Hi Brittany,

Thank you for your thoughtful response and furthering the concept of being humble.  I want to focus on a key component you mentioned in your response and question “As servant-led leaders, how do we become strategic and authentic?” There are at least three critical dimensions in becoming more authentic: self-awareness, relational orientation and balanced processing.

According  to  Duncan, P., Green, M., Gergen, E., & Ecung, W. (2017) self-awareness is a dynamic process and is the degree to which the leader reflects and demonstrates an understanding of how (s)he derives and makes sense of the world and is aware of his or her strengths, limitations, how others see him or her, and how (s)he impacts others.  Being authentic involves congruency, acting in resonance with our moral values and ethics. Self-awareness, in general, is a crucial component of servant leadership. It allows leaders to pause and reflect on their own and other behaviours to make the necessary adjustments. Avolio and Gardner (2005) highlighted that self-awareness is not a destination point but a continually developing part of a person’s makeup as they strive for personal growth.

Relational orientation describes a level of social awareness whereby a person is open and truthful in relationships with others, it potentially enables a leader to be involved in healthier and more satisfying relationships whereby a reciprocal process of self-disclosure and transparency facilitates a productive relationship bound by high levels of trust (Takos, N., Murray, D., & O’Boyle, I., 2018). This dimension of authentic leadership is closely related to TSL principles. Working on healthier relationships can be an appropriate starting point of becoming more strategic. It may have positive effects on the organizational culture, creating trust and opportunities for development.

Balanced processing is related to objectivity and awareness, concerned with processing information without being distorted by personal biases, emotions, or other self-aspects. (Kernis & Goldman, 2006). This dimension is closely related to critical thinking in TSL. It is essential to be aware of assumptions, as they may limit and impact our leadership negatively. Objectivity provides the opportunity to make balanced decisions on critical issues.

These are only some ways to become more strategic an authentic in leadership. Further discussion questions to be considered are: Is authenticity a valuable trait for other cultures in the non-profit sector?  What is the relationship between authenticity and effectiveness in a non-profit organizational context?

 

 

References

Gardner, W.L., Avolio, B.J., Luthans, F., May, D.R., & Walumbwa, F. (2005). “Can you see the real me?” A self-based model of authentic leader and follower development. The Leadership Quarterly, 16(3), 343–372. doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2005.03.003

Duncan, P., Green, M., Gergen, E., & Ecung, W. (2017). Authentic leadership–is it more than emotional intelligence? Administrative Issues Journal: Education, Practice & Research, 7(2), 11–22. https://ezproxy.student.twu.ca:2420/10.5929/2017.7.2.2

Kernis, M.H., & Goldman, B.M. (2006). A multicomponent conceptualization of authenticity: Theory and research. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 283–357

Takos, N., Murray, D., & O’Boyle, I. (2018). Authentic Leadership in Nonprofit Sport Organization Boards. Journal of Sport Management, 32(2), 109–122. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.student.twu.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=s3h&AN=128851443&site=eds-live

Dear Daniel,

Thank you for sharing your concerns. First of all, let me acknowledge your great effort in serving the Lord. I have recently started working with Salvation Army and I am inspired by the officer’s effort in serving the community. Although I might not know your family, through your posts I see you try your best to please the Lord. Many times, Pastors do so much for others and receive so little in exchange when it comes to recognition. I’m sure your family’s life is having a great impact in the community! Your openness to feedback reflects your servant leadership traits. I share with you Philippians 4:19 “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus”. May the Lord provide you the strength, courage and clarity.

I believe strategic influence might be useful for the challenge you are currently facing. Strategic influence is how leaders engender commitment to the organization’s strategic direction; learning is essential for a sustainable competitive advantage (Hughes, Beatty, & Dinwoodie, 2014).  There are 2 key components which may be useful, building trust and building sustaining momentum. Where there is a trust environment, it is more likely to achieve sustainable results. Building a sustaining momentum starts with relationships. When strong connections are made with those around you, they are more open to your ideas, which provides sustainability.

Another component which may enhance your strategic leadership is creating a specific structure according to the needs in your environment. Structure is the distribution of power and authority across the hierarchy, a successful start up starts with a functional structure (Galbraith, 2014).  An interdependent structure inevitably requires teamwork. This may be useful for your context, when people of the community and church are involved it is more likely for the vision to be sustainable. Sustainability seems a key issue, since you mentioned you are serving in a specific community just for limited time. If people are involved, they are more likely to be empowered which can contribute to long-term interventions.

Connecting with other’s who have been in similar circumstances might also be useful. Strategic leadership involves influence, but the leader must be open to be influenced as well. It would be interesting to see if any other member of the cohort has been in any similar situation.

 

References

Galbraith, J. R. (2014). Designing organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Hughes, R. L., Beatty, K. C., & Dinwoodie, D. L. (2014). Becoming a strategic leader. San Frncisco: Jossey-Bass.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+4%3A19&version=NIV

Hello Emmanuel! Your team post was very interesting and insightful to read, specially when you mentioned how Transformational Servant Leadership (TSL) affects Strategic Leadership (SL) and the benefits of keeping TSL a central focus.

Your team did a great job analyzing the relationship of strategic leadership and the nature of non-profit. Two concepts resonated with me, leadership culture and servant hood. I found a strong relationship from Hughes & al (2014) concept of leadership culture and Lespinger (2010) execution bridge of alignment between leaders’ action and company’s values and priorities. Strategy execution depends on how consistent the leader’s behavior is towards organizational values and priorities (Lepsinger, 2010). Setting clear rules and expectations of culture is vital for everyone. Would you think is possible for a closed-minded culture which prioritized hierarchy to implement servant leadership? I found this truth in my country, I’m sure it is not impossible but challenging. Maybe it can start with a leader creating a culture with his own teams, even if it is different from an organizational one. Can you think of other ideas for this quest? Servanthood describes many characteristics of TSL, it comes with the question, how can I help you? Instead of how you can help me. It surely implies a different mind-set.

I also found very interesting the 2 benefits which your team highlighted about keeping TSL as a central focus, focus on people development and high order of thinking and analysis. I wonder how people development relates with millennial’s. Millennial’s are the generation born between approximately 1982 and 2002, are the latest and most quickly growing public of college graduates to enter the workforce (Todd, V. 2014). “Their managers, however, consistently express exasperation over Millennial sense of entitlement, difficulty in taking direction, self-indulgence, greed, short-sightedness, poor skills, and lack of work ethic” (Curtin et al., 2011, p. 1). This have been common characteristics highlighted for many millennials’ employees. How can organizations invest and develop millennials? I found this is an important modern challenge. While organizations try to keep their employees, millennials are thinking to leave their jobs because they ‘don’t make them feel good’.

Regarding high order of thinking and analysis, change management is an important element. What is certain about VUCA environment, which characterizes by Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity (Ungerer , Ungerer, & Herholdt, 2016), is constant change. According to Sartori, R., Costantini, A., Ceschi, A. & Tommasi, F. (2018) there are at least 4 ways to manage change in organizations, these are: training, development, innovation, and relationships.  One of the areas to strengthen our TSL is change, it could provide a different atmosphere in the midst of chaos.

I would love to hear your team insight about some of the questions previously mentioned.

References

Lepsinger, R. (2010). Closing the execution Gap. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Patricia A. Curtin, Tiffany Gallicano, & Kelli Matthews. (2011). Millennials’ Approaches to Ethical Decision Making: A Survey of Young Public Relations Agency Employees. Public Relations Journal , Vol 5, Iss 2 (2011), (2). Retrieved from https://ezproxy.student.twu.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsdoj&AN=edsdoj.29ce112c22f34290a0e33d4d4d9f2c36&site=eds-live

Riccardo Sartori, Arianna Costantini, Andrea Ceschi, & Francesco Tommasi. (2018). How Do You Manage Change in Organizations? Training, Development, Innovation, and Their Relationships. Frontiers in Psychology, Vol 9 (2018). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00313/full

Todd, V. (2014). Public relations supervisors and Millennial entry-level practitioners rate entry-level job skills and professional characteristics. Public Relations Review. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2014.05.002

Ungerer , M., Ungerer, G., & Herholdt, J. (2016). Navigating Strategic Possibilities : Strategy Formulation and Execution Practices to Flourish. KR Publishing. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.student.twu.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1427028&site=eds-live