While the gender gap in pay and in management positions is certainly closing, it isn’t closing quickly. Marisa LaScala calls April 14, 2015 “Equal Pay Day” because, “Because of the gender wage gap, women had to work from January 1, 2014 to April 14, 2015 to earn the same amount of money that men earned between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2014.” (LaScala). In 2014, women got paid $0.78 for the same $1.00 that a man earned, and even less if the woman is also African American or Hispanic. While the pay gap is closing, if it continues at this rate, “…we won’t reach parity for more than 40 years—in 2058.” which is unacceptable (LaScala).

Some of the barriers that women face in the workplace are arguments about human capital differences, gender differences, and prejudice (Northouse, p. 355). Human capital differences means that women have less basic capital invested than men. While this theory is a valid explanation, there is no empirical truth to it. The theory is that women haven’t been in the workplace as long, they have had less training, and have spent less investment in education. While this may have been true 20 years ago, we should be catching up at a much faster rate with the evidence of more women coming out of colleges but not moving up to leadership positions. Gender differences are the differences between men and women and their leadership styles. While many men may argue the traits for effective leadership, it has been proven that there is no disadvantage in leadership. The only gender difference is that women are too often too timid to ask for a promotion. LaScala addresses this as well and says that, “Levo League reports that 66 percent of Millennial women say they do not know how to ask for more.” and lists several tips from Aimee Cohen, a career coach and author on negotiation including (LaScala):

Know your goal and your bottom line before you walk in.

Brainstorm alternatives.

Script out what you’re going to say, and practice ahead of time.

Anticipate any possible objections you might face.

Avoid emotion.

Think about the people who will benefit.

Lastly, prejudice includes gender stereotyping, which is judging women, “…regardless of the actual variation in characteristics between the members.” (Northouse, p.358). Whether sexism takes the form of verbal interaction or in action (or inaction), any slight of a woman in a place of business is against the law. While these laws and policies are meant to prevent sexism in the workplace, it is still very common.

More likely barriers as discussed in the class commentary include organizational barriers, the need to overachieve for women to “prove” themselves, interpersonal barriers, prejudice, lack of mentors, and business “politics”, and personal barriers, including personal life issues that may interfere with work.

The prescription as to how to close this gender gap is to demand reform of laws and policies, for our culture to change and for to learn to accept others as equals, and for women to ask for what they deserve and not be afraid to hold management positions.

 

References

LaScala, M. (2015, April 14). Equal Pay Day is April 14, and Women Are Still Earning Less Than Men – But We Can Try to Even the Playing Field. Retrieved April 16, 2015, from http://www.workingmother.com/content/equal-pay-day-april-14-2015-wage-gap?cmpid=enews0414154&spPodID=010&spMailingID=11791502&spUserID=NDk1NDExOTkyMDES1&spJobID=483532152&spReportId=NDgzNTMyMTUyS0

Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. (Sixth Edition).  New York: Sage Publications.

Since reading about Herb Kelleher and his company Southwest Airlines in the book “Nuts” several years ago I have been enamored with their company. The particular culture that Kelleher instills Southwest with is described completely in the leadership style servant leadership.

Kelleher epitomizes what a servant leader is. His concept for a successful business started with making customers happy and treating everyone as you expect them to treat you, with respect. There is no “chain of command” when it comes to problems, and there is always an open door policy with Kelleher when it comes to helping an employee solve a problem. He offers emotional healing and gives support to everyone on his staff.

Other behaviors of Kelleher include putting followers first, helping followers grow and succeed, and empowering subordinates.  In fact, Kelleher doesn’t even call followers by that title, they are called collaborators.  Kevin and Jackie Freeberg write in the biography Nuts!, “We think that collaborators better describes the people of Southwest Airlines because, when it comes to leadership, they jump in with both feet!  They are active and they are engaged, regardless of which side of the leadership relationship they are on.” (Freiberg, p. 299).  A great example of these behaviors can be best shown by describing a specific program that was designed by a Southwest pilot which helps to educate employees called the “Cutting Edge Program”.   The “Cutting Edge Program” is designed to take employees from one job and teach them the other jobs.  By teaching all employees other jobs you: 1) create empathy among employees 2) create new grounds for collaboration to work together and think up new processes to help production 3) create opportunities for learning (Freiberg, pp 114-116).

In an interview (posted below) Southwest Airlines’ Colleen Barrett, who has been with Southwest since it’s inceptions says that Southwest, “Started with an idea to make the world a better place……and [help people] achieve their dreams.” which aligns perfectly with another core behavior of servant leadership which is creating value for the community.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TgR95vnM0c]

While the foundation of this leadership style doesn’t necessarily prove the success or failure of the organization at the very least, “…their organizations are healthier, ultimately benefiting society.” and “…the long-term outcomes of putting others first include positive social change and helping society flourish.” which is what Kelleher has proven with the culture he has created.

While it hasn’t always been easy to be a servant leader, putting in in 16 hour days, 7 days a week, Kelleher and Barrett have fun at their job and the success of the company speaks for itself (Freiberg p. 310).

Listed below is the culture/values that Southwest employees live by.

Live the Southwest Way

Warrior Spirit

• Work Hard
• Desire to be the best
• Be courageous
• Display urgency
• Persevere
• Innovate

Servant’s Heart

• Follow The Golden Rule
• Adhere to the Principles
• Treat others with respect
• Put others first
• Be egalitarian
• Demonstrate proactive Customer Service
• Embrace the SWA Family

Fun-LUVing Attitude

• Have FUN
• Don’t take yourself too seriously
• Maintain perspective
• Celebrate successes
• Enjoy your work
• Be a passionate Teamplayer

Work the Southwest Way

• Safety and Reliability
• Friendly Customer Service
• Low Cost

 

References:

Culture. (n.d.). Retrieved April 3, 2015, from https://www.southwest.com/html/about-southwest/careers/culture.html

Freiberg, K., & Freiberg, J. (1998). Nuts!: Southwest Airlines’ crazy recipe for business and personal success. New York: Broadway Books.

Rykrsmith, E. (2010, September 10). What Is Servant Leadership? Thoughts from Southwest Airlines President, Colleen Barrett. Retrieved April 4, 2015, from http://quickbase.intuit.com/blog/2010/09/20/what-is-servant-leadership-thoughts-from-southwest-airlines-president-colleen-barrett/

 

Google is know for their “outside the box” thinking and they constantly reinvent and imagine new ways to do things more successfully. The way that Google moved from the “norms” of business to achieve more success in leadership was to reevaluate their management practices and then restructure and retrain their team leaders which resulted in less employee turnover, happier employees, and better output. These team management methods that Google now practices are still the primary practices of team management, but, with a shifted focus.

So how did Google shift? Google, “…began analyzing performance reviews, feedback surveys and nominations for top-manager awards. They correlated phrases, words, praise and complaints.” and put all the data together, used data analytics and came up with a list of the, “Eight Habits of Highly Effective Google Managers.” (Bryant, 2011). These eight habits are bare-bone ideas that go back to the fundamentals of team leadership. While they seem new and different to Google, they were really only cutting out all of the corporate rules that so many business find appealing and by doing so were able to restructure and find more success than before. What are these eight habits?

Google’s new team management strategy lists three of eight habits as:

“Have a clear vision and strategy for the team.”(Bryant, 2011)

“Help your employees with career development.”(Bryant, 2011)

“Don’t be a sissy: Be productive and results-oriented.” (Bryant, 2011)

“Having a clear vision and strategy” is directly related to the the “Results-Driven Structure” portion of our readings which explains that by having structure and norms of what is expected from a team will help the team become more cohesive (Northouse, pg 300). “Help your employees with career development” is directly related directly to the external support and recognition that Northouse teaches us our text readings that personal support beyond only work related support leads to better interpersonal relationships within the workplace. “Don’t be a sissy” would best be explained by connecting it to Principled Leadership in that by becoming a motivating leader and, “… by providing clear goals, assignments, and strategies.” an employer will get better results from their subordinates (Northouse, pg 302) .

The three examples that the article by Adam Bryant lists in his article, “Google’s Quest to Build a Better Boss” are clearly team leadership qualities that have shown to be a successful model to return to time and time again. While it is easy for a corporation with a large number of employees to fall into the corporate way of doing things, Google found a way to go back to basics and empower the team.

Source:

Bryant, A. (2011, March 12). Google’s Quest to Build a Better Boss. Retrieved March 21, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/13/business/13hire.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. (Sixth Edition).  New York: Sage Publications.

Similarities between the Path-Goal Theory and The Situational Approach

The Situational Approach to leadership teaches us that leadership is a changing, fluid role that should adapt to the development stage of the subordinate. Leadership styles in the situational approach are also flexible based on needs and include directing, coaching, supporting, and delegating. In the Path-Goal Theory it is also the responsibility of the leader to assess each particular situation and be flexible enough in their leadership role to act with either directive, supportive, participative, or an achievement oriented leadership style based on the needs of their subordinates. While the terms may be different there are strong similarities between the two. While I have worked in under both kinds of leadership, I prefer the supportive leadership style.

The style that strikes me as the most similar to each other, even in name, is the directing leadership style in the situation approach and the directive leadership style in path-goal theory. Both of these approaches define these styles as a role where there is a lot of direction given by the leader but not as much emotional support is given to the subordinate. Jobs like assembly line workers, military, and construction would fall into this category. These are jobs where it is very important to follow directions and not as important for the subordinate to have emotional support.

Supportive leadership is also a major style in both theories. Supportive leadership is one where a leader is highly supportive emotionally and less rigid about their directive behaviors. This is a more relaxed atmosphere where there is more interaction between the leader and subordinate. The leader works with the subordinate and encourages feedback and the leader is much more respectful of the “person” behind the job. A really good example of this would be a job at Google. There are many leaders but they trust the subordinate to complete the job and take more care in supporting their staff.

In my own limited experience I have dealt with both types of leaders. I worked for 12 years at a company owned by a man that was a very directive leader. He was a soft-spoken man who wanted the job done. He would literally just have me write a list and then he would leave. No thank yous or any conversation whatsoever. Thankfully after some time he hired more “managers” who were much softer and were more supportive in their actions. In my own experience I prefer someone who is a supportive leader. One who will take the time to explain what they want done and how they want it done but who also takes the time to know me and my strengths and works with me towards our common goal. I feel that good relationships are a key element between a leader and a subordinate.

Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

What leadership looks like in a specific role

I have been a student for the past six years while raising a family and working/running a business. I am an adult-learner who has returned to school to finally earn the degree that I should have earned when I was in my youth. Because I am an adult I feel that I may be slightly wiser and definitely more experienced in the ways of the world than students fresh out of high school. Because of this experience I feel that I can spot a great teacher pretty fast, even in an online course. The best professors encapsulate the many traits associated with leadership; sociability, intelligence, self-confidence, determination, and integrity. Not only do teachers teach the students the “lessons”, they also are great examples to the students by showing students what it takes to be a great leader.

What traits help make a great teacher?

Extroversion (sociability) is very important. A teacher must be comfortable and have enough self-confidence to get up in front of a class full of students to give lectures as well as interact one-on-one with students on a daily basis. A great teacher interacts with the students and gets students involved. People like to be included and feel that their input is important, which is part of the leadership process. Being spoken to and lectured “at” can be boring, even if the subject is interesting.

Intelligence about the subject is necessary, obviously, but intelligence that goes beyond the subject is important too. As stated by Northouse, “Having strong verbal ability, perceptual ability, and reasoning appears to make on a better leader.” (Northouse, 2013, p. 24). Building lesson plans, addressing the class, and thinking about how to help students make “connections” is all a part of intelligence.

Integrity is a strong core trait for teachers. A majority of teachers get into their career for selfless reasons and want to help teach, guide, and help their students go further in life. Trustworthy teachers give honest feedback and constructive criticism which is necessary feedback for a student. For a student, being able to trust a teacher and feel comfortable in their classroom environment is very important to learning.

I personally have two examples to share based on my experience with teachers who have led successfully. Both professors teach and lead in different manners, each showing stronger “traits” than the other. My earth sciences professor at PSU is incredibly intelligent with awards and national honors to prove it. Not only is he a leader in the school, he is a leader in his field of study. He works as a researcher in his field while he also teaches and has made a three-part, televised documentary about how people can make changes in what we are doing now (to our atmosphere) in order to make a better tomorrow. His intelligence is the core trait that stands out in his teaching. While he is incredibly knowledgeable in his field, it is his application of different teaching devices such as video lectures, interactive modules, discussions, and even music videos to aid in understanding the concepts that show his overall intelligence beyond just subject knowledge. My other experience with a professor is from Bucks County Community College, my composition 2 professor. This professor is also intelligent, but, what stood out to me as her strongest leadership trait was her warmth, her personal involvement, and her guidance towards her students (sociability trait). She worked hard to not overwhelm the students and when any students did have issues with the work she took the time to help her students through the problems. Her hands-on leadership approach works well for her and her students, and her integrity and sociability are her strong leadership traits.

While both examples are unique, these are common traits that we see among leaders, yet these traits alone do not make a leader. Leadership is the process between student and teacher. It is a two way street and takes both participants for a leadership experience to occur.

Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks: SAGE.