I am delighted to announce that
the article describing my dissertation research project titled:
The ideal employee: Context and leaders’
implicit follower theories
was accepted for publication at
the Leadership & Organization Development Journal.
What is this study about?
In a nutshell, we wanted to find out if a leader's perception of the work context shapes her preferences for ideal employee traits. We are delighted to have found clear links between managers' perception of certain environmental factors and their most desired employee traits.
Background: Most leaders and managers have an
image of an (ideal) employee in mind. This image is like a summary of
prototypical employee qualities which complement formal qualifications and
skills.
The crux with this employee
prototype is that managers may – unintentionally - rely more on it than on
their real-life experiences with actual employees. This becomes an issue
particularly during critical manager-employee interactions such as
interviewing, hiring & firing, performance ratings etc. – in good ways and
not so good ways.
Why is this relevant for organizations?
In short, managers manage their people partly on the basis of their ideal employee image. This means that many personnel related decision processes such as performance reviews or hiring & firing are accompanied by managers' prototypical employee in mind. The knowledge that organizational context might shape this image and influence their expectations is relevant because it can explain alignment or misalignment between organizational strategy and personnel decisions.
For example, imagine an
organization whose top leaders want to create a culture of creative innovation,
adaptability and flexibility to the market place. Their managers and
supervisors, however, perceive the daily operations as highly bureaucratic and
rule-oriented - seemingly killing creativity. In reaction to their perception of organizational processes, they developed an
‘ideal employee’ image which is - contrary to creative innovation - based on
efficiency, routine work, strictly following directions and maintaining the status quo.
Are these manager going to hire highly
creative individuals?
Are their performance reviews
going to be about the type of innovation the top leaders have in mind?
Are they likely to support their
employees in exploring new options?
(Maybe, but maybe not.)
Q & A:
In 2012 we asked 182 active
leaders, managers and supervisors in several for-profit companies (e.g.
Autoliv, MENLO Innovations, Zingermans’ and many more) in the USA to rate
certain employee traits (e.g. hardworking, excited, loyal, productive, happy,
reliable) and behaviors (expressing an emphasis on creative or
efficiency-oriented innovation).
This is part of what we found:
What
are the qualities of an ‘Ideal Employee’?
Overall, an 'deal employee' is a
loyal, reliable team player and shows behaviors that display both creativity
and efficiency.
Do leaders agree on the most critical and desirable traits and behaviors
of employees?
No. The ‘ideal employee’ does not
exist; leaders perceive their work environments differently and favor different
employee qualities.
What
is more important in an employee: creativity or efficiency?
Depends! Older leaders prefer a
balance of efficiency and creativity in employees, but managers of larger teams
have an ideal employee image driven by efficiency. No differences, however,
between female and male leaders.
How
does managers’ work context shape their view on an employee’s ideal
qualities?
Managers who think their work
context is rather formalized and rule-driven prefer efficient workers who are
excited about their jobs, happy and outgoing.
Those who perceive the market
conditions more as dynamic and fast-changing, on the other hand, like their
employees to be creative, but also loyal, reliable team workers.
How can this knowledge serve organizations?
The organizations who
participated in our study received a summary of their leaders’ “ideal employee
profile” in terms of personal traits and work behaviors relating to creative or efficient innovation. They can now compare their leaders' 'ideal employee' profile with their strategic direction and see if their managers are aligned in their personnel decisions.
Practical steps for how to manage leaders' 'ideal employee' image for a more aligned management of new and existing employees will be one additional focus in my dissertation.
For questions, comments and
feedback please contact me at andrea.derler@gmail.com
Reference:
Derler A. & Weibler J. (forthcoming). The
ideal employee: Context and implicit follower theories. Leadership and
Organization Development Journal.
