A633.1.2.RB_GowensBrianne_Reflections on the Leadership Gap

Reflecting on Leadership

In chapter 1 of his textbook “Complex Adaptive Leadership," Obolensky (2014) recommended that readers take spend some time thinking about the way people view leaders today, and why this view may have changed in recent times.  

Has your own attitude to leaders change in your life, and if so how?

My attitude towards leaders has certainly changed over time. Early in my career, I was very intimidated by the leaders in my organization and I never would have considered questioning their authority or their knowledge. I used to envision leadership roles as positions that were earned as a result of some combination of (1) time at the organization, (2) accomplishments during that time, and (3) deep knowledge that could only be gained as a result of longevity.

As my career has matured, I’ve been exposed to many different types of leaders and this has helped change the way I look at people in leadership roles. If I reflect back on the types of leaders that I respected the most, factor number (1) above plays almost no role in how they became leaders. Katherine, for example, is my age, and has been doing the same type of role as me for only five or so years longer than me. She has a different educational background and a different personal background, but professionally, we are very much alike. When I worked with Katherine, she managed a team of ten people, three of which had been with the company for over 25 years each. Her abilities, thirst for learning, charisma, and passion for the people, the job, and the company she works for helped propel Katherine into a leadership role ahead of many others who had more experience than her. As a result, I am less intimidated by leaders and more quick to contribute to organizational strategies, even if I am bringing forward ideas that aren’t in the leader’s immediate line of sight.   Because of my interaction with leaders like Katherine, I see leadership as a much more collaborative role than I did when I was in the early years of my career.

Is there a changing generational trend in leadership? If so, what is it?

I started my career in contracts and procurement when I was in my early 20’s as a college intern at Eastern Washington’s Hanford Nuclear Power Plant. People spoke of the fact that nearly half of the workforce at Hanford would be eligible to retire within five years when I was first starting out. Needless to say, the work force was dominated by very tenured people, and newbies like me were struggling to gain traction.

Fast forward 15 years and things have changed quite significantly. I do believe there is a changing generational trend in leadership, and that is likely the result of the frequently changing societies in which we live. One trend I have noticed personally is the increase in the size of teams and a decrease in the size of management. Another trend I have noticed is a renewed focus on developing young people through sophisticated leadership training programs and certification. Finally, I have noticed a trend in increasing the importance that organizations put on diversity and inclusion. The increasing number of minorities who are stepping into leadership roles is evidence of this.

Why has this change occurred?

As mentioned above, today’s businesses are forced to respond to frequently changing dynamics in the economies in which they market their products and services. These dynamics have resulted in an atmosphere where agility is often valued more than longevity. Many of the leaders that I see excelling today are those who grew up at a time when the U.S. economy was experiencing some of its greatest moments of uncertainty in history. Emerging leaders grew up surrounded by highly stressed and likely emotional people who were forced to redefine their own careers as a result of economic instability. I believe younger generations may be more keen on predicting future markets and may be more comfortable with new strategies because of this. They may also be more prepared to deal with failure, and turn it into opportunity, which is an exciting leadership quality in the eyes of business owners today.

A511.9.3.RB_GowensBrianne_Course Reflections

Original Leadership Definition (Module 1): A leader is someone who has the ability to motivate and inspire others, thereby influencing them to work towards a goal.

As I reflect back on my original definition of leadership, I think about all of the ways the readings from this MSLD 511 leadership course have informed and shaped my vision of leadership. Prior to starting this course, leadership seemed like such a simple concept. Initially, a leader in my mind was just a person who stood out as the one individual in the group whom others chose to follow. A manager, on the other hand, was an individual others do not necessarily chose to follow, but do follow because of organizational hierarchies. A leader doesn’t always come with the power to make decisions, but followers often follow the direction of the leader because they are motivated and inspired to do so. Managers usually have the power to make decisions, but their followers may be acting out of obligation instead of passion. All of these ideas were present in my mind before the course began and, in some ways, they were further cemented as the course progressed. There were some key ideas, however, that changed my view of leadership and made me think more seriously about the type of leader I aspire to be.

For example, learning about the trait and skill leadership theories has made me want to put a renewed focus on working to improve traits such as intelligence and charisma. I will do this by utilizing some of the tips I learned from Antonakis' (2015), such as using hands motions during speech to convey passion. Learning about the path-goal theory has helped me recognize the value in making organizational goals clearer, and highlighting a follower’s path to reach those goals. The path-goal theory has also strengthened my belief that rewards for good performance are an effective motivation tool. The situational approach reminded me that I can be a strong leader in a single situation, but a truly skilled leader will be flexible and adapt to all kinds of different situations. These and many more of the theories learned during this course have given me a new perspective on what it means to be an effective leader. 

I still feel that my original definition of leadership is a good one, but if I could change it slightly based on what i’ve learned the last nine weeks, I would add something. I think my current definition lacks the directive quality that well rounded leaders need to have. 

According to Northouse (2016), directive leaders aren’t simply people who order others around. Rather, directive leaders help others by giving direction when followers need it. In my opinion, one of the keys to providing direction is knowing when (and when not) to do it. If a leader is too directive, they can gain a reputation amongst the team as a micro-manager. According to Blanchard (2008), a high directive/low supportive leader tells people “what, how, when, and where to do various tasks” (p.19). Being highly directive isn’t necessarily a bad thing because, like I mentioned, there is a time and place for this type of leadership. Followers like the thought of being empowered by their leaders so that they have to autonomy to decide how to do their work, but they also like the idea that a leader will step in and give firm direction when the team is unsure what to do. 

I aspire to be a balanced leader, who has knowledge about the topic I lead, am able to connect with and inspire people, and am able to make definitive decisions and direct followers on how to execute. My new definition of leadership reflects my revised thoughts on what a successful leader looks like.

Revised Leadership Definition (Module 9): A leader is someone who has subject-matter knowledge, has the ability to motivate and inspire others, provides firm direction when needed, and can thereby influencing followers to work towards a goal.

References

Antonakis, J. (2015, March). Let’s face it: Charisma matters [Video file]. Retrieved from http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/Let-s-face-it-Charisma-matters

Blanchard, K. (2008). Leadership Excellence.  An integrative definition of leadership. International Journal of Leadership Studies, 25(5), 19. 

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publishing.

A511.7.3.RB_GowensBrianne_Inner Work for Authentic Leadership

I have been working in the field of contracts for over thirteen years and as I reflected on this question, I realized the real-word experiences that stand out for me most are the ones that included confrontation. This confrontation usually came in the form of a face to face contractual negotiation with a supplier or a customer, and sometimes they included internal negotiations as well. Prior to face to face negotiations, I do a lot of preparing and strategizing. This process of preparing and then executing on a strategy has been extremely educational and instructional for me.

Although George discussed the importance of reflecting verbally, I find that my best reflection is done in writing (George, 2012). When I’ve had a difficult conversation or a tough negotiation, I tend to go straight to my computer and summarize the situation in an email. Sometimes I send the email to a colleague and sometimes I don’t, but the process of re-living the experience and documenting it helps me in two ways. First, it helps me vent. When I’ve been in a confrontation, I have a lot of frustration that builds up. I am very emotionally connected to my work, so if I feel that things didn’t go exactly as planned, I can get very tense. Summarizing the situation helps relieve that tension. The second way this helps me is the organizational aspect of it. I tend to like things organized and clearly documented, so I find it soothing to spill my thoughts in an email for the purposes of record keeping. Northouse (2016) stated that authentic leadership is often nurtured and developed throughout the leader’s lifetime, and reflecting via written notes is a form of nurturing for me.

Most of my reflection is done internally, but I do have a couple of colleagues that I can receive honest feedback from. There is one person in particular who used to work in my group but moved out of my group approximately one year ago. I feel most comfortable receiving feedback from him because he’s removed from my chain of command. Even though he’s removed, he has a basic knowledge of my experiences because he used to be in my group. 

I have found that I get the most honest feedback if I request it off-premise. For example, if I have these discussions with my colleagues during lunch or after work at a happy hour, they seem to be more open to speaking candidly. Alternatively, if we are eating in the lunchroom or chatting at our desks, feedback tends to be more vague. I think the obvious explanation for this is the worry that others may hear our discussions. Sometimes people are even concerned with the perception that comes with two people talking quietly to each other. There may be an automatic assumption that the two are discussing something negative about other colleagues or about the organization.

My methods of reflecting and seeking feedback have certainly impacted my leadership abilities. I believe the practice of reflecting via written notes and emails has actually helped me stand out from my peers. I recently had to travel oversees for a meeting with one of our customers and each day after the meeting, I sent comprehensive notes to my leadership team. These notes included summaries of the conversations, my general impressions of the meetings, and action items for all parties. Another colleague of mine traveled around the same time and did not send these notes. When each of us had returned from our trips, two managers commended me for taking the time to send these notes, and one manager even recognized me in our staff meeting for being so thorough. This practice has helped me gain self-efficacy, which includes the ability to recognize situations that have an outcome valued by an individual (Helland & Winston, 2005).

This method of reflecting was calming for me, but it has also helped me recognize a behavior that other leaders find valuable to the organization. Behavior, passion, consistency, and connectedness are all characteristics highlighted by George as dimensions of authentic leadership (Northouse, 2016). Each of these four characteristics are also highlighted with the habit I have created of reflecting with comprehensive notes. 

References

George, B. (2012, Nov.). Harvard's Bill George: Inner Work for Authentic Leadership [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/SmPu2LQ84ts

Helland, M. R., and Winston, B. E. (2005). Towards a Deeper Understanding of Hope and Leadership. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 12(2), 42-54.

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publishing.

A511.6.3.RB_GowensBrianne_A Leader From the Past

The first time I had a transformational leader was in 2007 when I worked for a company called Fluor Corporation in Houston, Texas. When I first moved to Houston, I started working in a group as an expeditor supporting a domestic oil and gas project. After one year, I was transferred within the company to work on a different project; this time supporting an oil and gas customer in the Middle East. Although I was still working for Fluor, I had a completely different management team since the end customer was different. My manager at this stage was a woman named Wanda.

On this new project, Wanda served the role of Material Manager, (MM) which actually meant that she was two layers of management above me. I worked as a buyer, another woman named Suzanna worked as the Procurement Manager (my direct manager), and Wanda worked one layer up as the Material Manager. I had an almost immediate connection with Wanda when I joined the group and I think it’s attributed to the fact that she was a transformational leader. Wanda initiated 1:1 meetings with each member of my team, and this was the first time I’d ever heard of such a concept. The 1:1s were held in Wanda’s office and anything was on the table for discussion. Sometimes my 1:1’s were spent solving a work problem and sometimes they were spent talking about a fun event I’d participated in over the weekend. I appreciated the fact that Wanda carved out a part of her busy day, each week, to get to know me and that she let me set the agenda for what we’d talk about. 

I believe I worked harder with Wanda as my manager because I wanted her to be proud of my performance. The more Wanda showed me that she cared about me and was invested in my own personal development, the more I wanted to show her that her faith was placed in the right person. This caused me to focus and stretch myself, which resulted in better performance for the organization as a whole. When I came in earlier than others, stayed later, and volunteered for challenging projects, Wanda recognized me in front of the rest of the team and she even worked harder to ensure that I was promoted. There certainly was an element of transactional leadership there because of the reward system involved, but even more important was the prideful feeling I got when she seemed impressed with me. 

Bass and Steidlmeir (1999) recognized that some critics believe transformational leaders are actually manipulators because they use people’s desire for emotional connections to get them work harder. I think this theory only works if we believe that employees are so deprived of attention that they don’t recognize their leader is only pretending to connect with them in order to get better results from the employees. I believe one of the real challenges with transformational leadership is the fact that it’s most effective when it’s genuine, and it’s really hard (if not impossible) to teach a leader how to genuinely want to connect with others. I believe the best transformational leaders are the type of people who honestly want to get to know their employees and make their employees feel good about being at work. 

I do feel it’s important to recognize that I wasn’t the only person who saw Wanda as a transformational leader. In fact, I noticed that the moral of entire team was better than other teams I’d been a part of in the past. Because Wanda did things like socialize with us individually and as a group, she created a connection with us that raised the motivation of the entire team (Northouse, 2016). Wanda was really good about scheduling monthly team lunches to celebrate all of the birthdays in the month, along with occasional team happy hours. There was never any pressure to participate but almost every time, the majority of the team was able to make it. One thing that really stood out to me was the fact that Suzzana, our direct manager, rarely participated in the off-site events and she did not implement 1:1 meetings of her own. I never felt she was interested in having an emotional connection with me, so I never felt invested in her success as a manager. I didn’t particularly dislike Suzzana, but I also didn’t feel motivated by her at all. 

Wanda definitely changed the type of employee and the type of leader that I am today. I learned to value the impact a transformational leader can have on my own career. The more motivated I was at work, the more I accomplished. The more I accomplished, the more I was recognized, and the faster my career accelerated. I also learned that it really is possible to be friendly with followers while still serving in a leadership or managerial role. Followers who feel empowered by their leader are more likely to make changes to their own behavior and become better overall organizational contributors (Northouse, 2016).

References

Bass B.M., & Steidlmeier, P. (1999). Ethics, character, and authentic transformational leadership behavior. Leadership Quarterly, 10(2), 181-217.

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publishing.

A511.5.3.RB - GowensBrianne_Mid-Term Reflection

In his Ted Talk video “Lead Like the Great Conductors,” leadership guru Itay Talgam (2009) discussed the various leadership styles of great conductors over the years. I didn’t know anything about Talgam when I watched the Ted Talk, so I decided to quickly research him afterwards. During this research, I discovered that Talgam was actually a well known conductor himself, even holding the title of “the first Israeli conductor to perform with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra and the Leipzig Opera House” (ted.com). After ten years working as a conductor and orchestra leader, Talgam began teaching students of all kinds about leadership.

I interpret Talgam’s (2009) ideas to be a statement that there are many different types of leaders out there, and each are effective or ineffective for a variety of reasons. Talgam’s (2009) ideas align exactly with what I’ve learned about leadership so far in this course: there is no “right way” to do it. If we follow the trait approach, we might believe that the most successful leaders have natural talents and charisma that are difficult to teach. Following the skills approach, a leader will study, develop, and master their technical, human, and conceptual skills if they hope to lead effectively (Northouse, 2016). Behavioral leaders focus less on who they should be and more on how they should behave, while situational leaders mold such behavior to fit each individual situation. 

To me, Talgam’s ideas closely resemble Northouse’s (2016) description of situational leadership. Many of the traits that Talgam (2009) described as admirable fit into Northouse’s (2016) “coaching style.” The coaching style described by Northouse (2016) includes behaviors that are highly directive and highly supportive. The couching style suggests that a leader provide clear and strong direction, while ensuring that he or she is supportive of the needs of the followers (Northouse, 2016). In his Ted Talk, Talgam (2009) celebrated conductors who treat the musicians in the orchestra like partners instead of instruments. Talgam (2009) explained that the most effective conductor is one who steps back and provides a space for the musicians to experiment, while being prepared to step in and provide authority when needed. Talgam (2009) admires conductors who “both direct and support their people” while working to “build confidence and motivation in people,” through coaching (Blanchard, 2008). 

Although many people might envision a conductor as being the type of leader who must be highly directive and commanding, this is actually in conflict with the ideas of Talgam. Talgam (2009) argued that conductors who stand in front of their musicians and emotionlessly direct them are actually preventing the the orchestra from playing at their full potential. In business, highly directive leaders can have the same effect on their employees. Sometimes when direction is too clear and too prescriptive, it stifles creativity and impedes diverse thinking.

I enjoyed watching Talgam’s Ted Talk because it gave me a new context in which to think about the various theories of leadership we have learned about so far in this course. I appreciated the visuals that Talgam provided each time he showed a video of a well known conductor and will remember those ideas as we continue our learning in this course. 

References

Blanchard, K. (2008). Leadership Excellence.  An integrative definition of leadership. International Journal of Leadership Studies, 25(5), 19.

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks,    California: Sage Publishing. 

Talgam, I. (2009, October). Lead like the great conductors [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/itay_talgam_lead_like_the_great_conductors?utm_source=tedcomshare&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=tedspread

A511.4.3.RB_GowensBrianne_Locus of Control

A511.4.3.RB_GowensBrianne_Locus of Control

Upon completing the Rotter’s Locus of Control Test, I calculated my score according to the instructions within the survey. I was expecting to receive either a low score (like 1-5) or a high score (like 18-23), but I fell right in the middle with my score of 11 out of 23 points. My initial reaction to the score of 11 was “oh no! I’m all over the map!” However, after researching the locus of control a bit further, I believe a score in the middle could be a good thing. I intentionally took the survey before studying the locus of control because I didn’t want to have any of the research influence the way I answered the questions. I believe this sequence of events is what led to a mixture of both internal and external locus behaviors. 

The locus of control test allows leaders to understand whether they typically take responsibility for their mistakes or attribute their mistakes to outside forces (Vandegrift & Matusitz, 2011). A leader with an internal locus of control is more likely to take responsibility while a leader with an external locus of control places responsibility elsewhere (Vandegrift & Matusitz, 2011). The results of my survey tell me that I have an internal locus in some situations and an external locus in others. This is a positive outcome in my opinion because it aligns with Vandegrift & Matusitz’s (2011) theory that the balance of internal and external locus allows leaders to more easily adapt to different situations. 

My locus of control certainly affects my leadership style, but it is effected differently depending on each leadership role. In the survey, I noticed that I took more direct responsibility when it came to topics like parenting and being student. When it came to topics like politics, I took much less responsibility for my own role. I struggled to answer a few of the questions because I didn’t agree with either statement. Some questions were a bit too black and white and I tended to search for a grey option. For example, in question 25 I had to chose between stating that I believe I have little influence over what happens to me or it is impossible for me to believe luck plays an important role in my life. In fact, I believe I have a lot of influence over what happens to me but I would never say that it’s impossible to believe that luck plays a role in things. Words like “impossible” and “never” make some of the questions so black and white, that I struggled to pick a side.

If I were to reflect on my personality type in general, I would have to admit that I am a bit of a control freak. I like to be able to control the outcome of situations as much as possible, which is why I also tend to be a big planner. I schedule my days and weeks well in advance by doing things like researching the weather and making “to do” lists. These types of actions lean towards someone who has an internal locus of control.  According to Asidu-Appiah and Addai (2014), “individuals with an internal work locus of control are generally more satisfied with their jobs than individuals with an external work locus of control” (p. 43). I have found this to be true in my career based the jobs i’ve had over the past ten years. In order for me to make the biggest impact as a leader, I have to feel like it’s really possible for me to make a difference. When I feel that my actions will directly impact the success of the organization, I have greater job satisfaction and I work harder. 

References

Asidu-Appiah, F., & Addai, H. (2014). An investigation into the casual relationship 

        between employees’ locus of control and contextual performance. Kwame 

        Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and the Kumasi Centre for 

        Collaborative Research, 21(1), 40-59. 

        http://asbbs.org/files/ASBBS2014/PDF/A/Asiedu-Appiah_Addai(P40-59).pdf

Vandegrift, R. & Matusitz, J. (2011). Path-goal theory: A successful columbia records story, Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 21(4), 350-362. DOI: 10.1080/10911359.2011.555651 

A511.3.3.RB_GowensBrianne-Directive and Supportive Behaviors

A511.3.3.RB_GowensBrianne

A511.3.3.RB - Directive and Supportive Behaviors

According to Blanchard (2008), “effective leaders adapt their style according to the development level of the people they are managing” (p. 19). In order for leaders to maximize their effectiveness, they must have several different approaches to leadership. The leader must show flexibility, changing and moulding their style for each situation in which they lead. Some situations require a leader to use a more directive approach, where followers are given clear goals and directions on how to achieve such goals (Northouse, 2016). Other situations demand a leader who uses two-way communication to show supportive behaviors (Northouse, 2016). I’d like to reflect on how I display supportive and directive behaviors in two different roles: (1) as a spouse, and (2) as a professional employee.

My role as a spouse is where I believe I show the most balanced mixture of the supportive and directive behaviors. In most situations, I take on a high directive and high supportive role (S2) (Northouse, 2016). In this role, I work with my spouse to gather information, but ultimately I make the decision on how we will proceed as a family. For example, when my husband and I are making decisions about our children, I typically take on a more directive attitude and he seems more comfortable following my lead. 

We recently discussed whether or not we should move my youngest daughter, Maggie, to a new day-care. Since her older sister, Elliot, had started attending primary school closer to our house, we thought it would be nice to have Maggie a little closer to home as well. I initiated the discussion and suggested that we do some research on the day-care options near our home. I assigned each of us tasks, which included: (1) making a list of all of the facilities in the area (his task), (2) researching their reviews on various websites (his task), (3) short listing the top choices (my task), and (4) contacting the shortlist to confirm availability (my task). Following the initial tasks, he and I discussed our findings. We showed strong two-way communication when I encouraged my husband to share the aspects of a facility that were most important to him and I did the same.

My role as a leader was highly supportive and communicative, but it also included a directive quality. Although we both have a strong level of commitment when it comes to parenting decisions, I seem to have more self-assuredness, which translates into my role as the supportive director (Blanchard, 2008). 

My leadership style changes slightly when it comes to my role as a professional employee. Although I am certainly a team player, I display more of a high directive and low supportive behavior, which aligns with Northouse’s (2016) S1 leadership level. I believe it’s possible for a good leader to be directive, while still being recognized as a part of the team. At work, I focus on ensuring that the team understands the goal and has clear instructions for how each member of the team is responsible for contributing to that goal. 

For example, in meetings where I am leading a group project, I always like to start with a presentation slide that says “what does success look like?”  I believe this helps people focus on what we are trying to achieve before the details of the project are even shared. Once I’ve shared the picture of success and walked through the details, I like to circle back to the first slide and start assigning tasks. According to Blanchard (2008), it’s important to provide clear instructions and timelines, but its also important to help each individual understand what it means to do a “good job.” 

I believe real strength as a leader depends on that leader’s ability and willingness to adapt their style to the team they lead in any given situation. The ability to recognize unique skills that people possess and evaluate how those skills can help accomplish the organizational goal will help a leader determine which style of leadership is right in any given situation. In my opinion, inflexibility and pride can be damaging to both the leader and the organization as a whole.

References

Blanchard, K. (2008). Leadership Excellence.  An integrative definition of leadership.  International Journal of Leadership Studies, 25(5), 19. 

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publishing.