Leadership

PSYCH 485 blog

Power/Influence

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My sister is 9 years old. She plays co-ed summer baseball and has been with the same coach now for two years. He is a really mean and strict coach. His expectations of the 8 and 9 year old children are really high and his values of playing the game are off.

Instead of stressing that having fun and learning how to play the game are important, he emphasizes winning and rewards the children the children with a treat at the snack stand every game they win. He also keeps score of the game, which is technically not aloud at that age level. If one makes a mistake he is not afraid to shout it out loud in front of all the parents and his line up goes off of who played the best the last game down to who played the worst. At the end of each game, he gives the game ball to one outstanding player to acknowledge what they did good that game and teach the other children what they can improve on. He only does this if they win though which teaches them loosing is bad and they are not good baseball players if they don’t win.

I would say this coach uses Reward Power to lead his team to success. Reward Power is a function on the relationship between leader, followers, and the situation. It’s the influence over others due to one’s control over desired resources (Hughes et al, 2012). The coach is influencing the team to win every game by rewarding the children with a snack after the game and placing the spotlight on one child each time they win. They receive nothing but a stern talking to when they loose.

My theory as to why the coach leads him team like this is because the baseball league decides whose a good coach based off their stats for the year. This coach wants to continue coaching all the up to minor leagues and has the goal of making it to the little league world series. I think he wants this more than his child or team actually does.

Whatever the coaches motives are for being a ruthless leader, he has lost some good kids and players because of his attitude and morals of baseball. Winning isn’t everything.

Hughes, R .L., Ginnett, R. C., & Curphy, G. J. (2012). Leadership: Enhancing the lessons of experience. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies.

Situations Arise

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In every workplace, home environment, classroom, church congregation, etc. there are people of every skill set and temperament. Leaders in these situations often adapt when one-on-one with the people of various situations. Situational leadership is an approach that, unlike many other theories or approaches, takes a prescriptive angle to leadership. In other words, the approach can be viewed as guidelines to the leadership that should be taken. Although in these settings leaders will more times than not be faced with leading an entire group, the focus can often come down to the interactions between the leader and each follower individually. Situational leadership handles situations individually by accommodating individuals by combining their skill set (competence) and their commitment to the organization. By assessing each follower on an individual basis the leader can adjust and adapt their style of leadership appropriately. The development by Blanchard (1985) of the SLII Model will be used to demonstrate a manager I deal with frequently. The SLII Model uses 4 styles of leadership combined with the 4 levels of development. For privacy purposes we will call him “Chris”. Chris has 3 subordinates, each with a unique set of abilities, commitment to their company, and a relationship with Chris. Situational leadership is perfect to apply to his situation. It is versatile and can be adjusted rather quickly in order to be the most effective.
Blanchard (1985) and Blanchard et al. (1985) developed an illustration (see below) to visualize the concepts of the SLII Model for easy understanding when using situational leadership (Northouse, 2013). This approach encompasses 4 styles: S1 Directing; high directive and low supportive, S2 Coaching; high directive and high supportive, S3 Supporting; high supportive and low directive, S4 Delegating; low supportive and low directive (Northouse, 2013). The 4 development levels range from D1 (low, developing) to D4 (high, developed) (Northouse, 2013). The 4 leadership styles and development levels are used in the various stages on Chris’s team. Mark has only recently joined the team but has previous experience in their field of operation. Steve has been with Chris’s team for just under a year and this is his first time in the industry. Bob has been with this company for over 30 years, was in management for 20 years, and is now simply finishing out his remaining few years before eligible for retirement. Each category can be applied in majority to each of them yet it will show that it also changes as the situations change.
Beginning with Mark, Chris is most often placed in the S1 category. Even though mark has previous experience in this field, he is required to learn the policies and practices of Chris’s company. Chris has taken a directive approach, focusing on goal achievement in the beginning weeks of employment. Chris gives instruction through a calendar of events and training modules to be completed by certain dates. The supportive behavior is low at this point in their relationship although it has recently been evolving. The line into S2 has been crossed more frequently now that will has some time in with the company. Mark and Chris are developing their interactions and Mark is beginning to be more self-sufficient. In way of development, Mark is steadily reaching D2 but still mainly in D1 which is consistent with leadership style.
Steve has been with Chris’s team for one year. Although Steve now has one year of experience and is familiar with the company yet he still requires the S2 coaching style with high supportive leadership and high directive leadership. Steve displays low confidence and requires specific goals. Chris is required to give directive support toward weekly, monthly, and quarterly goals. Chris offers his own “curbside coaching” in which after they are finished at an appointment they discuss practices that were employed. Chris always elicits input from Steve in order to boost his confidence and build their relationship. Steve is in the D2 phase of development. Chris’s goal is to put him in the D3 phase in the near future. The Supporting Style in S3 is the next level for Steve’s career and relationship with Chris.
Bob is a veteran in their field. He has been employed at many levels in the company but is now simply working as an agent for Chris in order to meet his financial needs and eventually retire. What is interesting in this relationship is that the leadership role is shared. At the majority of the time an S4 style is employed where Bob knows what is expected of him and they share a daily check in so they are on the same page yet Bob is in charge of his schedule and Chris rarely intervenes. On various occasions an S3 style is used. Although Bob has been with the company for so long, it has been a substantial amount of time since he has been out on his own, not in management. Chris is fairly new to management and has new ideas that Bob is happy to use. Bob will explain what issues he is encountering and Chris offers a fresh perspective in way of advice, generally something Bob has not yet used. Bob also offers Chris various advice on management in the company. Their relationship displays support back and forth interaction yet very little to no directive style. Bob is developed with only small needs to vary his level of development therefore his is classified as D4.
We can all say with confidence that situations change, people change, and relationships change. Roadblocks arise, new information is released, and product adjustments are made. The elements in the SLII Model illustrate an effective image in order to visualize the leadership styles combining with subordinate development levels. Chris and his team offer an exclusive look into the everyday changing environment as it applies to the SLII Model of situational leadership.

References
Northouse, Peter G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Sixth Edition. Sage Publications.

Blanchard et al. (1985) Situational Leadership II

Blanchard et al. (1985) Situational Leadership II

Parenting: Servant Leadership, No Doubt!

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Being a parent is one of the simplest ways to illustrate servant leadership. As a parent, putting my children first, helping them to grow, and prosper is at the forefront of my leadership style. A parent’s way of leading their child through life varies, just as leadership in an organization varies. My house IS my organization. I joke that I am the CFO while my husband retains CEO status. This organization (my home) is run with more elements of servant leadership than any other leadership style. Raising my children, my own desires have not just been pushed aside but I am happy and desire it to be this way. My goal and mission in this crazy thing they call parenthood is that at the end of my children’s adolescence, they will be ready, willing, and able to carry on as independent adults that are productive parts of society. By choosing servant leadership as the catalyst to my parenting, the context and culture in our home (organization), my attributes as the parent (leader), and my children’s (follower’s) receptivity all play a role in the success we share together. The behaviors I display as a servant leader produce outcomes today and will produce outcomes in my children’s lives down the road.
Servant leaders place their followers first, empower them, and help to develop them to their fullest potential. Robert Greenleaf (1970) developed the theory of servant leadership. Others, including Graham (1991), Spears (2002), Russell and Stone (2002), and Patterson (2003), have further developed the theory. Spears (2002) sorted Greenleaf’s writings and produced a list of 10 characteristics that characterize servant leaders. They are: Listening, Empathy, Healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people, building community (Northouse, 2013). Russell and Stone (2002) produced a model of servant leadership that displays attributes, functional characteristics, and accompanying characteristics (Northouse, 2013). Patterson (2003) developed a model based on values that specify building blocks for the ethical behavior displayed by servant leaders (Northouse, 2013). Another model is based on Liden, Wayne, Zhao, and Henderson (2008) that makes use of three factors (Northouse, 2013). This model shows antecedent conditions, servant behaviors, and leadership outcomes in an effort to make sense of the intensely complex theory of servant leadership (Northouse, 2013).
The behaviors in the model of servant leadership can be seen when evaluating my leadership as a parent. The conceptualization I possess for my children is a future as ready, willing, and productive adults. For emotional healing, who is the first person many people want when they need a shoulder to lean on or cry on? Correct. Their mom. There is never a time that I am not available when my children need someone. In order to help my children grow and succeed, I spend at least an hour each day reading, writing, and practicing other skills they are developing in school. Their participation in after school activities is also important. Development in social areas of their lives and commitment to other organizations foster community ties. Teaching my children to use manners and do “the right thing in the right way” (Northouse, 2013, p. 229) is an ongoing process and behavior practice that I value highly. In order for my children to behave in a way that will be productive and respectful in the future, I aim to continually perform acts of kindness and make rational decisions based on the truth even if the truth is hard to deal with instead of taking the easy way or making decisions based on emotions. Within my home, many decisions are made as a family. I feel that with my children participating in decisions, large and small, they have a sense of control to their lives. Realistically, they do not have complete control, they are only children. However, by asking their opinions and eliciting conversations among us, their sense of unity with the family is heightened and continuing to develop. The culture in our home is conducive to their growth. The goal is for their adult selves to perform contributing acts as respectable adults in the community.
The 10 characteristics compiled from Greenleaf’s writings by Spears (2002) blend with the leader behaviors found in Liden, et al (2008)’s model. These characteristics, listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people, and building community, further compound to demonstrate the pure devotion servant leaders have to their followers. In my case, each day of my life is spent in the commitment to my children, serving to develop their growth in a positive way.
The outcome of my parenting, my servant leadership, varies from day to day. My children are growing into young adults before my eyes. In moments I am aware of the way this organization (my home) is the breeding ground. As I watch my daughter make homemade cards and decorate Easter eggs for the elderly across the street. As I see my son go out of his way to help another boy clean up a spilled bottle of water, while other children simply walk by, makes me see the goal of developing them into decent people is being realized, little by little.
While being a parent, the servant leadership behaviors I display cover the models presented. Combining the culture and context of my home with my behaviors as a parent, leads to outcomes consistent with the servant leadership models. Servant leadership as applied to parenting was never a question to me. As a parent, many things are uncertain. However, the commitment I have to their upbringing, the positive influence I choose to pursue for their benefit is never a question. I am a servant to their lives, for now and always.

References
Northouse, Peter G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Sixth Edition. Sage Publications

Authentic Leaders in My Life

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Authentic Leadership enjoyable to reach about because for me I feel like I can really relate it to real life. According to our commentary (PSU, Lesson 12) there are 3ways to define authentic leadership. Authentic leadership is interpersonal, meaning there is a relationship between leader and follow that is strong, and genuine.

Authentic leadership is about being true to ones-self, or ‘authentic’. This makes sense because in order to be an authentic leader, one should probably be authentic in emotion and thought. It’s critical for a leader to be self-aware, and understand their place in the relationship between leader and follower. Authentic leadership is also development. This style relates to dealings with life events that take people out of their ‘comfort zone’, “life events cause the leader to use their authentic leadership skills (PSU, Lesson 12).

how-build-better-dad-istock-ZoneCreative-main_1.jpg

When considering an authentic leader, my father is the first one to come to mind. My dad has had the biggest impact on my life by far compared to anyone else. He was a single father, and raised me almost solely on his own. He did this and immigrated to the United States with nothing but a few garbage bags full of clothes. My dad taught me a lot of things, like many parents, but at a very young age I was living in a very real world. He showed me with his actions what hard work could get, how to be respectful, and he made sure I understood where we were coming from and how easy it would be to take the wrong turn in life. My Dad went from single, homeless father, to successful business owner over the course of 15 years. He went from food stamps to freedom, and lives a very happy, stress free life. I believe that to truly understand authentic leadership, one must have a good grasp and understanding of their life. The story of one’s life really provides a framework for one’s experiences which someone can use to find the inspiration to leave an impact on the world.

In my opinion, it’s one’s personal account their life that really matters, not just the literal facts of one’s life. Your personal life account is something that you draw from to make decisions, take actions, and generate opinion. We attempt to make sense of our lives and find our personal place in the world. While the ‘life stories’ of an authentic leader of course vary from one case to the next, including the positive experiences with their parents, coaches, mentors, school teachers, etc. many times a leader cites difficult or troubling life experiences as their source for inspiration and motivation. One of my mentors is author, serial-entrepreneur, and billionaire 30 year old Ryan Blair. His book his called “Nothing to Lose” and it’s a great story of overcoming difficult circumstances to gain success. To me, Ryan Blair is also an authentic leader, because the principles he shares are to use for one’s own personal success. Ryan Blair truly cares about other entrepreneurs their success and time freedom.

Ryan Blair

An authentic leader, like my Father or Ryan Blair usually have experienced transformative effects of personal tragedy, illness, job loss, etc. and also describe feeling rejected by society or their peers or being excluded. But instead of seeing themselves as victims, an authentic leader uses these negative experiences to give their lives certain meaning. To give them motivation and inspiration to help others see the same success. These types of individuals overcome these events and rise above roadblocks and later discover a passion to lead others. I must say, I think it’s a very motivational type of leadership to follow. I really enjoy the understanding of authentic leadership, it’s been one of my favorites thus far.

Servant For A Coach

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Servant leadership can be found in many forms. As the lesson states, servant leadership occurs “when leaders truly believe and act upon a desire to make their followers successful” (PSU, L. 11, p. 5). This is the base premise that I believe servant leaders build from. Thus, I believe that great coaches epitomize great servant leadership.

I remember the first time that I met my coach; little did I know the significant impact that she would make on my life. Only now when I look back on my childhood do I realize how her leadership skills enabled me to accomplish many different things in my life. I met my coach at age six, when I first joined an independent all-star cheerleading organization. I cheered for the program for a total of twelve years, and much of what I learned was not cheerleading related whatsoever. My coach depicted every one of the ten characteristics described by Northouse, but three stood out to me the most.

The first characteristic that my coach presented was the ability to listen. Northouse explains that, “servant leaders communicate by listening first”. (Northouse, 2013) This is something that my coach did without us even knowing it. She was always an easy person to talk to. Despite her busy schedule, she always made time to sit down to lunch with any of her athletes. She was always willing to listen to the comments and suggestions of parents as well. Due to her ability to listen, she was able to comprehend our desires and wishes. She would take our concerns about our skills or suggestions about our routine into consideration and work with us to make improvements. We were always able to open up and talk to her about everything and anything. This helped not only in regards to cheerleading, but also if one of us happened to have a bad day we had a shoulder to cry on. As a result, we formed a very strong relationship. When I look back on it today, I realize how great of a listener she really was. This has allowed me to learn how to listen to others and build strong relationships with them just as my coach had done for me.

The second characteristic that my coach possessed was the ability to conceptualize. Conceptualization “refers to an individual’s ability to be a visionary for an organization, providing a clear sense of its goals and direction”. (Northouse, 2013) My coach established her cheerleading organization from scratch; she had a clear goal from the very beginning. Her vision was to develop a cheerleading organization that not only produced high-quality athletes, but also developed individuals into high-class leaders that would contribute significantly to society in the future. My coach was the founder of the cheerleading organization and wrote the mission statement. While at the same time, she developed personal relationships with every single one of her athletes. My coach maintained her vision through implementation of clear goals. We had a set of very straightforward rules that we had to follow. Our parents were very closely knit and involved in the organization. Hard work and dedication to one another was the basis of everything that we did. Community involvement was a priority; we often participated in many volunteer initiatives in the community. All of these examples were part of her vision and directed us to become great cheerleaders as well as great leaders today.

A third characteristic that my coach possessed was her commitment to the growth of people, or in this case, her athletes. To me, this is the most important characteristic that she encompassed. Northouse describes: “servant leaders are committed to helping each person in the organization grow personally and professionally”. (Northouse, 2013) My coach did just this by fostering an environment to grow as a cheerleader and also one to grow as a person. In addition to becoming better athletes, my coach was very concerned with our ability to be great people. For example, if we were struggling with our academics, my coach would ask an older member of the team to help us with our work after practice. If it became a problem, you would be dismissed from the team. Academics was always a priority, even though the cheerleading organization was in no way related to a school. As I said before, community involvement and dedication to one another was also a priority. As a result of my coach’s commitment to helping me grow as a person, I have been able to take on leadership roles and help others to grow into better people through my involvement at Penn State and my dedication to helping others.

These three characteristics that my coach possessed helped me to become the person I am today. I learned the importance of listening to others and how to listen correctly. I can clearly conceptualize my own goals and define a path in which to attain them. Most importantly, I can help others to grow into great people that will make a positive impact on society. My coach’s servant leadership has allowed me to develop into a servant leader myself.

 

References:

Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice (5th edition). Los Angeles: Sage Publications.

Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2011). PSYCH 485 Lesson 11: Introduction to Leadership. Retrieved on March 31, 2013 from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/sp13/psych485/003/content/11_lesson/05_page.html.

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