How to Combine Employee Empowerment with Operational Discipline? Gulati's 3P Framework




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Jaap de Jonge
Editor, Netherlands

How to Combine Employee Empowerment with Operational Discipline? Gulati's 3P Framework

🔥NEW According to Professor Ranjay Gulati, executives and managers have trouble resolving the tension between employee empowerment and operational discipline (in short: freedom and control). Freedom refers to trusting employees to think and act independently in behalf of the organization. Such freedom is known to increase organizational commitment, improve organizational performance, and to be conducive to innovation. However, unlimited freedom and/or zero control might be inefficient and impractical.

That's why Gulati suggests a "refinement" of earlier work of Bartlett and Ghoshal, who suggested a model built on an engaging corporate purpose, flexible management processes and an employee development policy. In order to resolve the tension between employee empowerment and operational discipline in a more practical and user-friendly way, he suggests a 3P Framework:


  1. PURPOSE - A single shared goal that sums up the "why" of the organization. It provides direction and meaning to everything the company and its employees do. See also How to Change Towards a Higher Organizational Purpose.
  2. PRIORITIES - Behavioral rules that reflect the organization's goals. The company's strategic interests, enabling employees to act accordingly and focus their time and company's resources properly. See also CSFs and KPIs and MBO.
  3. PRINCIPLES - A simple set of principles growing out the organization's purpose and priorities, and helping employees to choose among reasonable options in their day-to-day work. The principles may include positive guidelines for action as well as limits on certain behavior. It is important that the principles are neither defined too precise (that would prevent employee empowerment), nor should they be formulated so broad that they provide no useful guidance.
The author stresses the importance of periodic reviewing and tweaking the framework components (purpose, priorities and principles) using employee and managerial feedback. This connects it to practice and legitimizes it in the eyes of employees.

Drawback of the framework is it's fragility due to its vulnerability to dissolution and it's tendency - if unattended - to revert to bureaucracy. This should be prevented by conscious maintenance and by spending a lot of energy to keep the 3P's in the focus of both management and the employees, continually redefining, evolving and aligning them with the company's changing needs.
Sources:
Ranjay Gulati: "Structure that's not Stifling: How to Give your People Essential Direction - Without Shutting them Down" HBR May-June 2018, pp. 70-79
Christopher A. Bartlett and Sumantra Ghoshal, "Changing the Role of Top Management: Beyond Systems to People", HBR May-June 1995.
 

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3
Joao Paulo Feijoo
Portugal
 

3 Ps and Ambidextrous Organization

This framework fits neatly to the concept of organizational ambidexterity, with the 'freedom' side c... Sign up

 
5
Henry Velasquez
Manager, Colombia
 

Empowerment versus Discipline

Discipline and empowerment have been two important points to contrast in several studies. But the re... Sign up

 
2
Bernhard Keim
Business Consultant, Germany
 

Too Simple Approach

Replace Freedom by Creativity and Control by Coordination and you get a better framework for a viabl... Sign up

 
4
Alan
Student (University), China
 

Innate Ability and Outside Control

Freedom and control are both important to motivate employees and run a company. In my opinion, free... Sign up

 
3
Jaap de Jonge
Editor, Netherlands
 

Struggling with Empowerment vs. Control

I guess we can all see organizations with lots of “white collar” workers, both for profit and non-pr... Sign up

 
5
Dr. Remenyi
Coach, Austria
 

Redefine Control

In my work as a consultant the companies I consulted have found it necessary to redefine the usual c... Sign up

 
2
Kappagomtula CL
Professor, Malaysia
 

Gulati's 3P Model Requires Good Organizational Ethos

Ranjay Gulati's 3P model success depends upon the fineness with which the fulcrum (Ed:~ center) of t... Sign up

 
1
Jayaram
Business Consultant, India
 

Aspects of Balance Freedom <> Control

Most organisations seem to have missed the balance of Gulati. My experience is that most of the tim... Sign up

 
2
Patric Siesing
Consultant, Sweden
 

Focus on the Freedom and Control that is Needed

I think that what is needed should guide the solution: What is the control about? What is reall... Sign up

 
1
Armando Aramayo
Business Consultant, Peru
 

Empowerment Must Emphasize Discipline

If the rules are clear and everyone knows that they must be followed, empowering certain people is a... Sign up

 
4
Fredrick Odenge
Turnaround Manager, Kenya
 

Employee Empowerment versus Operational Discipline

It is a wonderful thing to empower employees in any organization. This gives them freedom to execute... Sign up

 
1
Bernhard Keim
Business Consultant, Germany
 

Follow the Golden Rules

@Fredrick Odenge: Follow the 1st Golden Rule: "Treat others at least as good as you want to be trea... Sign up

 
3
Patric Siesing
Consultant, Sweden
 

Cultural Biases in Empowerment versus Discipline

Well, it also depends on the culture. My point of departure is Swedish. Where it is not easy to fire... Sign up

 
1
Josephat Olwal Ngesah
Kenya
 

Empowerment versus Control for Millennials

What you all have said is true. Our organizations are-not straight jackets (ed: ~restraining clothin... Sign up

 
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Maurice Hogarth
Consultant, United Kingdom
 

Employee Empowerment Against Unwanted Anarchy

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