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Topic 11 – Workplace performance counselling

MGMT341 – Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Summary of Topic 10

Existentialists reject all scientific models of man

They believe that freedom is the primary datum of human existence: that is, for existentialists, people are never without choice

In particular, in the existentialist outlook, emotions are strategies, stereotyped behaviour that people adopt in specific situations…

to comply with social expectations

to escape personal responsibility and ultimately existential anxiety

If this is the case, then alternatives exist and must be sought after when stereotyped answers do not lead to productive outcomes

This perspective, although demanding, can be applied to counselling and performance appraisal, that is, to work and other social contexts where performance is found wanting

Topic 11: Learning objectives

Stoic virtue

Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT)

Intellectual maturity

Workplace performance counselling

Rhetoric as remedy

NB: the content of this lecture has been in main extracted from pp. 79-86 of Spillane, R. & Joullié, J.-E. 2015. Philosophy of Leadership. London: Palgrave (cf. reading on myGust); see also the Spillane (1987) reading on myGust

Stoicism

Stoicism is a philosophy that emerged in Greece in the 3rd century BC and remained important until the 6th century AD

Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (121-180) was a major contributor to stoic thought

For stoics, knowledge is virtue and ignorance, vice; among the various virtues, the most important ones are wisdom, justice, courage and self-control

Wisdom is knowledge of good and evil

Justice is knowledge that makes one superior to anything that happens

Courage is knowledge of what should be done or chosen

Self-control is knowledge of that reason that no emotion or passion can overcome

Conversely, passions lead to unhappiness

The most destructive passions are anxiety, fear, desire and craving for pleasure

Desires are to be satisfied only if virtue permits

Stoic virtue

Human beings have the capacity for virtue and happiness but need to choose them since neither is not the result of social conditioning

Stoics believe that, no matter how many misfortunes befall them, people can always do something about these misfortunes

In other words, what really matters is not what happens to one, but how one takes it

In all situations, stoics seek to remain calm, composed, rational, just, independent and dignified, that is, psychologically stronger than those who keep complaining

The essence of good and evil is in the will, the control of which lies in one’s power: one can conquer one’s will but nothing in the external world can conquer it

To be rational is to work hard to overcome the obstacles to virtuous life through self-talk: irrational thinking is self-defeating self-talk

The most important power is thus that of self-persuasion

Stress and distress

Most people believe that external factors (stressors) are causes of stress and distress, with distress being viewed as severe, chronic stress

Stoics insist that such conception is a fundamental error

They accept that stress is externally imposed, but maintain that distress is internally generated: people have to accept a degree of responsibility for their stress

Stoics insist that stress is always followed by beliefs about stress which, in turn, lead to either desire to overcome one’s problems, or distress and eventually giving up on one’s life (a.k.a. ‘depression’)

They argue that people have considerable powers to cope with and eliminate distress

All behaviour can be changed and stress is a good reason to do so if current habits are self-defeating

Eliminating distress does not automatically lead to happiness but is a first step

Albert Ellis (1913-2007)

Ellis was an American psychologist remembered as the founding father of cognitive-behavioural therapies which revolutionised psychotherapy from 1950 onward

In 1982, Ellis was voted by the American Psychological Association the second most important psychologist of the 20th century, before Freud

In 2007, he came sixth on the same survey

Rational Emotional Behavioural Therapy (REBT), Ellis’ major contribution to psychology, owes some ideas to existentialism but is much indebted to Stoicism

Ellis’ Stoicism

Ellis embraced the Stoics’ fundamental assumption that individuals are disturbed not by events, but by how they take these events

Individuals must accept the fact of their free will and accept their responsibility for creating their distressing feelings and the irrational actions that flow from them

It is therefore a mistake to believe that stress automatically causes distress or that distress can only be eliminated by removing stressors: irrational thinking, not stress, creates distress

Learning to recognise and change the self-talk that creates upsetting emotions leads to developing greater capacities for dealing with problems in living and eventually leads to more satisfying lives

On these principles, Ellis developed a series of techniques meant to help people address their problems and improve their lives: REBT

Irrational and rational beliefs

According to Ellis, a belief…

is rational if it is self-promoting and can be supported by logic and evidence

is irrational if it is self-defeating and cannot be supported by logic and evidence

By encouraging individuals to dispute and abandon irrational beliefs about themselves, REBT follows a critical method not unlike that of science and invites people to appreciate the difference between dogmatic and critical beliefs

By careful examination of facts and rational argumentation, one can recognise that one distorts reality, that does not ‘have to’ succeed and that alternatives exist

Overall model of REBT

Self-defeating cycle

Self-promoting cycle

Stress

Why me?

Destructive (irrational) self-talk: I am worthless

Distress

This is awful!

This is unfair!

Self-defeating behaviour

Stress

This is unfortunate but can happen to anyone

Willingness to improve

Coping strategies

Constructive (rational) self-talk: can I do better?

REBT’s five basic principles

Adverse events are not upsetting but irrational beliefs and behaviour about these events are, because they lead to distressing emotions

When individuals believe that adversities are terrible, awful and unbearable, they develop irrational feelings and ultimately ‘depression’, hostility and anxiety

Individuals always have a choice of how they can take adverse events since beliefs are not forced upon them by anyone

Individuals can learn to see the difference between the consequences of rational and irrational choices when faced with adverse events and correct their choices accordingly

Individuals can become more virtuous by embracing three positions

Unconditional self-acceptance (accepting that one is not perfect, i.e. fallible)

Unconditional self-acceptance of others (accepting that they are not perfect , i.e. fallible human beings)

Unconditional life-acceptance (accepting that life is not perfect)

Ten clusters of noxious self-talk (1)

Everyone must be loved or endorsed by everyone else

Everyone must be thoroughly competent, adequate and successful to be worth anything

Some people are wicked and must be severely blamed and punished for their villainy

It is awful and catastrophic when things are not as individuals want them to be

Human unhappiness is externally caused and individuals have no ability to control their emotions

Ten clusters of noxious self-talk (2)

If something is or may become dangerous, individuals must be terribly concerned about it and must keep thinking about the possibility of its occurring

It is easier to avoid than to face life’s difficulties and responsibilities

Individuals must be dependent on others and need someone stronger than themselves on whom to rely

The past history of individuals determines their present and future behaviour; something that once affected their lives will have the same effect indefinitely

Individuals must become upset over other people’s problems and emotional disturbances

Three life-sabotaging habits

Unreasonable thinking: people upset themselves by making unreasonable demands on the world, other people and themselves (‘musturbation’)

Exaggeration: people exaggerate the negative consequences of practical problems (‘disastritis’)

Overgeneralisation: when people or others fail to solve problems or perform poorly at a task, they rate themselves or others as worthless (‘awfulizing’)

Shame-attacking exercises

Ellis acknowledged that changing self-talk is not enough; one also has to change self-defeating behaviour

Many people berate themselves for incompetent performance

That is, they suffer from shame and embarrassment at the thought of their failures

It is possible to desensitise oneself to situations that provoke shame and embarrassment by way of shame-attacking exercises (example here)

Perform in public acts that one finds foolish, ridiculous, humiliating or embarrassing

When one performs such acts, one must do one’s best to replace feelings of shame or embarrassment with more rational feelings

The point of Ellis’ shame-attacking exercises is to understand that one does not have to feel ashamed or embarrassed in particular situations

Indeed, one can feel amused, happy or energised when acting eccentrically

Stress, intellectual maturity and managerial performance

The ability to resist (di)stress is part and parcel of a manager’s job

It is a sign of this manager’s intellectual maturity

Besides, most jobs and in particular management jobs entail a degree of decision-making

Applying existing rules and procedures to situations does not involve decision-making: a machine could do the job

Decision-making typically requires ignoring or adjusting, to some extent, existing rules and regulations, or requires improvising new ones suited to the particular issue at hand

Doing so requires independence of judgement and personal responsibility

Performance, especially managerial performance, thus demands resistance to stress and a degree of autonomy, both of this demand intellectual emancipation

Workplace performance counselling

Workplace performance counselling is the process by which an employee’s performance is appraised and discussed

Individual performance has two aspects

Technical performance is a measure of how competent the employee is

NB: for an entry-level position, this aspect is typically the most important; for a senior managerial position, this aspect is normally inexistent or negligible

General (behavioural) performance, which is a reflection of how the employee makes decisions and interacts with peers, colleagues and subordinates, i.e. how the employee communicates and behaves generally

The more senior the employee, the more important this dimension becomes

If technical performance is defective, the remedy is training

If general performance is defective, the remedy is development, notably by helping the employee become more intellectually mature

Pitfalls of performance counselling

Most managers, when conducting performance appraisals, tend to reprimand their subordinates and offer direct recommendations to improve their performance

Doing this amounts to presenting oneself (knowingly or not) as psychologically superior to them

Such interviews increase managerial control, place subordinates in a position of psychological dependence and are unlikely to help them improve their autonomy and intellectual authority

Scolding or the provision of advice (even if well-intended) discourages people from accepting responsibility for their decisions

Improving performance

Productive counselling (that is, counselling meant to improve performance) rejects the traditional model and is not unlike REBT

The ideas is to grow people’s own ability to identify problems, consider them rationally, investigate new solutions and accept the responsibilities that flow therefrom

This is done by helping subordinates…

clarify their situation

confront their problems

identify possible alternatives and choose responsibly one of them

Since counselling is a linguistic exercise, genuine counselling requires understanding the functions of language and recognising that rhetoric is either noble or base

The functions of language

Functions	What is conveyed
Promissory	Intentions
Advisory	Recommendations
Argumentative	Reasons
Descriptive	Statements
Expressive	Feelings

To promise, one must accept recommendations.

To advise, one needs to justify.

To argue, one needs to describe (explain what one believes the world to be).

To describe, one needs to express (convey how one senses the world).

Noble versus base rhetoric

	Value
Function	Noble	Base
Promissory	Responsibility	Non-responsibility
Advisory	Cooperation	Control
Argumentative	Autonomy	Dependence
Descriptive	Truth	Falsity
Expressive	Revealing	Concealing

Noble versus base rhetoricians

Noble rhetoricians…	Base rhetoricians…
encourage promising because it requires responsibility and overcoming adversities.	discourage promising but encourage looking for excuses.
argue to clarify misconceptions and to liberate from prejudices.	argue to obfuscate and coerce.
describe to cooperate and point to possibilities.	advise to control and promote their reputation or agenda.
describe to expose.	describe to hide.

Example of base rhetoric

Function of language	Restaurant manager (line manager)	Maître d’hôtel (subordinate)
Promissory	‘My manager will now decide what happens next; this matter is now out of my hands.’	‘I do not know what to do. It’s not my fault!’
Advisory	‘You must improve! All your colleagues are complaining about you; they believe you are stupid! They want me to fire you! Look at how good Helen is. You could learn at from her!’	‘Stop harassing me or I will sue!’
Argumentative	‘I can make your life hell!’ ‘You have no choice but do as I say!’	‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I can’t help it.’ ‘I was not late; you say this because you don’t like me. You are sexist and racist.’
Descriptive	‘What’s wrong with you? You are hopeless! You Latinos are all the same! Because of you the restaurant is going broke!’ ‘You make a mess of everything.’	‘You are mean with me. You always give me horrible looks. Stop watching me! When you watch me, I get nervous!’ ‘I am not like this with other people.’ ‘This booking system is stupid!’ ‘Nothing ever works for me!’
Expressive	‘I do not know what to do with you! I am so upset with you!’	‘I am sorry; I’ve got too much on my mind since I broke up with my partner and I do not know where to start.’

Example of noble rhetoric

Function of language	Restaurant manager (line manager)	Maître d’hôtel (subordinate)
Promissory	‘I will have to let you go if you do not improve.’	‘I need this job to pay for my Uni fees and will make it up for you. We meet again in two weeks – you will not be disappointed. And if you are, I will resign.’
Advisory	‘When Helen started with us, she also made many mistakes. You should have a chat with her; she might have some tips for you.’ ‘You have strengths; try to use them.’	‘I recommend we simplify the booking procedure. I also believe that whoever takes the bookings over the phone should not be responsible for taking orders from diners.’
Argumentative	‘Your recent behaviour is not compatible with the kind of restaurant this place tries to be. We have worked hard to have the reputation we have now and cannot risk having it damaged further.’	‘The booking system is not user-friendly; there are too many screens to go through. Much of the information we have to key in is not relevant. This makes it difficult to process orders.’
Descriptive	‘You have arrived late 6 times over the last 3 weeks and each time I had to cover for you. You have also made mistakes on 5 customer orders. Yesterday, 11 guests arrived, saying they had a booking but we did not know because you did not record their request in the system. This is not acceptable.’	know. I also forgot the coffees of table 22 last night, yet they were on the bill. I apologised to the clients.’
Expressive	‘How are you?’	‘Very well thank you. And yourself?’

Rhetoric as remedy

If thinking is talking to oneself as the Stoics insist, then the languages one uses in self-talk determines how one thinks, behaves, sees the world and understands oneself

Employing base rhetoric in self-talk will result in self-inflicted misery

One will believe that one is not in control of one’s life, one will not see reality for what it is or what it could become, for one will be unable to make promises, to oneself or to others

The remedy to such misery is noble rhetoric, i.e., a language of accurate descriptions, logical arguments, autonomy and responsibility

The good news is that noble rhetoric can be taught and learnt

MGMT341

Questions?