1/8 | Leadership & Organizations
Last summer I decided that I was going to apply to one graduate program and see if I got in. I was intentional as to what type of program I would apply to. I did not want to ‘waste’ my time on something my brain deemed uninteresting. Or rather, something my mind could not stay focused on.
I was accepted. I started in January of this year.
I have two assignments left in my Leadership and Organizations class. After I have completed this class, I will have a week break until I begin the next class in my Master of Science in Organizational Leadership circuit.
I opened up the class writing an essay of my initial perceptions of leadership.
“I often ponder the logic behind something and why it is the way it is. I have been a witness of situations where a person has performed an act that leaves me no other choice but to sit and question. I don’t believe that I have solved all of the world’s problems by trying to think in an abstract way. Trying to be different is not an anticipated goal of mine. It is to simply be in sync to the situation I am in. To question, to think, to listen are all attributes that I find to be valuable when leading oneself, leading others, and leading organizations.”
In the early weeks of this class, we began evaluating ourselves and leaders we have had in our lives thus far. I remember when I was in high school I believed leadership to have a persona of “I am the boss, listen to me. Do as I say.” To which now, I challenge that perspective.
Not only in the workplace, one’s emotions and behavior can have an impact on how one is perceived. In one of our readings, “Business Leadership,” a Jossey-Bass Reader, one of the chapters (on page 25) stated the below.
“In short, leaders’ emotional states and actions do affect how the people they lead will feel and perform. How well leaders manage their moods and affect everyone else’s moods, then, becomes not just a private matter, but a factor in how well a business will do.”
To which I ended this particular content review….
“In closing, the behavior approaches of leaders impact every aspect of a business. A leader that fails to meet expectations or is closed off to continuous improvement will lead a disappointing life. Or, they might just be a narcissist and can sleep at night no matter how they behave.”
I remember in my Russian History class, I had an essay to which somewhere in it, I quoted John Maher. Cause why not? It did not go over well. This time, I slid the last line in for some humor and it was well-received. I felt redeemed.
Do you think a leader’s mood affects an organization? Have you experienced situations that have been impacted by someone in a leadership position?
It is not my job to slam every person that has not met expectations of a well-performing leader. It should not be yours either. Even though I had some PTSD while writing some of my content reviews for this class, it was healing. Our jobs as professionals and decent human beings are to inform ourselves so we do not repeat poor behavior and actions.
In week five, I metaphorically tore apart a chapter of “Leadership: Theory & Practice” by Peter G. Northouse. In my opinion, there were some gaps between the lines that I was reading, and decided to challenge them. Below are excerpts of that content review.
“On page 428, third paragraph down, I tabbed the word aretaic. Aretaic means excellence or virtue. I believe to have heard this word before, but I found it interesting (or I guess making sense since it is Greek and so is Aristotle) to be mentioned right before Aristotle’s viewpoint on what it means to be an ethical person. Also on page 428, it states “(based on the writings of Aristotle,) a moral person demonstrates the virtues of courage, temperance, generosity, self-control, honesty, sociability, modesty, fairness, and justice. For Aristotle: virtues allowed people to live well in communities.” This sounds like a walk in the park, am I right?
All jokes aside, taking this section into consideration when reading The Dark Side of Leadership on page 431, could offer the argument that some leaders falter to the dark side of leadership because they are either not well-equipped or flat out unaware of how they are leading. Dark Leadership also made me ponder if PIP and PEP plans are ethical.”
I provided an example that questioned if PIP and PEP plans are ethical. As this week focused on the ethics in a business.
So, are they ethical? If a business is failing at providing well defined stability. A well-defined sales strategy, stable income, modern technology… does the employee have a justified reason if they fall into a PIP or PEP plan? What accountability is there for the business who may be missing the mark. Can we put them on an improvement plan? And by them- the leadership. Who holds them accountable? Accountable for how they treat their directs. How they interact with people from the janitor to the CEO? So many questions to ponder.
To continue with an excerpt (pg. 435) from Northouse…
“Ethical leaders are concerned about issues of fairness and justice they make it a top priority to treat all of their followers in an equal manner. Justice demands that leaders place issues of fairness at the center of their decision making as a rule no one should receive special treatment or special consideration except when their particular situation demands it. When individuals are treated differently the grounds for different treatment must be clear and reasonable, and must be based on moral values.”
This past week, I analyzed chapter twenty-eight in Jossey-Bass.
Section “What Might a Learning Culture Look Like” described the characteristics of a learning culture that leads to identifying ten key issues.
- A proactivity assumption
- A commitment to learning to learn
- A positive assumption about human nature
- An assumption that the environment can be dominated
- A commitment to truth through pragmatism and inquiry
- An orientation toward the future
- A commitment to full and open task relevant communication
- A commitment to diversity
- A commitment to systematic thinking
- A commitment to cultural analysis for understanding and improving the world
I have left out my input for each of the ten to allow for a broader perspective for yourself as a leader. Both books that I have mentioned in this blog, are worth the purchase. They will be referenced and added to my professional library.
In closing, that is a rushed summary of what I have learned in this class. These are points that I found most interesting to ponder and also write a 1k+ blog about.
If you are a leader, an aspiring leader, or someone who just likes learning about new topics-continue to educate yourself. Talk to people. Learn about the multitude of ways to approach situations.
We are never too young or old to continue to learn. We can fall into a pit of nothingness and lose our ability to question, think, and observe the ‘right’ way of performing something. Whatever the right way is.
If learning about leadership is not your jam- go find your jam; and never stop dancing.
Danae Decker 