CHAPTER 7 "Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way"-What Can This Mean for the Local Government Employee? J. Kent Kimes Sarasota County Natural Resources, Sarasota, Florida BACKGROUND There is often employee dissatisfaction at every attempt to imple- ment policy changes, improve job activities, or introduce new ideas within the work unit in government organizations. Three positive approaches to deal with dissatisfaction and negativity are "lead,. follow, or get out of the way." We can lead by seeking constant change towards improvement. We can follow by testing and supporting change. Finally, change may come with which we disagree or had little participation. In this case, if we have no opportunity to modify the change, the best choice for ourselves and the organization may be to get out of the way. This may mean just let it happen and go on with life, or move on. INTRODUCTION Government. organizations can be plagued with expressions of employee dissatisfaction at every attempt to implement policy changes, improve job activities, or introduce new ideas from within the work unit. This dissatisfaction may not be a pervasive attitude, but there is often enough negativism among employees to play a defining role in the character of the work unit.& WATER UTILITY MANAGEMENT IN THE 215T CENTURY This negative type of attitude doesn't have to exist in the government work force. Although supervisors have the ultimate responsibility for the effectiveness of program changes, each one of 'us has the. responsibility to adjust to changes without mnegative impact on those around us. There are three positive approaches that we can take to be supportive of change. \"Lead, Follow; or Get Out of the Way\" is a 'phiase that Lee Taccoca made famous while head of the Chrysler Corporation. He apparently applied this - positive philosophy to the development of new antomobile models and the management of a huge corporate entity. The following \"Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way\" approach to change can be used in government organizations to produce a more positive attitude in the work unit and help prevent the negative reaction that appears to be dominant among some employees. If we each | take one of these approacheslead, follow or get out of the way we can handle most any work place change or stress in a positive manner. The more likely consequence of our choice will be a contintiqusly improving organization. : _ The following pair of example issues will be used to analyze how we could Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way. First, let's say we have strong opinions when a top administrator in our govern- ment unit is granted a raise at his/her annual review that is more than twice the rate that is available to the \"rank and file\" staff. Obviously this is 'an issue that we have no part in, and can not change. Next, we think that the time it takes to get from our request to procure contracted services g award of the contract is entirely excessive. These issues can be easy subjects for our gripes through- -_out the year. There are some work units where these types of issues . would be a source of negative discussion at_staff meeftings -and around the water cooler for quite some time. ' \"LEAD\" Taking the Lead means displaying initiative or being -proactive. Finding ways to make our job better or somehow improve what we - CHAPTER 7: LEAD, FOLLOW, OR GET OUT OF THE WAY are doing may come under the name of innovation or simple change. This should be expected of all supervisors, but could certainly be an important element in the way all of us approach our job. Tom Peters and his co-authors in Thriving on Chaos and In Search of Excellence encourage the act of "failing fast." They speak of the benefits of trying and implementing new ideas or changes quickly and testing them for failure. If something fails, then great! Believe it or not, learning what doesn't work is a step forward. Thomas Edison achieved much of his progress by finding out : what didn't work; his failures led to eventual. successes. For any organization, including city or county governments, to move forward or have effective customer service we must constantly change by implementing and testing innovations and new ideas. This concept is the advice given by Tom Peters and others to those who wish to operate an effective customer-focused organization. We continue to live in an era of government reductions caused by citizens' request for "less government" or reduced sources of revenue. Making things worse, many citizens still demand more service from government organizations. Compared to the practice of bonuses or performance/production-based salaries that is com- mon in private industry, there are virtually no substantive rewards to government employees for excellent work. Some organizations have very effective employee recognition programs where there are a few individuals recognized with "achievement" awards that may. even include cash awards. Sometimes there are excellent efforts to applaud team and individual excellence. The point still remains, there is no way government organizations can encourage excellence among the majority of employees and teams with pay incentives. Aside from the hope for the possibility of promotion to a "higher" position, the only reward for excellent work that government employees can count on is the personal satisfaction and fulfillment from the job accomplished. Taking the "Lead" as often as possible can provide that satisfaction and fulfillment. . Using the example mentioned earlier regarding procurement of contracted services, we may see an opportunity to bring together a quality improvement committee to examine this procurementWATER UTILITY MANAGEMENT IN THE 21ST CENTURY process. Such a committee may be able to identify new procedures to reduce the time it takes to award contracted services. Here we have taken the Lead and made a positive change. Supervisors must be committed to providing a climate that encourages innovation and promotes the introduction of new ideas by employees. Supervisors must work to minimize or remove the bureaucratic roadblocks to the testing and implementation of new ideas. At the same time, we must realize and accept that supervisors , may not always have the authority necessary to remove all barriers to the implementation of ideas. That is why the administration of an organization should embrace the concept of innovation and allow failures to occur in this context without sanction. "FOLLOW" At a minimum, "Following" means a spirit of cooperation and teamwork. Changes need to be supported to be properly tested. Changes should be recognized as opportunities to move forward. Even though the change may not be our project or idea, it is our job to test it with honest efforts and to provide sincere critique with positive suggestions for improvement. . .If there is a change in development in which we are not presently involved but would like to be, let's speak up. Creating a team or adding perspective to a new project always provides a greater chance of success for almost any project. Supporting change. and sharing in the accomplishments are nearly as exciting and fulfilling as taking the lead. To "Follow" also means accepting the bureaucratic policies even when they are established out of our control. The goal is to not let negative feelings or expressions about the changes affect our work quality or output, impair our relationships with co-workers or super- visors, or become a definitive factor in how we feel about our job. These types of frustrations and their detrimental effects can be seen daily. During particular times and in particular work settings, these frustrations play a large role in defining the character of theCHAPTER 7: LEAD, FOLLOW, OR GET OUT OF THE WAY work unit. We are all aware of the "morale" problems that these frustrations can generate. When we feel "short changed," we may adopt the attitude intent on extracting satisfaction from the city or county. in some way. This attitude may lead to a conflict with policy, a risk of personnel consequence, and most important, a devalued respect for the work and the position. When we are at this point, perhaps the last approach, "Get Out of the Way," is the best option. Using the example regarding the long time it takes to procure contracted services, someone or some committee may have already proposed process changes. We may have the opportunity to "Follow" the new procedures and test them in a constructive fashion. If there is a new procurement policy that does nothing to reduce the time to award contracts and we do not have an opportunity to influence this, we have the option to accept the efforts and not spread dissatisfaction through the work unit. Also, here is where we would recognize that the raise given that top administrator is not something we can change and again not spread dissatisfaction. "GET OUT OF THE WAY" "Get Out of the Way" means not acting as an inhibiting force to change or to the day-to-day work. All too often the focus is on what administration can't do for the employee or what is being done to the employee. This may cause negative feelings that have an impact. on interpersonal relationships. Though not expressed by a majority, negative attitudes among employees can be strong enough to drag down the entire work unit. If we disagree with policy or administrative changes that are implemented without our input, we need to seek opportunities to influence the change, "Lead or Follow," or accept the change. Discussion of the issues for a short time with co-workers or using humor for "administration bashing," as seen in the popular comic strip "Dilbert," may relieve some of the stress associated with theWATER UTILITY MANAGEMENT IN THE 21ST CENTURY change. However, when there is @ cycle of criticism for criticism's sake, the trend must be broken. We meed to maintain posmvc attitudes that are focused on the job at hand. - To \"Get Out of the Way\" .may occasmnay mean finding another job. If we are at the point where acceptance of the current crcumstances is not an: option and we cannot see a way to effect a-. ~ change, then it is most likely time to move on. If we have lost all - . ability to reap satisfaction from our job, then it is time to pursue - fulfillment elsewhere. Setting realistic career goals, ever though ~ they might involve moving on to another position, can-provide - motivation that reduces the stress present in the current job. Using the example regarding the long time it takes to procure contracted services, we may find new procedures are proposed with which we disagree. Here is where we may need to let others see what can be done and not-be a negative distraction to other's efforts. If this or the salary increase for the administrator can not be addressed to our satisfaction, and our feelings impact our perfor- mance and work unit relationships, it may be time to look elsewhere for our professional and finandial fulfillment. CONCLUSIONS - We all need to pick one path: Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way. We may need to pick a different path dependent on the unique situation. Sometimes we will want to Lead by taking the initiative " to make our job better by proposing an idea in a formal suggestion system or by taking an idea to the supervisor. Sometimes we will want to Follow by festing another's idea to the best of our ability and providing appropriate feedback or simply by accepting the change. If we can't Lead or Follow, then we must Get Qut of the - Way and let things happen, go on with ]J.fe, and not be a negative influence on those around use - - - Copyright Water Environment Federauon Alexandna Va. Repnnted with permission