Achsahs-Springs Blog Post 2 : Assigned vs Emergent Leaders & Managers vs Leaders
Question Posed in Post: Does growing in leadership skills and abilities demand releasing the managerial skills and abilities?
My Response:
Hi there,
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post. I especially could connect and relate to your experience finding “leading from the floor” to be more effective than your previous assigned leadership role. I too would like to delve more into this later and examine why we find this to be true.
As far as your question about releasing managerial skills and abilities goes in order to grow as a leader, my immediate response is “not at all”. I think that some of us inherently have these organizational skills and they help enable us to foresee, plan and share a vision. I think organizational skills can enhance our leadership abilities, however, the mistake a lot of people make I think (based purely on personal experience with some leaders) is when people in positional leadership roles use their managerial skills to try and micro-manage others instead of empowering them or creating opportunities for them to build their own skills and be successful. I think true leaders surround themselves with people who are able to bring skills to the table that enable everyone to be successful in working towards a common goal. If someone in a position of power does everything (or attempts to do everything) or takes credit for everything, those people will never be true leaders.
Maddison Olsen Post – Unit 1, Learning Activity 5
Link: https://create.twu.ca/maddisonolson/2018/05/06/unit-1-learning-activity-5/
Discussion Question: How can I ensure I’m listening to my team members and effectively communicating with them when our paths do not cross on a regular basis?
My Response:
Great communication question! I don’t know how this would work in a kitchen (or how this might be perceived), but perhaps, leaving little personal handwritten notes every now and again for your team letting them know that you care, you appreciate them and acknowledge that amazing things that they do and that you’re checking in to see if there is anything that they might need… might be a good way to keep in touch.
Our staff team has a group message system that we use. I also stay in touch with students through an app called Remind. It’s a great way to get a message out to a whole group or just specific individuals. It is also a safe way to communicate with students as all messages are recorded.
Achsahs-Springs Post 3 – Principles of Servant Leadership
Link: https://create.twu.ca/achsahs-springs/2018/05/05/blog-post-3-three-principles-of-servant-leadership/
Question Posed: “So I have preconditioned myself to believe that influencing individuals, groups and situations is more difficult, challenging, and, well… unlikely. So my closing question to invite further comment and discussion is this: are there others who have wrestled with this mindset? And does this mindset put limits on one’s ability to lead?”
My Response:
I really enjoyed reading your post. I especially liked your question about mindset. I believe our mindset dictates a lot and it’s something that I wrestle with a lot. There’s a Henry Ford quote that is one of my favourites and I learned it in a karate dojo. I was nervous about having to break a piece of wood for the first time building up to one of my early gradings. My Sensei took me aside and told me that I needed to believe that I could do it. If I didn’t believe it, then I definitely wouldn’t be able to achieve it. This is when he shared with me what Henry Ford once said; “If you think you can, then you can. But, if you think you can’t, then you can’t.” It’s something I share with my students each year as well and try to remind myself when I’m feeling doubtful and questioning my abilities to make a difference.
Maddison Olson – Follow the Leader: Simon Sinek
Link: https://create.twu.ca/maddisonolson/2018/05/06/follow-the-leader-simon-sinek/
Question/Discussion: The concept Simon is most known for is the Golden Circle. He believes that the most successful people do not get that way by talking about what they are doing but instead by talking about the why behind what they do. The best leaders communicate the why behind their organizations goals.
My Response:
I really enjoyed reading your post. I love Simon Sinek too! I use his videos quite a bit in the classroom with my students and the conversations that we generate as a result are amazing and so insightful! I especially like his discussion of the importance of knowing your why. There is another video that I love, by Michael Jr. if you haven’t seen it yet that also demonstrates the difference when you know your why. The link for it is https://youtu.be/LZe5y2D60YU. I love it so much that I have it set to stay on my website as a daily reminder to myself as to why I’m here! I also have used it during staff meetings with the team as a motivation as to the difference between just showing up at school and teaching, and knowing your personal reason why you come to school and teach. I also use it with my Grade 12’s to help them prepare for the transition from high school to the ‘real world’ to help them understand their purpose.
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