Author: Kamal Badesha

Response to PIERRE’S REVIEW ON COMPETENCIES AND PRINCIPLES – POST 8.1

All Posts, Health & Education, ldrs501, Post 8.1

Pierre, you have mentioned a good point about the supportive environment.  I really like your idea of spending 15 minutes on the unit with staff to explore their day, challenges, and how they can be supported.  I do something similar first thing in the morning when I go do my rounds around the cottages.  Although I don’t have a specific time for meeting each day, I do take a moment to touch base with them to see how I can support them and what their priorities are as far as residents are concerned.

I have experienced similar pushback from the staff at my facility as well Pierre.  My experience is when it comes to reducing antipsychotics.  Since we have started the Clear/BC program I have been more aware and insightful about decreasing antipsychotic, more than usual.  I often get pushback from staff as well, “why change something that doesn’t need to be changed”.   Some staff is very resistive to change.  I have noticed not only staff I find families also find this disruptive because antipsychotics are decreased the Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) increases.  Some families rather have their loved ones on medications so they can have a good visit with them.  For staff, it may create a lot more work when residents with dementia become more behavioural.  Change talk not only with the staff but the family may be effective in this case.  “At work, change talk enables us to engage members of our teams in discussions that might otherwise be difficult to initiate or sustain” (Lepsinger, 2010, p.157).  I am wondering Pierre if you had any feedback for me, how are you managing with clear/bc? With Change since we are both in the same field?

References:

Clear / BC Patient Safety & Quality Council. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://bcpsqc.ca/improve-care/clear/

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

Response to Kunal Strategic Leadership Competencies

All Posts, Health & Education, ldrs501, Post 8.1

“I believe self-management would not work in our organization. As it involves prioritizing time in thinking about managing oneself and it doesn’t involve practising such competencies as taking a team in the account and thinking about others while working as a team would be much better for the growth of the organization”(Kunal, 2018).  Thank you for sharing your thoughts Kunal, however, I would like to challenge this statement.  Self-management happens through self-reflection.  “Self-reflection is the most important tool in the value-based leadership toolbox” (Kraemer, 2015, p.15).  Before we try to understand others we must understand ourselves.  Without self-awareness, we can’t lead others.  A manager or a leader who is not aware of his or her own needs, values can’t manage others well.  “Without self-reflection, it is impossible to become a valued-based leader”(Kraemer, 2015, p.15).  I don’t think we can contribute to the growth of an organization unless we grow at a personal level.   A self-managed leader has confidence and strength to guide and facilitate the team.  Once we are able to manage ourselves we can perform to the best of our ability.  “Valued-based leadership moves from the inside out, rooted in the knowledge of what you stand for and what matters most personally and professionally” (Kraemer, 2015, p.16).  Through self-management and self-reflection we can become much more aware of our personal skills.  These learned skills that we can utilize to help our team become their best as well.  “While strategic influence begins with a hard look at yourself, it also involves skills related to building trust and others” (Hughes, Beatty and Dinwoodie, 2014, p.157).  Self-management is the first and foremost key to success.

References:

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

Kraemer, H. M. (2015). Becoming the best: Build a world-class organization through values-based leadership. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Response to Leyla

All Posts, Health & Education, ldrs501, Post 8.1

“I also believe being able to adapt to new conditions requires the ability to critical thinking and becoming a life-long learner” (Leyla, 2018).  Leyla, you have shared a very important point.  I can understand adapting to a new environment and setting must have been difficult for you.  I have been there myself.   Whether moving to a new country or to a new organization we have to learn how to adapt and change.  While personally, we may have to learn new lifestyle in order to function in the brand new society, this requires change.  Similarly, when moving onto a new organization, or working with change in any given organization may create similar emotions.  The five levels of change readiness by Lepsinger 2010 provide you with basic tools to assist with change.  What is really crucial about this model is the change talk.  “Change talk techniques include identifying the behaviour the person or team needs to change, building trust, exploring importance and confidence, and conducting a pro/con analysis” (Lepsinger, 2010, p.157).  It is important to understand the significance of a change.  Just as change is important to survive in a new environment, at times change is crucial when an organization adopts new ways of doing things.  Part of adapting to a new environment or organization change is to learn from others.  We add to our knowledge and growth from outside sources, whether making new friends or learning from sources within the organization.

References

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

Response to Sea Breeze’s response to Avisha

Health & Education, ldrs501

“In fact conflict in the work place is unhealthy and leads to anxiety issues and depression”(Sea Breeze, 2018).

I could not help but comment on this given my background as a psychiatric nurse.  In my personal experience working in mental health nurse and now as a coordinator, I have learned one very important lesson.  This is to validate and encourage employees and colleagues.  Often times management spends a lot of time, looking for flaws and I have first-hand witnessed this at my work places.  This builds resentment from staff towards management and then leads to low mood, and sick calls for staff.  When staff members are not appreciated or told they are appreciated they don’t often look forward to coming to work.  Their performance isn’t as good as it could be due to lack of motivation.  This later builds conflict amongst their team members.  Then the toxic gossip starts about each other and management.  Conflict will happen no matter what, and it can’t be avoided, but how we communicate our concerns constructively has an impact on conflict outcome.  At the end of the day, everyone should be heard as each opinion matters.

“In public education, all of our meetings happen outside of our work day on our free time after school is out. This is one grey area that I do not feel is right. Teachers should get paid to attend meetings that go outside of our scheduled work hours” (Sea Breeze, 2018).

I think you have made a great point.  When meetings happen outside of work, and are unpaid, it is not very appealing.  I would not attend any meeting I am not paid for.  I recall when I was in the community mental health setting all of our meetings were once a month during working hours.  Time is very valuable and we all have families and other priorities.  Therefore, unpaid meetings are unfair and should never happen.

Response to HC1 leader post 7.1

Health & Education, ldrs501

“One thing I would suggest to our team for future conflict resolution is creating an education piece for all staff. There are many good resources and courses for conflict resolution that I feel my organization would benefit from”, (HC1 post 7.1).  Thank you for sharing this HC1, I also work with Fraser Health and time to time deal with situations where conflict arises.  Actually there is always some sort of concern voiced by staff, which can easily create conflict.  Although, there may be resources out there, I don’t see there are many workshops held for staff to learn how to manage conflict.  Fraser health has the respectable workplace policy, however I agree if more emphasis was given to educate staff, the less conflict there would be.  It would be wise to have educational seminars that would teach staff how to constructively manage conflict, and respect the other party as well.  What would your team recommend Fraser health could benefit from? Is there a particular conflict management course or resource you have in mind?

Response to Change Makers Rob Tegelberg –

Health & Education, ldrs501

“At my current school this practice does not exist. There is an underlying desire to love one another, serve one another, and support one another” (Change Makers, 2018).  This is very nice to hear.  I really wish organizations around would adapt to this type of practice.  It would inspire individuals to come to work.  When organization is so welcoming and warm with staff, the outcome are always positive as well.  In general we go through highs and lows in life, and to have a supportive work environment only makes life easier.  It would less of a stress to worry about if this type of environment existed everywhere.  You are very fortunate Rob to have such a wonderful place to work at.

Your Discussion question:

Should a situation arise in the future where a staff member were to take advantage of the current school environment that I work in, what strategies would you employ in creating an attitude of collaboration? For a hypothetical example: a new staff member joins the team. They bring with them an attitude of negativity, a desire to only do required tasks, and teach the curriculum that they want to teach. How would you bring them into the collective vision (Change Makers , 2018).

No matter how positive the environment may be, there comes a time someone might bring that negativity into the situation.  This may be disruptive to the team.  When having new staff members join, I think it would be essential to up front and honest about the team’s current positivity and how well you work together.  During the interview process of the new staff, it would be helpful to discuss the importance to maintain this positive team environment.  It would help the new staff member understand how valuable it is for the team to have a healthy workplace as you stated you work in.  That open honest communication right in the beginning would avoid misunderstanding that may arise later.

Response to Rebuttal HC2 team favour OP

Health & Education, ldrs501

“Who moved my Cheese?”

Thank you HC1 for your response to our post.  When dealing with resistance to change there can be a number of factors.  Some of these factors are; lack of open communication, lack of knowledge, lack of support, and some simply not willing to do so due to rigidity.  I also work for Fraser health and often times I have witnessed lack open communication builds resistance.  For the changes I have seen in Fraser health, there has always been education around the change provided to employees.  For example; when new tools are implemented, staff are provided in-services on how to utilize these tools, whether online or paper.  Often times there are a point person appointed to help the rest of the team, if all members are not able to attend due to shift work, or cost purpose.  So I don’t think knowledge is just the only factor here.  I believe ongoing support from leadership is necessary.  “Management can take concrete steps to deal constructively with these staff attitudes. The steps include emphasizing new standards of performance for staff specialists and encouraging them to think in different ways, as well as making use of the fact that signs of resistance can serve as a practical warning signal in directing and timing technological changes”(Lawrence, 2014).  A big way to help those resistive to change is to support and guide them through.  Despite, education and knowledge, some still may not agree with change. In these cases, having the resources available and management availability to facilitate change goes a long way.  Perhaps change talk as mentioned by Lepsinger can be an essential piece. “Change talk techniques include identifying the behaviour the person or team needs to change, “(Lepsinger, 2010, p.157).

“Don’t Just Focus on Senior Leaders…Involved middle managers and keep them engaged.”

The HC1 team provided some very good insights into the complex relationship of middle managers/leaders and their staff, including the tension of union environments and the nature of middle managers being stuck between senior management and frontline staff.  Indeed, many people who work in a union environment often sense the tension between the employers, who is represented by managers, versus the union, who are represented by staff members.  One of the ways of resolving this tension is by managers using authentic leadership when dealing with middle managers and staff members.  Authentic leadership means that leaders treat employees authentically, are consistent between their values and actions and work together with the employees for the benefit of the organization (Hsieh, C.C., & Wang, D.S., 2015).  This will positively affect employee attitudes, behaviour as well as engagement (Hsieh & Wang, 2015).

Because of the very nature of middle managers being stuck between stakeholders and frontline staff members, it is more the reason to engage with middle managers during a change initiative.  Middle managers in their unique situation often have many valuable insights into the atmosphere of current frontline staff as well as the senior manager’s directive and challenges.  Middle managers act as a bridge between the two groups and often able to find common ground.  The engagement of middle managers proves to be invaluable during change initiatives because of the middle manager’s position in the organization.

Take aggressive actions to avoid commitment dip

We agree that it is crucial to make progression a learning process but what good will comes out of learning if a leader is not quick enough to apply that information for the advancement of the organization.

Seventeen percent of executives attending a Strategic Leader Program said that they face the challenge of gaining commitment to their ideas and their success requires the engagement efforts of their team members (Hughes, 2014, p. 123). Whether directly or not, the leader always sets an example of what the organization expects from its employees so it becomes their duty to ensure commitment. The idea of change is not enough, finding collective meaning and commitment and redefining resistance by taking necessary actions to instil motivation and transforming the culture changing values and the way people work together to achieve it is the way to attain everlasting changes (Fullan, 2002, p. 17)

Stay focused for the first three months

Thank you for your thoughts on this HC1. It is very true about developing a habit which takes at least 2 months; however, this happens only when you take small steps each day. In fact, to stay focused for the first 3 months does not necessarily mean developing a habit; it simply means to stay adamant on your decision and not forget it. Moreover, the development of any project or process (change) depends on the response in initial months.

Also, team HC1 presented an example of international students coming to Canada and going back if they cannot adopt the change. I believe, this phenomenon is personal; besides, this might not be comparable to organizational or workplace policy change. Immigrating to a different country brings change into an individual’s life and does not affect people around; whereas, policy change in the organization is more of a collective effort (Weiner, 2009). For this collective effort to be successful, there needs to be a behaviour change (para 3).

Reminders can be frustrating only when it is framed or written in a particular way. Friendly reminders are meant for motivation. For example; instead of saying, “don’t forget to complete the presentation”, one may say “looking forward to another dynamic presentation of yours”. Many of us have inspirational quotes or pictures in their room; it motivates us and reminds us of our goal.

Conclusive Statement

Change is not an easy process.  There are various factors involved, whether its resistance, communication via the middle manager, commitment or motivation to change.  Change requires ongoing support towards each other within the team.  In order to facilitate change, senior management and frontline staff must have an open and honest line of communication.  Resistance may be unavoidable; however, with resources and support from one another this can be minimized.  Building a trusting relationship between each other and taking the opportunity to understand feeling and emotions during change is crucial.  “Empathy is a way of showing you understand what others think and how they feel about change”(Lepsinger, 2010, p. 158).  Overall change becomes easier when compassion is shown by each other during this stressful process.

References:

Fullan, M., (2002). The Change. Retrieved November 6, 2018 from

http://www.ghaea.org/files/IowaCoreCurriculum/Module1/Mod1-FullanChangeLeaderArticle.pdf

Gerardo, L. (2013, November 05). Who moved my cheese Full Movie.  Retrieved November 6, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QmeWe2KoDs

Hughes, R., Beatty, K. & Dinwoodie, D. (2014). Becoming a strategic leader: your role in your organization’s enduring success. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Hsieh, C.-C., & Wang, D.-S. (2015). Does supervisor-perceived authentic leadership influence employee work engagement through employee-perceived authentic leadership and employee trust? International Journal of Human Resource Management, 26(18), 2329–2348. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.student.twu.ca:2420/10.1080/09585192.2015.1025234

Lawrence, P. R. (2014, August 01). How to Deal With Resistance to Change. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/1969/01/how-to-deal-with-resistance-to-change

Lepsinger, R. (2010). Closing the execution gap: How great leaders and their companies get results. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Weiner, B. J. (2009). A theory of organizational readiness for change. Implementation science, 4(1), 67. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2770024/

 

 

week 4.1

Health & Education, ldrs501, Post 4.1

I believe the organization culture is an essential, how we communicate within the organization, how we relate to one another is important.  In order to maintain a caring, positive culture, it is important to focus on what is going right with the employees. “Find the thing your marginal employee currently does well, no matter how small, and focus on that”(Lepsinger, 2010).  This is crucial, if an employer takes their time to compliment what is going well for their employee along with what may need improvement, it may be more efficient.  However, I have different experiences that I can share one example of my feedback to an employee and their reaction to validate this.  I recall an LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) once documented something not following the documentation standards, then later when I provided my feedback for improvement this LPN was defensive and did not take it well.  I was very calm and gentle with my approach and was simply coaching this LPN.  I couldn’t believe the attitude of the LPN.  I had previously complimented this LPN and one feedback to improve did not go well.  I wonder if anyone else has anything to share.  This was a negative for me to give feedback and realize no matter how nice or gentle you may be, not everyone takes it well.  Regardless for me, I have continued to give constructive feedback, and always made a point of giving positive feedback to employees.  I think we all learn from criticism, however, we also need to be more mindful on how it is presented.

References

Lepsinger, R. (2010). Closing the execution gap: How great leaders and their companies get results. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Response to Ursula

Health & Education, ldrs501

Thank you for your response, Ursula, Costco is different than health care.  In healthcare, it is essential for employees to be heard, yet I am not sure how treating them as entrepreneurs would work in healthcare.  I am glad to hear your principle is supportive.  I think in a big organization such as Fraser health and school boards, etc.  there are always many different voices to be heard.  Perhaps this is the reason my voice has not been heard, but I hope in the future I have the opportunity.

Organization and Systems thinking

Health & Education, ldrs501, Post 3.1

I currently work for Fraser Health Authority and have been working with this healthcare organization since 2003, since my student nursing years.  There are the number of hierarchies starting from the board of directors, CEO, president etc. to frontline staff.  I am a coordinator and I receive orders from my manager, who receives orders from the director, the director from the executive director and it goes on.  Fraser health believes in “Better Health, Best in Health Care”.  It takes a lot of organization and structure to share a common vision in such a big health care authority as Fraser health.  I believe while manager and directors along with frontline staff work their hardest to maintain and practice a common vision, and thinking there are always challenges.  As for systems thinking principle, I can comment on my managers and on areas of Fraser Health where I have worked.  I believe managers are aware of the co-relations of actions and how one has an impact on the other.   As mentioned by Lepsinger 2010, “High expectations for performance appear to affect both the leader and the employee.  It causes managers to treat both employees differently and provide support and feedback.”  While this is necessary, I believe the manager has to be careful how it is communicated to the employee without coming across as minimizing their effort and belittling them.  Communication is one of the barriers at times and which leads to a negative outcome.  While there are some great managers in Fraser health I believe it could be improved and changed in others.

Team learning is one of the other 5 laws stated by Senge which has been the focus in one my previous workplace and current, once again in Fraser Health organization.  Team environment has a tremendous impact on the outcome of performance for both employees and leaders.  Within my organization, we do team retreats.   During team retreats, we organize outings, presentations, potlucks, etc.  While spending quality time outside of workplace with co-workers presentations has been focused on learnings, such as motivational dialogue with our mental health clients, or how to improve communication with team members, documentation etc.  The focus of team retreats is usually to connect with one another in a different environment other than typical workplace and ensuring we learn at the same time.  Thus, along with fun and activities the learning via presentations is organized.  As stated by Senge’s team learning the law, “The working environment should be safe where honest mistakes are forgiven. Otherwise, no learning can be experienced”.  A team retreat gives the employee and management the opportunity to be vulnerable, share personal vulnerabilities and not be afraid of being judged.

While, Fraser Health is doing the best they can at serving patients, residents, families, I think there is still more that could be done to recognize employees.  “A supportive environment encourages people and makes them more comfortable with trying new behaviors and taking on challenging assignments.  The existence of this type of environment is directly related to the leader’s behavior” (Lepsinger, 2010).  This is one of the learning disability I would say which is ongoing and management can always improve on creating that supportive environment for employees.  Employee recognition is still lacking and frontline or direct care staff feels unappreciated at times.  Although management does not intend to minimize employee performance, they don’t make much effort to ensure employees know their importance as much either.  Sometimes management forgets to understand the emotions and values of direct care staff.  Northouse, 2016 suggest, “Transformational Leaders involves an exceptional form of influence that moves followers to accomplish more than what is usually expected from them”.  The management team must lead by example.

If I had the opportunity to speak with the higher management team within Fraser health I would highly recommend as stated in Lepsinger, 2010 they create a supportive environment and catch employees doing something right as opposed to always seeking what they might be doing wrong.  Recognition goes a long way.  Simple rewards, encouragement and motivation may lead to exceeding performance by employees.  It is important to let employees know their opinion matters.  They matter, their voice is being heard.  Hughes et. Al, 2014 states, “People come together and bring multiple perspectives, different sets of data and information, and different experiences”.   Sometimes, management forget to seek opinions of those who are in direct care and make changes without knowing how it may impact the employees.  This causes resentment by employees towards management.   This later creates a toxic environment, and leads to decreased performance by employees.  This kind of environment will have a negative impact on our patients and residents.  Management thus, needs to be mindful or this, and remember that a simple recognition of employees and listening to their voices will have long term positive results.

Critically thinking, I ask you if anyone has experienced similar work environments and felt employees were not being heard or perhaps management could improve.  What are some strategies you could share which may help create a supportive environment?  What are the boundaries, how much is too much and how much is too less when recognizing employees, for example, how can it be done safely and respectfully without creating a sense of entitlement in employees as well?

References:

Galbraith, J. R. (2014) Designing Organizations: strategy, structure, and process at the business unit and enterprise levels. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Hughes R., Colarelli-Beatty K. & Dinwoodie  D. (2014) Becoming a Strategic Leader. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Second Edition.

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

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks: SAGE.

Senge’s Five Disciplines of Learning Organizations. (2018, May 20). Retrieved from https://www.toolshero.com/management/five-disciplines-learning-organizations/

Ungerer, M., Ungerer, G., & Herholdt, J. (2016). Navigating Strategic Possibilities: Strategy Formulation and Execution Practices to Flourish. Randburg: KR Publishing.

 

 

 

 

Response to Pierre’s response to HC2

Health & Education, ldrs501, Post 2.1

Response to Pierre

Thank you, Pierre for your response to the post.  As a healthcare provider myself I agree with you about funding aspect.  As I read through BC budget for upcoming years, there is not a whole lot of budget going towards healthcare.  In fact the MSP premiums are to be eliminated effective January 2019, which had already been reduced in January 2018.  However, there have been some improvements in the previous years as well as suggested by Fraser Health:

  • $512 million for a new critical care tower, including a new emergency department, neonatal intensive care unit and additional inpatient beds at Surrey Memorial Hospital.
  • $475 million for Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre.
  • $237 million for Jim Pattison Outpatient Care and Surgery Centre.
  • $83 million for Royal Columbian Hospital renovations and equipment.
  • Redevelopment of Royal Columbian Hospital.

Thus, when it comes to budget towards healthcare there have been ups and downs, but definitely for the upcoming years it doesn’t look as promising as it did a few years back.

Whether, it is Culture of caring or culture of learning, as indicated by you, Pierre.  I love the idea of culture of caring.  However, I highly value what our team suggested about culture of learning to help team burnout.  Here is why, fortunately I recently attended a workshop called “Partnerships In Person Centered Approach (PPCA)” which educated us on how important team interaction, and education, and learning is important to enhance care for our patients and residents.  When we talk about team burnout there is often something lacking, some unmet needs.  Through education staff can learn ways to build resiliency.  There are times staff may be burnt out to stressor in the workplace.  Whether those stressors are associated with work environment, being overworked or other stress, having guidance and facilitation through learnings can help alleviate this stress.  The PPCA taught us how to create this culture of caring which ties in with what you said.  However in order to create a caring culture one must education themselves, and the team must learn tools and skill to effectively create this culture.  One of the other key things we learned was gaining insight in to our own self-awareness and how that may affect our interaction and communication styles.  I recall we use the Birkman tool in this M.A. Lead program, and learning how different styles of personality affect our interaction with others.  Therefore that can only be learned through education and learnings as well.  Being able to understand each other better, learning ways to communicate effectively can go a long way in decreasing staff burnout.  In order to foster a caring culture health care providers must have the skills and education to support each other.

Another staff self assessments and learning initiated by physicians is the wellness test which will help staff learn about how their health is impacted, “By completing the survey, you’ll receive real-time information about your health, including personalized reports and recommendations to help you manage your health. You’ll also be provided the opportunity to give feedback on your workplace experience”(Fraser health, 2018).  This assessment will support staff recognizing risk factors for their overall health.   This personal awareness will teach staff to better deal with their challenges, and perhaps recognize what may be causing burnout for them.  One of the roles of strategic leader is to facilitate change process, to help create skills for employees to learn from.  “Strategic leaders need to help people navigate the change process, assisting in learning new skills and capabilities, working with others in different ways, and acknowledging and authentically managing emotions through that change”(Hughes, et. al. 2014, p.47).   When there is a culture of learning, whether it is from each other, from educational seminars, through in-services, this creates more skill set environment and reliance for staff.

 

 

References:

www.Birkman.com

Hughes, R. L., Beatty, K. C., & Dinwoodie, D. L. (2014). Becoming a strategic leader your role in your organizations enduring success. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www3.telus.net/index100/overtime1

(n.d.). Retrieved from http://medicalstaff.fraserhealth.ca/Wellness-Engagement/

BC Budget 2018. (2016, December 30). Retrieved from https://www.bcbudget.gov.bc.ca/

https://www.bcbudget.gov.bc.ca/2018/bfp/2018_Budget_and_Fiscal_Plan.pdf

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/health-priorites/building-patient-care/fh-overview.pdf

 

 

 

Respond to changemakers

Health & Education, ldrs501, Post 2.1

“At staff meetings, there would be more participation and open-ness to experimenting with the new curriculum.  Negativity, pride, selfishness and gossip would all flee.  If servant leadership were the central focus of strategic leadership in schools, there would be a new revolution”, (Change makers, 2018).

Thank you for sharing this thought as it really resonated with me.  Servant leadership as indicated by Northouse 2016, has a positive influence on the performance of the followers and its overall organizational outcome.  The change must always begin with leadership.

Relationships improvement is one of the key strategies.  “Strategic influence is engendering commitment to the organization’s strategic direction by inviting others into the strategic process, forging relationships inside and outside the organization, and using organizational culture and systems and influence” (Hughes et. al. 2014, p.49).  Strategic leaders understand in order to excel the performance of the organization; the overall environment culture has to harmonize as well.  When individuals within the organization are not on good term, and there if a lot of gossip the toxicity can spread very easily, leading to decreased overall function or the organization whether it is for health care or teachers or businesses.

In enlightenment to the critical thinking idea, I can speak for health care.  Ever since, I have been in a leadership position, I have found it challenging to fully practice servant leadership with employees.  Perhaps, my understanding and personal perspective was a bit unaligned with what I had read.  I find while I am there to guide and facilitate staff, at the same time, I really have to firm and direct and use authoritarian style of leadership from time to time.  Perhaps with more experience I will gain better communication style and utilize different language and paraphrase it differently when getting the message across.  At this point,  I find if too nice, the work isn’t being done.

References

Hughes, R. L., Beatty, K. C., & Dinwoodie, D. L. (2014). Becoming a strategic leader your role in your organizations enduring success. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice. Los Angeles: SAGE.