Category: People Development

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Course Reflections – Unit 10, Learning Activity 1

Although it has only been ten weeks, the impact of this course and what I have learned is significant. It has hopefully built a strong foundation as I move forward through the rest of the courses for this MA Lead program, which I’m doing with great excitement and anticipation.

In terms of specific learning, there are two which will be specific for me in terms of how I lead within my own context. First, to remember that transformational leadership on its own has a dark side which can lead to disastrous consequences (Northouse, 2018). The importance is to take this into account in combination with the heart of servant leadership. This hybrid form of transformational servant leadership gives so much new language to me as a leader who desires to lead effectively as part of an organization with clearly defined mission, vision, and values while also desiring to serve and impact those around me who are under my leadership. Transformational servant leadership can now become a framework for self-evaluation of my own leadership.

Second, the personal leadership challenge for me as I journey through this course and this program is to grow in empathy, in the other-focused side of my leadership. My desire is to help those I lead to understand emotionally that I believe in them, trust them, and want the best for them. Although this quote was from a unit on the course focused on women in leadership, the impact for me is profound. Inclusion is related not only to gender but to every person who I lead, every person who comes across my way. As I strive to be a more effective, more empathetic leader, this reminder to celebrate the uniqueness and belonging of each person is very helpful for me in my own leadership.

This quote from Nugent & Travis (2016) summarizes what I hope to bring to those I lead:

Employees reported feeling included when they experienced both:
• A sense of uniqueness—that they are recognized and valued for their specific attributes and contributions.
• A sense of belonging—that they are welcomed and valued as part of their workgroups and among their colleagues.

Reference
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and Practice, Eighth Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Nugent, J., Pollack, A. & Travis, D. (2016). The day to day experiences of workplace inclusion and exclusion. Retrieved from http://www.catalyst.org/system/files/the_day_to_day_experiences_of_workplace_inclusion_and_exclusion.pdf

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Gender and Leadership – Practical Inclusion Ideas – Unit 8, Learning Activity 2

As I read chapter 15 of Leadership (Northouse, 2018) and the Catalyst (Nugent, Pollock, & Travis, 2016) report I was challenged to think about practical inclusion ideas while also finding myself encouraged and grateful for the environment where I work. No situation is perfect and we should always be paying attention to the areas where we have become passive and status quo. At the same time, I can genuinely say that much of what I read about in these two resources is valued and has been implemented in my workplace.

As Nugent, Pollock, & Travis (2016) state, employees who experience uniqueness and belonging report as feeling included. This can be a challenge as an organization grows and becomes more complex. Employees are hired to complete a task but have a desire to be recognized for who they are and that they are welcome among the larger group.

As a manager, I meet with my direct reports one-on-one every month to give organizational updates but also to ask them how they’re doing, to ask what questions they have, and to ask for updates and feedback on their current projects. This is more than a performance check-in (although it does serve that function) and becomes the place where meaningful relationships can happen and trust is built between employee and manager. These meetings happen with all employees regardless of gender and the same requests are feedback are given in all meetings.

In reflection, part of my active leadership to the team I lead could then be to have employees share great insights or feedback they’ve given and to invite this from both male and female employees in our department. For the wider team to know that I value and respect the input and insight of male and female employees alike would speak to this desire for inclusion through the feeling of uniqueness and belonging.

At the same time, from taking the Gender-Leader Implicit Association test (Northouse, 2018) I was quite surprised to find a level of gender bias within my own understanding of leadership. While I don’t believe it is possible for zero bias to be achieved, I do believe that I can work actively to overcome this bias and build this culture of inclusion among those I work alongside.

Nugent, Pollock, & Travis (2016) also speak to these inclusion experiences in the Catalyst report as being invisible and yet expected. The challenge is that inclusion doesn’t speak to a program or workplace training but instead to something within the character of the leaders. Inclusion can’t be narrowed down to individual conversations or bulletin board material but needs to be instilled across the organization through leaders who are committed to acknowledging exclusionary behaviour and choosing to do the opposite.

In summary, I believe that our organization is doing a good job of practicing this inclusionary behaviour stemming from employees feeling a sense of uniqueness and belonging. However, we cannot assume this is automatic and will always continue so I need to pay attention to my interactions with all employees, regardless of gender, and look for ways to speak publicly of the contributions they are making to our organization’s shared goals. This needs to be modelled for other leaders within our organization who can then continue this behaviour to grow these feelings of uniqueness and belonging to every area of responsibility.

 

Reference
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and Practice, Eighth Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Nugent, J., Pollack, A. & Travis, D. (2016). The day to day experiences of workplace inclusion and exclusion. Retrieved from http://www.catalyst.org/system/files/the_day_to_day_experiences_of_workplace_inclusion_and_exclusion.pdf

 

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Gender and Leadership – Case Study Reflection – Unit 8, Learning Activity 1

The case study of “The Glass Ceiling” (Northouse, 2018, p. 417-418) tells the story of Lisa, an experienced, confident executive who leaves her Wall Street firm after repeated attempts to achieve partner. The working environment as well as her direct relationship with the CEO show clear evidence of gender discrimination. Lisa has relevant experience, educational qualifications, and a track record of success in the firm. She is given increased seniority and responsibility as she brings value to the company. Lisa is respected by her peers and brings positive impact to company revenue and the bottom line. Over an extended period of time, her requests for partnership based on performance are denied and Lisa leaves the firm.

As I reflected on this case study it was evident that this was a description of an environment where the senior leader helped to create an environment of discrimination and discomfort for other leaders and particularly women. Knowing there are peers of Lisa’s who are coming to her privately but not willing to speak up on her behalf publicly points to a domineering culture where there may be fear of consequences for anyone who challenges the CEO.

For this situation specifically, there is no obvious reason to say there are experience or education gaps which are the reason for the treatment Lisa is receiving. The fact that the CEO is willing to say two women in one room together is scary is clear evidence of deeper discrimination which is not connected to employee performance. Lisa is not given the opportunity to lead as a partner in the firm not because she isn’t a qualified leader but because of the advancement barriers in place in this firm, known as the glass ceiling.

With a CEO who questions a woman’s ability to lead and speaks publicly of his fear of women together in a room, it’s no surprise that a woman of Lisa’s calibre and experience would leave the firm to pursue other opportunities. Had there been a clear path to partnership which included performance, education and experience goals, the criteria become clear. Lisa could have made a case for partnership based on what she had achieved or the CEO could have made plain to her what still needed to be accomplished for her to be considered.

Giving opportunities in an organization for promotion, increased responsibility and career advancement must be equitable when it comes to gender and leadership. Employees need to be given the opportunity to demonstrate they are capable, qualified and trustworthy for new roles within an organization. When these paths to success are confusing, unclear or secret, this builds distrust and uncertainty among employees. All employees, male and female, deserve to understand what is expected of them and what opportunities are available for them in the future based on their performance and success in their current role.

Personally, this case study and reflection help me to think about how I lead in an environment where I have both male and female direct reports. My friendships and working relationships with men and women look different but I have a responsibility as a leader to be clear with those around me that they are being treated fairly, respectfully and with equality regardless of gender. They need to understand how their success helps to shape their future within our organization and I need to actively look for ways to highlight their successes as they grow.

Reference
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and Practice, Eighth Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

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Transformational Leadership and Principles of Ethical Leadership – Unit 7, Learning Activity 2

According to Wang, Oh, Courtright, & Colbert (2011), managerial implications of findings related to transformational leadership include the following:

  1. Transformational leadership is desirable at the managerial level and therefore emphasis should be placed on hiring, training and promoting candidates who “are more likely to become transformational leaders” (Wang et al., 2011, p. 253). 
  2. Transformational leaders are most successful and have the greatest organizational impact when they are working collaboratively as part of a larger team (Wang et al., 2011, p. 253).

These two implications mean that organizations need to pay attention to the people they are promoting into senior positions of leadership. As the influence of an employee grows through promotion, it becomes more important for this person to display characteristics and traits of someone who is likely to become a transformational leader.

At the same time, an employee who demonstrates clearly that they have the ability to be seen as a transformational leader should be placed in a role where they have the opportunity to influence those around them through this style of leadership. A transformational leader who is asked to do a role which doesn’t require collaboration and teamwork is a poor organizational leadership decision.

These two implications impact me in two specific ways. First, who are the leaders within our organization who are already demonstrating the traits of transformational leadership? These people should rise to the top of the list of candidates who should be considered for collaborative, team-based roles where their transformational leadership can flourish and bring greater influence across our organization.

Second, there are some roles within my department and our organization as a whole which are mostly administrative, can be done independently and by the nature of the role don’t require collaboration. These roles are not any less important for the success of the organization but I should be careful to not expect a leader who exhibits traits of transformational leadership as someone who would be excited about a role like this, even if it means a promotion and the appearance of greater organizational influence.

According to Northouse (2018), there are five principles of ethical leadership which are summarized as respect, service, justice, honesty, and community (Northouse, 2018, p. 346).

Respect
Ethical leadership requires a level of respect for not only the people around us but also for their decisions and values. The people are not a means to the end of accomplishing our own leadership results but the people are “ends in themselves” (Northouse, 2018, p. 346).

Respect shows itself not only in how a leader treats other people but also in how the ideas, input and decisions of those around the leader are taken into consideration. Leaders who don’t respect those around them and the value they bring to a team or organization will quickly find themselves with nobody to lead.

Service
While this will always be a struggle for leaders (particular those who are used to a transactional style of leadership) there is significant value in seeing my position as a leader as an opportunity to serve those around me. The well-being of followers becomes increasingly important for an ethical leader. The desire for followers to succeed just as the leader succeeds is a mark that this principle has taken root in the life of the leader.

Greenleaf (1970, as cited by Northouse, 2018, p. 348) develops this further as the concept of servant leadership. The role of the servant leader is to help develop and grow followers so that the organizational objectives can be achieved.

The increasing popularity of the greater good, even in the business world (Northouse, 2018, p. 348), means this notion of servant leadership is becoming more familiar. The expectation continues to grow that part of a leader’s focus is to serve the people they are leading.

Justice
The ethical leadership characteristic of justice speaks to the need for leaders to treat people equally and with fairness. Preferential treatment shouldn’t be given by the leader to followers based on relationship and benefit to the leader. In times when followers are given different treatment, this characteristic of justice means an ethical leader will know it is important to communicate why different treatment is being given while keeping an ethical mindset in the treatment of followers.

Justice is also seen when it comes to reward and punishment. The ethical leader has a responsibility to make sure that equal treatment is given to followers based on performance or value to the team. Reward and punishment should not be given based on the leader playing favourites or looking to make a larger statement to other followers.

Honesty
Ethical leaders are expected to always tell the truth. Every leader knows this is a challenge and comes with significant nuance. While it is not always possible for a leader to be fully truthful with every person in every situation, ethical leadership requires that leaders are never dishonest with followers.

Dishonesty is lying and creates distrust. The other principles of respect, service and justice all become casualties to the leader’s lack of honesty. Dishonesty is also a display of selfishness by the leader. An act which says that the reputation of the leader is more important than the consequence of telling the truth.

Experienced ethical leaders will learn to never lie while also knowing when they should not be fully truthful. Ethical leaders understand that everyone is entitled to the truth but the timing of when that information is delivered may change depending on seniority or other organizational factors.

Community
The principle of community speaks to the ability of an ethical leader to build a group of followers toward a common goal (Northouse, 2018, p. 351). Ethical leaders understand that followers have their own desires, motivations, and intentions and this principle of community shows itself as the followers rally together, led by this ethical leader, to accomplish this common goal.

The followers are valued as individuals and their interests matter to an ethical leader. As community is built together the followers become more committed to working together, following the leader and achieving the outcome ahead of them.

Rost (1991, as cited by Northouse, 2018, p. 352) suggests that community as a goal itself is not enough but that ethical leadership will influence followers to even greater significance through community impact, or “attention to a civic virtue” (Northouse, 2018, p. 352). Ethical leaders build community among followers so they are able to focus not only on the goal ahead of them but on the greater good they can bring to the community around them.

Of these five, I would say all five are critical but honesty and service would stand out to me as the two most important.

As I’ve already mentioned, when a leader lacks honesty they lose all credibility, their reputation is tarnished and mistrust is built among followers. The impact is the relationship between leader and follower is significantly damaged and the ceiling on relationships between followers themselves is also very low. The likelihood of any kind of common goal being achieved in this kind of environment is very slim.

The priority of service as a principle of ethical leadership is so important because in some ways it facilitates the other four principles to happen. If my focus is on serving those around me it is incumbent on me to respect them, to treat them justly, to be truthful with them and to build community among them. When followers see a heart in a leader to serve others, this becomes relational currency for the times when the leader makes mistakes. A leader who is focused on serving others will be given more grace by followers because it is understood that the desire was there to make a decision based on the good of the followers.

 

Reference
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and Practice, Eighth Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Wang, G., Oh, I. S., Courtright, S. H., & Colbert, A. E. (2011). Transformational leadership and performance across criteria and levels: A meta-analytic review of 25 years of research. Group & Organization Management, 36(2), 223-270. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601111401017

 

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Organizational Employee Development Plan – Unit 6, Learning Activity 3

Employee development is meant to grow any organization’s key asset: people! Regardless of the industry, employees are the ones who develop and carry culture, who influence a customer’s experience, and who determine the impact and effectiveness of an organization.

I work at a church which is an industry with a relatively short history when it comes to employee development. Thankfully as senior leaders, we have already decided to make employee development a significant part of what we do and I feel we have a fairly robust system in place to help employees grow. At the same time, it’s always good to hit pause, take a step back, and evaluate the effectiveness of what you are currently doing to see where they could be some improvements. This is what I’ve done as I’ve considered an outline of an employee development plan for our organization using technology.

Three components to this employee development plan include orientation, on-going coaching and onward focus. Development is crucial in each of these layers yet the implementation will look different.

Orientation
An employee will never be as disoriented as they are on their first day on the job. Effective leveraging of this disorientation would be to build organizational citizenship behaviour from day one. Understanding an organization’s mission, vision and values while in this state of heightened disorientation means the impact of these can be strengthened and deepened in the life of the employee. Understanding how staff values shape the way we interact with other staff, with congregation members and with community residents is an important factor in employee and organizational success.

Although personal contact and interaction is a priceless vehicle for delivering information, using video, websites and digital tools like Google Drive allows us to leverage technology in presenting mission, vision and values to new employees as part of their orientation.

Orientation also gives managers the opportunity to explain “standardization of work processes” (Damanpour, 1991, as cited in Kandampully, Belgian & Tingting, 2016, p. 158). Employees who understand these processes and the reasons behind them are then freed up to innovate within this common script or shared behaviour across the organization. As Kandampully, Belgian & Tingting affirm (2016), many contemporary organizations have a desire for innovation and employees (rather than managers) are often the right people to encourage, value and reward toward these new ways of thinking.

On-going Coaching
Once an employee is comfortable in their role on-going development moves from orientation to coaching. These should be regular and expected. Each employee knows that once a month they have a dedicated meeting with their manager to talk about their performance and give them an opportunity to ask questions.

Technology to track an employee’s progression on certain projects is definitely helpful when it comes to coaching and on-going development. Project management software like Trello or Asana can be used to facilitate this on-going coaching.

Coaching creates a culture where every employee is seen as valuable and has a voice to speak into the overall function of the organization. Opportunities for innovation and co-creation can often begin in these regular, expected, safe, trust-filled coaching conversations between managers and employees.

An employee who understands that their manager cares for them personally and not just for the work they do will become much more effective in both the work they are doing and in their effectiveness for the organization. As Dan Rockwell (2017) says, “Effective improvement is always self-development.” And this is a two-way street. As an employee improves under a manager’s coaching their desire for development increases. And as an employee is encouraged to grow and develop through coaching and challenges, their effectiveness will also improve.

Onward Focus
Along with orientation and coaching, there should be a desire that an employee would succeed within an organization and find a long-term opportunity as they continue to grow. Performance reviews can be part of seeing this happen but entering into conversations between the manager, the employee and senior leadership around possible career paths and succession planning become a key component of employee development.

Technology then becomes incredibly valuable for on-going education. If an employee is succeeding in a role but needs to gain skills to continue in their growth, online learning or video-based resources become so valuable to help the employee develop while not being forced to leave their current position or the organization.

Conclusion
Starting with the conviction that employees are the most significant asset in an organization, these forms of employee development including orientation, on-going coaching and onward focus help to promote organizational citizenship behaviour and innovation in a service-oriented culture.

Reference
Kandampully, J., Bilgihan, A., & Zhang, T. C. (2016). Developing a people-technology hybrids model to unleash innovation and creativity: The new hospitality frontier. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 29, 154-164.

Rockwell, D. (2017, March 5) The Anatomy of Performance Enhancing Coaching Conversations.

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Andragogy: Leadership and Learning – Unit 6, Learning Activity 1

Andragogy is meant to help understand the role of the learner’s experience in adult education. The distinctions between andragogy as education for adults and pedagogy as education for children need to be understood to help both the teacher and the student succeed.  The challenges of going back to school at 41 while also working full time as part of an incredible staff team in a senior leadership position has given me fresh eyes as both a learner and a leader.

Malcolm Knowles’ six assumptions about andragogy give some clarity to help understand both the overarching experience of an adult learner as well as to my own experience of andragogy.

  1. As a person matures, his or her self-concept moves from that of a dependent personality toward one of a self-directing human being.
    The fact that I’m in this program now is evidence of the truth of this assumption! Although I attended university after high school, my own personal motivation to further my own education now is a result of 20 years of maturity, life experience and a desire to continue to move forward. Understanding now why I am continuing my education is very much a self-directed decision.
  2. An adult accumulates a growing reservoir of experience, which is a rich resource for learning.
    When it comes to leading others, part of my desire is to help equip people where they are able to take on the work they are doing without my direction. As a learner grows in their experience they should grow in competency but also in their understanding of how they can become better as they grow. Helping adult learners move beyond simply gaining skill has been a key function of my own leadership. 
  3. The readiness of an adult to learn is closely related to the developmental tasks of his or her social role.
    As children, students learn because they are required to go to school or there may be family pressures toward pursuing education. For adults, the requirements of a job or a desire for future opportunities mean that the function of education is much different.For myself, the requirements of my current job as well as what I would like to pursue in the future have helped to influence and shape my readiness for this program. My focus isn’t on simply completing the courses or doing the work but in developing as a leader and becoming better in my role.

     

  4. There is a change in time perspective as people mature – from future application of knowledge to immediacy of application. Thus, an adult is more problem than subject centered in learning.
    As a leader, helping an adult who serves as a musician on our worship team means teaching them how they help us solve the problem of leading the congregation in worship every Sunday across our church’s three locations. The reality of family, work and other responsibilities means adults only have a narrow bandwidth when it comes to learning new tasks, resulting in an increased focus in helping to solve the immediate problem in front of them. 
  5. Adults are mostly driven by internal motivation, rather than external motivators.
    As a pastor this has been something I have had to learn as a leader. When it comes to motivating people to be involved in ministry we are very dependant on growing internal motivation simply because the resources for external motivation are simply not available. Internal motivators such as achieving goals, helping to launch new locations of our church, becoming a more skilled team of musicians and to see the impact in the lives of people in our congregation are all examples of how I have helped adults learn as they participate in different volunteer teams in our church. 
  6. Adults need to know the reason for learning something.
    This assumption has become very clear to me even in the first half of this course. Because I understand the reasons for the learning I’m doing in this program I am more motivated, dedicated and focused. The learning I’m doing is not specifically for the benefit of understanding the content but in becoming a better leader, growing in current and future opportunities. 

I’m grateful for these six assumptions of andragogy and how they help to give language and understanding to my own experience as both leader and learner when it comes to adult education.

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Light from Many Lamps – Unit 4

The story of Harold Russell is new to me but after learning about him in Light from Many Lamps (Watson, 1951) I’m reminded again of the power of gratitude even when facing significant struggles. It is humbling to learn this story of a young man full of courage and willing to go to war for his country, injured to the point where he loses his hands and comes face to face with a new reality of how the rest of his life will look.

The leadership lessons in this story are many – perseverance, adaptability, determination. The key to all of those, as I read this story, is not from Harold Russell himself but instead from Charley McGonegal, the injured World War 1 Major who helped shift Russell’s perspective, to see “that the first and greatest obstacle he had to overcome was himself” (Watson, 1951, p. 89). The Major’s ability to help Russell see his weakness as an opportunity to discover new strength was the turning point for the injured soldier.

Leaders help followers see beyond present circumstances and I’m impacted by this story to remember that even in difficult, dire circumstances leaders have a responsibility to envision a new future which may have never been possible without these difficulties. Cynicism and hopelessness don’t have to be the default responses and I’m reminded of some current situations where I have the opportunity as a leader to help people see a better future.

Russell himself is even surprised by his own ability, inspired by McGonegal’s encouragement. “But the thing I never cease to marvel at is that I was able to meet the challenge of utter disaster and master it” (Watson, 1951, p. 92). The story of Harold Russell could have been so different after losing his hands without the incredible reminder from Charley McGonegal.

 

Reference
Watson, L.E. (1951). Light from Many Lamps. New York: Simon and Schuster.

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Response to Matt Squirrel: Blog Post Three

Blog Post Three

What a great example of the inner struggle of leadership development which happens even when the conditions for growth are not ideal. Matt, I appreciate so much of what you have to say and the way you’ve expressed some of this inner conflict has left a real impression on me.

As I was reading Matt’s description of the tension between the desire to express these principles of servant leadership and the denial of opportunities to do so, I kept thinking about the factor of time, longevity, perseverance and commitment.

Something which may not be expressed in these servant leadership characteristics we’ve been learning is how time and longevity have the ability to grow the impact exponentially if the leader is committed to the cause and the people they are leading. Quitting too soon before the impact of stewardship, conceptualization and healing (the three characteristics Matt has written about) have a chance to take root in the lives of people around you is a major factor to consider.

I think this leads into the answer to Matt’s question. Part of the struggle of a leader is knowing when to gear up and when to gear down. Over time these opportunities can be seen in the light of past experience. Potential consequences of increasing or decreasing zeal become more obvious as the characteristic of foresight becomes a more solid habit.