Organizational structure, norms, values, culture, etc., all have an impact on a

Organizational structure, norms, values, culture, etc., all have an impact on a leader’s success. Consider the new or advancing leader. Such a leader is expected to learn how to effectively perform all the important administrative and professional/technical tasks. In addition, the leader needs to master the necessary social skills associated with early effectiveness in the new position. Below are 10 “sociopolitical” categories which may influence a transitioning leader’s early (and enduring) effectiveness. These include, in no particular order, the ability to:
enter into an established leader/employee “network”;
sense, as well as use, appropriate communication and influence behaviors;
sense and appropriately act on keen organizational norms;
become aware of, and sensitively interact with, organizational “blockers” and “enablers”;
build political bridges by identifying and relating to key formal/informal power sources;
become known as a “go-to/can-do” individual;
be perceived as a “team player”;
sense key organizational issues upon which to create early vision, initiatives, and value;
identify and appropriately respond to the requirements of superiors/peers/subordinates; and
be perceived as having organizationally appropriate ethics, values, and beliefs.
Please note that these are behavioral skill categories, not actual behaviors. You likely use many of the actual behaviors (such as “interpersonal communication”) within a category every day.
Discussion Question
Does this list of “sociopolitical” skill categories match your sense of what is most required to help ensure a leader’s early success in a new role/position? What might you add or subtract to help ensure the most effective transition into a new job?
In your view, how important to your enduring success in the job are your early efforts in a new leadership role? Presuming you already have practiced some or all of the 10 items, how did you learn to do so?
Required Sources
Flamholtz, E. & Randle, Y. (2011). Corporate Culture: The Invisible Asset. Corporate Culture: The Ultimate Strategic Asset. (pp. 3-25), Stanford, CA: Stanford Business Books.
Jirek, S. L. (2020). Ineffective Organizational Responses to Workers’ Secondary Traumatic Stress: A Case Study of the Effects of an Unhealthy Organizational Culture. Human Services Organizations.Management, Leadership & Governance, 44(3), 210-228. https://doi.org/10.1080/23303131.2020.1722302
Please note this article must be obtained by going into ProQuest inside the Trident Online Library. Once in ProQuest, please search by article title.
McNamara, C. (2000) Organizational Culture. Adapted from the Fieldguide to Organizational Leadership and Supervision. Free Management Library. http://managementhelp.org/organizations/culture.htm
Mootee, I. (2012). What is the right organizational design for your corporation? And what test to use to know if you’ve got the right one? Innovation Playground. Retrieved from https://www.futurelab.net/blog/2012/06/what-right-organization-design-your-corporation-and-what-test-use-know-if-youve-got
Narasimhan, A., Yu, H. H., & Lane, N. (2012). Organization design: Inviting the outside in. Retrieved from https://www.imd.org/research-knowledge/articles/organizational-design-inviting-the-outside-in/
Pfeffer, J. (2014). Do workplace hierarchies still matter? Retrieved from http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/jeffrey-pfeffer-do-workplace-hierarchies-still-matter
The People Group, Based on Gallup Research: What Makes a Great Workplace? Retrieved from https://thepeoplegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/article-gallup-research-what-makes-a-great-workplace1.pdf
Tohidian, I., & Rahimian, H. (2019). Bringing Morgan’s metaphors in organization contexts: An essay review. Cogent Business & Management, 6(1). CC BY. Available in the Trident Online Library.
Optional Sources
Dawson, C. (2010). Leading culture change: What every CEO needs to know. Redwood City: Stanford Business Books, pp. 3-20. Retrieved from the Trident Online Library.
Denison, D., Hooijberg, R., & Lane, N. (2012). Building a high-performance Business Culture. Leading Culture Change in Global Organizations : Aligning Culture and Strategy. (pp. 1-23), Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons. Retrieved from
http://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/4X/04709088/047090884X-373.pdf
McNamara, C. (n.d.) Guidelines for organization design. In Free Management Library. Retrieved from http://managementhelp.org/organizations/design.htm
Mechanistic vs. Organic Organizational Structure: Contingency Theory (2014) BusinessMate.Org http://www.businessmate.org/Article.php?ArtikelId=44
Mootee, I. (2012). What is the right organizational design for your corporation? And what test to use to know if you’ve got the right one? Innovation Playground. Retrieved from https://www.futurelab.net/blog/2012/06/what-right-organization-design-your-corporation-and-what-test-use-know-if-youve-got
Organisation culture: Links and articles. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.new-paradigm.co.uk/Culture.htm#Case%20Studies
Schein, E.H. (2010) Organizational Culture & Leadership. 4th ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.