Response 5: LMX Theory in Action and its Influence on Organizational Culture
One thing that I have consistently stressed in my reflections is the prominence of valuable and encouraging relationships in the workplace to create positive leader/follower dynamics and an organizational culture that promotes teamwork, effectiveness, and confidence at all levels of the organization.
The LMX theory and understanding transformational leadership can explain and connect to Rob’s emphasis on developing mature relationships to accomplish goals and create the organizational culture that exists at the Office for Sustainability. Rob invests his time making meaningful connections with all of us, showing real interest in our lives, our needs, and our goals and strengths and weaknesses. He offers support in many areas and helps us reach our full potential and feel connected to our work because we feel a personal commitment to our relationships. This creates a productive and motivated workforce and is an incredibly effective leadership style in this environment. Not only does Rob demonstrate appropriate leadership for our organizational context, but he creates an environment where his followers and collaborators can tap into their own work/learning styles and communicate their needs to be the most productive. This theory and approach to leadership helps us communicate and identify problems of stagnancy, unproductive days, and misunderstandings. When our relationships are paramount in our approach, communication is improved and our desire to support and understand each other is productive and creates an atmosphere in which we feel we can articulate our frustrations and move toward productive solutions. Rob’s relationship-based approach to leadership, specifically in relation to the LMX theory and model of transformational leadership, creates the environment that I’ve highlighted in this and all of my previous posts.
So it seems as though everyone is a member of the in-group; is there an out-group in the office? Again, as I said in a previous response – the greater specificity that you can provide in regards to actions/behaviors and how they illustrate the theory you are discussing – the better. How does he make meaningful connections (specific examples of what he does); how have you (and others) communicated your work/learning styles and how was that received and responded to; examples of how communication is enhanced (perhaps comparing this experience to that in another office/setting where relationships were not paramount), etc. This is a discussion of LMX and transformational at a high level with broad strokes. I encourage you as you continue and after you are finished to think of specific ways in which these are illustrated at your site.