Hello, readers! We’ve rolled right into the next class in our program, Strategic Leadership.
This week, we are going to work through a reflective exercise about leadership as it has changed through the years (Obolensky, 2016, p. 3). We’ll also look at why there is an apparent gap in the quality of leadership even though there is an abundance of leadership training available.
The first question to ponder is whether my attitude toward leadership has changed in my life and if so, how?
Undoubtedly, my attitude has changed. The initial reason would be that early in my life I was a follower in most of my endeavors. My parents were my leaders, as were my teachers, coaches, Cub Scout Den Mothers, and clergy. I listened (usually), learned (usually), and obeyed (mostly). I remember the first time I was handed a position of leadership. I was named Captain on my hockey team when I was 12. I can still remember the feeling that more was expected of me and I needed to be aware of my teammate's needs. I thought that leaders, in that role, basically set an example for others to model.
My next opportunity to lead came in high school. I was becoming an accomplished athlete and the coaches started working with me on how I needed to handle the new responsibility. One coach, Larry Richter, took the time to guide me on the expectations I would be facing. I have never forgotten his generosity and demeanor. I started to see that people listened more when I spoke, so I needed to consider what I was going to say. I still believed that leadership came from athletic prowess or from popularity and that it was mostly modeling behavior.
My freshman year in college was spent at the US Naval Academy. This is where my feelings on leadership were dipped in accelerant and ignited. I realized there were different styles and that I resonated with some and didn’t with others. I learned that the feeling of disappointing a leader I admired was far more scarring than any tirade I faced from leaders I did not admire. I started to ask myself how I could engender that feeling from my future followers and set out to learn how.
The remainder of college and first few years of being employed all provided data points for my personal feelings on leadership and for my leadership toolkit. My feeling about the importance of good leadership and the fact that I needed to broaden my perspectives continued to mature.
Flying for Delta gave me more opportunities to observe and work with all types of leaders. My feeling on leadership continued to be refined and defined. I realized that not everyone can be a leader. Let me put a qualification on that, not everyone has the desire or drive to be a successful leader. They may have the skills, but the desire needs to be present to generate the behavior.
My years at Boeing have proven the most formative, if only because I have been given so many opportunities to grow and refine my leadership. I have developed a great respect for successful leaders because I have a far better appreciation for the effort and commitment it takes.
My experiences in Diversity and Inclusion, along with my structured leadership educational endeavors, have changed my feeling and attitude about leadership in a marked way. I see the nuances and, more importantly, see the vast system within which I live and work. Leadership cannot be happenstance. It must be considered and applied with skill.
The next question involves us looking at the way leaders were expected to operate at the time of our grandparents (very directive), in the time of our parents (still directive with shades of team contributions), and in the time in which we now operate (more inputs solicited and a broader consideration by some leaders). The question is if there is a changing trend. I believe there is, at least in academia and in many of the tech firms in the world. The idea that the leader is all-knowing and infallible has, for the most part, gone the way of the dodo. There are, no doubt, pockets of that mentality around. However, there is a discernable move toward leaders that are more inclusive and organizations that need the agility of multiple perspectives upon which to draw. As Obolensky (2016) noted, the markets are moving too fast for any one person to believe they can see and handle their entire business. The market leader last year has no guarantee of keeping that title unless their organization can see opportunity and handle change deftly. Why? Handling those types of dynamics requires a leader that can provide a vision that the followers are excited to create. Dictatorial styles of leadership fail when faced with non-static environments over time
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The number of articles, tweets, Instagrams™, YouTube™ videos, classes, symposiums, seminars, and degree programs regarding leadership available to managers today is such that one can hardly keep from seeing them. Most of these tools are literally as far away as one’s smartphone. However, there is an apparent gap in the number of successful leaders, given the availability of the educational material.
I believe that gap is apparent because most situations that involve human relationships require time, effort, and commitment to be successful. The situations a leader faces daily may be similar in nature, but they are rarely the same. The information available to those in the leader’s charge is remarkably more than in the past and instantaneously available. However, the commitment to seeing improving oneself and to seeing others be successful requires levels of effort many do not have the wherewithal to expend. As the educated leaders we all hope to become, we can take the time to teach our craft to the next group of leaders and model the commitment required. We can mentor high school students and talk to them about ways they can learn about and model leadership techniques as they go through school. We can give those in our charge opportunities to expand their skills by giving them more responsibility in areas they can succeed with some effort. In short, we need to provide opportunities for others to grow and succeed.
These next nine weeks will be an excellent learning experience for all of us. Please follow along.
See you next week!
Obelensky, N. (2016). Complex Adaptive Leadership (2nd ed.). London and New York: Taylor & Francis Group.
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