LA NACIÓN  - EMPLEOS – 9-10-2001

Liderazgos cuestionados

Aunque los jefes están conformes con su conducción, los empleados expresan cierto descontento

Poco importa si la clase política ofrece escasos ejemplos de conducción o que se registren las más bajas intenciones de voto para las próximas elecciones. Dentro de los muros de las organizaciones, el liderazgo y la motivación del personal siguen siendo temas trascendentales para el buen funcionamiento de una compañía.

Según una encuesta realizada por el abogado Joaquín Sorondo, gerente de Recursos Humanos de Argencard y miembro del Comité Ejecutivo de la Asociación de Recursos Humanos de la Argentina (Adrha), existen diferencias entre las percepciones de los jefes y sus empleados acerca del ejercicio del liderazgo dentro de las empresas.

"Muchas veces, por miedo a perder el trabajo, los empleados callan y su silencio es interpretado por los jefes como conformidad", explica Sorondo.

El relevamiento fue realizado entre junio y julio últimos, y participaron 124 personas de diversas industrias y servicios de la Capital y el Gran Buenos Aires. La mitad de los encuestados es personal jerárquico y la otra corresponde a empleados administrativos.

Visiones contrapuestas

Una de las brechas más significativas se da en los niveles de satisfacción. Mientras que el 87% de los jefes está conforme con su manera de encabezar equipos, el 53% del personal expresó su descontento con la conducción. Incluso, más de la mitad de los empleados considera que no son una prioridad para sus superiores.

"Uno es un buen líder si los demás lo entienden así. La satisfacción debe ser consecuencia de un reconocimiento de los dirigidos, de lo contrario, sólo se trata de una visión egocéntrica de sí mismo", sostiene Sorondo.

Otro de los factores que genera discrepancia es la responsabilidad de motivar a los empleados. El 76% de los jefes considera que es una tarea que debe recaer sobre ellos, pero el 55% de los colaboradores piensa que es menester de la organización.

"Por un lado, es altamente positivo que los jefes decidan asumir el papel de motivadores -expresa el autor del informe-. Pero a los ojos de los empleados no tienen la suficiente capacidad o sensibilidad para ocuparse de estos asuntos porque el personal optó por la compañía", agrega.

La falta de objetivos claros y de planificación, el poco compromiso y las malas comunicaciones son las principales causas de la insatisfacción del personal. Por el lado de los gerentes descontentos con su propio liderazgo, atribuyen su falta de llegada a factores externos, como la situación del país o el poco compromiso de los directivos.

Con respecto a los que están conformes con la conducción, tampoco aquí hay coincidencia entre jefes y empleados. Mientras que los superiores destacan motivos colectivos, como cohesión, integración y trabajo en equipo, los subordinados se refieren a acciones personales del gerente hacia ellos, como reconocimiento, delegación de tareas y una fluida comunicación.

El factor humano

Aunque el 89% de los jefes asevera que los recursos humanos son los activos más importantes de la organización, son pocos los empleados que se sienten reconocidos en esta afirmación: apenas el 45 por ciento.

Esta nueva discrepancia entre uno y otro bando puede tener dos lecturas. La primera, que las compañías actúan de manera distinta a lo que pregonan. La segunda, que existe un profundo problema de comunicación.

"Seguramente, la verdad esté en un término medio. Para que no existan dudas al respecto, sería importante que los responsables de las organizaciones que realmente crean en la prioridad del factor humano emprendan acciones para resolver la contradicción", sugiere Sorondo.

Si al igual que con los políticos los empleados pudieran elegir a su jefe, ¿a quién votarían? ¿Se impondría el voto en blanco o los empleados seguirían confiando en las propuestas de aumento de salarios, mejora del clima y más beneficios? A juzgar por el informe, más de uno se llevaría una sorpresa.

Laura Reina

Conclusiones

·  Los jefes entienden al liderazgo como una concepción egocéntrica de poder en lugar de una vocación de servicio hacia las personas por medio de las cuales se alcanzan los resultados.

·  Los empleados exigen mayor atención personal por parte de sus superiores. Valoran las cuestiones más relevantes del ser humano en lugar del dinero que perciben a fin de mes.

·  Los jefes valoran de sus colaboradores las cuestiones que tienen que ver con los resultados y, por lo tanto, le dan más importancia a las acciones colectivas. Como consecuencia, se focalizan poco en el individuo.

·  Los jefes muestran una preocupante falta de compromiso hacia la organización y sus dirigidos, que se traduce en una mala comunicación y en el resquebrajamiento del clima laboral.

LA NACIÓN – EMPLEOS – 16-10-2001

Puntos de vista
El liderzgo y los estilos

No existe una personalidad única del conductor

¿Existe un estilo de conducción mejor que otros? ¿Se nace o se hace líder? Después de muchos años de observación y trabajo, hemos aprendido algunas cosas. En primer lugar, puede haber líderes natos, pero habría tan pocos que sería difícil depender de ellos. Se puede y se debe aprender a conducir. En segundo lugar, afirmamos con poca posibilidad de error que no existe un modelo general de personalidad del líder. Pensemos en líderes conocidos. Veremos que hay quienes dedican largas horas a su trabajo y quienes resuelven en menos tiempo, los hay más simpáticos o menos simpáticos, los mentalmente rápidos o los que precisan tiempo para pensar, quienes integran a su trabajo temas personales y quienes los mantienen distantes, los austeros y los ostentosos, quienes hacen culto a la escucha activa y los que escuchan preferentemente a su voz interior, quienes tienen más o menos carisma. No obstante, observamos algunos atributos comunes:

·  Comparten una visión de futuro, inspirando y generando entusiasmo en su equipo de trabajo, si es necesario cambiando los paradigmas.

·  Hacen las cosas correctas, basados en principios correctos.

·  Obtienen resultados en forma responsable, creyendo firmemente en cada uno de sus actos.

·  Dan el ejemplo.

·  Piensan sistémicamente y delegan inteligentemente.

·  Están emocionalmente ligados al propósito y a los valores que comparten.

·  Respetan y reconocen, pero exigen altos "standards" de desempeño y compromiso a su gente.

·  Enfocan oportunidades con sentido de urgencia.

·  Son altamente sensibles a la ecuación costo-beneficio.

·  Atraen a los mejores.

El desafío de quien lidera una organización es enorme. Los complejos dilemas que enfrentaremos en el siglo XXI requerirán soluciones especiales donde no será exitoso el esquema jerárquico clásico. Los cambios que se avecinan requerirán creatividad, perseverancia y diálogo. Cada vez habrá menos héroes todopoderosos y más equipos multidisciplinarios haciendo, aprendiendo y mejorando en forma continua.

¿Reconoceremos a estos nuevos l��deres? Seguramente se distiguirán:

·  Menos por lo que dicen y más por lo que hacen

·  Menos por su jerarquía y más por su competencia

·  Menos por sus controles y más por su imaginación

Los líderes del siglo XXI ya están entre nosotros. Facilitémosles el camino.

Por Alfredo Bernardi

By Francios Basili, President, Communicationideas.com

“In his lifetime, Ronald Reagan was such a cheerful and invigorating presence that it was easy to forget what daunting historic tasks he set himself. He sought to mend America's wounded spirit, to restore the strength of the free world and to free the slaves of Communism.” That's how Lady Thatcher started her great eulogy of Ronald Reagan, summarizing in one sentence his personal qualities and his great achievements. This combination of highly admirable personality and great accomplishments has made Ronald Reagan the most popular American President in the past half a century and one of the most important American Presidents in history. So what were the leadership qualities that made it possible for Ronald Reagan to achieve such a status in American history and in the hearts of the American people, including his political opponents?

1- The Messenger, Not The Message

A key aspect of leadership that is often forgotten is the fact that people will follow a leader only if they liked him or her personally, before even considering the message, or the mission, that the leader is proclaiming. Reagan was a likable fellow. He was described by people who worked for him as a kind, humble, and decent person who was void of meanness and pettiness. To become an effective leader you must start with yourself, and do the necessary self examination that leads you to refine your personal qualities and strengthen your character. Without this, nothing will work.

2- Have A Great Vision

“America is too great for small dreams,” said Ronal Reagan. And this is also true for great leaders, who won’t be satisfied with small dreams. Instead of trying to get just an edge over the Soviet Union, Reagan went after the total dismantling of the “Evil Empire.” And he succeeded. If you want to be a great leader, ask yourself and your team: What is the greatest dream we can possibly have for this organization?

3- Communicate Your Vision To Gain Followers

Having a vision of what needs to be done is crucial for a leader. But what truly distinguishes a leader from others who might also have the same vision is the ability to communicate this vision in such a compelling way as to attract followers who become excited about the vision and commit to achieving it. Napoleon declared that “The leader is a dealer in hope.” To deal in hope you must be able to package it, describe it, and sell it to others so that it becomes theirs. Communication skills, therefore, is crucial to the effectiveness of leaders. Reagan was not just a good communicator, but was called, “The Great Communicator.” He was able to articulate complex issues in simple, often visual, ways that enable people to understand them and get excited about them. His most famous application of this was his continuous referring to the United States as The Shining City on the Hill. Who can’t actually ‘see’ this vision and feel good about it?

4- Offer Hope, and Act to Achieve It

Reagan was described as an eternal optimist. He offered Americans a positive, uplifting vision of America and its future. Former President George Bush said of him, “Our friend was strong and gentle. Once he called America hopeful, big hearted, idealistic, daring, decent and fair. That was America and, yes, our friend. And next, Ronald Reagan was beloved because of what he believed. He believed in America so he made it his shining city on a hill. He believed in freedom so he acted on behalf of its values and ideals. He believed in tomorrow so the great communicator became the great liberator.” President George Bush observed, “He came to office with great hopes for America. And more than hopes…Ronald Reagan matched an optimistic temperament with bold, persistent action.” It’s important for leaders to hold an optimistic view of the world, so that they can stir the aspiration of people who will then follow with enthusiasm to achieve great accomplishments.

5- Lead, Don’t Micromanage

A key problem many leaders fall into is when they micromanage everything. This inability to delegate not only deprives the work being done from the contributions of the entire team, which are always better than those of one person, but it also de-motivate the talented people working around the leader. By not having the freedom to do things themselves in their own ways, they lose interest in their work and become mere robots doing only what they are told. In dictatorial regimes like the old Soviet Union, the results have been dramatic loss of productivity, quality, initiative, and innovation. The collapse of the Soviet Union was the natural result. A company can suffer the same fate if a leader is too managerial and doesn't create a participatory culture at work.

6- Don’t Become a Prisoner of Your Own Perceptions

Even though Reagan called the Soviet Union the Evil Empire, this did not prevent him from negotiating and dealing openly with the leaders of that Empire, following his policy of Trust But Verify. He proved to be flexible in his thinking and was able to free himself from the limits of a rigid dogma and adjust his views of his enemies, turning them into partners in building world peace. To be an effective leader, be careful not to become a prisoner of your own rigid perceptions of others and the world. Adhere closely to your core human values but open up your mind to different interpretations, views, and possibilities.

7- Admit Mistakes, Change Course, and Move On

Upon facing a devastating blow to his policy of intervention in Lebanon with the attack on the barracks that killed 240 American soldiers, Reagan quickly realized the futility of his policy, ordered the withdrawal of troops from Lebanon, and abandoned his policy of intervention there. Another president, perhaps with less flexibility and more ego, would have possibly started a war there to retaliate the incident and demonstrate America’s strength. America could have been mired in un-necessary fighting there for years, perhaps with thousands of casualties. Reagan’s quick change of course enabled him to move on to achieve greater goals, such as the eventual demise of the Soviet Union. Leaders understand that strength requires restraint. A great leader is one who knows how to manage both his weaknesses and his strengths, and those of the country, or the organization, he is leading.

8- Use Humor

Reagan used humor almost all the time. He used it because he himself was ‘a jolly good fellow’ as the song says, and because he knew that the smile that humor generates is the shortest distance between two minds. And he skillfully used humor to avoid answers that create animosity and problems, as well as to win crucial arguments in difficult public encounters. In attacking the US Congress’ delaying of turning his policies into laws he said, “I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress.” Some of his humorous comments reveal how he did not take himself too seriously even as President of the most powerful country on earth. “I have left orders to be awakened at any time in case of national emergency, even if I'm in a cabinet meeting,” he said.

9- Stay Human

In his eulogy of Ronal Reagan, Former President George Bush relayed the following story, “Days after being shot, weak from wounds, he spilled water from a sink, and entering the hospital room aides saw him on his hands and knees wiping water from the floor. He worried that his nurse would get in trouble. The Good Book says humility goes before honor, and our friend had both, and who could not cherish such a man? Other people who worked closely with Reagan told of how he used to greet everyone he met with respect and generosity of spirit, whether that person was a president of another country or a waitress at a dinner he attended. He was pleasant and gracious to all without regard to rank, title, position, or any other social status. A leader must not feel he is above the people he leads, but that he is their servant. That how Reagan felt and acted. And that’s why people followed him lovingly.

10- Lead a Balanced Life

One of Reagan’s admirable traits was his total devotion to his wife Nancy. In his eulogy of Ronald Reagan, President George W. Bush said, “In a life of good fortune, he valued above all the gracious gift of his life, Nancy. During his career, Ronald Reagan passed through a thousand crowded places, but there was only one person, he said, who could make him lonely by just leaving the room.” Reagan was often accused of not working hard enough as a President, taking a lot of time off to be with his family and his horses at his ranch. Using humor to deflect this accusation, while confirming it, he said, "It's true hard work never killed anybody, but I figure, why take the chance?" Reagan was a great example of a leader who kept his life in balance. He did not allow the demands of his work, even at the highest office in the world, to overtake his obligations to his family. In this regard, management consultant Stephen Covey writes of the importance of doing “First Things First.” Leaders who keep a healthy balance between work and play, and have a role for family and friends in their daily lives, not only succeed as great leaders, but also manage to lead a happy life.