Authentic leadership brought about some personal thoughts and feelings. The word authentic often runs through my mind but more so in its meaning, genuine. Being a father has never been more important to me than it is now. I know that sounds a bit odd as if it should have always been vital, and it has, but recently it became a whole new perspective. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, and watching my son grow is teaching me a few things. The biggest one has been the finitude of time. It’s a commodity I wish I had an infinite amount of, but I don’t. Nobody does. So as I thought about my son and the kind of leader I need to be for him, the word genuine came to mind.

Our text mentions four key psychological capacities that impact authentic leadership. The four capacities are confidence, hope, optimism, and resilience (Northouse, 2021). Northouse states”Confidence refers to having self-efficacy—the belief that one has the ability to successfully accomplish a specified task. Leaders who have confidence are more likely to be motivated to succeed, to be persistent when obstacles arise, and to welcome a challenge” (Northouse, 2021). As the leader of my family, I realized my confidence was lacking in some areas. We have faced some difficult situations as many families have, and in some cases, my confidence was shaken. I could visibly see the change in my wife when she saw that my confidence had taken a hit. It did not instill in her the confidence that everything would be ok, it instilled worry. Like any leader who lacks confidence in taking on an obstacle, the followers will lose faith and confidence in their ability to rise to the occasion and lead confidently. My son and wife both deserve a confident husband and father to lead them through the good times and the especially bad. The areas in which I lack this confidence are mostly due to my knowledge of the issue. So as I have noticed this, I began educating myself on certain topics to build that confidence that I can handle any situation that arises.

“Resilience is the capacity to recover from and adjust to adverse situations. It includes the ability to positively adapt to hardships and suffering. During difficult times, resilient people are able to bounce back from challenging situations and feel strengthened and more resourceful as a result of them” (Northouse, 2021). This is something I am proud of, I probably don’t tell myself that enough. As a parent,  sometimes I think we don’t realize how resilient we are, or anyone for that matter. While my confidence gets rocked on occasion, as the text stated, I can bounce back from challenging situations strengthened and more resourceful. I could not take the worry on my wife’s face as I mentioned, so I knew I needed to come away from the obstacle more knowledgeable than I went in. My resiliency directly affects my confidence as I am noticing. This also directly affects how my family views me as a leader. I also noticed how hope and optimism are strongly related to resiliency. This also became apparent during the reading of the chapter. The chapter states, “Their hope inspires followers to trust them and believe in their goals” (Northouse, 2021). I want the trust of my wife and my son. I want them to know that I can and will lead them in the right direction and they can trust that the goals I set for myself and our family are attainable.

One of the components of authentic leadership is relational transparency. While this component is certainly applicable with both my wife and son, I really want this between my son and I. Relational transparency is defined as “being open and honest in presenting one’s true self to others. It is self-regulating because individuals can control their transparency with others. Relational transparency occurs when individuals share their core feelings, motives, and inclinations with others in an appropriate manner (Kernis, 2003). It includes the individuals showing both positive and negative aspects of themselves to others. In short, relational transparency is about communicating openly and being real in relationships with others” (Northouse, 2021). It is my opinion that many parent-child relationships do not contain relational transparency, and I believe this is where many of these relationships become strained. More than anything I want my son to have a father and leader whom he can openly communicate with. One of my greatest fears is that I made my son feel as though he could not confide in me. Like he could not talk to me and open up. I want to lead my son in a positive direction at all times, and I feel having relational transparency is key.

This has been a really important chapter for me. I want to be the authentic leader my son and wife both deserve. This blog is more so directed at my son though as my wife and I have our relationship. While my wife seeing me as the leader I want to be is important, my son will one day have his own family, and I want to instill so much in him that will help him thrive. He is only 2 years old, and some may say he is so young and I have time. The thing is, we don’t know just how much of that we have. That is why setting an example for this type of leader is vital. One day, that will surely come faster than I want it to, he will walk out my door and into a life that I only hope I have prepared him for—a life where I am not a constant physical presence and where he is his own man and he knows he can always call and always has a home.

 

A few days ago I had the privilege of teeing it up with an old manager of mine and friend. His name is Tony and he was truly one of the betst managers I’ve had. While we made our way around the golf course, I couldn’t help but think about his leadership style. With transformational leadership fresh in my memory, I realized he was just that, a transformational leader. Northouse tells us, “Transformational leadership is the process whereby a person engages with others and creates a connection that raises the level of motivation and morality in both the leader and the follower. This type of leader is attentive to the needs and motives of followers and tries to help followers reach their fullest potential” (Northouse, 2021). Tony was all of this and more. his ability to connect to others was unmatched by anyone I had seen lead people.

Table 8.1 in the transformational leadership chapter refers to the personality characteristics of transformational leaders, behaviors, and their effects on followers (Northouse, 2021). Tony checked the boxes on all four personality characteristics. These are dominance, desire to influence, self-confidence, and strong moral values. I’d say the two strongest were strong moral influences and a desire to influence others. I witness this first-hand. As a result of these characteristics, especially the two I felt he was strongest in, the effects on the followers were visible and audible. Again, table 8.1 states a few of the effects of followers as, Affection toward leader, Obedience, Identification with leader, Emotional involvement, Heightened goals, and Increased confidence (Northouse, 2021). Everyone would sing his praises. Tony was adored by all who worked alongside him. When we were under his leadership, people would do anything it took to reach the goals he set for us because people felt like they identified with him and felt affection toward him. He was one of us, and we all related to him.

Lastly, I think what set Tony apart was what Northouse referred to as factor 4, individualized consideration. This is defined as, “leaders who provide a supportive climate in which they listen carefully to the individual needs of followers. Leaders act as coaches and advisers while trying to assist followers in becoming fully actualized” (Northouse, 2021). Tony made sure to take time with each individual. He made it a point that everyone knew him, knew their role, and knew the goals set by him, all the while taking time to coach everyone through any situation they were facing. Tony was more than a leader to many of us. He was a coach, a mentor, a friend, an inspirational word when we needed it. He was the definition of a transformational leader.

 

Reference

Northouse, P.G. (2021). Leadership: Theory & Practice (9th e.d.). SAGE Publishing.

With team leadership being discussed this week, I felt this story could be shared. It is not often that I get to share one of my success stories as a past leader. To be honest I can’t think of one I am more proud of than this one. I used it in our discussion but I’d like to share in more detail the outcome of that experience and how it has shaped who I am and how I view leadership. At the time this took place, I was working 60-hour work weeks, a full-time student at Penn State, A new father, and a husband. Life was tremendously busy and stressful. This is my account of what transpired.

At one of my previous positions and probably the most stressful one, there were four of us on a team. Our team was responsible for making sure aerial and heavy dirt equipment was onsite at many construction sites around not only our city but several cities within our area, Each of these sites was multimillion-dollar jobs being done with big names in the construction business at the helm, The place I worked out of was labeled the “mothership” because our team controlled so much of the equipment and because of the volume we did. Of the four-man team I was considered the leader. The text states, ” that the leader’s job is to monitor the team and then take whatever action is necessary to ensure team effectiveness” (Northouse, 2021, p. 572). This was my job. However, because the role demanded quite a lot and the stress of the role began to run me ragged, I decided to implement what is called shared or distributed leadership. As the text states, ” Shared team leadership occurs when members of the team take on leadership behaviors to influence the team and to maximize team effectiveness” (Northouse, 2021, p. 571). As the leader and because I could tell the stress of the role was taking its toll on me, I knew we could be more effective if I could distribute some of what my role entailed to my teammates. This worked tremendously.

Our team effectiveness was at an all-time high with this new change. There are two key functions in team effectiveness, performance and development (Northouse, 2021, p. 572). Our performance was trending upward with our ability to cover more sites as well as planning and forecasting much better than before. We were not bad by any means, but it certainly could have been better, and it was. The development aspect had already been there. We were a pretty cohesive unit and we worked well together. However, with the implementation of shared or distributed leadership, it brought us closer together. We seemed to feed off one another and everyone felt much more comfortable expressing ideas and just sharing opinions. At the time, I had no prior knowledge of shared leadership as it pertained to team leadership, I just knew I needed help and these guys were more than qualified to make decisions and give valued opinions on how we should and could operate.

The characteristics of team excellence mention results-driven structure. There are five effective structures that team leaders do. They go as listed, (1) compose the group with members having a combination of knowledge, traits, and skills; (2) establish productive norms; (3) identify who is responsible and accountable for what outcomes; (4) designate the team’s functions and authority; and (5) instill a sense of ownership among the members (Northouse, 2021, p. 575). While number one had been established, the other four needed to be done by myself as the formal leader. Again, I had no prior knowledge of any of this, but to succeed, this needed to happen. Of the five, I felt as though 3 and 5 were extremely vital to our success. I gave the other three guys what they were responsible for and what they would be held accountable for. I also instilled in them ownership of this team. I wanted them to feel as much a leader as I was. These guys were amazing. They jumped at the chance to take ownership and accountability.

With this new system in place, we started a new work week. I was fairly nervous to be transparent as letting go of some of my duties was foreign to me. I wanted to watch over their shoulder at all times, but I fought the urge and only observed at a distance. It was amazing the change that happened, new ideas were coming through, and processes that took longer were now quicker because of the ownership they were given. They could now feel free to make decisions without running them through me and it was freeing not only for me but for them, While I was just as heavily involved as they were, there seemed to be a weight lifted off of me. We were producing more and our problem-solving was better. We had become one giant cohesive working machine. Not only did I recognize it, but our higher-ups took notice as well. To date, this was the best transformation I have ever been a part of in my work life. With my other responsibilities and stresses, having this team to rely on at work made it manageable. As a result, my work-life improved, their work life improved, and our company improved. There were still issues that would arise that I needed to take care of as the formal leader, but overall we excelled like nothing before.

 

Northouse, P.G. (2021). Leadership: Theory & Practice (9th e.d.). SAGE Publishing.

Over the years I have had the privilege of working with some good leaders. From my perspective, the leaders who were successful in their roles seemed to employ the situational leadership theory. There are a few instances I’d like to share that have left a mark on me and how people responded to these situations. What is situational leadership though? Well, it is a leadership style that consists of the behavior pattern of a person who attempts to influence others. It includes both directive behaviors and supportive behaviors (Northouse, 2021, p. 181). With that being said, let’s get into the experiences I have had with this leadership style.

During my time at my previous employer, the stress level in which we operated was quite high. We worked with many major construction companies and they depended on us to help them get the job done. Because the stress level could be quite high the majority of the time, the stress management of each individual varied. Each person strived to do the best for the company as well as for the companies we were assisting. Unfortunately, the stress of the situations we encountered took its toll on many people within the organization. The manager/leader at the time began to notice the varying situations and could visibly see the impact on his people. He noticed just by reading emails from each individual the language being used and of course, he could see the behavior exhibited by everyone. He took it upon himself to meet with each one of us to ask how we managed our stress throughout the day and how he could help ease the stress. What we see here is our manager employs the S3 model style which is a supporting role. This style takes a high supportive-low–low directive approach (Northouse, 2021, p. 181). He was not overly concerned with the goals we were setting, but rather he wanted to make sure we were supported in our role. He listened to us, asked for our input, gave excellent feedback, and gave praise to us for the job we were doing. Not only did this increase productivity knowing that he saw us and supported us, but the stress level came down in knowing that we were performing at a high level thanks to his feedback and praise. Morale shot up and as a result of all this, the whole work environment improved drastically. This was without a doubt the quickest turnaround in people’s attitudes at work I had ever seen.

At another employer where meeting sales goals was pivotal, I was exposed to an exemplary show of situational leadership. There were two individuals who were struggling mightily. As a sales team, we were struggling due to the underperforming employees. Bonuses were at stake as well as other incentives. With that said, unsavory things were being said about the two individuals and how letting them go would be the best way forward. While this was being spoken of by other managers, our manager took it upon himself to look deeper at the situation. What he did surprised everyone, especially the other sales managers. He employed the S2 style which is the coaching style. This is a high-supportive high-directive approach (Northouse, 2021, p. 181). Rather than reprimanding them or worse, firing them, he took it upon himself to personally coach and direct them. He also gave what I believe to be a very important component of this style in socioemotional support. This was invaluable as the two individuals were struggling with certain skills that were lacking. They struggled with rejection during conversations and were easily shaken if a conversation got a little too heated. Beyond this, he coached them personally by utilizing role-playing and by being present during many of their interactions with customers. What happened in the months to follow was nothing short of amazing. The two individuals not only helped the team reach the goals for months to come, but they also helped to surpass these goals. There was a visible change in demeanor and the confidence that enveloped them was just a sight to see. According to the levels of development, these two individuals are categorized as D1 followers, they are low in competence and high in commitment (Northouse, 2021, p. 183) They wanted so badly to do well, but they lacked the competence until our manager decided to step in and show a strong S2 style which was transformative.

These two experiences were very impactful. Imagine for a second you are the people in these scenarios and picture your work-life being transformed in such a way that you enjoy going to work and not dreading it. This begs the question, at least for me anyway, is situational leadership the best way to lead? Is it possible at a big corporation? Does this only work on a smaller scale? The lives I saw change speak volumes to a leader who can enact this leadership style with success. So what do you think? Is this the best style to lead people with?

 

Northouse, P. G. (2021). Leadership: Theory and Practice. California: Sage Publications.

 

 

When I became a father and husband, I didn’t quite grasp what came with those titles. While I knew responsibility was an integral part of being a husband and father, there was an aspect I had not given nearly enough thought to, which was leadership. I had held management positions before and had what I thought was a pretty good idea of leadership. I have what I would call great interpersonal skills. I enjoyed being a leader when I held these positions and even when I wasn’t in a position of leadership, often people would come to me with issues within the workplace asking for guidance. I thoroughly enjoyed helping and leading. The thing was, while I did all this for people at work, there was one caveat to this, I didn’t have to live with these people. I didn’t have to raise them, I wasn’t financially responsible for them. I wasn’t necessarily a support system emotionally for them. There were so many aspects to leading at work that were different than leading a family.

I genuinely found myself having to relearn how to be a different kind of leader. While I could have an impact at work for some, the impact I made at home was vastly different. I admit, I was not the best at the beginning nor am I the best now, but I have made huge strides in the right direction. I’m proud of that. In the text, there is a reference to Stogdil’s second survey and the traits that are positively associated with leadership (Northouse, 2021).  Here are the traits.

1. Drive for responsibility and task completion
2. Vigor and persistence in pursuit of goals
3. Risk-taking and originality in problem-solving
4. Drive to exercise initiative in social situations
5. Self-confidence and sense of personal identity
6. Willingness to accept consequences of decision and action
7. Readiness to absorb interpersonal stress
8. Willingness to tolerate frustration and delay
9. Ability to influence other people’s behavior
10. Capacity to structure social interaction systems to the purpose at hand

Upon reflecting on these traits and what I struggled with in my new roles as father and husband, I can say with transparency that I struggled with most of these. There were days when I struggled with my drive for responsibility and task completion in these roles. I wasn’t getting paid to do this so my mentality was completely off. My pursuit of goals in my family was lacking terribly. Sometimes risk-taking is a necessity to move your family forward, I struggle here too. Number 4 did not quite apply to me. My self-confidence and identity dived for a while. I didn’t know who I was within my family and my confidence reflected this. I was very indecisive nor was I taking accountability for the consequences of my decisions when I would make them. The stress level was through the roof and I did not cope with it very well. There was a lot of displaced frustration at times. My influence on my family’s behavior was not positive, I could tell the morale was tanking and it was solely on me. Number 10 was not something I struggled with for some reason. Perhaps because it felt more like a scenario for work.

There was so much work to do when I started to realize the leader I was, was not the leader I wanted to be. How could I steer my family this way? There is such an importance in being the leader of a family. My wife and son look to me for leadership. They look to me to be the stable figure when the seas get rough. To make decisions and take on the responsibility. I neglected this the first year. I truly did not know how to navigate this and I have no issue in admitting this. Leadership within the family is truly a different role. While I have gotten so much better, the traits listed above have given me even more to consider, and have actively been working on this.

The consequence of leading a family positively is indescribable. The morale is up, and my wife is happier and feels supported. I see my son wants to interact with me so much more and I welcome the challenges that come with this role. In the work world, it is not all that different. As a good leader in that atmosphere, you want your people to feel supported, they should want to be around you. Your presence should boost morale not diminish it. There is something remarkable about leading a family. When done to the best of your abilities, it is the most rewarding and fulfilling thing I could ever describe. I hope more emphasis is put on family leadership in the years to come.

 

Northouse, P.G. (2021). Leadership: Theory & Practice (9th ed, p. 87.). SAGE Publishing.