A633.9.3.RB Polyarchy Reflections

As we have learned over the last 9 weeks and in previous courses, traditional leadership is becoming outdated and relies heavily on top down styles.  This doesn’t do too much for motivating followers since it doesn’t leave too much room for creativity, innovation or ideas because it is pushed down from the top instead of flowing up from the bottom.   More and more leaders are starting to embrace change in how they lead and how they understand their followers. 

A way to do this is through the ‘wu wei’ concept (art of inaction and waiting until the right time to take action).  So does this mean that traditional leadership should completely disappear?  Perhaps it should be looked at and the good parts pulled out and changed up a bit to be more in line with polyarchy styles.  More organizations need to become more bottom up and the way to do this is through change, coaching, motivation and innovation. 

Change is something that I do and will continue to embrace in order to become a better leader.  I will need to always be ready and willing to reflect on who I am as a leader and what I can do for my followers. The biggest impact for me will be to know when to step back and observe my surroundings without wanting to jump in and try to take the lead.  Knowing when to lead and when to follow is another factor on how it will affect me as a leader in the future.  Once I understand that being a great leader means stepping back and letting others figure it out and become inspired by this I will have moved up to the next level of leadership.

As a leader I will make a more conscious effort to understand and learn about my followers by challenging them and coaching them to go to the next level.  The goal would be to get my followers to level 5 and keep them there.  Communication is so very important to any role inside and out of the organizational structure.  I understand that I must be willing to be a leader and a follower.  I will be sure to align my vision with those of my followers while allowing for ideas and creativity. 

The impact this will have on my future strategy is going to be a positive, challenging and rewarding one.  I will never know everything there is to know and I will not be afraid to admit that but I will be sure to find the answers.  Coaching will help with this.  To coach and be coached will help me learn and grow in my leadership abilities and skills.  I am confident that as I continue through this program I will learn more ways to be a great leader.  I have the skills and the desire to be the best and my followers will have my trust and faith as well.

The biggest thing for me is going to be to focus on the strengths of my followers and helping them to embrace change by facing it up front and not being afraid to take a chance.  Collaboration and team work is going to be a big focus for me as well as promoting individual growth from each follower.  I am excited for what the future brings for me and I know I will be able to use everything I have learned in this class and this program to be the type of leader that takes my team to the next level.

A633.8.3.RB How Do Coaches Help?

When coaches are brought in it isn’t because the followers are doing something wrong, they are brought to tap into the area that lies just below the surface that may be just out of reach to the leader and the follower.  Coaches are almost like therapists; they are there to listen, to observe, to dig a little dipper to find what makes the follower (or leader) tick.  Maybe you as the follower know what you want to get to do within the organization you just can’t figure out how to go about doing it.  

This is where having a coach comes into play.  They are looking at the here and now and where it can take you tomorrow and every day after that.   A good coach isn’t going to tell you what you need to do; you will do that on your own after the coach gets you to realize that.  They are going to tap into that unknown potential that is inside each one of us and pull it out into the open to be examined and reviewed.   

Once you see the choices you have you can make a decision for yourself.  You see how these choices can help you get to the next level within the organization.  On the individual level coaching can foster creativity as well as help teach better balance, flexibility as well better at being able to adapt quickly to any kind of situation.  Coaching helps promote a better understanding for followers to be able to handle a problem themselves.

On the leadership and strategy side of the coin, by coaching you can develop those who want to invest in their professional development and this makes them a greater asset to the organization.  When you invest in your followers by coaching them they are going to feel a greater loyalty to the organization.  This in turn will increase job performance since they are motivated to succeed.  They will change and reorganize how they do things to obtain their goals within the organization.  

Coaching will bring out all these great things and it will have a positive impact on the organization.  Followers who may have been struggling to find out where their niche is may see things differently and bring forth some innovative ideas that have been there all along they just needed that push.  Greater loyalty to the organization as well as being more flexible to change and being able to adapt easier to any situation will make a big difference within the organization.  

For my organization as well as for me this will have a greater impact on how we do things.  When we are able to tap into those hidden strengths we feel empowered and motivated not only for ourselves but for our organization as well.  By analyzing our weaknesses we can turn them into strengths and strive to continue toward our professional goals.  Work is done with a greater sense of integrity and fulfillment because you are a valuable asset to not only yourself but to your leader, your fellow coworkers and the organization as a whole.  

A633.7.3.RB - Leader Follower Relationship

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.

A633.6.5.RB - Circle of Leadership

This circle of leadership is interesting in that followers and leaders can make or break this cycle by making a few small changes.  Within the organization as a whole I don’t think this happens too much where the follower constantly has to ask if he/she is doing their job to the point where the leader feels the need to step in and take more of a hands on approach.  If leaders have to constantly step in to ensure that their followers are doing what they are supposed to be doing in essence babysitting them then there is a huge breakdown in communication, trust and faith in both followers and leaders.

An organization that has leaders and followers like this cannot expect to do well in the long run nor will they be ready for change or innovation of any kind because they will be so busy running around this circle.  If the follower is not showing confidence in their ability and this makes the leader question or become concerned to the point where they have to step in then the followers confidence sinks even lower to the point where he/she feels that they have to question more and it goes around and around.  Are you getting dizzy yet?

So what can we do to keep this from happening?  For starters there has to be open communication for the follower and the leader.  What is expected on both sides should be one of the first things covered.  If you have a follower who is level 1 the goal should be to get them to level 3 as soon as possible and them to level 5 soon after.  This means that the follower must bring their confidence out and prove that they can take the initiative.  As a leader you should make it known that in the beginning you will be there to guide and challenge, to take them from level 1 to level 5. 

You should be there to mentor and help but give the follower the room to make decisions without feeling like they have to keep coming to you to ask if what they did was ok.  This is where the give and take comes in to play.  Setting the standards of want you expect with help with this.  The same applies to the follower.  Be clear both on how the leader works and how communication works on both sides.  Here is how I think the cycle would work to promote strong followership at the lower levels.

 The first block would be followers and leaders sharing their expectations, second block would be leaders mentoring and followers asking questions, third block followers give input and ideas, the fourth block leaders listen and take ideas up and the last block would be followers and leaders inform in a routine way.