Tag: Activity 1

“The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.” Socrates (Watson, L.E. 1951). This quote to me is the essence of what leadership is about. A leader demonstrates exceptional skills in interpersonal skills, ethics and morals. If a leader does not possess these skills, employees will not follow or work in a cohesive team environment. The leader sets the tone and demonstrates to other staff what acceptable behavior looks like. Therefore if you want to be a leader with a good reputation, then you ought to behave like a leader with a good reputation.

This course has transformed my way of thinking with respect to leadership. I’ve often thought about employees as individuals, all coming with strengths and weaknesses. I’ve never however, applied this same type of thinking when it comes to leadership. I suppose we all want to think of our leaders as people with supreme skills, acting the way we want them to act, and managing to the style we as individuals feel most comfortable with. I realize now though, there are many type of leaders – transformational, transactional and servant to name a few. In knowing this, I’ve become less frustrated with leaders that are influential in my life. I can better understand how they became the kind of leaders they are today. Which brings me to my second most impactful learning and that is that leadership can be made up of traits one is genetically in-tuned to, as well as leadership can be learned. In my own life I’ve been blessed with a family line of successful leaders. My dad is a great example of how leadership can be inherited as although he was adopted, he took on similar leadership positions as his biological family. He did not meet his family until he was 28 years of age, yet he enjoyed very similar successes. In my case, I believe I’ve inherited some of these leadership traits however when one grows up in an environment that is not conducive to nurturing these skills, those same leadership traits can be used in an unproductive way. I’ve been fortunate however in my career to have terrific mentors and the opportunity to continue to learn about effective leadership. This learning continues every day, as I try and be the best I can be for my employees and my community. Yes, I’ve made some mistakes in my career, however I know at this point in my life what good leadership looks like. I try every day to mirror and behave like a strong and thoughtful leader, one with a good reputation in all business dealings. The world is full of inspirational great leaders with excellent reputations such as Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Warren Buffet or Bill Gates. If you were to choose one inspirational leader to emulate with a great reputation, whom would that be?

References:

Watson, L.E. (1951). _Light from Many Lamps_. New York: Simon and Schuster. Page 165.

In 15.2 case study, (Northouse, 2016, p. 413) Lori Bradley is an experienced probation officer working in a male dominated field. In the example, her male counterparts are engaging in a non-work discussion, exclusive of her. When she inputs her suggestions on solving a work related problem, she is ignored. Later, a male co-worker makes the same suggestion and is praised for his idea. Lori raises the point that she initially brought the idea to the table, however she is then accused of not being a team player.

I chose this example as it resonated with me, having worked in a predominantly male workforce while working at a local transportation company. In the 1990’s, at this particular organization, the workforce was 90% male and only 10% female. Working in a leadership role, these numbers were drastically less, making the situation even more challenging. Navigating through the labyrinth as a female leader had its challenges, however I can look back now that there were many lessons learned that have prepared me for today’s workforce. So how does a female working in a leadership role today embrace the challenge?

1. Being aware of the organizations culture is important and as a female, it’s important to realize that change can take time. If change is aggressive, it may result in feelings of losing control. This feeling of losing control often leads to push back and an unwillingness to move forward in a positive direction. Life for a female leader in this case, will likely become incredibly challenging if not impossible.
2. It’s important to pick your battles and know when to speak up. In the example mentioned above, Lori pointed out that she raised the same point as her male counterpart, earlier in the conversation. While frustrating as it may be, this is not the time to speak up and in this situation further empowered her male counterparts.
3. Change in organizations often happen from the top down. Reputable companies will be concerned about gender discrimination and will introduce policies to support equality. Have faith that it takes time for leadership messages to reach the frontline. Find mentors with other female leaders that have gone through gender discrimination and utilize them to consult on best practices in handling various situations.
4. Instead of being a martyr and pointing out others mistakes, find positive solutions toward changing organizational culture. For example, utilize Human Resource departments to suggest ways to introduce organizational change, such as suggesting formal mentorship program or organizational courses that will help to educate other managers or leaders.
5. As tempting as it may be to want to retaliate, it’s important to maintain maturity and confidence as a female and not respond to negative situations where gender inequality exists. By taking the higher road, it will further demonstrate to the leadership that one is actually prepared to take on a higher leadership role.
6. Know that you will have enemies that will see you as a threat. As a female while as unfair as it may be, you will be required to take on more work and be held to a higher standard in a male dominated company. Become an expert in your area, get along with others and act always in a professional manner. Regardless if your career takes off in any organization, these are skills that will be required as one climbs up the corporate ladder.
7. A little understanding goes a long way. Many male leaders in the workplace are confused and don’t understand why there may be a focus on gender equality. It’s also not fair to suggest that all males are discriminatory towards female leaders. Some male leaders may have equally experienced discrimination and or felt uncomfortable in a male centric organization. Others may also require more education which eventually leads to understanding. Woman and men need to work together to create change. Creating an “us against them” will not result in a positive outcome for anyone.
8. There are boundaries as to how much tolerance a female leader should take. It’s important to know if the company is headed in a direction of change. If not, it may be necessary to move on to another company, as frustrating as that may sound. Also if there is discrimination, as defined under the Human Rights code, it is important to speak up. Most companies have policies on how they will respond to Human Rights complaints and the Human Resources department are often a great resource.

What are some other ways that a leader might also embrace the challenge?

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice, seventh Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN 971452203409 ** Chapter 13 Leadership Ethics**

Without ethical leadership, organizations risk exposure to a negative reputation, demoralized staff, a culture of mistrust, fiscal loses and legal implications. In every organization there are expectations amongst stakeholders that the leadership will uphold the highest standards when it comes to ethical leadership. An indigenous economic development organization has many stakeholders to consider to be a flourishing and sustainable organization. It can be one of the most challenging yet also rewarding areas to work in.

When considering values and beliefs of an indigenous economic development organization, these come from internal employees, the indigenous government, band members, outside government stakeholders, other indigenous peoples as well as the general public. Balancing expectations of all can be achieved, provided the leaders set the tone for the organization. For example, indigenous economic organizations work under a variety of government structures. Some are elected in Chief and Council positions, some are hereditary positions or a combination there of. In addition, when it comes to elected positions, each government sets their own term for how long a person holds office. One challenge of an indigenous economic development organization in upholding ethical leadership, is the pressure of the current government to keep the membership happy. This can occur in both an elected and hereditary government system. The best way an indigenous economic development organization can prevent leaders from being negatively influenced by the current government, is to create a legally binding board of directors that the leader of the economic development organization must be accountable to. This board of directors should be a mix of internal stakeholders but heavily outweighed by outside board members whom stand nothing to gain and expect the leadership to act ethically. If the leadership of the economic development organization does not act ethically the board of directors should hold the authority to terminate the employment of the leader and not be influenced into making decisions based on the current government. If a nation wants it economic development arm to be around for generations to come, this is an important step in securing its future and its success.

The public also plays a major role in deciding what values and beliefs constitute ethical leadership of an indigenous economic development organization. For example, if you were to eat at a café that you purposely went to, in order to support an indigenous organization, would you think it be appropriate if that café was not recycling? How about if the indigenous café served farmed fish? There are social responsibilities an indigenous organization must uphold because of the expectations of the public. In a day of truth and reconciliation, public support is higher than it has ever been because of shared public values. Taking care of the environment is a common shared value and indigenous economic development organizations are expected to uphold this public value.

Another stakeholder of an indigenous economic development organization are the band membership which are often the ownership of the indigenous economic development organization. This can get tricky when considering ethical leadership and so having strong policies and procedures in place can avoid any conflict of interest problems. An example of where this can occur is the membership is expecting that its members have first priority at all jobs. Implementing strong Human Resource management practices with ensure that the organization is not breaking the law and showing favoritism’s. There are opportunities in indigenous led organizations to apply to the Human Rights code to allow preference to indigenous people when hiring, however there are rules and processes that must to be followed. It’s important though, to ensure that the employees working those jobs are qualified, or divides may occur between indigenous and non-indigenous employees. Capacity building for indigenous people is about helping indigenous people to get qualified and to be successful. It’s not about providing a “hand-out” but instead a “hand-up”.

Government and memberships of communities are both concerned with the financial integrity of an indigenous economic development organization. Indigenous organizations with employees working on reserve receive taxation benefits. There are also exemptions from purchases made by Status Indians purchasing on reserve. Excellent record keeping is important because if an organization is not following the law, there can be tremendous financial implications and public shaming. The public does not always understand the Indian Act, how it came to be and within it, why indigenous people sometimes are entitled to taxable benefits. There are negative perceptions surrounding some of these benefits and if an indigenous organization is thought to be breaking the law in this regard, it could receive a great deal of negative publicity. This could embarrass the organization and the membership. Yet, another way indigenous organizations are impacted by government and its membership is with the First Nations Transparency Act. Indigenous economic development organizations and their governments are required to go through an external financial audit each year, with the results posted online and presented to the membership. The purpose of this audit is to ensure accounting principles are followed and there is no fraud. Without ethical leadership there cannot be fiscal responsibility which in turn could mean, the end of an indigenous economic development organization.

In closing, indigenous economic development organizations that have high ethical standards with leadership and its employees can be highly successful. Particularly today, there are many individuals, government officials and the public that want to support indigenous economic development organizations to be successful. There is however only one chance to do things right and any unethical behavior can be damaging for years to come. The truth and reconciliation movement has benefited indigenous nations by creating public sympathy and a desire to want to help indigenous organizations, particularly those that want to help themselves. This olive branch however comes with a great deal of responsibility and so a strong culture of ethical behavior is integral to the success of an indigenous economic development organization. What are some other ethical and moral beliefs that the public holds with its indigenous organizations? Do you think it is fair that indigenous organizations are held to this standard given the history of inter-generational trauma?

Leaders in organizations are often self-directed human beings as outlined in Malcom Knowles, the foundational thinker of andragogy, point one. The reason for this is because often leaders are people that have life experiences to draw on, as well as the work experience to be able to show others the way. Age does not determine if one is mature enough to be a successful leader. In most cases though, the majority of leaders I have worked with are older. I don’t believe this is because they make better leaders but perhaps more so because they have enough life experience to be self-directed. They’ve often spent their career working up to the current leadership position they are in. I have however, experienced good leaders that have moved up quickly in an organization and are young. These exceptional individuals often have plenty of credentials behind their names and or have gained valuable experience at a young age. They possessed the natural leadership abilities and throughout life, were involved in activities where they gained valuable leadership skills.

In my example, I’ve been employed and working in leadership roles for over 25 years. In my early years as a leader I was often challenged by older employees who did not have the confidence that I could do the job. I had to work extra hard to demonstrate that I could be successful. I did not have the on-the-job work experience to draw on and so was reliant on good mentors to show me the way. I did however have plenty of life experience in leadership roles particularly in sports. I also had post-secondary education to draw on and was a quick learner. As I aged though I noticed that life as a leader became easier and I attribute this to a few reasons:

1. I became more of an independent thinker and self-directed, the higher up an organization I was. I began to realize that when problems reached my level it was because there was no clear answer. I had to be self-directed as I was often creating new policy and faced with a problem the organization had not seen before.
2. At the level I’m at now I remind myself that as a V.P., I should not be running to the President, every time a problem requires a solution. I need to demonstrate good judgement and show that I am capable of being self-sufficient and therefore one day step into the President role. Having said that I’m also astute to know when the President needs to be briefed on a situation. I prefer to go to her explaining what the problem is, what my solution was and what I think some of the consequences might be so that she is prepared. She seems to appreciate this style of leadership as her plate is already quite full.
3. I’ve gained valuable operations experience in my career. As a young leader there were processes I thought were a pain and didn’t understand the need for them however after having gained enough experiences I’ve learned through firsthand experience why these processes are in place. I find I’m now trusting in processes and not questioning them as much as I know eventually I will see the reason behind it.

In closing, life as a leader in midlife has become easier. With a compliment of good life mentors, lots of work experience and the opportunity to continue with my education I’ve become a better-rounded leader. Although my life experiences provide me with the skills to do the job efficiently, I find myself in a position where the workforce is changing and employee expectations are high. This is part of my journey in pursuing my MA in Business Leadership. I want my leadership style to be relevant and also know that my employees and my community are counting on it. I believe every employee deserves to come to work with a leader that wants to do and be their best. I know I still have lots to learn, particularly with younger generations. How do I create a space that is open and welcoming for example? How do I address the needs of the younger generations so that I can reduce attrition and make my company a place worth staying?