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Response to Tom Williams’ Post on Servant Leadership

This is my response to Tom Williams’ post on servant leadership (Unit 1 Activity 5).

Just like Tom, I find that persuasion is the greatest challenge for me to incorporate in my practice!

Tom posed the question “how do you navigate tough decisions that need to be made quickly and without time for feedback/input while trying to maintain servant leadership principles?”.

Northouse (2016) states that “servant leaders are ethical and lead in ways that serve the greater good of the organization, community, and society at large” (p. 226). While it is important to seek feedback and input as listening is a vital characteristic of servant leadership, the reality is that sometimes time does not always allow leaders to do so in every situation. I believe that in situations like this, it is important that servant leaders act ethically and make the best decision for the group as a whole. This is why foresight is another important characteristic mentioned by Northouse (2014) on page 228. Ultimately, servant leaders are accountable for decisions that are made and the outcomes that stem from those choices.

I believe that servant leadership is a process and shown over a period of time. Followers can recognize servant leadership qualities in an individual over a series of interactions and situations. When a servant leader is put in a situation where he or she needs to make decisions without first consulting the group, I believe the group would show an understanding of the situation as the relationship they have formed allows them to put trust in the leader to make the best choice for the organization.

References:

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

 

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Follow the Leader – Angela Lee Duckworth

Angela Lee Duckworth is a psychologist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania.  She is also the Founder and CEO of Character Lab, a nonprofit organization that focuses on the science and practice of character development. Duckworth is known for her research in perseverance and grit in students and educators alike. I first became aware of Duckworth’s work through a TED Talks Education video in which she discusses the importance of teaching grit and encouraging perseverance in students. Previously, Duckworth worked as a math and science teacher in different public school systems in the United States. In 1982, she founded a summer school for low-income children in Boston. Duckworth currently continues to work on her research at the Univeristy of Pennsylvania while also giving education talks on the importance of grit and perseverance over instant gratification and natural talent.

I currently follow Duckworth on both Facebook (click here for link) and Twitter (click here for link). She is quite active on both platforms (although most of the posts are the same on both platforms) and she usually shares posts daily. Her posts are usually of articles and re-posts from others on the topics of character, gratification, and perseverance.

Angela Duckworth (2013) advocates for the importance of children being taught determination and self-control in schools and at home. She believes, and has research to prove, that grit supersedes intelligence when it comes to students being successful in difficult or trying tasks (Duckworth, 2013). The focus of Duckworth’s current research is to discover ways to grow and nurture determination and resilience in children (Duckworth, 2013).  Her research has shown that children who have a growth mindset are able to increase their grit because they believe that failure is not a permanent condition and that their efforts are making them more intelligent and more likely to succeed in the future (Duckworth, 2013). Growth mindset is the belief that the brain is malleable and has the plasticity to grow and develop new connections and talents (Dweck, 2012, p. 7).

As a leader and an educator, I believe that grit and resilience is vital to group and student success. Oftentimes, I see that it is not the brightest students in my class who have the greatest success, but the ones who have put in the most time and effort into understanding the concepts and material. Mathematics is a subject that many students struggle with and it requires practice and time to fully understand the intricacies of the different steps. I believe that more students would find success and enjoyment in Mathematics if they had continued to persevere instead of giving up when faced with adversity. Knowing that developing a growth mindset helps students and adults become more resilient pushes me to emphasize the plasticity of the brain more in my classroom. In fact, Carol Dweck (2012)  describes different ways that educators can promote a growth mindset culture in the classroom so that students are motivated to continue to press on in difficult situations.

Duckworth’s website, Facebook page, and Twitter feed are filled with posts from others on the importance of grit and resilience. However, it is difficult to locate information about her current research. Since I have followed her work for some time and I purposely researched her for this activity, I have become familiar with her work on growth mindsets and its effect on grit. I think that it would be beneficial to make information on her work and ideas more accessible on her page for others who are hearing from her for the first time. While her “About Angela” page on her website describes her achievements and career, not much is shared about her ideas and current research (Duckworth, 2017).

Some of the criticisms that Duckworth’s work has received is that her ideas and methods of encouraging grit in classrooms can be inflexible and even prison-like (Del Giudice, 2014). Duckworth’s response to this is that there is a difference between children choosing to stop doing something they do not enjoy versus children choosing to give up on something in the face of adversity (Del Giudice, 2014). It is the latter that she is trying prevent and discourage. I think that more educators would be open to Duckworth’s ideas on resilience if she made this point more clear as sometimes her stance on grit can come across as forced and strict.

Duckworth is described as an efficient and effective leader who expects only the best from her team (Del Giudice, 2014). Despite her high expectations, those who have worked with and for her regard her as a leader who truly cares about her team (Del Giudice, 2014). Duckworth practices what she preaches – she motivates others by encouraging an atmosphere of growth mindset where failures are seen as opportunities to learn and to grow (Del Giudice, 2014). In an interview with Jena McGregor from the Washington Post (2016), Angela describes an effective leader as one who is gritty because they set the pace for the rest of the group. Duckworth believes in leading by example and that showing your weaknesses is a sign of strength and grit (McGregor, 2016).

Much like Duckworth, I believe that leading by example and being supportive are characteristics of good leadership. In fact, I believe that there are large parts of Duckworth’s view on leadership that align fairly closely with Northouse’s description of servant leadership in his book Leadership: Theory and Practice. Two of the servant leadership principles described by Northouse (2016) are a commitment to the growth of people and building a community (p. 228-229). Duckworth also believes that helping others grow and creating an identity for the group is vital to fostering an environment of determination and continual progress (McGregor, 2016). As an educator, I feel that Duckworth’s model of leadership allows others to feel supported while still challenging them enough to grow. This is the type of servant leadership that I strive to emulate. I would like to become the type of leader who can be vulnerable enough to share my shortcomings with the group in order to use it as a learning experience because I believe that leadership is an interactive process between the leader and the followers. I also want to be able to give the group the support it needs to be comfortable, but also challenge each individual enough so that they can continue to grow and flourish.

References

Del Giudice, M. (2014, October 14). Grit Trumps Talent and IQ: A Story Every Parent (and Educator) Should Read. Retrieved September 28, 2017, from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/10/141015-angela-duckworth-success-grit-psychology-self-control-science-nginnovators/

Duckworth, A. (2017). About Angela. Retrieved September 28, 2017, from https://angeladuckworth.com/about-angela/

Duckworth, A. (2013). TED Talks – Grit: The Power of Passion and Perserverance [Video file]. United States: TED Talks. Retrieved September 28, 2017, from https://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_grit_the_power_of_passion_and_perseverance.

Dweck, C. S. (2012). Mindset: How You Can Fulfil Your Potential. London: Robinson.

McGregor, J. (2016, May 12). Why Angela Duckworth thinks “gritty” leaders are people to emulate. Retrieved September 29, 2017, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-leadership/wp/2016/05/12/why-angela-duckworth-thinks-gritty-leaders-are-people-to-emulate/?utm_term=.718d928b87f8

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

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Unit 1 Activity 5: Blog Post 3

Listening is an extremely important characteristic of servant leadership because leadership is a process that involves communication and interactions between the leader and the followers (Northouse, 2016, p. 227). When leaders listen, they are able to understand the needs and expectations of the group. An example of this is at the end of the school year when department heads  meet with the teachers in their departments to discuss the plans and expectations for the next school year. Teachers are given the opportunity to share what they liked or disliked about the previous school year and what potential changes they would like to see in the upcoming school year. Oftentimes, it is up to the department head to implement these changes for September.

Persuasion is a characteristic of servant leadership where leaders convince others to change through gentle yet firm and consistent communication (Northouse, 2016, p. 228). I believe that this is best achieved by the influence that a leader has on the followers and the referent power that is mentioned in chapter 1 of Northouse’s book (2016). An example of this is when a senior teacher notices that a new teacher is struggling with dealing with certain situations appropriately and gives guidance by offering advice and leading by example. The senior teacher should consistently check in with the new teacher to see if more coaching or advice is needed.

Commitment to the growth of people is another characteristic of servant leadership (Northouse, 2016, p. 228). It is important that servant leaders place priority in helping followers grow and develop both professionally and personally. In a school setting, an example of this would be when principals reach out to younger teachers to see how they can give them guidance regarding professional development. In the Coquitlam School District, there is a district mentorship program that pairs administrators with teachers to help them grow in the profession and to take their careers to the next step.

Personally, persuasion is the most difficult of the three for me to incorporate into my practice because I worry that it is unwelcomed or unwarranted. I believe that there needs to be a strong relationship between the leader and follower in order for the leader to effectively influence the follower and for the follower to willingly accept the advice and guidance of the leader.

My question is: Northouse (2016) mentions ten characteristics of servant leadership (p. 228). Are there some that are more important than others or are they all equally important? 

References:

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

 

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Unit 1 Activity 4: Blog Post 2

Assigned leaders are individuals who have been placed in a formal leadership role within a group or organization and are given power and authority because of their position (Northouse, 2016, p. 8). Emergent leaders are individuals who naturally become leaders because of the way the members of the group regard or interact with them (Northouse, 2016, p. 8).

Last May, a group of my friends and I decided to take a road trip to Kelowna for the long weekend. There were eight of us and while we decided on our trip early on, there was not much movement in terms of planning for a long time. Eventually, I started to take charge by looking up hotel availability and organizing rides. Once I started, others in the group also started to take on responsibilities such as winery bookings and planning activities. However, I had somehow emerged as the leader because my friends started coming to me to ask for what responsibilities they should take on and going over details with me before confirming with restaurants and wineries. Because of my past experience with trip planning and perhaps what my friends saw as my natural ability to organize and schedule, they turned to me as the “leader” for our weekend trip.

This leads to the next point – management versus leadership. After reading about the differences between the two in Northouse’s book, I am hesitant to say that I emerged as a leader rather than as a manager in the situation I mentioned above. Northouse (2016) comments that leadership and management are similar in many ways in terms of interactions with people, influence, and goal attainment (p. 13). However, they also differ in the sense that management has more involvement in planning, organizing, controlling, and problem solving while leadership focuses on creating a vision, connecting members, and motivating followers (Northouse, 2016, p. 14). Management targets efficiency and effectiveness while leadership centers around group interaction and motivation.

Personally, I feel that leadership is imperative for an organization to prosper long term. Management is necessary for an organization or group to function and exist, but for the organization to truly flourish, there needs to be a driving force that inspires and motivates members to grow and develop positively and continuously.

My question is: Can an individual be an assigned leader and an emergent leader? And if so, is it more effective to be an assigned leader or an emergent leader first? 

References:

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

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Unit 1 Activity 3: Blog Post 1

Northouse (2016) defines leadership as “a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal” (p. 6). I really appreciate that this text refers to leadership as a process rather than as an individual’s traits or characteristics (Northouse, 2016, p. 6). My experience as being a leader in situations have generally been a natural process where I emerged as a leader because of the applicable strengths and skill set I brought to the task at hand. The power given to me in these situations would have been what is described by Northouse  (2016) as “personal power” (p. 10) and more specifically, “expert power” (p. 10). While I find that I often associate the term power with a negative connotations, I appreciate being given expert power because it shows a sense of trust and respect from my peers, or in this case, followers. In my experience, influence comes naturally when your followers have agreed that you are the best fit leader for the group.

A recent experience for me where I became the leader of a group was when we were planning my good friend’s bridal shower. I was one of the bridesmaids in a group of five and during the planning process, I naturally emerged as the leader because of my past experience with planning other bridal and baby showers. We were a small task group with the common goal of planning a shower for our good friend. The process was very interactive in the sense that while the other girls came to me for advice or instruction on how tasks should be carried out, it was also important for me to learn what their expectations were for the shower and to incorporate them into the vision that I had. Even when we faced obstacles or differences, it was easy for the group to work out the issues because we could look to the ultimate goal of planning a beautiful bridal shower and realign our priorities accordingly. From this experience, I believe that a clear common goal is vital to a group’s success and for a leader to be able to lead effectively. Goal attainment is the main motivation for members to continue to remain active in a group and to be influenced by the leader.

My question is: What are the differences between a leader’s power and influence in a group? Are they dependent on each other or can they be mutually exclusive?

References:

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

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