After
taking the quiz in chapter 10 I have to say I am not surprised with my results
as I scored the highest in Style 3 (consulting) with a total score of 10 and second
in Style 4 (Delegating) with 7 points. I
only score 1 in each for style 1 and style 2.
If I had taken this quiz a few years ago it may have turned out much
differently (higher scores in S1 and S2) as I feel that I have learned a lot
from having good leaders in place to challenge and motivate me to be a better
leader. I am right between the participative/facilitator
and empowering/hands-off type of leadership.
I believe that as I continue this program as well learning in my job I
will become more of the S4 leadership style.
I
know my thinking has definitely changed over the last 6 weeks as I have learned
more about my leadership style and that how I used to think based on watching
my former bosses is not really the best way to go about being a great
leader. I know that I am a good leader
and I can motivate people easy enough but I still find that I want to hold on
just little bit. I think it is a fear of someone else failing
than me failing. I feel that I will let
them down in some way that maybe I didn’t teach them well enough that it would
be my fault that they failed.
I
know that this is not true and that is something I will continue to work on to
break that cycle of thinking. I definitely
consult with my followers on some of the processes that I have to implement and
in some cases I have to be the lead I cannot let those areas go as it is
ultimately my job to be sure the regulations are followed. However I do empower my followers in the
sense that they can get the work done the way they feel is best for them as
long as the elements are there they have the power to make the final decision
when it comes to verifications.
They are the ones to review all documents
turned in and complete the process based on all the current information. I am trying to get them to not question their
decisions so much and be confident enough in themselves. When they ask me to review verifications with
them I ask them what they think rather than tell them they are right or wrong. If they ask if I think certain elements should
stay in or come out I say “what do you think and why”. This gets them thinking and 9 times out of 10
they are right they just needed that extra push from me.
There
is a process called professional judgment (PJ) where we look at the current
situation of the student and adjust their current income versus what it was
when they field their taxes if they lost their job. This is something that right now only I do
but my new director asked if I thought that the counselors could handle doing
this on their own instead of it coming to me.
At first I said no they couldn’t do it alone (participative/facilitator)
but the more I thought about it the more I realized that they should be able to
do these PJs. The fear was that maybe
they would not gather all the correct information or they would rush the
process (it takes about a month to do one) but if I want to be more in style 4
(empowerment/hands-off) I needs to let go of this. They will fail I know I did on a few but it
is how we learn and I know that once they do a few with me they will get it and
go from there.
I know that I will continue to grow and learn
and long after this program is over I will be implementing what I have learned
in many aspects of my life both professional and personal. I like that when I am talking to someone I
start talking about something dealing with leadership and I realize that it is
actually sinking in. I want to become
the type of leader that people have confidence and trust in. The type that will jump in to help when
needed but step back and see how things play out. I want to be a motivator and a mentor. This part I think I do already it is just a
better of sharpening my skills. This has
been my favorite course far other than the critical thinking class.
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