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Using the same scenario as Week 1 of this Discussion, answer the question in bold below.

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 of 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.

Week 1 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?

Discussion: Week 2: Sociopolitical Skills

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Using the same scenario as Week 1 of this Discussion, answer the question in bold below.

Week 2 Discussion Question:

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?

Module 4

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.

Janicijevic, N. (2013). The mutual Impact of organizational culture and structure. Economic Annals 58(198). Retrieved from http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0013-3264/2013/0013-32641398035J.pdf

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. 4^th ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.