Tag: learning activity 2

Unit 9 learning activity 2

November 25, 2018 / principalmorrow / 1 Comment

Over the years I have heard about so many opportunities which were presented to CEO’s of successful organizations and were ignored. Yahoo had the opportunity to buy facebook and Google, Verizon didn’t want to work with Apple to develop the first iPhone, Comcast didn’t connect with Disney, and Blockbuster passed up Netflix’s repeated appeal to buy them out. This story of Netflix still strikes me as amazing and I often wonder how it could happen; my teenage children certainly spend enough time pursuing Netflix and have no idea what Blockbuster Video was, it has vanished.

Being aware of how the environment changes around us is so important. Even if there are no ripples of change currently in our industry or if the winds of change are blowing somewhere else across the globe it is important for us to know that there is change happening somewhere which will eventually impact us. Having optimistic and innovative foresight rather than regretful hindsight is the optimal outcome but it is not so easy. It is possible for a great idea to precede the technology that is required to make it successful. Leonardo Davinci invented concepts of the helicopter (http://www.da-vinci-inventions.com/aerial-screw.aspx) hundreds of years before the first one flew. In education, The year 2000 initiative (https://www.bctf.ca/publications/TeacherArticle.aspx?id=44129 ) in BC pre-dated the cultural and technological infrastructure to support it by no more than 20 years. Our world is so complex and influenced by so many political, social, environmental, and economic factors that making predictions seem nearly impossible. How could the CEO of blockbuster have possibly known that Netflix had the potential it does? What if internet speeds didn’t increase rapidly, or Apple hadn’t created lean back technology in the form of the ipad? Would Netflix have become the success it has become today? Perhaps sometimes we just get lucky.

Without leveraging the perspective of hindsight it may be impossible to consider how any company should have done something different. In his video about keys to success, Jack Ma provides a template about developing a professional flow chart which could help an organizational leader from becoming obsolete, outdated and unemployed. If deployed correctly these ideas may allow any leader to increase their success in considering the right ideas in the right way at the right time.

Jack Ma says to work hard and that good ideas take time to develop. Consider the following:

Before you are 20- be a good student and learn all that you can

Before you are 30 – follow somebody else and learn about vision and passion

Before you are 40 – Work hard for yourself and develop your own ideas and vision

Before you are 50 – realize that things may begin to change around you but continue to work at what you are good at

Before you are 60 – Work for young people, they are aware more aware of what the future holds.

It seems that Netflix has been successful in applying this type of thinking as their company has grown and aged. Netflix has gone from being sent away by the leadership at Blockbuster Video as a mail delivery DVD service to a multi-billion dollar company creating its own original programming. It has accomplished this by continually innovating. As a company it offers a completely different product than it did at its outset. Netflix has changed the platform, delivery method and viewing experience of its customers. Continual innovation has lead the company’s response to changing market environments to become known as the Netflix way (Castillo, 2013). My advice to this company is that they would continue to listen to the younger and newer voices around them and to continue to innovate as they have successfully done to this point.

Castillo, J (December 2013) The Netflix Way: Learning from Failure, Constantly Innovating: When Blockbuster laughed at a partnership proposal from Netflix in 2000, it jump started one of the most revolutionary companies of our time. streaming magazine. Retrieved from http://www.streamingmedia.com/Articles/Editorial/Featured-Articles/The-Netflix-Way-Learning-from-Failure-Constantly-Innovating-93680.aspx

E-learning (2016, June 23) Keys to success from Jack Ma | self-made billionaire and CEO of Alibaba [Video File]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WjHZ5wLe6w

Unit 8, Learning Activity 2

November 18, 2018 / principalmorrow / 0 Comments

I have been reflecting on the women who have held leadership positions around me while I have grown up and entered into a leadership position myself. These women have had a meaningful professional voice and one that I have valued for its shared wisdom, professionalism and authority. As a backdrop, Kim Campbell was Prime Minister of Canada as I was entering my final year of high school and while I have no idea what the political issues were, I recall that there was a sense that having a female Prime Minister was exciting and positive for Canada. The education faculty at University had strong female professors who were inspiring. One of my practicum principals was female as was the principal where I was first hired. Both of these women were no nonsense, straightforward people both of whom I learned significant lessons from. As I continued into education I encountered female school leaders in many schools around me and I was encouraged, challenged and motivated by their voices as I developed professionally in education.

In my workplace we have approximately 25 staff, 5 men and 20 women. Three of the men are teachers, one is a custodian and I am the fifth. The 20 female staff are lead teachers, administrative assistants, financial managers, learning support teachers, custodians and a librarian. Our School Board consists of 10 people, 4 women and 6 men. As I consider our school as a place where women belong and are given recognition, I feel that our culture is inclusive. I interviewed two of our female staff members, a teacher and an educational assistant this week. They feel that as women their voices are valued and respected and that there is opportunity to take leadership roles or pursue any opportunity within the school. To broaden our conversation around inclusivity, we discussed the culture of our employees. I was curious to know if they felt a divide between teaching staff and support staff. They both agreed that their voices are seen as those of a team and valued equally. This was good for me to hear as I specifically refer to all of our employees as staff and do not like to distinguish a hierarchy based on position.

If inclusion (Nugent, Pollack and Travis, 2016) is an area where I should specifically be paying attention to anywhere, it is perhaps around age. Much of my staff is 40+ and there are occasionally light hearted comments made about the patterns of behaviour of younger staff members. While there is nothing of concern in this observation, it is good to be aware of from a perspective of inclusion.

Nugent, J. S., Pollack, A., & Travis, D. J. (2016). The day-to-day experiences of workplace inclusion and exclusion. Retrieved November 2018, from https://www.catalyst.org/system/files/the_day_to_day_experiences_of_workplace_inclusion_and_exclusion.pdf

Unit 7 learning activity 2

November 11, 2018 / principalmorrow / 0 Comments

Blending Transactional and Transformational Leadership

Managers should include elements of transactional and transformational leadership. They are in a position to directly affect follower attitude toward the work they do and the organization they work for. If the manager focuses only on transactional leadership where a follower is given a reward for meeting performance expectations then neither the manager or follower maximize their potential (Wang, Oh, Courtright and Colbert, 2011).

The augmentation hypothesis suggested by Wang et al. (2011) states that managers who demonstrate characteristics of transformational leadership can extend their transactional role. When managers provide a contextual understanding of the greater purpose and value of the work being done rather than simply rewarding task completion, individuals achieve more. Managers should be aware that when transactional leadership is combined with transformational leadership, the overall production of the individuals, teams, and the overall organization increase. (Wang, Oh, Courtright and Colbert, 2011).

My leadership can be improved by the findings of Wang et al (2011). I tend to lean heavily toward a transformational leadership style, which is good. Their findings however, demonstrated that just as transformational leadership augments the impact of transactional leadership, the opposite may also be true. It would be beneficial to reflect on how I may employ more transactional expectations from my followers.

Principles of Ethical Leadership

Peter Northouse (2016) summarizes 5 principles of ethical leadership. He states that a leader must respect, serve, be just, be honest, and build community. Each of these principles require an ethical leader to follow the golden rule or to do as Jesus instructed as he explained the second greatest commandment, love others before themselves. Respecting others means that the leader must embrace individual differences, be tolerant of opposing viewpoints and allow others to be themselves. Serving others requires an ethical leader to put the needs of others first, to see that their full potential is reached. A just leader must respond to all people consistently, to react to people the way they as followers would act toward others. The fair treatment of people is necessary for any group who is cooperating to promote interests they hold in common. A leader must be honest. Dishonesty leads to distrust and eventually to broken relationships, it is counter productive. Finally a leader must work to find common ground. Being attentive to interests which serve both leader and followers, builds community (Northouse, 2016).

The two most important principles of ethical leadership are justice and respect. I would like to argue that if a leader is just then he will consider the needs of others, deal with them honestly and seek to find common ground with them. If the leader also demonstrates respect, then others will be treated as worthy human beings. If others are worthy then their best interests will be important to the leader and service to those followers will be natural.

References

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice, Seventh Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Wang, G., Oh, I. S., Courtright, S. H & Colbert, A. E. (2011). Transformational leadership and performance across criteria and levels: A meta-analytic review of 25 years of research. Group & Organization Management, 36(2), 223-270.

Coaching Converstations

November 3, 2018 / principalmorrow / 1 Comment

It was my pleasure to have a conversation this afternoon with Monica about her leadership journey. Monica leads a Christian ministry team working with over 70 students on Campus at SFU. She is very passionate about developing students as world leaders and she feels that she is in her element discipling university students. She spoke passionately about working with students over multiple years to understand their faith in Christ, grow in a deeper relationship with God and step into leadership to disciple others. She feels strongly that in her context the best form of ministry happens through relationship with people.

As she progresses as a leader Monica discussed strategically building her team. She seeks to help them see the importance of innovation and of risk taking. These overt behaviours are balanced by prayerfully listening to God and developing deep character. She also described continuously having big vision. Monica recognizes the importance of not being bound by her own perspective but freeing herself to follow where God may lead on campus.

Monica is excited as she is preparing to shift her ministry focus to UBC in the new year. She looks forward to the adventure of joining the team already working there and establishing other ministry opportunities on campus. Monica sees this new work as a training ground for being a future church planter. Monica demonstrated that her leadership passions involve directly working with people, seeing them grow in their faith and authentically desiring to meet the goals they set as as a team.

Unit 5 Learning Activity 2 – Spears

October 25, 2018 / principalmorrow / 0 Comments

Spears identifies ten characteristics of servant leadership. Three of these, commitment to the growth of people, building community, and the ideas of stewardship are especially important to me (Spears, 2010).

I have been in leadership for long enough at the same school that I have hired a majority of the employees, both teachers and support staff. For this reason I feel a responsibility to them both personally and professionally. This means that I not only need to work to support them professionally but also walk through life with them as they both celebrate their victories and struggle through their challenges. While at work I support them as they seek to pursue professional interests or take risks as they try something new in their classrooms. I see myself as a coach, providing guidance and direction to help them become the best at what they do. As they come to work each day, it is important that I provide opportunities for the staff to connect on a personal level. It is my desire that they not spend nine hours a day near each other but rather with each other. As we work together, I focus on the long approach of influence through relationship and trust we will become increasingly aligned in our work.

With these thoughts in mind the first thing I would seek to do while coordinating a group project would be to develop a caring atmosphere where it was safe to share and exchange ideas. This would happen by giving the team an opportunity to do a team building activity where they needed to depend on each other and therefore learn to trust and appreciate the strengths and abilities of the others. This culture does not always naturally develop and must be curated by the leader. As each team was given their roles and began their work toward achieving their objective, I would want to check in with each of them to see if they had everything they needed in the way of resources, time and information. A team will work more effectively with the knowledge that the leader is committed to them as a team as well as individuals. It would be important for me to communicate to the team that I had confidence in them and that they were chosen for the team for a reason. As a servant leader, I must relinquish control of the details and serve the group members as they set out to accomplish the goal they have been tasked with.

In a small organization, how do you select team members for a specific project without minimizing the abilities of the rest of the staff?

Reference

Spears, Larry C. (2010) Character and Servant Leadership: Ten Characteristics of Effective, Caring Leaders. The Journal of Virtues & Leadership, Vol. 1 Iss. 1, 2010, 25-30. Retrieved from https://www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/jvl/vol1_iss1/Spears_Final.pdf

Unit 4 – Learning Activity 2: Servant Leadership

October 22, 2018 / principalmorrow / 0 Comments

John Maxwell passionately describes the process a leader must go through to be successful. This process involves the leader being actively involved with the people they are leading. From the hiring process, through vision casting, working shoulder to shoulder through organizational growth and improvement and on toward developing individuals to reach their highest capacity. The leader must care deeply for and about the people that are being developed. Relationship produces loyalty and respect in both directions (Maxwell, 2015). This aligns with other work that has been done on servant leadership. The servant leader puts the follower first, empowers them and develops their potential. This is done by paying attentions to them, caring for them and developing them (Northouse, 2016). Colleen Barrett of Southwest Airlines sums it by explaining that the leader should treat everyone with egalitarian equality and passionately serve other people (Barrett, 2008).

Servant Leadership differs from transformational leadership. Instead of being focused on developing the follower for the benefit of the organization, the servant leader develops the follower for the benefit of the follower. As the servant leader builds the team over time, macro (organizational) and micro (individual) behaviours such as compassion, empathy and hope will develop (Searle and Barbuto, 2011).The leader who is aware of the broader context of the organization will know how to develop different followers in different ways so that all outcomes benefit the individual, the organization and society (Northouse, 2016).

References

Barrett, C. (2008, July 9). Southwest Airlines’ Colleen Barrett on ‘Servant Leadership’. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TgR95vnM0c

Maxwell, J. (2015, August 30). John Maxwell 5 Levels of Leadership Full Video. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oe6XacmIZms

Northouse, P. G. (2019). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publication

Searle, T.P. and Barbuto, J.E. (2011). Servant Leadership, Hope, and Organizational Virtuousness: A Framework Exploring Positive Micro and Macro Behaviors and Performance Impact. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies 18(1), 107-117. [Library Link; sign-in required](https://ezproxy.student.twu.ca/login?url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1548051810383863

Response to Hiromi Hasegawa Rank-Talk-Write

October 15, 2018 / principalmorrow / 0 Comments

Hi Hiromi,

Thank you for your summary of Bondi’s book of articles. I was intimidated to try that choice myself. I appreciate the way that you have summarized and highlighted some tenants of developing professional wisdom. I specifically like the idea that “Wisdom, as recognized in professional judgement, lies not in technical rationality but is an attribute of a mature moral agent.” (Hasegawa, 2018).

So often, decision making can become over complicated. It is good to remember that wisdom rests in our good character. Last year I was faced with a challenging situation which involved several upset parties who were looking for a solution to the situation we were facing. I excused myself to take a minute to think. I remember looking in the mirror and thinking, “if you are the leader, you should lead”. As I walked back to where the group was meeting I proposed a solution which wasn’t ideal for me as the school leader but allowed other parties to save face and move forward. It was a good exercise for me in applying professional wisdom.

Bondi, L., Carr, D, Clark, C and C. Clegg (2016). Towards Professional Wisdom: Practical Deliberation in the Professions. New York: Routledge.

Hasegawa H. (2018). Rank-Talk-Write – toward professional wisdom. retrieved from create.twu.ca/papagena163/2018/10/14/rank-talk-write/

Rank-Talk-Write

October 15, 2018 / principalmorrow / 1 Comment

For this assignment I chose to source my own article. Laura M. Harrison wrote Transformational Leadership, Integrity, and Power (Harrison, 2011). Harrison argues that some of the thinking around transformational leadership is too altruistic because it does not recognize the element of power which functions within institutions. She writes in the context of student affairs professionals working in higher education. I will use her outline to form the basis of my summary statements.

The Transformational Leadership Dichotomy

Because power is always at play in an organization, considering transformational vs.transactional leadership shouldn’t necessarily be an either/or decision. (3)

Transformational Leadership’s Power Problem

When transformational leadership is demonstrated from a non-position to create change (even positive), power structures push back forcefully. (4)

Acknowledging the Realities of Leadership

A non-positional leader must work for and maintain a seat at the table of power. (1)

Strategies for Creating More Transformational Systems

Developing political acumen is necessary, developing allies within the power structure can help over come political power to affect transformational change. (5)

Reinserting Power Analysis Into Student Affairs Leadership Discourse

Practical reality demonstrates that some margin of power is necessary to enact lasting change. (2)

I was quite intrigued about Harrison’s discourse on power and admit that my approach to leadership concepts thus far has indeed been altruistic. She states that the function of a leader is to create change however their primary focus is often one thing, survival. Whether leadership stems from an individual or a department, motivation stems from maintaining position, funding and power. If that is true then it makes it very challenging for an individual without a seat at the table of power to help move an organization forward. In the case of student affairs professionals, they are being asked to create positive organizational change but are not given tools to translate that vision into reality. She contends that transformational leadership is a good thing and that student affairs professionals should value it. To do this, they must learn about the structures of power within their institutions. This will allow them to improve organizational integrity, that is to do what they are being asked to do.

I value the concept of transformational leadership as I understand it so far. I can however, see within my own context that power does play a role in how easily non-position people are able to affect change. I will have intentionally develop a culture where all individual feel that they have a seat at the table of power.

Harrison, L. (2011). Transformational Leadership, Integrity, and Power. New Direction for Student Services 135 (45-52). Wiley Periodicals. Inc.