According to Cahalan (2017) there are 8 ways of knowing how to apply critical thinking through practice. Looking briefly at three of the eight ideas, including Situational Awareness, Creative Awareness and Emotional Attunement, I will provide a summary in the form of how it relates to my employment, for each key idea I’ve chosen. My order of what’s most important I believe is very different as I work for an organization that is not only an economic development entity but also a government. In addition, to further complicate things, most of the people I work with are family.
1st Situational Awareness – a good leader is about knowing how your actions will affect others as well as company goals.
My company was in the middle of a substantial negotiation which would eventually result in a large settlement. Discussions were finally moving in the right way with the expected outcome to have impacts to many future generations to come. At the same time, I had bid on a tender for a small contract and was not feeling right about the process. Eventually I had substantial evidence to demonstrate that things were not in fact fair. After carefully weighing my options, I decided that I did not want to risk the negotiations from having a setback, and so felt it was best to leave things be. In the end we settled and included in the agreement was a clause that spoke about a relationship agreement and ways to handle future grievances. In this situation it was not worth risking a large negotiation for a small short term contract that my company would have the opportunity to look at again in the future.
2nd Creative Awareness – having the ability to see one’s own strengths and weaknesses.
In my organization we are a small group and many with multiple skills that are cross applicable. It can sometimes take creative thinking to determine who would be best to assist in any given situation. In terms of real life experience I am often called on to resolve complex situations however a good leader knows when it’s time to consult with others in order to come to the best decision possible.
3rd Emotional Atonement – don’t try and fix others, examine your own actions
Working for a community that is going through reconciliation has its challenges to say the least. As my organization grows there is a need for outside as well as internal expertise from the community. There is often a push and pull between western ways of managing and our traditional ways of managing. This creates conflict as there are employees that can at times feel like there is some favoritism. In this climate I do my best to treat others as fairly as possible. There is the pull from the community government side to continually give our indigenous members multiple chances without consequence. It’s important to me to lead my organization in a fair way so that all employees feel that they are treated the same. Having said that I understand I cannot change the government influences however this does not stop me from doing my job as an effective leader. Instead I have this internal conflict about doing things the right way. I’ve learned to accept that things are the way they are and I’m not going to be able to change people’s perceptions. I’ve also come to recognize that we are in a time of change which is hard for my people. A good friend as well as a cultural teacher from my community reminds me that a leader is never appreciated until their work is done. I remind myself of this and try not to allow myself to be influenced into making the wrong decision. I know I have to be patient and accept I cannot change others but that I can be the one to change. I end up being somewhere in the middle in terms of how I manage situations. It may mean I need to ease up a little from how I might normally deal with the situation and at the same time it is going to be a little uncomfortable to my government. I’ve come to recognize that change will happen slowly and as long as we keep moving forward, things are going to be ok.
References
Cahalan, K., Foley, E. and G.S. Mikoski eds. (2017) Integrative knowing and Practical Wisdom in Minding Gaps: Integrating work in theological education. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock
Excellent submission Brenda. I quite agree especially as it applies to your peculiar context. However, the level of influence a leader has on his or her followers could hasten the change process; hence, helping to influence perceptions much quicker.