The modern business world is an unpredictable one whereby companies that can adapt to this change tend to flourish. Central to this adaptability is the willingness and ability for employees to take the initiative and responsibility for change within their organizations.
How can such individuals be encouraged within an organization? That was the question pondered in a recent study that examined the work cultures of over 20 different workplaces within a single organization.
Building a courageous organization
It might be tempting to think that self-starters are somehow born that way and have something inherent in their character that makes them so, but the study found the opposite was in fact the case.
It suggests that the right systems can do wonders in encouraging employees to stand up and be counted. For instance, workplaces that had HR systems that encouraged and emphasized self-initiative with strong and ongoing communication to that effect unsurprisingly generated a workplace of self-starters. Whilst such places tended to hire self-starters, they were also capable of ensuring even those for whom it is not natural were emboldened to do so.
This was achieved via things such as providing training to staff so that they were suitably equipped to take the initiative and decide for themselves how situations should be handled. When this was done, those employees were then rewarded for doing so.
The role of leaders
The study next set out to explore the importance of leaders within these organizations. Could they over-ride the systems in place? Yes and no. The analysis suggests that leaders can make a difference in encouraging initiative taking, but only when HR systems were largely non-existent.
In other words, leadership was a substitute for the systems rather than a complimentary factor. When systems were already in place to encourage self-starting, leaders added little to the equation.
It’s in many ways an encouraging finding as it suggests that even if you can’t manage to put in place a detailed system to encourage intrapreneurship, a good leader can nonetheless promote such behaviors. Whether it’s including them in decision making, providing mentoring to allow them to make their own decisions or good communication to ensure they have the information required to make the right decision, there is much a good leader can do to provoke independent decision making.
The reality, therefore, is that organizations can make a cost/benefit analysis as to which of these is the best for them.
How this affects employees
The study also provides an interesting look at just how this level of independence affects the motivation of employees. It tended to manifest itself in three ways.
- Employees grew in confidence as they were permitted to learn from their mistakes
- There was also a boost to intrinsic motivation as they felt trusted and respected by managers
- This autonomy over their work tends to increase employee engagement levels
These three characteristics then became self-perpetuating, as they reinforced the kind of can do culture that fosters taking the initiative.
