Competencies, Principles and Me

Through the journey of this course, I have gained many valuable tools that I can implement and utilize in my organization. The competencies that have been the most impactful in my learning have come from (Lepsinger, 2010). In reading this text, I found there were many times in which I felt that Lepsinger had perfectly outlined exactly what is needed in my organization. The five leadership competencies, as outlined by Lepsinger (2010) include “enhancing the other person’s feelings of importance and self-worth, encouraging people to step out of their comfort zones, creating a supportive environment that is safe for risk taking, reinforcing positive behaviors and clarifying what “good looks like,” and providing feedback that is balanced and constructive” (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 51). In reflection on the current state of my organization, I can envision the implementation of all 5 of these principles having a significant impact on the culture of the organization.

Ungerer, Ungerer & Herholdt (2016) have reflected on the business strategies of Hamal. Although his work is discussing business, it is relatable to education. We have moved from old economy ways of doing things, where children were taught information and could recite it, to a time where we need critical thinking citizens with a variety of skills. “In the new economy, it is not enough for businesses to merely have a workforce that are obedient and diligent drones” (Ungerer et al., 2016, p. 377). Although the knowledge of information is important, it has become less important because it is easily accessible because of the increase in technology. For schools, families are looking for the school that is competitive in building these skills for their children. Ungerer et al., discuss this as Hamal’s definition of moving from a “knowledge economy” to a “creative economy” (Ungerer et al., p. 377). Schools and educators are required to target this need in order for families to choose to enroll their children in the school. The readings in this course have given us many suggestions in creating competitive advantages. “Success depends on a company’s ability to unleash the initiative, imagination, and passion of employees at all levels” (Ungerer et al., 2016, p. 377).

3 principles that I will incorporate into my organizational practice

The first step that I will take in improving my organization is to attempt to “catch people doing something right” (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 54). In my organization, we have had many changes in leadership over the last 5 years and this principle has been neglected. Sometimes there are acts done within a school that stand out and do not go unnoticed. In my school, it is the same group of 5-6 people consistently making the extra effort to go above and beyond. In a situation of conflict in the previous school year, I found myself questioning how we can “catch people doing something right” (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 54), even if their acts are not blatantly obvious. Perhaps there is something that these people are doing that is going unnoticed and deserves recognition. If they experienced recognition once in a while, perhaps they would feel more motivated to participate in extra activities to earn more recognition. When you recognize people, “it reinforces good work and shapes future behavior. It motivates, builds trust, and builds self-esteem and confidence. It makes people more receptive to feedback for improving performance” (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 54).

The second principle that I will incorporate is creating a supportive environment (Lepsinger, 2010). Currently, there is not a supportive environment in our school. The culture is very cynical and selfish. This is not a healthy working environment and many find this very draining and overwhelming. It becomes difficult to rise above this attitude but through my readings and interactions with others in this course, I am realizing it is absolutely necessary. If at times I am tempted to shy away, I need to find strength within myself to help initiate the supportive environment in my school. By doing this, I will help others to have a more positive outlook on themselves. When people feel good about themselves, they will be more likely to improve performance (Lepsinger, 2010). “By assuming value, focusing on what they do well, setting realistic but challenging goals, providing recognition and feedback, and creating a supportive environment where it is safe to try new things, we can enhance the self-esteem of our lower-performing or average employees” (Lepsinger, 2010, p. 58). If this safe environment is effectively implemented,  we will have, “(1) employees who are proactive and take the initiative to solve problems without being told; (2) employees who challenge conventional wisdom, are creative and always on the lookout for great ideas; and (3) employees who are passionate about their work, see it as their calling to make a positive impact in the world, and are willing to pour their heart and soul into it” (Ungerer et al., 2016, p. 377). Ungerer et al. (2016), have suggested that these kinds of employees are necessary for the success of an organization and I believe we will have employees who exhibit these qualities if the environment is supportive.

Initially, when reading some of the competencies as outlined by Hughes, Colarelli-Beatty, & Dinwoodie (2014), I would not have chosen these competencies as ones that I would implement in my organization. After participating in the SWOT analysis with the team of Extraordinary Educators, I truly believe that “scanning” is valuable in any organization. (Hughes et al., 2014, p. 73).

“Think of it, too, as all that went into preparations before the ship even left harbor: What might the seas be like? What storms or other conditions might we encounter? What equipment, stores, and provisions do we need to take to be prepared for unexpected challenges? What other ports are available to us in case we need to change route? In the most general sense, then, scanning involves vigilantly monitoring environmental conditions that could affect mission success or cause mission failure.”

                                                                                                                                                                      (Hughes et al., 2014, p. 73).

The image created by Hughes et al (2014), provides an excellent visual for me as a learner. I value the competency of scanning because it can provide educators and teams within a school the opportunity to examine the school from a birds eye view. In participating in this scanning, it becomes easier to see how we can increase the competitiveness of our school.

3 principles that may not be as relevant to me

One of the strategic leadership competencies as outlined by Hughes et al., (2014), includes “business strategy” (p. 211). Although this is essential in achieving mission success, it is not one that I will specifically use at this point in my career. This is the responsibility of the leaders who are higher up in our organization. For my current position “it is essential for leaders to recognize that they are responsible for shaping and evolving the culture so that people collectively engage in behaviors that support the strategy and contribute to good organizational performance. (Hughes et al., 2014, p. 189)

Other principles that do not directly apply to me are outlined by Galbraith (2014) in “functional organization and types of small business strategies” (p. 57). The first one is  “Operational Excellence” (Galbraith, 2014, p. 66). “A company pursues the operational excellence strategy when it strives to become the low-cost provider in its industry” (Galbraith, 2014, p. 66). This is not possible in our organization. The only way I can see a school being low-cost is by having less staff, and resources. This would increase class sizes even more and would not increase competitive advantage. Other principles that do not pertain to me are also included in this section. Galbraith (2014) discusses product-centric and customer-centric companies. This does not pertain to my current position in education, but may be valuable if I ever change career paths in my life.

I found all of the textbooks to be interesting and insightful throughout the course. The one that I accessed the least was Navigating Strategic Possibilities: Strategy Formulation and Execution Practices to Flourish (Ungerer et al. (2016). Although I found the information interesting and had some valuable takeaways from this book, I found it the most difficult to read. I have very little experience in business and found it difficult to relate to my current position.

One concept that I am not sure about and encourage some discussion is in Deming’s Theory of Management outlined by Ungerer et al (2016). Deming suggests 14 points for management, one of which states, “cooperation works better than competition” (Ungerer et al., 2016, p. 382). In our SWOT interview, my team discovered a school situation in which competition plays an important role in the performance of staff. Personally, I have a hard time agreeing that cooperation will always work better. In my school, there is no competition. People complete the bare minimum requirements for the job and do not go above and beyond in their performance. In the SWOT interview, it was clear to see how the element of competition motivated staff to perform at a higher level. In my organization, cooperation is encouraged, however it is not always present because there are no consequences for not being cooperative. If part of the job requirements included cooperation, and competition was a factor, would employees be more motivated to cooperate because there would be a consequence if they did not? “In a cooperative environment, everybody wins” (Ungerer et al., 2016, p. 382). While I agree with this statement, I struggle with understanding how this works in a school setting, specifically in my school. A leader can encourage people to cooperate but how does a leader hold people accountable for this?

References

Galbraith, J. R. (2014). Designing organizations strategy, structure, and process at the business unit and enterprise levels (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: 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.

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