„‚ CONDITIONS THAT HINDER EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

❚❘
COMPETENCE IN MANAGING LATERAL
RELATIONS
W. Warner Burke and Celeste A. Coruzzi
Accomplishing things in a pyramidal organization is not quite as simple and effective a
process as it was a number of years ago. It is fairly clear that the pyramid is not working
as well as it once did, primarily because people have changed their values and their
attitudes about work. It seems that people who were teenagers in the Sixties are now
more dedicated to their chosen professions than they are to their organizations.
This trend is made apparent by the steady increase in the number of individuals who
are obtaining advanced degrees in a variety of professions. As a result, people are
entering into organizations at older ages and with higher levels of expertise required to
achieve work outcomes. In addition, they bring with them value systems that have been
nurtured outside their organizations and that are not necessarily in accord with company
policies and procedures. Consequently, corporate norms are being challenged.
As Douglas Bray (1986), formerly with AT&T Corporations, says, individuals are
not choosing management as often as before; instead, they are choosing professions.
This shift has great implications for the ways in which people are managed. We are in a
different stage of the pyramid today than we were in the past, so the traditional focus on
monetary rewards and obedience to authority needs to be altered. In order to cope with
the shift, people in organizations need to be able to influence one another in ways other
than those connected with monetary or position power.
With the recognition of this need, several important questions arise:
■ How can work be accomplished through other people when one does not have a
formal position of authority?
■ How can one influence people who are at the same hierarchical level but whose
motivations are different from one’s own?
■ How can one influence people who are at higher levels in the organizational
hierarchy?
Most formal education with regard to management development and training has
focused on managing subordinate relationships. However, the changing attitudes just
discussed require a different focus. One’s effectiveness in leading people without being
in a position of authority or status rests in his or her ability to influence. The issue of
influence as a form of leadership is the focus of this paper; the authors’ conclusions
Originally published in The 1987 Annual: Developing Human Resources by J. William Pfeiffer (Ed.), San Diego, CA: Pfeiffer &
Company.
386 ❘❚
The Pfeiffer Library Volume 6, 2nd Edition. Copyright ©1998 Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer