A511.7.3.RB_DavisCarl

A511.7.3.RB_DavisCarl

We’re at week seven and going strong! Thanks for stopping in to see what’s on tap.

The focus of our reading this week was ethical, servant, spiritual, and authentic relationship along with strategic leadership in organizations.

We’ll focus on the aspect of authentic leadership and how it’s applied. Authentic leadership is based on positive psychology and psychological theories of self-regulation. The theory attempts to integrate earlier theories about effective leadership with concerns for ethical leadership. The definition of authentic leadership varies for different theorists, but they all emphasize the importance of consistency in a leader’s words, action, and values. Additional aspects of authentic leadership include positive leader values, leader self-awareness, and a trusting relationship with followers. (Yukl, 2012, p.351)

My take-away from learning about this concept is that it essentially describes a leader who is real. Real in the sense that they are truthful, trustworthy, ethical, and stable day after day. The people that work with them can count on a known quantity being there when they get to work. The reactions of the leader are predictable and of appropriate quantity, be it to good or bad news. The leader does what they say they will while looking out for the good of the employees and the company. The leader has the best interests of her or his employees at the forefront of their decisions.

Working with a leader that exudes authenticity provides the workers with a sturdy base from which to perform and grow. They have confidence that they have a reliable advocate that is looking out for them as they do their job. That knowledge is empowering, in and of itself.

In my six years as a senior manager for a corporation, I have been developing and refining my leadership skills and style.  Taking a moment or two to do some self-evaluating, I believe I incorporate authentic leadership actively in my style. There are aspects that allow me to somewhat stand out from my peers.

 I strongly value the dedication and effort of those that work for me. I make an effort to ensure they know that I recognize and appreciate their efforts. When possible, I make note of their contributions in the presence of their peers. I have also made an effort to learn which people like to be recognized publicly and which do not. I tailor the recognition accordingly. I value people who recognize my preferences, as well.

Another part of my leadership style revolves around information sharing. I highly value people that have been willing to share and pass along information. I keep my team informed. I want them to have a picture of the situation we are in, what we face, and where we are going. They need the information to make decisions as they go through the day.

Stability is another facet of my style. This has been one of the tougher skills to hone, but I value having a supervisor that doesn’t “fly off the handle”. Whether the news is good or bad, and especially if the news is bad, I demonstrate that I recognize the issue without reacting in a way that may shut-down or otherwise turn-off the message bearer. The absolute last this I want is for those who are trying to keep men informed to feel they cannot.

In an article by Goffee and Jones (2006) we read about some leaders that maintained or demonstrated their authenticity via various means. They embraced their uniqueness and leveraged it as a part of their leadership style. Whether it was the way Bill Gates maintained his geekiness, the unique way John Harvey-Jones dressed, or the way nurse Carol Browne maintained her charm and poise in uniting multiple levels of hospital staff in their care for her patients, their authenticity garnered a reaction from those with whom they came in contact. (Goffee and Jones, 2006, p.32-33)

I, too, have attempted to preserve my uniqueness at work. The attire I choose, usually a two-piece suit, has become so familiar that on days I do not wear a tie people comment. I have maintained my sense of humor and my love of learning. I share what I learn and the people that work for me know and appreciate that I do.

Alas, I am still human. I occasionally have moments of doubt, selfishness, frustration, elation, and a myriad of other feelings that all of us are capable of having. I recognize that the people that work for me are human, too. I have even had the occasion to shed a tear in front of my team in a moment of deep pride of what we had accomplished. Their reaction left no doubt that they appreciated being there for that very real moment.

My leadership style will always be a work in progress because the situation I face is different every day. I owe my family, the people that work for me, and my company the effort to be the best leader I can for them. Being authentic is a cornerstone of that leadership.

I look forward to seeing you next week!

Yukl, G. (2012). Leadership in Organizations (S. Yagan Ed.): Pearson Education, Inc.

 Goffee, R. a. J., Gareth. (2006). Getting personal on the topic of leadership. Human Resource Management International Digest, 14(4), 3. doi: 10.1108/09670730610666382

A511.6.3.DQ_DavisCarl

Welcome to week six of the current volume at the Educated Leadership blog!

This week we are looking at the idea of having, or crafting, meaning at work. There is an article in the Harvard Business Review that provides a concise look at the topic called “Getting Beyond Engagement to Creating Meaning at Work.”(Ulrich, 2010)

They discuss the finding that people who succeed at creating meaning tend to work harder, more creatively, and with more tenacity. (Ulrich, 2010) The companies that employ these people benefit, the customers that interact with the employees benefit, and the shareholders, in turn, benefit.

The question then, is how important is it for leaders to help employees to craft meaning at work? As we have seen in our lessons during this class, one of the leader’s most important jobs is to create and communicate a vision for his or her team.

 If done correctly, each member of the team will find something in the vision they can build meaning into their work.

The simplicity of that one sentence belies the difficulty in making the connection across a work group. Remember that each person will interpret the communicated vision through their cultural and experiential lenses. Communicating the vision to reach all team members will take careful consideration and probably, multiple versions of the same story.

Why is getting the vision communicated so important, because that information will provide the building blocks for each person to craft meaning into their part of the work. As we noted above, when they craft that meaning they, and the organization, thrive.

Additionally, empowering the members of the team is a very important part of being a transformational leader. “Psychological empowerment involves a combination of meaningful work, high self-efficacy, self-determination, and an ability to influence relevant events.” (Yukl, 2012) If the meaning of what they are doing has not been made evident to them, their attitudes and performance will suffer.

When we are presented with the opportunity to lead a change at work, providing the tools to realize meaning is mandatory. Reviewing the reasons for accepting or rejecting change (Yukl, 2012), providing a clear meaning for the change will impact the opinions and beliefs of the affected parties. Whether or not the employees decide the proposed change is necessary, feasible, cost effective, would cause personal loss, or is inconsistent with the company or personal values can be directly influenced by the meaning the employees derive from the vision of the leader. The last point in Yukl’s list refers to the leaders not being trusted. (Yukl) If the leader can help impart meaning to the change, trust should be at least maintained, if not bolstered. Supporting the idea of acceptance of change, “An additional requirement is an acceptance of the need to change and a positive willingness to engage in processes that may be difficult and challenging. Change agents can build this in two ways: first, by empowering participants, and second, by encouraging them to broaden their perspective with regard to the nature of change and its purpose and benefits.” (Chapman, 2002) That perspective is a powerful building block of meaning.

Since the dawn of man, people have searched for meaning in what they do. Leaders should act as catalysts for their workers in forming the meaning they desire at work. Great leaders will understand that and be especially aware that times of change require a dedicated focus on giving the workers opportunities to derive meaning form the situation they face.

Chapman, J. A. (2002). A framework for transformational change in organizations. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 23(1/2), 10. doi: 10.1108/01437730210414535

Ulrich, D. a. W. (2010). Getting Beyond Engagement to Creating Meaning at Work. Harvard Business Review, 4. https://hbr.org/2010/06/getting-beyond-engagement-to-c

Yukl, G. (2012). Leadership in Organizations (S. Yagan Ed.): Pearson Education, Inc.

A511.5.3.RB_DavisCarl

It’s nice to have you back at the educated leadership blog! This week we’re going to look at a style of leadership called “remote transformational leadership.” Can transformational leadership be felt across distances?

Our reading was a research article called “Remote transformational leadership.” (E. Kelvin Kelloway, 2002) The researchers noticed that most previous studies of transformational leadership had focused on face-to-face interactions. With the advent of globalization, extended spans of control, and advanced communication technology, leaders are frequently tasked with leading employees that work in remote locations, or with leading so many employees that direct face-to-face contact on a regular basis is difficult (E. Kelvin Kelloway)

The researchers hypothesized that this imposed distance was requiring leaders to communicate more via electronic means, such as e-mail. There were studies that determined the geographical distance had a negative impact on the leadership’s ability to impact performance. (E. Kelvin Kelloway, 2002)

The researchers wished to determine if leadership styles could be transmitted and received via e-mail. They also wanted to see if receiving a positive message, as opposed to a negative one, was perceived to be associated with positive outcomes.  The first study was done via reading vignettes to groups of students. As a second study, they wanted to see if they could get even better results via a lab based study of the same questions and actually using e-mails. (E. Kelvin Kelloway, 2002)

The overall questions drive back to whether people can be lead via e-mails and what the impact of those types of communication could be.

The researchers recruited college students to listen to readings of e-mails that attempted to demonstrate either, transformational leadership style, management by exception style, or laissez-faire style. They were asked what style they heard.

The result of the first study was related in this way, “The results of this study show that individuals can indeed differentiate between different leadership styles within e-mails. Second, consistent with our expectations, e-mails containing transformational leadership messages were associated with greater interpersonal justice and satisfaction compared to messages based on the management-by-exception or laissez-faire styles.”(E. Kelvin Kelloway, 2002)

In study two, instead of having the messages read to groups or individuals, the subjects were actually given e-mails to read.  The researchers hypothesized that “individuals exposed to e-mail messages containing a charismatic or intellectually stimulating message would express higher levels of task motivation, and demonstrate higher levels of performance on a laboratory task than individuals who received e-mail instructions that did not contain these aspects of transformational leadership.” (E. Kelvin Kelloway, 2002)

Again, the subjects were found to be able to identify the leadership style being represented in the e-mail. They also documented that the subjects that received the transformational leadership style communication performed better on a problem solving task than those in a control group!

These results will be of value to a majority of those in management positions, not just those with employees more than a stone’s throw away. The main reason is that this study reflects upon basic communication. Even managers who see their employees daily end up communicating via e-mail at some point. This study indicates that the message sent carries more impact than just the words on the screen may convey. The reader picks up on the voice of the writer, so care must be taken when authoring the memo or letter.

My current job gives me the opportunity to practice this skill every day. Whether I am writing a note to a peer that is 20 meters away or to one of my employees 6000 miles away, I have to be cognizant of the mood or tone of the correspondence. Even with painstaking efforts being made, it is still difficult to ensure how your message will come across to the reader. My experience is that it is important to spell out what you are trying to get across. If any room for interpretation is left, rarely will the reader come to the conclusion you hope they will. Also, sarcasm doesn't work in an e-mail.

This research is also important because it demonstrates the power of this type of communication. The term “e-mail” is commonplace and as banal at the word “television”. However, this study reminds us there is gravitas in each message we send, especially in our roles as leaders.

E. Kelvin Kelloway, J. B., Elizabeth Kelly, Julie Comtols, Bernadette Gatien. (2002). Remote transformational leadership. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 24(3), 163-171. doi: 10.1108/01437730310469589

Welcome back to another week at the Educated Leadership blog!

This week we looked at the ways leadership was originally examined. Specifically, we explored what were known as traits and some concepts known as contingency theories.

Originally, it was thought that a person could be tested for traits and skills that would pre-dispose them to be a good leader. Studies were conducted to identify those traits in the hope of finding keys to identifying future leaders earlier. On the personality side, traits like self-confidence, emotional maturity, extroversion, and energy level were identified and sorted. Values, like fairness, justice, and honesty were also cataloged. Skill at a particular job and competency level were also studied and weighed. Last, but not least, self-identity or the feeling of identity one gleans form a job was taken into account.

Studies were conducted that followed managers along their career and attempted to tie the traits to success or failure. Some looked only at the jobs managers held at a given time. Some involved whether or not the career of the manager progressed or stalled out at some point.

The general finding was that, “Some traits and skills increase the likelihood that a leader will be effective, but they do not guarantee effectiveness.” (Yukl, 2012)

Contingency theories came about when trait theory couldn't narrow down the skills needed to a specific set. The various theories attempt to illustrate how aspects of a leadership situation can alter the performance of a leader. (Yukl) The theories are mainly composed of three variables. There can be more. There’s one predictor (e.g. task behavior), one dependent (e.g. subordinate satisfaction) , and one or more situational variables (e.g. task structure, workers’ values, expertise, and leader authority). (Yukl, pg. 163)

There were issues regarding the weighting of variables, which variables to apply, and deciding which impacts were measured and in what manner. In general, the evidence supporting contingency theories of effective leadership is inconsistent and difficult to interpret. (Yukl, pg. 175)

The inability to find a universal theory of leadership via traits or contingency theories has led to continuing studies exploration of the finer points of leadership. The degree I and my classmates are pursuing furthers those attempts to understand leadership and management.

Reflecting upon my own traits and skills, I see areas of competency and areas where I am less adept.

I believe I demonstrate a high energy level and tolerate stress relatively well. However, my team can pick up upon my stress level and will mention when they pick do. I know that stress manifests in sleeplessness and snacking for me. There are tell-tale signs to see in just a few days’ time.

I am self-confident. My team and colleagues have commented on my “command ability” that seems to grab a room when I walk in. The jobs I have held and sports in which I have participated demanded self-confidence and that helped to develop that trait over time. Conversely, I regularly ask myself if I am being overly self-confident. Having worked with people who exhibited the tendency to be over-confident, I do not wish to present that image to the people who work with and for me.

I am a believer in having a considerable amount of control over destiny, when it comes to an internal locus of control. My last supervisor actually gave a colleague and me the direction to “create our own destiny.” That worked just fine for me.

Building on the ideas of self-confidence and an internal locus of control, I can tell you that I am a strong believer in another particular trait. That is the trait of competence. Being competent at a job inherently builds confidence, both in the person taking the action and in those observing the actor. Achieving and maintaining competence in a skill requires dedication and practice. When discussing something as broad as leadership, the challenge is colossal.

Demonstrating a lack of competence, aka incompetence, will quickly damage one’s ability to lead any person or group. Incompetence can be perceived or actual. Either one is deadly to a leader’s career.

I know there is no perfect leader. I know I have opportunities to improve on the way I do things on a daily basis. I do the best I can and strive to improve. I have been able to leverage my skills and traits in the jobs I have held.

I know that the ideas of contingency theories apply in my daily life as I adapt my leadership depending on the situation I face. The world is a dynamic place. Human interaction and business operations are very dynamic. Leadership and leaders must adjust rapidly and adroitly to be successful.

Traits and contingency theories are good ways to examine leadership and management. Take time to understand them as you build your skill as a leader. You will be rewarded with more tools to use in your leadership skillset.

Yukl, Gary A. (2012-02-09). Leadership in Organizations (8th Edition) Pearson HE, Inc.. Kindle Edition.