Left Hand Processes

As part of the 'In-Touch' Article 2, it was reasoned that team alignment flows directly from goal clarity and agreement (in the team and with key stakeholders). These goals cascade ultimately into individual team member priorities and initiatives. A practical method was suggested for implementing this process, using a 'Right Hand' symbol where 'Right' was synonymous with business priorities, objectives, task and projects.

Values, culture, climate, behaviour and personal development are also areas that require the team to be synchronised if it is to succeed. The 'way we agree to do things around here' is an important but often neglected set of understandings in some teams. Dick McCann (co-author of the Team Management System) says: "Where team members share the same values, the team will have the energy to deliver outstanding performance."

When using the Team Management System over the last seventeen years, we have often facilitated teambuilding sessions where a 'Left Hand' symbol and process have been used. Firstly, the team members need to agree a list of shared values (often symbolised with a 'Left Hand' for the whole team), followed by individual 'Left Hands', which have more of a behavioural and personal development emphasis. Individual 'Left Hands' are also promoted as necessary support mechanisms for individual 'Right Hand' achievement.

For example: a particular executive team member in Marketing might only be able to achieve target by realising synergy with another team member from Research and Development. Simultaneously, our example team member is faced with a team 'value' of "Open and honest communication," plus a "Right Hand" priority of "Increasing speed to market of new products," and personal feedback that their interpersonal communication skills need some improvement.

It is easy to see how a personal 'Left Hand' development initiative could focus on increasing the quality and quantity of communication with R&D, with the result that there is an integration between left and right hands. Whereas 'Right Hand' processes described in the 'In-Touch' Article 2 focus on everyone knowing and influencing the goals, objectives and priorities of everyone else - with the 'Left Hand' exercise, it has worked best when individuals draft a left hand alone and then share it with their supervisor for final sign-off. This minimizes defensiveness and maximises development and alignment.

Conceptual Gap

The problem with the above 'Left Hand' method has not been the process - which generally works very well, but rather with the way in which the team agrees its core values.

TMS facilitators have used various 'brainstorm' methods, and then had the team's category options under different headings. For example: People, Processes and Performance - often secures an apparent worthwhile list that all can agree to. However, the quality of the lists can often be quite variable, since it relies too heavily on the knowledge and perceptions of team members who may not have often experienced 'team' or 'individual' values sessions.

Whilst it is true that we at TMS have made occasional use of various 'values' schemes that abound in the literature, I have never really encountered something that links effectively with the Team Management System, until now. Dr Dick McCann has now researched and produced the 'Window on Work Values' profile and process, which fills this gap for us and I know for many other facilitators. The first wave of Australian accreditations in the new WWV Profile has seen over sixty Human Resources professionals attend.

The profile is well researched and sits comfortably with both the Team Management Profile and the Opportunities / Obstacles Profile (Q02) to produce the missing link in terms of completing our understanding of what drives our behaviour in teams. What follows is a summary of Dick's article, which explains how the profile and process works.

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Window on Work Values

By Dick McCann
Copyright © Dick McCann. All rights reserved.

In developing a model of workplace values, I have focused on values where the primary content aspect is the type of goal or motivational concern that the value expresses. The end result is the Window on Work Values (Figure 1 below), which is a useful model to help understand the differing values that drive people in the work place.

It has been built up from individuals' responses to many questions defining activities or situations at work that they value. Values group together in clusters of eight 'value types' which are depicted as windowpanes, rather like those in the rose windows of many European cathedrals. The model has good structural validity, meaning that value types close to one another in the window are related whereas those on opposite sides of the window are unrelated.

In summary, the model groups workplace values into four quadrants of value types:

• Self-Focus
• Group Focus
• Organisational Constraint
• Organisational Freedom

The Window on Work Values has two independent axes that produce these four quadrants. Running east-west through the window is the axis which focuses on either the self or the group. Although many people can do both, the results suggest that most people will have a bias one way or the other.

Running north-south through the model is the axis defining the organisational environment that people value. On the north side are the values associated with Organisational Constraint while on the south side are the values associated with Organisational Freedom.

Figure 1: The McCann Window on Work Values

The Window on Work Values helps explain why problems exist within any group of people working together. Value types define core frameworks that people hold and for which they are prepared to expend considerable quantities of energy in either promoting or defending. Most people will hold three or four of the values reasonably strongly and because of the structure of the model these values are more likely to be concentrated in one particular section, giving rise to key value patterns which are useful in understanding and predicting individual, group and organisational behaviour.

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The Eight Core Value Types

These four groups can be expanded into eight core value types which together define the main values observed in the workplace. They are:

• Individualism
• Authority
• Compliance
• Conformity
• Collectivism
• Equality
• Empowerment
• Independence

Individualism
Individualism is the value type which focuses entirely on the self. It comprises values held in high regard in many western countries such as the USA, Australia and the UK. A society that values Individualism will idolise the individual and have many role models to which people aspire.

Collectivism
Collectivism is the opposite of Individualism and is a value type that focuses on the importance of the group rather than the self. People who hold these values will usually put others first and want to work in a way that preserves the functioning of the group and the support that goes with it. Collectivists will want to avoid conflict and often go out of their way to promote harmony.

Compliance
Compliance is a core value type built around a person's need to work to an agreed set of rules and procedures - the Organisational Constraints. People high on Compliance feel comfortable in knowing what they can and can't do and it is this security that enables them to give of their best.

Empowerment
Directly opposite the Compliance value type is Empowerment. A person holding this value strongly will insist on Organisational Freedom, where they can have the opportunity to contribute to the organisation, unfettered by unnecessary rules and regulations. They will accept the need for goals and direction but because they hold to the principles of self-reliance and self-accountability they will want to establish their own constraints in order to pursue outputs and outcomes in their own way.

Authority
The Authority value type comprises a focus on the self, combined with a belief in the need for Organisational Constraints. A strong Authority person will want to work within an organisational hierarchy so that adequate control processes are in place and outputs delivered to maximum quality and minimum cost. They usually believe that people need to be monitored, otherwise inefficiencies will creep in.

Equality
The Equality value type comprises a focus on the group, combined with the need for an organisational environment that allows a degree of freedom. Equality people value the group and therefore put emphasis on the need for tolerance and the acceptance of other people's ideas and beliefs. The need for organisational freedom means that they expect to be trusted and will give trust in return, to those people they are managing.

Independence
The Independence value type is a combination of a focus on the self with the need for an environment that allows Organisational Freedom. In many ways high Independence people are often seen as mavericks or 'loose cannons' who value their own creativity and will work with a high degree of self-direction and autonomy. The problems come when they go off in different directions to those defined by organisational visions or team purposes.

Conformity
Conformity is the combination of a focus on the group plus the need for an environment of organisational constraints. People high on the Conformity value type will avoid extremes of action and conform to others' expectations of them. Conformity people will not want to stand out from the crowd, but fit into the norms of the group as they need a group in order to give of their best.

Value Patterns
Most people will hold three and perhaps four of the core value types quite strongly. The combination and strengths of these patterns will define core principles which will drive their behaviour. In conflict positions, people will revert to their underlying core values and expend energy in fighting for and upholding the principles associated with these core values.

Most often, conflicts occurring at work can be traced back to people holding opposing values as defined by the Window on Work Values. Some of these patterns are quite complex, however the more basic patterns can be understood by looking at opposite value pairs in the window. These are summarized below in Table 1 using a couple of examples only for each.

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Table 1: Key differences

Organisational Values

Organisational goals and behaviours are greatly influenced by organisational values. These values are often a reflection of the individual values held by senior management. Senior management values, in turn, are often perpetuated by the succession planning and management development processes, which ensure that core organisation value types are upheld. In this way important values from the past are preserved for the future.
People's perceptions of their organisation's values will vary and are often coloured by the interactions they have with their immediate managers. Problems can arise if there is a misalignment between the values of the individual and the values of the organisation.

• An important application of the Window on Work Values model is the identification of organisational values.

Individual Values

Individual values can be easily determined from the Window on Work Values Questionnaire (McCann, 2002), which maps a person's values onto the Window on Work Values model. For Tony (our example), the map is presented in Figure 3. It shows Tony's work values strongly represented in the Empowerment and Equality sectors, more than three times greater than those in Authority and Compliance.

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Figure 2: Window on Work Values Mapping

Part of his feedback report stated:

You scored strongly on the Empowerment value type. This is the part of the Window on Work Values model where people value a working environment where there is a degree of organisational freedom as to how people generate results. For you, it is important to have the opportunity to contribute in a variety of ways to work projects and to be trusted that you will do your best to achieve the goals and expectations of the organisation. You will prefer situations where there is little supervision and high levels of accountability and responsibility are delegated to you and your team? You are not necessarily a person who responds well to orders being given in a detached, compliant way and sometimes you may react badly to those who expect you to do as you are told. Sticking to procedures and respect for the organisational hierarchy are not necessarily guiding principles in the way you approach work. In general, you will have some difficulties in working with people who score high on Compliance. You may see them as inflexible and resistant to change. You much prefer to be around people who also see the importance of empowering others to achieve their maximum potential.

This feedback information helped Tony understand the difficulties he was having in fitting into the culture of his current organisation. It helped him think about his career and look at ways to achieve alignment between his personal work values and those of any organisation he may work for.

Conclusion

The above article extract provides clear insight into the importance of Alignment in the team values area and can help individuals and teams with ways to achieve it. By a team understanding each member's personal work values, and then clarifying those of their organisation, it can then effectively determine the team's philosophy. Having done that, individual team members can far more confidently chart their left hand, team and individual development priorities.

Would you like to become accredited to use the TMS profiles?
Would you like to investigate having TMS profiles facilitated for you and your team?
Would you like to learn more abour leadership?

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Peter Robinson
Chief Executive Officer
Team Management Services Ltd.

P.O. Box 21-194, Henderson, Waitakere 0650, New Zealand
Tel: 64-9-836-5317 Fax 64-9-836-5318
email: peter@tms.co.nz
Website: www.tms.co.nz

© 2003 Team Management Services