Category: LDRS500

I have learned a lot of things from this course. First, I have learned how to navigate an online course and have learned to manage time and balance a full-time job as well as my first course towards my masters, which was a challenge for me. I find teaching to be a demanding job and found it difficult to be able to make time for both work and schoolwork.  Starting the course late also added to the challenge.

 

I have also learned many things about leadership. I have learned about several different styles of leadership. I have learned about what it takes to be an effective leader. The area in which I have gained the most knowledge, and which I am grateful for is that I have had the opportunity to deeply reflect on my own practice. Prior to this course, my reflection was more about how my lessons were going. I find now that I am coming home from work each day, reflecting on how I dealt with colleagues and students in and out of my classroom environment. I reflect on how I can be a more effective leader in our school.

 

Northouse provides great insight into leadership and all of its complexities. It answered many of my questions about leadership and gave great tools to assist me in determining what kind of leader I am. This led me to be even more self-reflective.

 

I have had the opportunity to learn about many leaders in the world, whom I did not previously know much about. Light from Many Lamps has provided me with many examples and scenarios of how leaders emerge. I am grateful for the opportunity to have read these 2 fascinating textbooks.

 

In conclusion, my favourite quote comes from one of my Light From Many Lamps Assignments. I didn’t use this quote in my assignment, however it is from a story I read. The story speaks to the business of society and discusses the importance of living in the moment of each day. “…live for the day and its allotted task-to do what lies clearly at hand” and let the future take care of itself.” (Watson, 1951, 215).

 

This quote is one that I will carry with me to serves as a reminder to myself.

 

References:

Watson, L. E. (1988). Light from many lamps. New York: Simon & Schuster

Change is something that all leaders will be faced with. It is how a leader responds to change that will determine the success of the organization. Businesses operate in a dynamic, competitive environment. “Today’s knowledge-based organizations, depend for their success on creativity, innovation, discovery and inventiveness. (Perkins, et al., 2017, P 75).

 

A leader has to establish an organizational climate  where change and innovation are valued, where people can express their ideas and feel empowered.  Organizations that have transformational leaders tend to brings out the best in their employees.  “This sustainable leadership capability connects with followers, earns their trust and their commitment thereby achieving the “social capital needed to pull the best out of people” (Caldwell, et al., 2012, P 176).

 

A strong leader should be embracing change because the only way to improve and to achieve goals is to work hard and make changes. To be forward thinking. “Transformative leaders seek new solutions that require people to rethink their assumptions, rather than simply returning to old solutions to resolve new problems (Caldwell, et al., 2012, P 176).

 

People need to feel like their voices are heard and that their leader trusts them to complete work or tasks to the best of their ability. “It is in pursuing excellence, motivating others to become their best, seeking the best interests of both the individual and the organization, and constantly learning that organizations are able to create high trust and the high performance work cultures that produce increased profitability and long-term sustainability. (Caldwell, et al., 2012, P 177).

 

I believe that leaders need to hear ideas from others as they may be inspired or given new ideas that they may not have yet considered. “It is not surprising to me that the seeds of change were sown by a handful of rogue Canada Post employees working in the basement, but it is inspiring that the CEO of Canada’s second largest Crown corporation believe in the “energy and enthusiasm” of a few passionate creators.  He was right to do so.  Some of the biggest ideas can come from the most unexpected places when you have the right people in place to cultivate them” (Sandhu, 2016, P 1).

 

The CEO could have not taken the time to go to the basement and discuss the business idea that had been put in a memo. Instead, after meeting with the employees in the basement, he asked what they needed.  All they needed was some iPhones and $30,000.  The CEO arranged it all in a day. The result was a huge success. Canadians tracked their purchases over 420 million times with Canada Post and over 70% were tracking on that app. (Chopra, 2016, P 1).

 

Kevin Sandhu discusses the success of Canada Post. “Organizations generate a spirit of creativity and trust when they facilitate collaboration between departments and external groups.” He discusses the importance of a team that values collaboration and creative problem solving in finding success.

 

I believe that with every experience, leaders are learning. As new changes are happening, the team is learning, growing and making positive changes to more efficiently and effectively achieve goals. A proactive leader embraces change. They are constantly learning, staying ahead of other organizations and building on their strengths. These are positive consequences.  

 

Walmart is a company that has experienced success. They came into Canada in the 90’s and have been competitive with other companies since they came in. They recently released their next plan for expansion in Canada. They have built up their employees, maintained customer satisfaction and become a dominant store across Canada. They have kept up with changes in technology by updating their websites which includes the convenience of shopping online, they have maintained technology within the store for faster check-outs, inventory tracking, competitive pricing as well as creating an app that can be downloaded for free. I cannot see any negative consequences to what they have done and I believe that I would operate in a similar way. Walmart came into Canada and developed a slow and steady plan for expansion and success. This is different than a company such as Target that came to Canada and immediately opened 124 stores. They “bit off more than they could chew” and did not experience success. (Schafer, 2015).

 

References

 

Cam Caldwell, Rolf D. Dixon, Larry A. Floyd, Joe Chaudoin, Jonathan Post and Gaynor Cheokas, (2012), Transformative Leadership: Achieving Unparalleled Excellence,

Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 109, No. 2 (August 2012), P. 175-187.

 

Chopra, D (2016). The sticky note that made Canada Post think like a startup, Globe and Mail P 1-4)

 

Perkins G., Lean J., Newbury R. (2017). The Role of Organizational Vision in Guiding IDea Generation within SME contexts, Volume 26, Number 1, P. 75-90

 

Sandhu, K. (2016)., How companies can find the success Canada Post has with startup partners, Globe and Mail P 1-4.

 

Schafer, L. (2015). How Wal-Mart succeeded in Canada where Target failed. Startribune (2015).

I believe that the lesson that can be taken from the video, Unconscious Bias – making the Unconscious Conscious , (2014) relates back to our critical thinking assignment and confirms the importance of critical thinking skills in a leader. In my paper, I wrote,  “critical thinking is taking the facts of a situation and not readily accepting them at face value.” This means that leaders need to know and consider all information before acting.

 

It is a natural thing that people develop bias’ over their lifetime. I can think of an example in education where people often think that males are better at math and science than females. In education, it is rare that males teach at the elementary level. It is more common that they teach junior high or high school.  Growing up with these experiences, naturally a person would develop some bias’. It is important to make decisions based on factual information.

 

In the trusted 10 exercise, I had an even split of 5 females and 5 males. This wasn’t planned, just coincidence. Most are university educated with a few who had high school education. Most are close to my age, or within 5 years of my age. Out of the 10 that I listed, only 2 females are married. All 10 of my trusted 10, fit into my inner circle. They are people that I consider myself to be close with. I believe that they all fit in the innermost circle because I am a very trusting person. I always look for the good qualities in people, and trust them with my whole heart. People may make it to more outer circles such as acquaintances if I feel that I could not tell them anything about my life and have them listen without being judgemental. These people have been there for me through some difficult situations that I have encountered in the last couple of years. They are people that I trust and feel that I could talk to about anything. I hope that these people feel the same way about me.

 

I found that most of the people in my trusted 10 are quite similar. When I reflect on their personalities, I feel that they all have a lot in common. I think that this tells me that my circles are not that diverse. I believe that part of the reasoning behind this is that I am very similar to these people as well. This tells me that I need to develop my leadership skills by expanding the diversity of people in my trusted network. This will require me to be more conscientious and to make sure I am not judging people based on first impressions. In my life, I don’t feel like I do this, however, that findings from my trusted 10 activity tell me that this could be an area for growth and improvement.

 

Armstrong and Nouman tell us in the article, “Leadership Competencies in a Diverse Culture”  that, “leaders need to promote and to engage in divergent thinking if they are to be effective in a world of diverse cultures. One of the critical challenges that leaders face today is how to move beyond a merely theoretical agreement to accommodate diversity and instead use diversity as a strategic lever that propels innovative ideas and solutions. “(Armstrong, A and Nouman, A, 2010, P 1). They tell us the importance of diversity and how it can empower a leader to be more effective. I believe that it is the due diligence of a leader to look after and inspire their followers so that everyone can work towards accomplishing a common goal. Effective leaders need to have diversity and each person needs to feel valued and to have a voice.

 

References

Armstrong, Ann, and S. Nouman Ashraf. “Leadership Competencies in a Diverse Culture.” Leadership in Nonprofit Organizations: A Reference Handbook. Ed. Kathryn A. Agard. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2010. 267-74. SAGE Reference Online. Web. 30 Jan. 2012.

 

1. (2014, September 25). Unconscious Bias @ Work – Making the Unconscious Conscious. Retrieved November 16, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW5s_-Nl3JE&feature=youtube

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

 

On the Gender-Leader Implicit Association Test I scored -1. This indicates that I do not favor males and leadership. I believe this to be true. In my own profession, I have worked for 2 different principles, both female and the superintendent of our division is a female. In my experience, I feel that my school is faced with the opposite problem of making sure that the male staff members do not feel excluded. There are only 8 male members of our staff and closer to 60 females, and it is sometimes a challenge to make sure that they do not feel devalued or unimportant.

 

You can make women feel valued and like they belong in the workplace in many ways. I believe that it starts by having a good rapport with them and establishing a connection.  Make them feel included as a valued member of the organization. Make them feel unique and valued in the organization (Nugent et al., Catalyst (2016), P 2). This means caring about them, showing that you value women by striving for equal pay, giving promotions according to talent and leadership qualities, not according to gender, and establishing an inclusive work atmosphere possible.  If a leader is aware of the glass ceiling barrier that women face in their careers, then using certain strategies could help to alleviate the barrier.  Some of the strategies could include: establishing a mentorship program, flexible work policies, paid family medical leave, and compulsory paternal leave (Women’s Policy Journal, Volume 6, 2009, P 42).

 

It is also important for a leader to realize that inclusion and exclusion co-exist in organizations. While most people have difficulty providing examples of inclusive  elements in an organization, they can readily identify exclusive elements (Nugent et al., Catalyst (2016), P 2). For example a woman may experience inclusion by participating in a leadership mentoring program, but then experience exclusion when she meets with her team and her ideas are always dismissed or ignored. (Nugent et al., Catalyst (2016), P 11.).

 

Leaders need to manage and understand that inclusion and exclusion co-exist in organizations. They can do this by making inclusion more visible in an organization by rewarding inclusive behaviour and by creating a shared vision for inclusion.  They need to have meaningful conversations with all of their employees, not just women. They need to constantly monitor and be watchful for incidences of exclusion and track the progress and the setbacks  (Nugent et al., Catalyst (2016), P 3).

 

To foster recognition and a sense of belonging for women, a leader should have one on one meetings, monitor meetings to learn whose opinions are being heard, and whose are being discounted,

 

Research shows that when employees feel valued in an organization, they are more motivated and team-oriented.  In contrast, when employees feel excluded, there is a great cost to the organization as they are more likely to leave the organization, less likely to share innovative ideas, put less effort into their work and generally exhibit less job satisfaction (Nugent et al., Catalyst (2016), P 2).

 

“If inclusion is to take root within an organization, leaders must be able to simultaneously acknowledge and manage the good, the bad, and the ugly of their employees’ day-to-day experiences—the positive strides, the difficult times, and everything in between” (Nugent et al., Catalyst (2016), P 12).

 

References

 

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Nugent, J., Pollack, A. & D. Travis (2016).  The Day to day experience of workplace inclusion & exclusion.  Retrieved on November 17, 2017 from http:www.catalyst.org/system/files\The\day\to\day\experience\of\workplace\inclusion\and exclusion.pdf

“Too often does motherhood equate hitting that glass ceiling.” (Women’s Policy Journal, Volume 6, 2009, P 42). In the case study in Northouse, 2016, we read about, Marina Soslow, who is afraid to tell her boss that she is expecting a baby because she has seen similar situations in the past in which her female coworkers were treated unfairly and eventually were eased out of their positions. (Northouse, 2016, P 414). In the Women’s Policy Journal, they argue that women tend to have children during the most demanding time periods of their careers. (Women’s Policy Journal, Volume 6, 2009, P 42).

 

When I first began this blog post, I was considering how something so complicated as prejudice can be eliminated from the workplace by leaders. This is a problem that has been around for many years and it is something that cannot be solved easily. In the 60’s, John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act, which was an attempt to eliminate wage discrepancies based on the gender of an individual.  (Women’s Policy Journal, Volume 6, 2009, P 42). This is now over half a century ago, and the wage gap has not been eliminated.  According to Joe Angelo in (Women’s Policy Journal, Volume 6, 2009, P 40) “President Obama [recently] announced that women in this country continue to earn just 78 cents for every dollar their male counterparts are paid. The good news is that this is 9 cents more on the dollar than in 1975 when the sum was only 69 cents. In addition to the monetary discrepancy, this “discounting” of women subjects them to adverse secondary effects in our larger community.” The concept of women receiving less pay seems to be an accepted situation in the work force.  Gender prejudice has been an issue for many years and it will not be something that is easily terminated. I believe that a good leader can help to minimize prejudice in the workplace, however they cannot eliminate it, but only deal with situations as they arise.

 

A leader is required to implement or sometimes create policy as problems arise. This is the easy part of leadership. Implementing these policies is where leadership qualities are tested. A leader cannot quote the policy handbook and discipline individuals as the problems arise. Anyone can do that. A true leader will create a culture in which people are intrinsically motivated to act morally because they believe in the outcomes and the common goal.

 

In Unit 7, we discussed ethical leadership. In one of my blog posts, I wrote, “leaders have a strong influence on their followers and because of this, they are obligated to do what is morally right. (Northouse, 2016). These obligations include treating staff fairly, creating policies and abiding by them, and knowing the difference between right and wrong. Van Buren suggests that a staff that is treated morally, will have higher efficacy which in turn creates a happier work environment that produces higher quality work.” (Thompson, S., Unit 7, 2016).

 

I believe that it takes a true leader to establish a culture in the workplace in which people feel comfortable to talk about their fears and concerns and to create a team environment in which people work together to solve problems. In the case of Marina Soslow, her boss, Roy Bond, likely has some recurring fears as women on staff get pregnant. I would imagine he is wondering about the likeliness of her coming back to work after three months, if at all, especially with the cost of childcare.  He is also probably thinking about the amount of time and effort the company has invested into training her. It is possible that he worries that the people she has delegated the work too will not do a good job and their company could suffer. Also, coming from a teacher, kids get sick often and this could require that she has more days off.  There are a number of fears he could have around this situation. But even given his concerns, I do not believe that his response to her was appropriate.

 

Her boss would demonstrate stronger leadership qualities if he first conveyed the message that he truly cared for her. He could do this by congratulating her and showing that he is genuinely happy for her. This would immediately motivate Marina to make sure that her work is being done well, not because she has to but because she wants to. Northouse teaches us that employees need to feel cared for in order to achieve common goals. (Northouse, 2016).

 

Society also needs to transform their view of women in the workplace.  Women are historically, and continue to be the primary caregiver in their family.  Women should not be viewed as having to choose between raising a family and having a career, even though typically both events coincide in time. As an employer, there could be practices put into effect that attempt to embrace and help women be successful in their careers while still balancing family life. For example, employers can offer on-site child care, or allow workers to adjust their working schedule to better fit into their family life.  

 

I believe that in order to help minimize the stereotypes that women face in the workplace, equality between male and females has to be experienced in the early years of education. Young learners need to be taught good morals, values and need to see the reasoning behind this teaching. As a teacher, I need to treat males and female students equally.

 

Northouse, 2016, states that “leadership emphasizes that authentic values and behaviors can be developed in leaders over time. Authentic leadership is not an attribute that only some people exhibit: Everyone can develop authenticity and learn to be more authentic.” (Northouse, 2016, P 207).  I believe that as a teacher, I need to be a good leader and role model for all students so that I can assist in teaching right from wrong in hope of minimizing some of these prejudicial attitudes..

 

References:

 

Decastro, B. (2009). Women’s Policy Journal, Volume 6, President and Fellows of Harvard College.

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership – theory and practice – seventh edition. Los Angeles: Sage.

Watson, L. E. (1988). Light from many lamps. New York: Simon & Schuster

As a manager, it is important to try and implement transformational leadership skills. In this article, the research shows that transformational leadership results in positive performance across all levels of an organization. It was also found that transformational leadership has stronger effects in certain environments. It has a stronger impact where employees have to work together as a team and also it was not as effective in an employment situation where task performance is the most important outcome. (Wang et. al, 2011, P 249-250)

The implications for a manager within an organization, is that you have to motivate your employees and followers to feel that they are valuable members of a team. The manager has to function well as a role model so that the followers are intrinsically motivated. This results in greater cooperation, commitment and performance. Another implication is that as a manager, you have to care about your employees and appeal to them at an emotional level. You have to provide many opportunities for the employees to feel like valuable members of the organization. This is an example of creating community as defined by Northouse, or creating a closeness or a synergy as described by Wang et. al (Wang et al., 2011, P 251) This provides organizations with valuable information. Leaders need to be a part of training and experiences that will enhance their transformational leadership styles. “Leadership development is an “ongoing processes where leaders and followers gain self-awareness and establish open, transparent, trusting and genuine relationships, which in part may be shaped and impacted by planned interventions such as training (Avolio and Gardner, 2005 P 322). Also, when selecting leaders, people that exhibit some of these skills should be considered. An organization would have the most benefit where people work together as a team. (Wang et al., 2011, P 253)

To become a better leader, I need to make sure that I am providing my students with the opportunity to feel respected and valued. I need to be a good role model and treat students fairly. “Leaders must be willing to be follower centered, must place others’ interests foremost in their work, and must act in ways that will benefit others.” (Northouse, 2016, P 344). I believe that abiding by these words, will help me to become a more successful leader.

“Ethical leadership is about being a good person and doing the right thing in the right way.” (Northouse, 2016). Ethical leadership is about the choices that leaders make and how they respond to their experiences.

Northouse states, “ Leadership is a process of influencing others; it has a moral dimension that distinguishes it from other types of influence, such as coercion or despotic control. Leadership involves values, including showing respect for followers, being fair to others, and building community. It is not a process that we can demonstrate without showing our values. When we influence, we have an effect on others, which means we need to pay attention to our values and our ethics.” (Northouse, 2016, P 348).

Northouse summarized the principles of ethical leadership as: respect, service, justice, honesty, and community. (Northouse, 2016, P 341).

I believe that respect is one of the most important principles. In my own practice, I am constantly trying to teach and model respect. It is one of our main classroom rules. I often ask the students to reflect by asking themselves these questions, “Am I respecting others? Am I respecting myself? Am I respecting property?” I explicitly teach listening skills, empathy and tolerance which Northouse suggests as a deeper definition of respect. (Northouse, 2016). I believe that respect makes other people feel valued. If you want someone to follow you as a leader and look up to you, they need to feel valued and feel like their voice and opinions matter. (Northouse, 2016).

I feel that honesty is also a very important principle. I was torn between honesty and community, however I have come to the conclusion that it is hard to develop a sense of community without first having established the value of honesty. A specific example in my classroom relates to a bullying situation. The student that was being accused of bullying had never been accused of something like this. She denied all of the accusations which made it very difficult to deal with. In this situation, it is clear that it is essential to establish honesty. When a student is nervous about a situation, I always start by reminding them of the importance of honesty. I start by telling them that everyone makes mistakes, however it is important for us to learn from our mistakes. I tell them that when we make a mistake, we have one problem that we need to fix, but when we are not honest and lie about our mistakes, then we have two problems that need fixing; the lying and the original mistake. This is clear to the students as they are able to identify that one problem is better than two problems. I believe that without honesty and respect, the other principles would be difficult, if not impossible, to establish.

References

Avolio, B. J., & Gardner, W. L. (2005). Authentic leadership development: Getting to the root of positive forms of leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 16(3), 315-338. doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2005.03.001

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership – theory and practice – seventh edition. Los Angeles: Sage.

Wang, G., Oh, I., 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. doi:10.1177/1059601111401017

“Because leaders usually have more power and control than followers, they also have more responsibility to be sensitive to how their leadership affects followers’ lives.” (Northouse, 2016, P 337) Leaders have a strong influence on their followers and because of this, they are obligated to do what is morally right. (Northouse, 2016). These obligations include treating staff fairly, creating policies and abiding to them, and knowing the difference between right and wrong. Van Buren suggests that a staff that is treated morally, will have higher efficacy which in turn creates a happier work environment that produces higher quality work.

In my career, I often think about my actions as a leader. As highlighted in the video, What is Ethical Leadership? as the teacher, I set the moral tone of the classroom. I believe that my students are always looking up to me to see my actions. If they witness me doing something that is morally sound, they will watch to see what my actions are and will be more likely to respond in similar ways. I try to instil good values in my students, especially during the Christmas season. Currently the school is trying to collect items for the foodbank. One day this week, I happened to forget my lunch at my house. A student asked me, “why don’t you go and get something from the food bank and eat it?” I explained to my students that this food is for people who are less fortunate than us and that the students who are donating it, didn’t intend for it to be used for people who have food but just forgot it at home. Had I taken the food, my students wouldn’t have learned a lesson about what is morally right or wrong. Van Buren says that being a role model is one of our moral implications as leaders. (Van Buren, 2013). To lead by example, there must be consistency between what I do and what I say (Avolio and Gardner, 2005, p. 326).  I believe that this example is one of many examples that come up in a classroom setting throughout the year. These moments provide us with the opportunity to teach morals and values, and to lead by example. They build community within a classroom and teach students the importance of respect. Northouse, 2016, states that these are also moral implications of a leader. (Northouse, 2016). In my own classroom, I always refer to The Golden Rule, which is to treat others the way that you would like to be treated. Although it may seem cliche, it is easy for young people to understand and easy for them to try and follow.

In previous years, there was a separation amongst our staff. Many of the more senior teachers had different privileges than staff who were newer. For example, they had the inside supervisions picked first so they wouldn’t have to go outside, they didn’t have to work with any of the students who needed Non-Violent-Crisis-Intervention, etc.. The new staff often felt burnt out but never complained because it seemed as though there were no other options as the work had to be done by someone. The new administration is working diligently to assist us in being a team. They are not letting more senior staff have the first pick at things. They are helping us to all work together to create a team environment. In the video, Van Buren tells us that communication and transparency are two values of organizations. She states, “an ethical leader models those values by treating all staff fairly and equitably and providing all staff with the information they need to make decisions.

It is important for an ethical leader to treat people the way that he/she would like to be treated, to follow moral standards and focus on the pathway towards the goal, not just the end goal. “How you get there is just as important as where you end up.” (Van Buren, 2013).

In summary, an organization that leads by example, promotes fairness amongst staff, that instils positive morals and values,  helps to create a strong ethical culture, which will result in a positive impact on its community and employees. (Van Buren, 2013).

 

References:

Avolio, B. J., & Gardner, W. L. (2005). Authentic leadership development: Getting to the root of positive forms of leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 16(3), 315-338. doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2005.03.001

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership – theory and practice – seventh edition. Los Angeles: Sage.

Van Buren, J. A. [Building Capacity]. (2013, March, 29). What is ethical leadership? [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks2QGoIq5nA