Ethical leadership seems to be the running core of why we do things.  It is a break down of leaders, why they do what they do, who they are and what they stand for. (PS WC, 2015)  I like to think of myself at my career because I know that others can count on me.  Working in sales has been a long journey but I feel it gets easier once one knows what they do, become adjusted and find it in themselves, why do I do it? I have this conversation frequently. Majority of the time I raise the question with newer people of ‘why are you here?’ Not in a harsh or harmful way of context but for a better understanding so then I know where to push and where to encourage.

Throughout the past couple of years with sales, I have developed into a leader that is capable of helping others, but also guiding myself to be successful. I got to this mental state because of a few of my managers.  Two in particular would be Jason and Mel. Jason is the leader that hosts more conduct theories. He looks at the technical job requirements and the duties we must execute. Mel was more character building related where she would explain and develop on how we will do these roles. (PS WC,2015) Jason is notorious or giving up lifting , go get em’ speeches, but other times, he will be on the the leadership floor making small talk with other peers about movies and whatnot. Mel on the other had is full blown work, but not in a workaholics manner where she has more work value and next to no personal value. (PS WC,2015)

I bring up both leaders because as we have learned, there are ups and downs to leadership and ethical leadership theories.  One of the problems is, once you become this involved within a theory, there is little and fewer writings to go off of.  The problem with this type of leadership is there have not been that many theories discovered and or write about them. So we as a culture are going off of little writing, but are focusing on this very much.  (PS WC, 2015)  On a positive note, since there is more light being shined onto this topic of ethical leadership, we now have the opportunity to learn more with our practices.

The video that was at the end of lesson 14 was very raw but truthful. It hurts when you are putting yourself out there, trying to impress others to find out the ones you want to impress can tend to be a little shallow and too self concerned. The video was a demonstration of what it is like to make a decision early in a job setting of deciding if this is the type of leader you would want to follow or do nothing with.  The comments about the ‘fast money, fast cars’ is nothing that I would ever want to stand behind. This if anything is all of the more reason we as culture need to dive in and focus on how NOT to be as arrogant as the man in the video.

I always have tried to model myself off of those I feel are successful and do things for the right reason. This is why I have brought up to previous managers. Jason is strong when it comes to directions and the vision, but Mel shows this more to me when it comes to doing the task and executing it precisely.  I have always modeled myself from those that want to succeed for the right reasons. In a retail setting, I have practiced this because I know that senior sale associates will not stick around forever, so if I can do what they did on top of what I can already master, there I am laying down my work for the future. With every great leader they are out under a microscope to be tested and figured out on how they have become to successful. I do this with my peers so I can learn pros and cons and ethical leadership skills to hold onto.

-Northouse, P.G. (2013).  Leadership: Theory and Practice.  Los Angeles: Sage Publications.

-Pessnsylvania State University World Campus. Lesson 14 Ethics and Leadership, 2015

Authentic leadership is an interesting trait to have and to follow.  We understand what a leader is, in a sense, but what does a leader do differently then follower to define themselves as such?  The video in the lesson 12 material highlights this with a fantastic quote regarding where to start. “If you do not understand who you are, then you will have no authenticity”. (Caret) We must be able to develop these skills, learnable or not, or must learn to give the support to those that are capable of leading us.

What is interesting about the environment I myself work in is the leadership staff sticks to one message for the day, but they allow others to mold it, demonstrate it, and follow through with it.  If i were to walk into a group of people and start shouting out orders, I would appear to be crazy, but if I had their support and the right type of leadership abilities they would follow my commands, right?  According to the video there are a few traits to leadership that you can learn, and some you show naturally. There are three main ways to define leadership from lesson 12.  First being interpersonal leadership.  This type of leadership comes to be because of the relationship between leaders and followers. (PS WC, 2015)  This is demonstrated at my work because in a sales position, in which I am in, I am taught products and some sales techniques, but the rest comes with my natural ability to talk with people.

Intrapersonal leadership is the second trait that was discussed that is able to describe ones way of getting inside the thoughts and behind the ideas of leadership. (PS WC,2015)  I practice this at work daily because of self motivation and desire to succeed. “We measure leaders by their ability to get others to follow” (Caret) This is a great trait to have or one to practice because leaders will want their messages to spread.  Becoming and early adopter of their message and put it in to practice will set one o track for a positive and healthy work environment.

What happens however when a leader is not present? How will they know who is skilled enough to handled judgment calls? How would they know who is ready?  The third trait discussed is slightly different then the first two, interpersonal an interpersonal leadership, but is needed when developing the right type of up and coming leaders. Developmental leadership is more hands-off and nurturing skills and uncovering newer abilities . (PS WC, 2015)  I am currently going through this now at my work with command skills within a leadership setting.  I have grown to be one of the top sales people in my store.  Not from a financial standpoint however, but more of a pillar and leader stand point.  I may not make a million dollars in a year for the company, but I am able to teach and instruct others on how to achieve or how to soon achieve this goal. (If thats what they’re in it for)

I have found this video and lesson very interesting.  I enjoy hearing about others thoughts and opinions when working to be a leader or how to be a leader.  What I found most interesting was in the video, the two gentlemen were talking about traits not being learned but understanding them and delivering more naturally. I feel like I am capable of letting these skills flow now. Watching the video and reading the lesson is more assurance that you can learn some and already know some to be able to successfully lead and develop others with these skills.

• Pennsylvania State University World Campus, Psych 485. Lesson 12:Authentic Leadership. 2015
• Rob Sykes and Steve Botham, Caret. 2009

Bryan Scagline

Leadership: Silicon Valley

For the most part, when we think about leaders we try to focus on the greats.  A great leader would be vocal, uplifting, and driven.  When you look at Richard Hendricks however, you will not see any of these traits. Richard is the founder of an app called Pied Piper which is capable of compressing files so small that there is next to no buffering when streaming.  Granted, this is a television show, but in a world where we are constantly looking at our phones: streaming music, movies, television, this is a huge break through. The HBO hit television series follows Richard and his ‘team’ trying to establish their company but must try not and get sued out a beer first.

One of the biggest opticals that faces Richard and his team is his old job.  Before Pied Piper, Richard worked with another technology company called Hooli. Hooli would be like our present day Google. They practically run Silicon Valley with their fast pace work ethic and money to buy out other ideas and companies. After Richard goes live with Pied Piper and word catches on to the owner of Hooli, Gavin Belson, he tries to buy out the app.  Richard refuses to sell so naturally, in the world we live in, Gavin Belson sues.  For the most part this is the flow of the entire series. What really trips up Richard is his leadership skills.

Richard has a lot to carry with a  company, but mostly a team, and constantly trying to get funded and stay funded. The problem is, nobody wants to fund a start up company that is getting sued.  I blame the majority of the shows unfortunate turns on the leadership styles of Richard. He tries to please everyone but everyone usually ends up taking advantage of him by pressing their own ideas and trying to over throw him.  The term ‘there are too many cooks in the kitchen’ would be a fantastic way to describe every episode of Silicon Valley.  From start to finish the show as everyone trying to feed their opinions, thoughts, and motives onto Richard when he his trying to figure out how to do it all himself.

Since the start up company is small, he shows newer leadership traits. Traits that are money driven will train a leader to keep their thoughts an opinions kind of under wraps.  The more people that get involved, the more chapter, and the more money you have to pay out to your team.  Richard is soft spoken, mumbles a lot, and now has to learn to be a business man all so quickly.  This is a classic style of letting others influence and persuade one to go out of their comfort zone by new challenges and goals.

There is plenty of opportunity for Richard to succeed, he just needs to figure out how.  When becoming a leader, coming up with your idea or product is almost the easy part.  You must have the power to over come objections, lead others, and make a product that others can believe in.  I chose to reflect on Silicon Valley because the leadership styles are being learned as the show goes on to you can really see how ones development evolves.

–“Silicon Valley.” IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. 21 June 2015.

It takes a great deal to become a leader.  You must be able to lead a team and have them follow, have focus on a goal; gain the trust and respect from your peers! These are all traits that could not be any more south from the all-time favorite boss, Bill Lumurgh.

“Leadership has also been viewed as the power relationship that exists between leaders and followers. Leaders have power and use it to cause change in others.” (Lesson 1)

The 1999 cult comedy ‘Office Space’ is an example of what its like to work a nine to five, Monday through Friday unenthusiastic job that has the micro manager that could make one snap, literally.  In this particular film, we follow around Peter in his black and white lifestyle at a software company, a pressing boss, and tedious day-to-day tasks. When it almost seems like there isn’t a way out of this broken record work life, Peter seeks help from an occupational therapist that drops dead during a hypnotherapy session. Still stuck in a trance, Peter now has a carefree attitude and ends up succeeding more from it with work, friends, and a girlfriend.

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy3rjQGc6lA

The movie is geared towards the stress in Peters life that is caused from work. I bring up this film because of the lack of leadership that goes on throughout the entire 90 minutes.  Don’t get me wrong, its a fantastic film, but portrays a trait-less leader and how it can drain any ounce of motivation that one may have. Having a diverse leadership style is going be the main focus that can drive a company to success. In the film, they go through with the subordinates and have them rated. This is a way in showing how organization with leadership can properly build your team, by having your workers and followers be designated to their strongest traits.  Unfortunately, that doesn’t make out well with the team.

In a work setting, we are all learning from each other.  The leader will lead and learn how his team flows and the team will follow, abiding to the leaders direction and initiative. ‘Office Space’ is an extreme example of terrible lead and follow ratio, but gets to the point of what would become of a team with a selfish trait-less leader.