PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS OF LEADERSHIP (17th May)

Initially I held a preconceived notion that the ‘Coffee Spilling Exercise’ would fail to provide a useful insight to my reflections on leadership.

However on the contrary, once engaged an important underlying principle was realised, which to a great extent can be extending onto more meaningful examples.

Upon commencing the team meeting, in order to resolve the issue I was met by a sense of indirect resistance and displeasure. As the meeting progressed it was realised that such behaviour was due to members having a negative perception of how I was to conduct the meeting and establish the corrective actions needed. Although nothing was explicitly said regarding such resistance, the commanding presence of some of the team members was able to surface some of the frustrations. None the less the decision made intentionally by myself to first discuss common ground and areas of agreement, enable me to capture the attention of the team and dissolve some of the factors generating barriers and resistance.

It is felt that a leader should be able to increasingly bridge the gap between the thinking of many employees whom often pitch themselves against management as “Us against them”. The ability to unify such discrepancy is to have a significant effort on the transition of change (as shown in today’s exercise).

: 17 May 2010 22:55 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS OF LEADER (17th May)

Initially I held a preconceived notion that the ‘Coffee Spilling Exercise’ would fail to provide a useful insight to my reflections on leadership.

However on the contrary, once engaged an important underlying principle was realised, which to a great extent can be extending onto more meaningful examples.

Upon commencing the team meeting, in order to resolve the issue I was met by a sense of indirect resistance and displeasure. As the meeting progressed it was realised that such behaviour was due to members having a negative perception of how I was to conduct the meeting and establish the corrective actions needed. Although nothing was explicitly said regarding such resistance, the commanding presence of some of the team members was able to surface some of the frustrations. None the less the decision made intentionally by myself to first discuss common ground and areas of agreement, enable me to capture the attention of the team and dissolve some of the factors generating barriers and resistance.

It is felt that a leader should be able to increasingly bridge the gap between the thinking of many employees whom often pitch themselves against management as “Us against them”. The ability to unify such discrepancy is to have a significant effort on the transition of change (as shown in today’s exercise).

: 17 May 2010 22:54 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Leadership and the Organisational/ Business Environment

As literature will attest, innovation is key for the current and future progression of an organisation which operates in today’s constantly changing business environment. To achieve such innovation it is paramount that the strategy proposed to deliver such progression is ‘lead’.

Therefore it is suggested in order to tackle such difficulties; organisations should seek to establish an environment which actively seeks to openly acknowledge positive actions which are influential to the wider team’s ability to deliver. Through identifying an individuals ability to guide the wider team to operate with greater cohesion in order to achieve the organisation objectives successfully, is to deliver a message which transcend throughout the organisation and thus encouraging more of the same.

i.e.: the environment proposed should be one which seeks to foster such attributes within employees. Listening, Enthusiasm, Awareness, a sense of urgency, equality (Self-worth), l critical thinking and acknowledging Success and achievements at all levels

: 11 May 2010 00:30 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

LEADERS AND CHILDREN

Some of the characteristics necessary for a leader to possess can be likened to a number of behavioural traits which are present within children. Thinking back when I was a child, I remember asking questions which stemmed from curiosity and interest of understanding a subject matter/ issue which was of particular interest to me during such phase of my childhood.

However it was the openness and directness of the questions posed which should be given applause, as it is felt that the this ability to candidly ask questions and confront sensitive and difficult issues is to a great extent lost as we mature as adults. It can be suggested that losing such ability to freely address such curiosity, originates from an increasing pressure to confirm to cultural norms and other social behaviour during adulthood.

However when discussed in context of leadership, it can be observed that the effective leader is able to retain this unlearnt childhood ability to approach uncertainty in a open and direct manner.

: 08 May 2010 00:21 |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

The Dynamic of Emotions within Leadership

Reflecting on the most effective leaders which greatly inspire me; can all be said to have a shared ability to understand the complexities of emotions surrounding their situation.

It can be said that their ability to accurately assess the current emotions of their followers, and proficiently translate such understanding into decisive and constructive action which is aligned with the desired direction of the followers. Similarly on the other hand it can be stated that the leaders have an innate ability to communicate the desired direction of the people, with the ability to influence new emotions within the followers opposed to solely translating the current desired direction.

The figure i've created hopes to better communicate such assessment:

                                                                                    Vision

                 Direction determined by followers:                                             Direction not influenced by followers:

                           TRANSLATED ACTION                communication                     TOTALLY NEW DIRECTION

                                      Leadership is able to determine which approach should be applied

: 07 May 2010 23:30 |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Leadership power and influence

Leadership and power to a great extent complement one another.

However gaining power is often a challenging task. During the module exercise I realised:

“The quickest way to gain power is to give it away” as this empowering of the team allows members to openly challenge the leader, thus enabling the leader to evaluate their outlook/ perception and behaviour through which they evolve into a more self conscious and dynamic leader as a result.

Moreover, such belief can be reinforced by the example used by Paul Roberts yesterday; of when he was a line manager and allowed team members to confront him regarding his ascribed status, via his ‘open door policy’ it can be said that this empowering of the team allowed the leader to reflect and further adopt the changes needed for progression.

: 06 May 2010 18:40 |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

MY CURRENT THINKING ON LEADERSHIP

Afternoon all,

Based upon my current understanding, I would define a leader as an individual who knows their strengths and has a clear understanding of their current limitations; it can be said that such understanding comes from ‘self realisation’ which is grounded in objectivity, ultimately allowing a greater level of clarity and direction to be achieved.

Conversely, it is felt that in order for a leader to maintain their position, they must be an “insider customer “ through which is meant that; they must have a comprehensive internal understanding of the organisation, whilst remaining entirely objective. Their objectivity should be translated through actions which are communicated in a confident and passionate execution. They are also able to stimulate the team, so that they challenge current thinking and thus become more efficient and effective in their conduct and execution of the activities at hand.

I am interested to see how my current perception of leadership is to change during the progression of the module.

Regards,

: 04 May 2010 16:45 |  Comments (2) |  Close comments |  Report a problem