Thank you for your question, Joy. To answer how strategic leadership and transformational leadership can exist without each other, I believe that strategic leadership can be used both in a positive and negative way. For example, a dictator is also a strategic leader, but a dictator is not a transformational servant leader. Like I mentioned in the previous post, TSL and strategic together is an unstoppable post if used ‘wisely.’
TSL and Strategic Leadership in Business (BT2, Leader)
Transformational leadership is defined as the process whereby a person engages with others and creates a connection that raises the level of motivation and morality in both the leader and the follower (Northouse, p. 162). Also, Greenleaf defines servant leadership as a natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead (Northouse, p.226). And being a strategic leader means focusing on others as much as if not more than on yourself (Hughes, Beatty & Dinwoodie, 2014, p.52). Business is not merely making a profit nowadays and more, and more companies aim to serve their customers or audience by providing the best services. Transformational servant leadership forms the base for and acts as a compass for developing strategies for sustainable businesses.
By incorporating transformational and servant leadership, there comes a strategy that flourishes and promotes growth and creation in communities or business settings. When TSL empowers and gives discretion to the employees to share ideas, to think and to create, the sense of trust and accountability wells up in the employees. The best strategy in times of chaos or indecision is to evoke the inner feeling of employees to take a step forward. And this strategy can be used in TSL to come up with new ideas, creativity, respect, and trust. Therefore, the strategic leaders are those who follow in the footsteps of the TSL.
Servant Leadership as the Central Focus in Use of Strategic Leadership Principles
Effective strategic leadership is essential for growth and success of any company and as stated in Hughes (2014,p 53), fostering strategic leadership involves two steps:
- Create a climate that fosters strategic leadership in others.
- Develop strategic leadership abilities in those around you.
All in all to foster strategic leadership a leader needs to empower others and help them reach their full potential and these are also the principles of servant leadership. Servant leadership is about uplifting others and helping them grow. Servant leaders are committed to helping each person in the organization grow personally and professionally (Northouse, p.253). For a business to be successful and sustainable, every person involved with it should be working at their best strategic capabilities. It is the role of a leader to ensure there is a free flow of information and there should not be any fear among the employees. Leaders have to lead by example to foster various professional qualities among others. Most of the successful businesses are a result of proper care of the companies within as if you take care of your employees, they will, in turn, take care of you. This inculcates a feeling of loyalty and passion for the organization among people working in it, and this is reflected in the services hence leads to the growth of the organization.
Critical Thinking, TSL, and Development of Organisational Strategies in Business
The critical thinking principles that stood out from learning activity week 1 are vision, stewardship, trust, and self-awareness. All of these are also the principles of transformational servant leadership.
For an organization to sustain and make the right decisions, vision is the most important value to have. Without vision, there can be nothing. Every company or enterprise builds from a simple vision, and it is the very foundation of any business. Stewardship is necessary because as mentioned earlier leaders need to lead by example and teach others everything required for the upliftment of the organization and the people in it. Trust is essential for a business to sustain. Trust inside and outside the company matters. There should be transparency among the team members and trust among the customers for the industry. Now more then ever the audiences are aware, and people prefer to associate with brands or companies that they can trust in for the best and most ethical services.
Last but not least, self-awareness determines the longevity of any project. Enlightenment is the first step to change, and you cannot solve a problem that you are not aware of. Continuous self-assessment and assessing the ways a team works and checking if the actions of the company truly align with its mission is essential.
To conclude, I feel TSL and strategic leadership combined is the ideal leadership technique and is an unstoppable force if used wisely.
References
Hughes, R. L., Beatty, Collarelli-Beatty, K., & Dinwoodie, D. L. (2014). Becoming a strategic leader: Your role in your organization’s enduring success. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Hi! Its Me!
Hi everyone! I’m Sehajpreet Kaur Sidhu, and I go by just Sehaj or Shaaz. I’m a 24-year-old international student from India. I’m from a small town in the state of Punjab, and I moved to Canada in April’18. I started my MA Lead in May, and this is my fourth course in the program. Before starting this program I had just completed my Bachelors in Dental Surgery, and I’m still a registered dentist back in India, but I’ve decided to shift my career course to business and have left dentistry.
In my family, I have my mother and father who are back in India and my elder brother who lives in Toronto, and I’m very close to all of them. I have learned the best lessons from my mother; she is in a real sense, my hero. She is the softest-strongest person I have ever come across, and I continuously try to be more like her because for me she defines perfection. I’m born into a Sikh family, so I follow the religion of Sikhism, but I firmly believe God is one. If I had to pick one practice to live by it will be practicing gratitude. Writing in my gratitude journal has dramatically changed my life. I’m a very happy, full of energy, eager to learn kind of a person. You will mostly see me smiling or eating (as I have an undeniable love for food).
As I mentioned earlier, I just switched my career path so everything I’m learning in the course is very new to me and I’m excited to learn more about it. A part of me is always scared and worried that if this was the right decision or how will I make it work but my faith is greater then my fears, and this is what keeps me going. Also, there are many familiar faces in this course from 502, and a big hug to all of you and Hi to the new faces and I cannot wait to learn and grow with you all.
My Leadership Story
My Leadership Story
I’ve shared my leadership story from being a kid who suffered from anxiety and depression to starting my own support group for mental health awareness. This is a very personal story, and I’m blessed to have such supportive fellow students that I feel safe sharing this story. I have talked many times over these ten weeks about my passion for helping others and to do something especially for mental health awareness. Making this podcast was another first time experience for me, and I’m grateful for all thing new things I got to learn and do in this course. I’m attaching the audio file here, and I’ll just let it tell the rest of the story.
Unit 10: Learning Activity
“Let me not neglect any kindness, for I shall not pass that way again”. (Watson,1951)
It was tough to pick one quote from the whole course because so many things have moved me and I’ve learned so much, but this quote does stand out. Being kind is the most important virtue of a leader and especially a servant leader. To never neglect and to acknowledge acts of kindness is even more critical. Gratitude can transform lives in such a positive way. I write a gratitude journal before going to bed, and I write down every small and big thing I’m grateful for, and it has made such a significant impact on my life. Acts of kindness are contagious, and they make others act kind as well. At least for me, this was the case as I learned to be kind by watching people be kind to me.
This course has been highly insightful and enlightening, and I discovered a lot of things. I’m immensely inspired by the idea of transformational servant leadership. This is a very new concept for me even though I’ve practiced it in the past but I had never read about it. Reading it made me feel more sure about the path that I have chosen. Greenleaf defines servant leadership as a natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead (Northouse,2016). I have always been passionate to serve people, and this is why I chose health care and to combine compassion with leadership is a fantastic tool for the upliftment of people. I learned that you have to take care of your followers. There are so many layers of leadership and how you are tested at every step. Like Coleen Barret said, “Leadership is not a title. Leadership is a way of life”. I read and wrote about so many inspiring leaders, and each of them has something unique to teach. The concept of transformational leadership was another thing that resonates with me well.
Transformational leadership is defined as a process whereby a person engages with others and creates a connection that raises the level of motivation and morality in both the leader and the follower (Northouse,2016). This suggests that leadership is not just about sitting on a throne and ruling others, but it is about working towards the betterment of your team and oneself. Real leadership is about motivating your followers and help them attain their full potential. To help them transcend any limits and doing more than what they thought they were capable of. It is about being compassionate and kind. Transformational leadership is about forming a vision for your organization that will benefit everyone and presenting it to everyone and motivating them to achieve it.
All in all, I’ve concluded that transformational servant leadership is an unstoppable force and it can bring about incredible changes in the world if used wisely. I will surely do my best to become an excellent transformational servant leader myself and work on the shortcomings that I realized I have by learning more about it and at the same time enhance my strengths.
“Let me not neglect any kindness, for I shall not pass that way again”. (Watson,1951)
References
Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Watson, L.E. (1951). Light from Many Lamps. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, Inc.
Light From Many Lamps: I Catch A Dreaming Glimpse Of Peace
“Beyond the vision of battling races and an impoverished earth, I catch a dreaming glimpse of peace.” (Watson,1951)
This is the story of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes and his positive vision about future. Justice Holmes was a man whose roots were deep in the American tradition, a man who loved life, believed in people and had enormous faith in the future. The nation’s press often referred to him as “The greatest living American,” and Cheif Justice Taft called him “the most brilliant and learned member of the court” (Watson,1951). He had lived through half of his country’s history, and he had seen many dark hours, many periods of trial and crisis, blazing hatred and distrust but he had never lost faith in future, and now, as he grew older, that faith was stronger than ever (Watson,1951).
I could relate to this story very well as I have always been strongly optimistic in the hardest times of my life. I remember whenever I would hit rock bottom I would simply pray and say that if God gave me this problem, then he will also guide me through it and provide me with the strength required to do so. I’m a firm believer, and I believe that God is the ultimate parent of every human as he created everything and everyone so no matter what how testing times may get, he will show us the way out and teach us the lessons we need to learn. Many people talk about how the future of humanity is doomed, and there is no hope, but I don’t agree because there is so much growth happening every day. It is more about if you want to see it as half glass full or half glass empty.
Holmes once quoted Emerson, “A great perplexity hangs over us like a cloud. We mistrust every step we take. It is not that men do not wish to act; they are paralyzed by fear and uncertainty. We must think with courage” (Watson,1951). These words are so powerful and true. Uncertainty and fear can paralyze people and stop them from acting and in tough times acting with courage is the key to navigate through it. In his eighties, Justice Holmes said, “If I were dying my last words would be: Have faith and pursue the unknown” (Watson,1951). Justice Holmes has been an inspiration throughout his life and after. I’m deeply affected by his words, and they have a way renewed my faith. The world needs more leaders like him.
“We must search behind the popular discontent to find its cause. We must attack our problems with courage and with faith. We must look ahead-plan and build for a better world-blaze new trails of brotherhood and understanding.” (Watson,1951)
References
Watson, L.E. (1951). Light from Many Lamps. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, Inc.
Unit 9, Learning Activity 2
In recent years technology has taken over many aspects of business especially communication and transactions. The technological advances and applications in industry and our daily lives have shot up quickly over the past few years. It has undoubtedly made a lot of things more accessible and more comfortable than ever. As the phrase goes, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” the business sector has responded to this technological surge very well. New advancements can be seen everywhere.
The postal systems in Canada, as well as the United States of America, have adopted various technological advancements. One of these is making payments online, and this has reduced paper bills and the hustle of keeping paper records to a great extent. Another significant effect is being able to track the post. This has been a revolutionary change and has eased a lot of things for customers as they can follow their post with one click of a button. As an increase in PO boxes and decrease in personal mails can be seen as well. In case of Walmart, their online sales have taken over the retails. They have an app where you can pick items and compare prices. Self-checkout is another change that has been witnessed. Self-checkout has been my personal favorite as it has eased the process so much. People don’t have to wait in long lines, scanning the barcode and payment method is indeed a cake walk. Walmart also does not accept paper applications, their job applications are submitted online as well. Their job application site is highly effective as it states the exact availability and does not take any surplus applications.
Undoubtedly, technology has helped all these organizations in growing faster, but like anything, there are a few cons to it as well. The first thing I can think of is that not all people are well informed when it comes to technology. Especially a country like Canada with so many immigrants. Many people find it hard to understand, and it is difficult for them to do everything online. Organisations should keep conventional options open as well so that it is accessible to all. One step towards this has been taken in Walmart’s system by adding the ask for help option in self-checkout where a representative comes to help and assist the customer-facing any problem. All in all, it cannot be denied that technology is a boon and it has surely made the world a smaller and a smoother place.
Women In Leadership
“Some leaders are born women.” (Geraldine Ferraro)
Women and leadership were considered a misfit until some time ago but times are changing. There are and have been so many influential women leaders, and they have proved that they are a perfect fit for leadership. Even after so many years, women face gender stereotypes all around the world. Women like Mother Teresa, Priyanka Chopra, Lilly Singh have transcended all the limiting beliefs and have navigated amazingly through the gender bias labyrinth. For this exercise, i was supposed to interview a women leader or answer the questions myself. I’m not a conventional leader yet but i do lead a very small group. Sadly, i could not get hold of any leader in a week’s time so i’ll be answering the questions myself according to my experience. Like Robin Sharma says, ” Lead without a title”. You do not have to be The President to lead; you can lead wherever you are as to lead is to serve.
I’m a 23 years old dentist from India. I moved to Canada almost two months ago, and I started a group for mental health awareness about seven months ago especially among kids because that is the age where it starts. Most of the mental health disorders are young rooted and are a result of something traumatic that happened during early childhood. Why I started this group? I was myself a patient with anxiety in my teens as i was bullied in school but I was never diagnosed or treated because mental health disorders are the biggest stigma in India. With time I was diagnosed, and my mother has been my best support and counselor ever since. Those tough years are in the past, and they shaped me a lot. Then one day I found my 14 years old cousin sister going through something similar and that was it, I knew somebody has to talk about it and help these kids. I knew it would not be easy as this topic makes everyone uncomfortable, including a lot of my family and friends and this is at times considered disgraceful as well. My motivating factor was greater than my fears, and I started a community on social medial platform kids use the most, Instagram and called it Letters to my 12-year-old self. I was aware that it is hard to ask for help mostly because of fear of being judged and not being understood so I posted a series of posts to share my own story and this way everyone struggling knew they could talk to me. This was also my attempt to break the stigma and sharing my story was so scary because it is a sensitive and personal part of my life and putting it out there was tough, but I’m glad I did it. It was indeed one of the most liberating things ever. I’m attaching the link to the post here, https://www.instagram.com/p/BaGErQCFo-M/?taken-by=letterstomy12yearoldself , https://www.instagram.com/p/BaGQHvRlyxR/?taken-by=letterstomy12yearoldself , https://www.instagram.com/p/BaGd-O5lhmh/?taken-by=letterstomy12yearoldself .
The community grew fast, it has been almost seven months since I started it and it has about 172 people attached to it. The biggest challenge I faced was that some were calling me an attention seeker and others were saying that people are joining me because I’m a girl and somehow that is working in my favor. I’m glad that I did not stop. I kept telling myself that I’m doing this for my kid cousin and other people who are struggling. I knew precisely how lost one could feel in times like these and how it is so out of your control. Another struggle was to make everyone understand the problem here. Usually, mental health illness is considered as something you can distract yourself from, but it is not how it works. Your mind is working against you, and it is hard to control that. With time I started reading and learning more about it, and the statistics blew my mind. So many young kids in India ended their lives every day due to depression and anxiety and it broke my heart that something so curable is doing this. All this made my mission more meaningful, and I was determined to do my part to help. It did work, so many people connected with me shared their story, and they even started talking about it and speaking awareness and reaching out to others. It became like a positive web where everyone is helping each other. My mother has continuously told me that she is proud of me for this venture, and so is my cousin and other family and friends. A lot of my cousin’s friends are in constant contact with me, and nothing makes me happier than helping all these kids and making them realize how important mental health and being kind is. To be honest, all the criticism faded away in the heartwarming results.
If I had to give an advice to women leaders is to believe in yourself. Criticism is inevitable, but you need to listen to your inner voice. You will be called too manly for being strong and naive for being lenient. Being yourself and being true to your vision is the best way to get through gender bias. Not giving up is another important thing, keep going because sooner or later you will get there. And lastly, don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself. Be reasonably fearless and just know that your mission is greater than you and God is by your side helping you at every step.
I’m attaching the link to my community page here- https://www.instagram.com/letterstomy12yearoldself/
The link to my personal Instagram account- https://www.instagram.com/sehajpreetk/
Learning Activity 2: Recognition and Sense of Belonging
“We cannot all suceed when half of us are held back.” (Malala Yousafzai)
Taking the gender leader implicit association test was very enlightening. I did not know how it will be scored, but when I saw the results, I was taken aback. No doubt that the time difference was almost negligible but I do associate women more with supporting roles. I never thought this was how I thought before. Reading this chapter and learning about the vast gender bias problem made me feel privileged that I have not yet faced much of it. I associate women with leadership roles as that’s how I grew up and I was always encouraged as a leader or strong personality in general. This did come with a con that I was labeled as a tomboy and sometimes I was called too manly, and it affected me in a wrong way. Nonetheless, I’ve been blessed with immensely supportive people in my life that did not let me drown in the negative loop but made me realize how I need to beat it and how I was capable of it. I’ve been a feminist ever since, and I know sometimes feminism is not understood entirely but to me, it is a synonym for equality. These days feminism is on an all-time high plus people are vocal about it too.
After reading The Catalyst (2016), I’m enlisting below the various ways or fostering a sense of recognition and inclusion:
- Breaking the myths is very important. Myths like women have it more accessible as they can just marry a rich man and have their life set. Most women refuse to do that and would instead build their empires. Back in India the biggest entertainment sites POPXo and Plixxo have women CEOs and founders. Another myth that needs to be broken is that women cannot work effectively and are more likely to get into arguments. Women are generally more poised and as capable as men if not better.
- Understanding other people’s varied work habits is another way to foster the sense of inclusion. Women may work a little different, and their responsibility and needs are a bit different at times. They do need leave during pregnancy, or they do have more responsibility in domestic chores, but that doesn’t make them any less competent.
- Opening and speaking your mind is very important. Having an open mind and not having any prejudice is very important. Sometimes at the workplace, a woman’s opinion is not even considered because of gender bias, and this needs to be avoided, and they should be included as much as any other person.
- Paying attention and addressing to any gender bias that is happening should be a priority. Uplifting anyone and encouraging them to break through it should also be supported. Constantly talking about the importance of breaking this stigma should also be done within an organization.
References
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. (7th ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc.
Learning Activity 1- Case Study
“We still think powerful men as a born leader and powerful women as an anomaly.” (Northouse 2016,p.318)
This case study is about a lady named Marina Soslow who is a senior managing director at a manufacturing company who is soon to be promoted to a top executive position when she finds out she is pregnant. She is reluctant to tell her boss because many women in the same situation had lost their position in the past. Nonetheless, she mentions the fact of being pregnant with her boss and lets him know that she will need a three-month leave after her delivery. She is cut short by her boss while she was explaining how she can get everything worked out without any loss. Ross is somewhat unsupportive and says he knew this was going to happen anyway and he’ll talk about it later (Northouse 2016, p. 415).
The advancement barrier that Marina is encountering is gender bias. It baffles me how deep and wide this plague is. In my personal experience, I think women are the most stronger than men physically too, and one of the reason is that they can bear childbirth and then go back stronger taking care of not just themselves but a child as well. The mere fact that pregnancy is considered a weakness or hindrance to the performance of a women leader is disturbing and wrong. Nowadays to break this taboo many celebrities like Beyonce, Kareen Kapoor, and many others have been open about their pregnancies and their career is still as flourishing as ever if not better. On the other hand, Roy should have told Marina that he supports her and she will get the leave as she is legally accustomed to it as well under Medical Leave Act 1993 and her job will be secured too. On top of that, he should have listened carefully to her suggestions.
Roy could have made her appoint an intern or trainee or train another existing subordinate to cover for her while she will be away. She could teach him/her as well, and the company’s work and performance would not suffer either. In cases like these, the most significant organizational change that can be made is spreading awareness and educating everyone about fundamental rights like Medical Leave Act 1993. To train everyone to be supportive rather than critical of such situations. Gender bias is an urgent issue and needs to be addressed immediately, and education and practice is the key to it.
References
Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.