company, which is based in Birmingham, Alabama, has been characterized by openness since its founding in 1940. In the last several years that openness has been heightened, as more opportunities have been created for people to see and talk with their leaders. This brings with it a certain level of vulnerability for leaders, because decisions can be challenged directly. Yet at Hoar, leaders believe that they—and the company—are better off if they hear people out, and they use the compliments and the criticism to make the business stronger.

At a base level, Hoar uses the same practical communication techniques many leaders do: they send out newsletters and emails, go on site visits, and join in team meetings. They do it vigilantly, and it’s effective. One employee, Stacy, says, “I feel like one of the things that our upper management does is they keep an open line of communication with everyone. The economy is not great right now. I am in the Tennessee division. I’m not in Birmingham all the time, but we always feel like we know what’s going on down here because we have regular updates from the president of our company, and state of the economy updates. We know what big jobs have been awarded down here. I feel they do a very good job of keeping everybody in the know.”

Yet there is also something more that happens at Hoar, something that goes beyond the base level and underscores leaders’ willingness to share considerable information and answer innumerable questions. Namely, the Trustworthy Leaders at Hoar want people to understand the information being shared, and they want people to use it—to ask more questions, pursue a new idea, or find inspiration to take action. Leaders take the time to visit with employees, to find out what they’re doing, to answer questions and ask questions of their own. They promote participation by example. So the leaders are not only sending the emails and messages Stacy finds so valuable but also sharing those messages in person. As another employee, Frank, says, “Being a construction company, we have many job sites that are out of state or out of the county. Our upper management travels to those sites to keep in touch.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.