MODULE IV - Leadership Styles

MODULE IV - Leadership Styles

OBJECTIVES:

  • To examine and explore various leadership styles and their effect on the recruitment of activists and the retention on the union team.
  • To identify and discuss the differing leadership styles in both a servicing and organizing model of unionism.

In the Developing Membership Activism Course, we learned that ten major studies of unions in North America, concluded that one significant influence on the Canadian public’s and union members’ attitudes towards the union is the nature of the leadership style adopted by union officials and representatives.  Here, the term “union leader” refers to the Local, as opposed to the national union, and primarily to the executive officers and stewards.

These studies concluded that “union leaders play an important role in facilitating involvement of the rank and file membership”.  Additionally, the studies found that “the style and characteristic of leadership thus exerts a critical influence on how the union organization is responsible to general membership aspirations and the way in which collective awareness and activism of the mass of workers is stimulated”.  Furthermore, the vast majority of these studies found that “members’ participation in union activities was found to vary with the stewards’ interpersonal skills and with their accessibility to members”.

As leadership style is directly related to the recruitment of new activists and perhaps even more significantly related to retaining and developing existing representatives, let us now examine our own leadership styles.

LEADERSHIP STYLE SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE

Question 1

Your local is preparing for possible activities to support your bargaining team during tenuous negotiations.  You:

  1. Ask your members to wear buttons and /or stickers,
  2. Develop a campaign plan and present it to your local executive for approval and presentation to the membership,
  3. Appoint a committee of executive and stewards to establish a campaign strategy,
  4. Canvass the membership for committee volunteers and delegate to them the responsibility and authority to develop the campaign strategy by soliciting ideas from the members.

Question 2

UTE, at the national level, initiates a grievance campaign on a staffing issue and asks the locals to implement the grievance campaign.  You:

  1. Approach select members to file grievances,
  2. Send out a written memo to all your members, explaining the national campaign and soliciting grievances,
  3. Hold a meeting of the local executive and stewards and explain the national campaign.  Ask these people to go out into the workplace and tell members about the campaign and to ask for grievances,
  4. In addition to sending out information provided by the National Office, you hold a membership meeting to explain the campaign, address questions and concerns and seek support.

Question 3

Three months ago, Michelle began working in your division.  She has approached you several times asking why she has to belong to the union since she can see no benefit in membership.  You see her walking towards you in the lunch room/cafeteria.  You:

  1. Decide you’re not hungry and quickly exit.  There’s no point trying to talk to her.  You’re not going to change her mind,
  2. As soon as she sits down beside you, you begin a thorough explanation of the Rand formula.  Perhaps she’ll be impressed with your technical expertise,
  3. Calmly discuss with her the benefits of membership and the gains the union has achieved.  Even though she has dismissed several of your points before, you know you are right,
  4. Calmly discuss with her the benefits of union membership and suggest to her that the best way to learn about unionism is to become an active member.  You tell her that there are a number of committees that could use volunteers and you will call her this afternoon with the specifics, if she is interested.

Question 4

A newly recruited executive member has undergone a number of training sessions and has approached some members who have advised you that she is considering running against you in the next local election for President.  You:

  1. Start an early campaign.  You want to remind all the members in your local how hard you have worked for them in the past and renew your commitment publicly.  After all, the early bird catches the worm,
  2. Quietly and deliberately criticize your opponent to other members.  Even though her commitment may in fact be genuine, you feel you are best for the job and ensuring your re-election is in the members’ best interests,
  3. Approach the other candidate, determine her reasons for running for President and attempt to persuade her to run for vice-president, promising to delegate authority and share benefits, such as travel and other desirable duties,
  4. Privately discuss the situation with the other candidate and candidly admit you will be seeking re-election.  You also tell her, that win or lose, you hope to the two of you will be able to work together after the election.  You conduct a vigorous campaign, focusing only on the issues, not the other candidate.  You let the chips fall where they may.

Question 5

The UTE Triennial Convention is approaching and your Local has to name the three delegates to which you are entitled.  Your Local By-Laws allow for the selection of delegates by the Executive.  All six of your Local Executive members (including yourself) have expressed a desire to attend.  You:

  1. Claim that as Local President, you should be attending and suggest that the Local Executive should decide the other two delegates.  After all, the members did elect you as President,
  2. Suggest that all six Executive members attend, with the Local Executive selecting three delegates and three observers.  After all, all of the Executive has worked hard during their terms of office and your local has a large surplus even though you did not budget to send six people,
  3. Suggest that as Local President, you should attend, but agree that the Local Executive should elect all three delegates.  While you still feel that you should be a delegate, you are willing to support the results of an election,
  4. Present the issue to the members at a general membership meeting with a recommendation for sending three delegates and three observers.  This is the only fair way to resolve the matter and the budget did not contemplate sending all Executive members to convention.

Question 6

A member approaches you to complain about the poor service provided to her by one of your local stewards who failed to present her grievance within the prescribed time limits.  Her grievance is now untimely and cannot be pursued.  She is extremely irate because had her grievance been successful, she would have been owed over $5,000 in acting pay.  You:

  1. Advise her that there was no guarantee that her grievance would have been successful and advise her that there is nothing you can do.  After all, the steward is a volunteer and is doing the best he can,
  2. Tell the member that you will check with the Regional Vice-President to see if there is a way to reactivate the grievance.  You agree with her that the steward should have been more diligent and promise to get back to her immediately.  Ensuring the member’s rights are protected is more important that further investigation at this point,
  3. Advise the member that you will have to speak with the steward to get both sides of the story.  After all, the grievor may be incorrect or the grievance may still be timely or the steward may have had adequate reasons for missing the time frames.  You promise to get back to her immediately.  In listening to both sides, you will know best what to do,
  4. Listen to the grievor’s complaint and suggest that you both schedule a meeting with the steward as soon as possible to gather all of the necessary information, to determine if the grievance is in fact untimely and to determine if the problem (if any) can be remedied.  You immediately contact the steward privately to advise him of the grievor’s complaint and suggest that they all meet as soon as possible to discuss the matter.  In addition to resolving the problem, it is important that the grievor and the steward have an opportunity to sort this out themselves.

Question 7

You suspect that your Local Treasurer has been misappropriating local dues for personal gain.  You have asked the Treasurer to allow you to examine the books and records and she has become evasive and while not refusing to release the books and records, she continues to provide excuses why she has not turned them over to date.  You:

  1. Privately approach some members of your Local Executive, explaining your suspicions and asking for their support in pressuring the Treasurer to turn over the books and records.  No matter what, ensuring the local’s finances are in order is paramount,
  2. Contact the local auditor to explain your suspicions, asking her to contact the Treasurer,
  3. Call a local Executive meeting, explain that you believe that there may be accounting discrepancies and present a motion to have the books and records turned over to you for your review.  You go by the book on this one,
  4. Approach the Treasurer privately to discuss your belief, requesting once again that she allow you to examine the books and records.  You follow up on your request in writing, setting a deadline for compliance with your request and advising that in the even of non-compliance, the matter will be raised with the Local Executive.  You provide her with every opportunity to come clean and/or provide explanations.

Question 8

During the UTE Triennial Convention, a delegate from another Local in your region has advised you that one of the observers from your Local had been drinking excessively the night before and had not attended the entire day of session.  You were not aware of this incident.  You:

  1. Thank the delegate for bringing this to your attention, but advise him that you were aware of the matter and would be dealing with it.  You advise the observer of the information provided to you and caution him that others were watching his conduct.  Appearances are very important, but you also understand how this may happen,
  2. Thank the delegate for bringing the matter to your attention and confront the observer, advising him that his wages and expenses for that day would not be paid by the Local.  Obviously he needs to be set straight immediately,
  3. Thank the delegate for bringing the matter to your attention.  You confront the observer, asking for an explanation of his absence and advising that you have no alternative but to not reimburse his wages and expenses for that day.  While you are understanding, it is important that he understand that Convention is business first and that while there is a large degree of socialization, participants are there on the membership’s money,
  4. Thank the delegate for bringing the matter to your attention.  You approach the observer, advising him that you were aware of his absence and ask for an explanation.  After listening to the explanation, you consult with the observer on the appropriate remedy to the situation, including appropriate sanctions/consequences, if any.  If he is part of the solution, he’ll feel less like part of the problem

Question 9

You have been approached by the TSO/TC Director about an alleged abuse of union leave by one of your Vice-Presidents.  The Director advises you that if you cannot curtail the abuse, a union leave policy will be introduced governing leave for all local union representatives.  You:

  1. Immediately launch into a defense of your Vice-President, citing the provisions of the Collective Agreement with respect to union leave and promise to withdraw from the union-management consultation process if a union leave policy is introduced.  After all, a good defense is a strong offense and you must protect your local representatives,
  2. Quickly advise the Director that you will speak immediately to your Vice-President and agree to rectify the problem.  It is best to maintain an amicable and agreeable relationship with the Director,
  3. Ask the Director to provide you with specifics of the alleged abuse, agree to raise the matter with your Vice-President and promise to get back to the Director promptly to discuss the matter further and to remedy the situation, if required.  It is important to get both sides of the story before you commit to too much,
  4. Ask the Director to provide you with specifics of the alleged abuse, agree to discuss the matter with your Vice-President and offer to convene a meeting between the Vice-President, the Director and yourself in order to explore the issue further and to effect a resolution suitable to all.  The best solution is usually reached by the parties in conflict.

Question 10

In reviewing the grievance files of the local for the past year, you note that no grievances presented by the Chief Steward had been allowed, the files were not properly organized and many obvious, but persuasive arguments had not been advanced.  You:

  1. Conclude that the Chief Steward is not entirely competent and confront her with your findings.  You suggest that perhaps she should show you all of her presentations before she advances them at grievance hearings.  Although she may find your involvement a bit embarrassing, it is in the members’ best interest,
  2. Approach the Chief Steward with your findings and offer to send her on union courses related to grievances so that she may improve her skills in this area.  You have recognized the problem and are taking the necessary steps to resolving it,
  3. Approach the Chief Steward and ask her to meet with you to discuss grievances.  Explain that your goal is to assist her in representing members through the grievance procedure and that in reviewing the grievance files, you noted that while she is performing her duties well, there may be some areas where additional training may be of assistance.  You seek her commitment to pursue the training courses.  It is a win-win situation and puts the onus on her,
  4. Approach the Chief Steward and ask her to meet with you to discuss grievances.  Explain that your goal is to assist her in representing members through the grievance procedure and that in reviewing the grievance files, you noted that while she is performing her duties well, there may be some areas where additional training may be of assistance.  You also offer to work with her to develop her skills, suggest establishing a grievance committee and you continue to monitor the quality of the grievance presentations.  Although it may require time on your part, you know you will eventually be able to delegate this task to a responsible committee.  In addition, by taking this path, grievance representation will be a shared responsibility.

You may wish, when you return to your locals, to distribute this questionnaire to your Local Executive Officers and ask them to complete it in terms of your leadership style as viewed by others.  Encourage them to be honest, but be prepared to openly accept how others perceive you.

When we examined the servicing and the organizing models of unionism in the Developing Membership Activism Course, we recognized that in servicing members, there is little room for true membership participation, while by organizing members, the collectivity and empowerment of the membership is maximized.  As we discussed as well, for many years now, our union has operated in a servicing mode and consequently, our leadership styles have evolved around this model.  As a result, if we are committed to encouraging our members to become more active and supportive, we must be equally committed to scrutinizing our leadership styles and to be prepared to adopt a style where the mobility of the membership and the retention and promotion of activists are paramount.

SERVICING MODEL

  • Membership representation through direct representation
  • Uses previously designed and developed methods and procedures
  • Assumes that in defending individual and collective rights in an advocacy role, members will realize their self-interests in supporting their union
  • Creates a business-like relationship between the union and its members
  • Contributes to members perceiving the union as a third party
  • Detracts from members ownership in their union

To summarize our discussions in the DMA course, we found that in a servicing model, membership representation is usually viewed as direct representation through already designed and developed methods and procedures based on the assumption that in defending individual and collective rights in an advocacy role, members will realize their self-interests in supporting their union.  We also found, however, that the servicing model creates a business-like relationship between the union and its members and contributes to members perceiving the union as a third party.  Relatedly, in this model, members do not experience a sense of ownership in their union.

ORGANIZING MODEL

  • Membership representation through participation and collaboration
  • Success is directly linked to the joint effort of the parties
  • Empowers members and mobilizes and organizes them to act
  • Can use previously designed and developed methods and procedures or seeks innovative strategies
  • Assumes that involving members, and acting in a role of mentor, guide or technical expert, members will develop a sense of ownership in their union
  • Views issues or activities as an opportunity to engage members and to increase membership participation in the union.

Conversely, we found that in an organizing model, membership representation is usually viewed as a participative and collaborative process between union members and union representatives, where success is directly linked to the joint effort of the parties.  This organizing model empowers members, mobilizes them to act, organizes them to act, assists them through the process and contributes to the members’ sense of ownership in their union.  In essence, in the organizing model, union representatives view every issue or activity as an opportunity to engage members and to increase membership participation in the union.

In comparing both models of unionism, it may be apparent that the style of leadership for each model may be divergent and contrasting for the most part.  In the servicing model, it might be said that the leadership style is perhaps more task-oriented, while in the organizing model, the style might best be described as person and resource oriented.  Therefore, it becomes substantially important for one who wishes to change styles to be able to recognize the different characteristics, behaviours and attitudes associated with each model and to identify the advantages and disadvantages of each.

To be a truly effective leader – one who deals with the issues, concerns and problems at hand, while maximizing the opportunity for membership participation and collectivity – one must develop a leadership style that incorporates the positive characteristics and traits of both the servicing and organizing model.

A great deal of research on union leadership has centered around the development of typologies attempting to categorize leadership behaviour.  Again, the vast, majority of studies conducted over the last twenty-five years identified mainly four types of union leaders which related to two styles of union leader namely “delegate” and the “representative”.

The delegate has the mandate by members to do no more than carry out their wishes.  By contrast, the ‘representative’ adopts a leadership role and executes policies not only according to the wishes of membership, but also takes personal initiatives.  On two dimensions of power, the initiation and control of issues in procedural terms, and the maintenance of an ideology and set of institutions, it was those ‘representative’ leaders who were demonstrably more effective.  While leaders should encourage the participation of rank and file, and should have a collectivist outlook, they also need to take on a ‘leadership’ role.

Another aspect of leadership style noted in the studies is how participatory and collectivist the leader is.  A participatory style stresses the importance of communications, consultation and the involvement of members in decision-making.  A collectivist outlook is where issues are seen by local leaders as relating to a shared situation of work and membership involvement rather than as individual grievances.  In this view, participatory and collectivist leaders can build upon surges of membership participation and interest.  This increases the strength of workplace unionism, particularly if one sees the willingness of members to act on behalf of the union as a necessary foundation of effective trade unionism.  Studies have also supported a view that there is a link between participative styles of leadership and increased membership involvement and participation.

While many members feel that they elect delegates to do no more than carry out their wishes, they really expect these delegates to take on a representative role.  To this extent, members expect leaders to act as their advocate, but, insist that their opinions, input and recommendations be incorporated into the actions of the union leaders in their representative roles.

These studies also identified a link between leadership style and the quality of union/management relations which was seen as an important influence on membership satisfaction with their union.  This raises questions about the nature of the engagement between unions and management in the workplace and the way in which this is managed by the union leader.  Much of the debate appears polarized around whether or not unions should highlight the shared interests that exist between them and management rather than stressing adversarialism.  Ultimately, it may be argued that the terms of any co-operation with management at, the workplace level, need to be carefully formulated if the support of members is to be maintained.

Many members agreed that the relationship between union and management involves a combination of conflict, where necessary, and cooperation, where beneficial.  These same members do not expect, nor do they want their unions and their union leadership to remain stagnant or to adopt one unwavering style.  In fact, these studies found that union members, when asked similar questions, often favoured their union leaders adopting conflicting styles based on the issue at hand and the level of cooperative relations between union and management.  These survey responses showed members feeling that their union leaders were sometimes too moderate, while at other time too militant or that they were sometimes too individualistic while at other times too collectivist.  They also regarded their union representatives as being sometimes too cooperative while at other times too adversarial.

As a result of these contradictory and conflicting views of the membership, union representatives should never assume that one style of leadership or another should be employed based on historical support or non-support by their members.  Instead, it is imperative that constant communications with the membership be at the forefront so that the leadership may know the pulse of the members on any given issue at any given time.  Relatedly, union representatives should remain ever-cognizant that members’ perceptions and demands are entirely dynamic and cannot always be readily rationalized.

Some studies also point to the importance of union leaders meeting the aspirations and expectations of membership if they are to maintain their commitment.  This can relate to issues of union democracy in the workplace, and the way in which this is fostered by the union leader, measured in terms of members’ views of the representativeness, accountability, and involvement of their union.  The tendency for the objectives of members and union leaders to diverge is well established.  This has been linked to the way in which many workplace unions have become increasingly bureaucratised, routinised and centralised.  The danger is that the stronger and more professional a union’s apparatus becomes, the greater the likelihood is of a disparity between the outlook of the leader and the rank and file.  Another view is that lay members can play a vital role in counteracting this by defining both substantive issues relevant to the union, and the styles of behaviour that union representatives can adopt.  Thus, the interplay between union leadership style and membership attitudes is seen as more of a two way process.

The studies which we have discussed previously also looked at leadership styles as they relate to retention of the union team, that team being the local executive officers and the local stewards.  In one survey conducted of local representatives, responses from those who participated showed their continued involvement or lack of continued involvement to fall squarely into one category – their needs/desires and the impact on their superiors’ leadership styles on those needs/desires.

Favoured survey respondents revealed that where leadership styles of their union superiors lack of empowerment and/or delegated authority, failure to recognize and award significant achievement or accomplishments or tended to not solicit effective input from the team, these styles created a loss of interest and motivation by other activists, resulting in those activists moving away from the union and into other endeavours.  In fact, a significant number of survey respondents revealed a move to the management cadre, where they felt their input was sought and their achievements recognized.

Many respondents also indicated their loss of interest in union mobility and the role of union representative in general as a result of hostility, unwarranted criticisms and aggressive behaviour directed at them by other union officers in elections where there were competing interests.  Some respondents reported leaving the union representative role as a result of the open favoritism shown to other union officers by union superiors in the form of perks, benefits, travel, recognition and assignment of interesting or high profile workloads.  Still others reported their departure from the position as a result of lack of support by union superiors and colleagues.  Finally, a significant number of respondents indicated the reason for their departure was due to disagreements with union superiors and colleagues as to the openly aggressive and militant style of dealing with the employer.

Those respondents who reported a reasonable period of longevity in the role of union representative and a renewed or continued interest in the union cited, amongst other things, reasons clearly associated with leadership styles of their union superiors and colleagues.  For the most part, respondents reported that where their needs/wants were met in part through a sense of accomplishment and a sense of helping others, their union superiors and colleagues, through their leadership styles, assisted them in achieving their needs and desires.  Among those positive leadership styles cited were the feeling of having their input and recommendations sincerely solicited, being recognized publicly for significant achievements, the opportunity to be an integral part of the decision-making team, a sense of collegiality and a team belief in the cause.  Other things cited were the receiving of tangible perks and benefits, social relationships developed with the union team and with members and the feeling of being “one component part of a well-oiled machine”.

The results of this survey and in fact, conclusions drawn from other studies show that perhaps the largest contributor to the retention of the union team is the impact and perception of leadership styles on the team.  As a result, union leaders must remain cognizant of not only how their actions, behaviours and decisions affect the rank and file members and the employer, but also how they affect the other executive officers and stewards of the local.  Again, leadership styles should not remain stagnant and leaders should solicit meaningful and constructive criticism from their team as to how to improve leadership styles.  As importantly, leaders should undertake related leadership training and continue to develop their skills in this area as leadership is integral to activist and membership support.

The trends noted in these studies were also echoed by many of the participants during the September 2008 workshops on Conflict within Locals.  Effective locals reported a cohesive team approach to administering a Local while those Locals who experienced difficulties in running their operations reported periods of conflict, in-fighting and divisiveness.  These factors reportedly related directly to the leadership and the leadership struggles within the Local Executives.

One method that was identified to assist in reducing conflict within Locals and Local Executives is the creation of clear and comprehensive by-laws and/or regulations which govern or provide guidance with respect to the substantial operations of the Local.  As a result, in the next Module, we will look at the topic of Local By-Laws and Regulations.