Category: LDRS500

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Employee Development Plan

The roles of technology and employees in service theory and practice are evolving together. Now, employees are filling new roles as “Innovators”, “Differentiators”, “Enablers”, “Coordinators” (Bowen, 2016), and “Co-Creators” (Kandampully, J., Bilgihan, A., Tingting, C, 2016). On the other hand, technological advancement and the incorporation of the internet and social media within business models have revolutionized the way firms operate and conduct business. The extensive adoption and use of information technology, and social media in particular, by both customers and firms have led to new roles for customers, not only in the market but also in the firm’s perceptions. Technology thus can help organizations combat competition through innovation, by harnessing creative ideas from both internal and external people (Kandampully, J., Bilgihan, A., Tingting, C, 2016). This is a perfect hybrid of people and technology. I immigrated from India about two months ago and I was a dentist back there. Now as I’m pursuing my post graduation I get to work part-time here at a car rental cooperate company. It is very new to me and I have learned many things working in this organization. Various employee development plans used by my organization involving technology are:

1 Clear company policies and group activities: The first thing I was told to do by my boss was to read and remember the company policies from the official website. They were bright and customer friendly. This is one of the ways that technology is helping in employee development as I had full access to all the information and so do the customers. This helps them make an informed decision of whether they want to choose our plans and this saves the employees and customers from disputes later on.

2 Customer service and reviews: Customer service is the main agenda of most organizations these days with increasing awareness among people. I remember reading Starbucks agenda and it was; to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time. Their customer service is remarkable and sets an example for other company’s as well. Taking customer reviews and continuous assessment is another important factor in employee development. Nowadays it is even more accessible for people to post reviews online on google or company website.

3 Developing a platform for sharing ideas among all employees is essential. Sometimes some employees may feel neglected, and this will affect their dedication and performance. Everyone’s views and opinions should be heard and considered. In the same way, feedbacks should be encouraged as well. This will give a better outlook on everyone’s performance.

4 Using cashless payments is another technological tool that enhances employee development. It is also employed in my workplace and it not just reduces the stress of keeping cash count on employees but also avoids problems like theft. On the top of this my workplace does not print out the bills but sends email invoices and this helps keep a better record, and both customers and employees don’t have to worry about taking care of a lot of paper.

To conclude, Information technology also has revolutionized all industry sectors by providing new ways to operate. However, human capital is still a nonsubstitutable source of creativity and innovation. Technology has allowed firms to “think” beyond their knowledge and resource borders, to transform themselves into perpetual innovators and firms recognize the importance of harnessing employees’ creativity and capturing the imaginations of engaged customers (Kandampully, J., Bilgihan, A., Tingting, C, 2016). Firms like Marriot, Hilton, Starbucks, and Disney are a testimony to the success of this human-technology hybrid. Undoubtedly, this hybrid can transcend all limits if used wisely and result in immense growth.

Reference

Kandampully, J., Bilghihan, A., Tingting, C. (2016). Developing a People-Technology Hybrids Model to Unleash Innovation and Creativity: The New Hospitality Frontier.

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Andragogy: A Heartwarming Experience

Andragogy is defined as the art and science of helping adults learn (Unit 6 notes). I always thought that as you grow older your ability to learn decreases but the incident I’m about to share changed that belief for me. I want to draw on a very personal but not a conventional experience.  Last summer my mother got a tennis elbow, and that stopped her from doing a lot of activities. My mother is a registered nurse in India and is the pillar of our family. This was when I realized that she might not look old but she is getting old, and I need to make sure she takes good care of herself as well. So, I took it upon me to teach her some exercises and review her diet plans. She was excited about this as well because she knew she needs it to keep working efficiently. As we discussed her diet plan, it was evident that it had a lot of shortcomings and we together decided to start a new more nourishing diet plan. We both work in healthcare so it was easier to understand the importance of what we are doing and it made the process a bit easier as well. I was amazed by my mother’s immense wide knowledge that she gained not just from books but 27 years of practice as a nurse.

Her readiness to learn was high because she realized the importance of health as well as how much the family needs her at her best. We started exercising together as well but it was a bit tricky for her to do some of those but her willpower was strong. She learned her ways around different yoga poses and was very consistent, more so than me. Her internal motivating factor was more significant than external factors. With time her elbow got better, but sadly there is not a definite cure for tennis elbow. She can perform all tasks usually but has to shy away from lifting anything with that specific arm. She has been working out and eating right ever since.

Honestly, I ended up learning more from her than she learned from me. Her grit, self-awareness, consistency, and motivation were remarkable. She is one of the strongest, kindest and determined person I know and above all, she is a constant and active learner.

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Learning Activity 2: A Talk With Lewa Ahmed

For this activity, I was paired with a fantastic coursemate, Lewa Ahmed and it was an absolute pleasure to interview and connect with her. Lewa is a not just an inspirational person but also a true servant leader. She is a mother of five, entrepreneur, runs an NGO called The LEAH Foundation for the upliftment of women and children and mankind in general and last but not the least her organization is building a hospital. While talking to her, I was utterly mesmerized and inspired. She is everything I would like to grow up to be. When I asked her to define herself in three words, she picked, passionate, determined and patient and our conversation and her actions are a proof of this as well. I asked her about what her driving force is because it cannot be easy to manage so much and her answer was as beautiful as her thoughts; she replied that God is her driving force. Although she is doing great already, she is a constant learner, and she is looking forward to enhancing her ventures and run the hospital that she is building and serve as many people as she can.

I’m blessed to have come across such amazing people with this course, and she is a great human being as well. We connected well, and I believe we share a lot in common. She is humble and sweet, and even though she has achieved so much, she is kind and generous and not intimidating at all. I strongly think the world needs more servant leaders as she and I will surely look up to her at various times in my life.

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Light From Many Lamps: Let Me Not Neglect Any Kindness, For I Shall Not Pass That Way Again.

I shall pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again (Watson,1951).

The power of inspiration is mighty and mysterious. No one knows who originally wrote this quote, but it has been variously attributed to Victor Hugo, to George Eliot, to a Quaker missionary named Stephen Grellet, and to others (Watson, 1951).  Dalai Lama once said, “My religion is very simple, my religion is the kindness.” Being kind is one of the essential virtues of a human being.

It is astonishing how this brief quotation, the words of some inspired unknown of a century or more ago, has endured, steadily increasing in influence and popularity. It is still impelling an untold number of people to be kinder and most considerate of their fellow creatures (Watson, 1951). Kindness is a strength, and it should be practiced as often as possible. Being kind to yourself is utterly important especially in today’s world when everything around us may make us feel not good enough we need to be kind to ourselves. I’ve always felt that kindness should be a vital part of education system. Last year while I was in the last year of my Bachelors in Dental Surgery i  had this idea that people need to be encouraged to be kind and they need to be reminded that there is immense joy in it. I made a compiled video of several videos in which I went up to people and told them they are beautiful and amazing and recorded their reactions. The way their faces lit up is by far one of the best feelings that I remember. The whole point was to show everyone that it is this easy to be kind and to make someone’s day and the reward is priceless. I’m attaching the link to the video here,  https://www.instagram.com/p/BcRbQCSlQ_e/?taken-by=letterstomy12yearoldself

Acknowledging acts of kindness and appreciating them is very important as they are the noblest acts. Being kind was never taught in our school. For an overpopulated country like India, the key was to compete rather than co-exist. I’ve learned about kindness by receiving it, everytime someone was kind to me, it inspired me to be kind to others, and it filled my heart with gratitude and humbled me. In past few years scenario has changed a lot and people have started to realize that kindness is the key to a better world. Your smallest act of kindness can have the deepest impact on someone’s life. Mark Twain once quoted, “Kindness is a language the deaf can hear and the blind can see”. Honestly, my ultimate goal in life is to be the kindest person I know, what is yours?

If i can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; If i can ease one life the aching, or cool one pain, or help one fainting robin unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain. (Emily Dikinson)

References

Watson, L.E. (1951). Light from Many Lamps. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, Inc.

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Unit 5: Team Leadership- Functions, Components and Characterstics.

“Team Effectiveness focuses on team excellence or the desired outcomes of teamwork” (Northouse,p.67).

As mentioned in Northouse (2016), critical functions of effective team leadership are performance and development. Performance or task accomplishment refers to the quality of the outcomes of the team’s work. Development or team maintenance refers to the cohesiveness of the team and the ability of team members to satisfy their own needs while working effectively with other team members (Nadler, 1998). Team leadership involves a set of people who have excellent interpersonal skills. As per Northouse,p. 368, Hackman (2012) has posited six enabling conditions that lead to effective team functioning, and they are as follows:

  • Is this a real team?
  • Does it have a compelling purpose?
  • Does it have the right people?
  • Are the norms of conduct clear?
  • Is there support from organizational context?
  • Is there team focused coaching?

Northouse (2016) also stated Larson & LaFasto’s (1989)  8 characteristics of team excellence and they are enlisted below:

1 Clear, Elevating Goal: “A compelling purpose energizes team members, orients them towards their collective objective, and fully engages their talents” (Northouse,p.369). Clearing the primary motive behind any project is utterly essential. It is a human instinct to work harder when the job is purposeful. When going to free dental awareness camps in rural areas with my fellow dentists and my juniors, I made it a point to gather all the junior volunteers and talk to them about the reason for the camp and also about the goals. Knowing that it was to directly serve the people who have lesser than most was a significant driving factor.

2 Result Driven Structure: Teams need to find the best structure for
accomplishing their goals. Structural features that lead to effective teamwork include task design, team composition, and core norms of conduct. Appropriate arrangements enable teams to meet their needs while still accomplishing team goals (Northouse,p.369).

3 Competent Team Members: Teams should be composed of the right number and mix of members to accomplish all the tasks of the team. A common mistake in forming groups is to assume that people who have all the technical skills necessary to solve a problem also have the interpersonal skills necessary to collaborate effectively. Just because someone is a good engineer or doctor does not mean he or she has the interpersonal skills to function on a team (Northouse,p.370).

4 Unified Commitment: Excellent teams are those that have developed a sense of unity or identification. (Northouse,p.370)

5 Collaborative Environment: A collaborative climate is one in which members can stay problem focused, listen to and understand one another, feel free to take risks, and be willing to compensate for one another. To build an atmosphere that fosters collaboration, we need to develop trusting relationships based on honesty, openness, consistency, and respect (Northouse,p. 370).

6 Standards of Excellence: It is especially important that the organizational context or the team itself set up standards of excellence so that members will feel pressure to perform at their highest levels (Northouse,p.371). Back in India when I was interning as a dentist, I had the great opportunity to address some freshmen students and talk to them about the field. The first thing that I taught them was precisely the first thing that I was taught when I started my Bachelors in Dental Surgery.  It was that there is an excellent value to the white coat that you get to wear as a doctor. It commands respect and dignity and now on anything you do will affect that. This made me and those juniors feel a sense of responsibility. This also set high standards for the rest of my career.

7 External Support and Recognition: A supportive organizational context includes material sources, rewards for excellent performance, the educational system to develop necessary team skills, and information system to provide needed data to accomplish the task (Northouse,p.371). Positive reinforcement goes a long way in any organization. If a person’s work is rewarded, it inspires him/her to keep doing good as it sets a standard, but if it is not rewarded, the person will lose interest. As with patients, especially children, while performing any dental procedure, it is important to keep saying how great they are doing and after the appointment giving a piece of candy works great and encourages them to be more cooperative.

8 Principled Leadership: It is an effective way of team leadership and is further divided into cognitive, motivational, affective and coordinational leadership (Northouse,p.371). Cognitive leaders help the team understand the problems confronting the group. A motivational leader helps the team become capable by setting standards and helping them achieve them. An active leader helps team handle stressful times by providing clear goals. A coordinational leader helps integrate team activities by matching skills to roles (Northouse,p.371).

Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Sage Publications.

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Unit 5: Character and Servant Leadership

The servant-leader is servant first. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. The best test is: do those served grow as persons: do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society; will they benefit, or, at least, not be further deprived? (Greenleaf, 1977/2002, p. 27)

In the article, “Character and Servant Leadership: Ten Characteristics
of Effective, Caring Leaders,” Spears (2010), enlisted  10 important characteristics of an effective servant leader. Those 10 characteristics are as below,

  1. Listening: It is essential for a leader to be a good listener. Being a good listener doesn’t mean only listening to others but also to one’s inner voices. It is about listening to whats said and unsaid. (Spears 2010,p.27).
  2. Empathy:   People need to be accepted and recognized for their special and unique spirits (Spears 2010,p.27). A servant leader practices empathy.
  3. Healing: One of the great strengths of servant leadership is the potential for healing one’s self and one’s relationship to others. Most of the people have broken spirits in some way or the other. An effective servant leader works towards healing oneself and others (Spears 2010,p.27).
  4. Awareness: General awareness, and especially self-awareness, strengthens the servant-leader. Awareness helps one in understanding issues involving ethics, power, and values. Awareness is an awakener, and able leaders are usually sharp awake (Spears 2010, p.28).
  5. Persuasion: Another characteristic of servant leaders is reliance on persuasion.  The servant leader seeks to convince others, rather than coerce compliance (Spears 2010, p.28).
  6. Conceptualisation: One must be able to think beyond day to day realities. This is a characteristic that requires discipline and practice (Spears 2010, p.28).
  7. Foresight: Foresight is a characteristic that enables the servant leader to understand the lessons from the past, the realities of the present, and the likely consequence of a decision for the future (Spears 2010, p.28).
  8. Stewardship: Servant leadership assumes first and foremost a commitment to serving the needs of others. It also emphasizes the use of openness and persuasion, rather than control (Spears 2010, p.29).
  9. Commitment to the growth of people:  Servant leader is deeply committed to the growth of every individual within his or her organization.
  10. Building community: Servant leadership suggests that true community can be created among those who work in businesses and other institutions.

I have picked two central actions that I believe a leader should take when coordinating a group project in an organization. First one is awareness. Enlightenment is the first step to change. No growth or change can occur without being aware of the problem and its cause. While coordinating group projects leaders should be mindful of each employee’s skills so he/she can place them exactly where their potential can be 100% utilized.

Self-awareness is also a critical part of being a leader because if you are not aware of your shortcomings, you will not be open to change. Awareness awakens people and makes them uncomfortable. Most able leaders are aware and reasonably disturbed (Spears 2010, p.28).  As one of my favorite mentors, Robin Sharma quoted in one of his books, “Change is hard at first, messy in the middle and beautiful in the end.”

The second essential quality that a servant leader requires to be efficient in group activities is a commitment to the growth of people. To serve people is to commit yourself to help them grow. In group projects, his skill is undeniably vital as a leader.  The servant leader recognizes the tremendous responsibility to do everything in his or her power to nurture the personal
and professional growth of employees and colleagues. In practice, this can include (but is not limited to) concrete actions such as making funds available for personal and professional development, taking a personal interest in the ideas and suggestions from everyone, encouraging worker involvement in decision-making, and actively assisting laid-off employees to find other positions (Spears 2010,p.29).

It is true that the other eight qualities are indispensable as well. These two stood out to me the most.

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Servant Leadership

Geenleaf 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).

As Collen Barrett from Southwest Airlines, while being interviewed on the topic of Servant Leadership in a 2008 Youtube video said, that their airline has a passion of serving the people and this is what is their secret of success. She shared an intriguing concept of a priority pyramid in which at the top of the pyramid are colleagues. Serving their colleagues right is of utmost importance to them and this, in turn, leads the employees to serve the passengers better. This is a great example of servant leadership as the airline serves its employee and by doing so they are also leading by example. Another thing that stood out to me from her interview was when she said that when an employee or a passenger is in a problem, they adopt them and make something optimistic come out of it. This is also a trait of a servant leader. The fact that they started this airline because before it only 13% people were flying and most of them were men blew my mind. Southwest Airline is indeed more than just making money, they are connecting people and bringing a positive change, and this is exactly what servant leadership is about.

John Maxwell in his YouTube video “The 5 Levels of Leadership” (2013), stated that leadership is a verb and not a noun, it is an ongoing process. This video was very insightful and taught a lot about what a leader should be and what a leader should never be. The point about level 1- positional level leaders where he states that the employees start cleaning their desks at 4:30 if they do not like the leader struck me well, I could think of scenarios when I did the same too. Level 4- People development level is really aligned with servant leadership as it is about committing yourself to developing other people. This can only be done by serving them right and by guiding them into their right position where they can grow the best and reach their highest potential. As Maxwell said, Successful leaders, discover what others are best at, in this context, they are being mentors and leaders as well as serving others by helping them find their calling.

Servant Leadership differs from Emotional intelligence or self-awareness as Emotional intelligence and self-awareness are personal attributes whereas servant leadership transcends self-interest, it is about serving others and helping them grow. For me, one of the best examples of servant leadership apart from God is, Dalai Lama. Dalai Lama has made it the sole purpose of life to help others find peace and purpose in life. There are so many books written by Dalai Lama that has helped so many people. One of my favorite book written by him is The Art of Happiness. One of my mentors suggested me to read this while I was struggling in life and it helped me find peace and joy. I highly recommend it to everybody since then. I’ve followed his work for quite some time now and I find it very insightful and enlightening.

References:

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

Maxwell, J. (2013). The 5 Levels of Leadership. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPwXeg8ThWI

Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Sage Publications.

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Transformational Leadership

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).

When I think of transformational leadership many names pop up in my mind like Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and many more. All these leaders were charismatic. Transformational leadership is about getting followers to transcend their own self-interest for sake of the team and to motivate them to go beyond what they think they are capable of doing (Northouse, p.166). There are various components (4 I’s), traits and practices that make a transformational leader and they are explained and enlisted below (Northouse, p. 167-175)

Idealised Influence: It is the emotional component of transformational leadership and involves leaders being strong role models. Transformational leaders usually have high standards of morals and are deeply respected by the followers. It involves having a clear vision about the goals and principles of the group/ organization (Northouse, p.167). It is about modeling the way for followers and guiding them right. A good example of this is Mohandas Gandhi, he was a transformational as well as a servant leader. He was deeply respected by people and people called him ‘baapu’ which translates to father. He had a clear vision of a free and fair nation and practiced non-violence. He guided all his followers by himself being an example of all his principles.

Inspirational Motivation: This is descriptive of a leader who communicates high expectations to followers, inspiring them through motivation to become committed to the organization. It is about enhancing team spirit (Northouse,p.169). Leaders inspire a shared vision by visualizing positive outcomes of the future (Northouse,p.174). For example, in mental health awareness group, it is of utmost importance that we visualize positive outcomes or otherwise the group will lose its sense of purpose. It is important to keep reminding everyone about the change they are trying to make and how important it is and how it serves the mankind better.

Intellectual Stimulation: Leaders stimulate the followers to be creative and innovative and to challenge their own beliefs as well as the leaders. Transformational leaders are considered pioneers, they welcome positive change and new ideas (Northouse, p.169). It involves the creative development of self and others. When I started talking about mental health awareness I knew it will be hard because it makes people uncomfortable or its already been said and they find it repetitive. So I talked to all my group members and we came up with a new idea. We made a chain of videos going up to people and telling them they are beautiful and amazing and captured their reactions. Their faces would light up and they would smile shyly and it was just priceless. So this way we encouraged people to be nice and say good things to each other because it is that simple to make someone’s day.

Individualised Consideration: Leaders have to act like coaches and guides. It is important to listen to the needs of followers and to be supportive (Northouse,p.169). This makes the team trust the leader and creates space for growth. Example, Martin Luther King Jr, he listened to all the problems of his fellow men and addressed them in his speech ‘I Have a Dream” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vDWWy4CMhE).

Like any other thing, there are many pros and cons to transformational leadership. Its pros are that it considers leadership a process and available to all. It also gives a broader view of leadership and emphasizes values and morals. There are cons to it too. For example, Hitler used his leadership in a negative and a selfish way. It can be abused easily. I would conclude by saying that in my opinion, transformational leadership combined with servant leadership is true leadership.

References:

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice, Seventh Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN 971452203409

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Light Fom Many Lamps: The Most Precious Of Possessions

You wake up in the morning, and lo! your purse is magically filled with twenty-four hours – the most precious of possessions. (Arnold Bennett)

Where did you find the time? (Watson, 1951). This was a question frequently asked from Arnold and a question frequently asked by most of the people to any and every successful person or a leader. This story explained the importance of time and the art of utilizing it to its utmost potential. Bennett was a poverty-stricken clerk wanting to become a writer. He had nothing but time and he realized that time was his most precious commodity, time the most useful tissue of his life and that he must therefore not waste any part of it. (Watson, 1951). With hard work and spectacular time management, he became a great writer.

He was constantly asked the question about how he finds time to write and pursue all his hobbies? He answered that he did not ‘find’ time, he has the same amount of time as everybody else; exactly the same twenty-four hours. Its the way he spent it made the difference (Watson, 1951). This also led him to write his one of the most famous book called, ‘How to Live on Twenty Four Hours a Day’. This book helped so many people and answered their questions about time management and making the most out of it. This story is very relatable to me as being someone whose biggest fear is to waste time, I’ve spent a fair amount of my life trying to figure out ways to make the most of every day, every hour of my life. This is also because punctuality has been a priority not just for me but for my family, my mother always enchanted these words to me that, ‘those who do not respect time, time does not respect them’. Planning for the next day before going to bed, writing down your intentions clearly, making a to-do list for the day became a ritual in my life at a very young age. When I moved from India to Canada just a month and a half ago, I called my parents and told them that I feel like time moves faster here or it just seems like I have lesser time but every day I think I’m getting better at accomplishing my everyday goals and ticking off the things from my checklist and I know no one can master time but I’m constantly trying to get as close to it as possible. Also, Bennett said, “Time is the inexplicable raw material of everything. With it, all is possible; without it, nothing” (Watson, 1951).

When asked what is the biggest mistake you have made in your life, Buddha replied, “The biggest mistake is that we think we have time”. Jay Shetty’s video on the importance of time shared an analogy that if $86,400 were added to your bank account every day and by the end of 24 hours the remaining sum will disappear but another $86,400 will be added next day. Will you waste all the money? Then why do we waste time so easily? We tend to forget that time is more expensive than money. (Retrieved from- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPaS85IA6oY). As Arnold Bennett said, “You have to live on this twenty-four hours of daily time. Out of it, you have to spin health, pleasure, money, content, respect and the evolution of your immortal soul. Its right use, its most effective use, is a matter of highest urgency and most thrilling actuality” (Watson, 1951). I cannot agree more with this.

You wake up every morning, and lo! your purse is magically filled with twenty four hours of the unmanufactured tissue of the universe of your life! It is yours. It is most precious of possessions. No one can take it away from you. It is unstealable. And no one recieves either more or less than you recieve. (Watson,1951)

Watson, L.E. (1988). Light from Many Lamps, (1st Fireside Edition). New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, Inc

Shetty, J.(2018) Before You Waste Time. [Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPaS85IA6oY]

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Unit 3 Blog: Rank, Talk, Write

While going through unit 3 notes there were so many moments where I was intrigued and my interest was piqued. After carefully analyzing and critically thinking I have ranked my top hit sentences as follows :

1) Many of today’s leaders are keenly idealistic. It isn’t enough for them to make a living — they want to make a difference. . (Source: https://www.virtuesproject.com/leadership.html ) 

 This sentence from the virtue project blew my mind and is indeed very true. These days leaders are not just about making a living, instead, their main goal is to make a difference. In order to make a difference they serve and there is a significant increase in servant leadership these days. Organizations that offer social responsibility, transparency and a joyful,unified work environment are the ones that can attract and keep such leaders. (Sorce: thevirtueproject)

2) Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit. (Unit 3 notes, Will Durant (1926, p. 87))

Excellence is an art won by training and habituation: we do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but rather have these because we have acted rightly; “these virtues are formed in man by doing his actions” (Aristotle). This quote holds great importance to me, a leader is a giver and not the taker in an organization or group. There are many problems leaders have to face and each time their leadership values are tested. Only by continually sticking to and practicing their values can they be called true leaders.

3) As Warren Buffet, multibillionaire and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway states, “In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if they don’t have the first, the other two will kill you (Hoerr, 2017, p. 73) “

Integrity is certainly the highest quality a leader can possess and practice. Without integrity, other qualities don’t mean much. Especially for a servant leader integrity is a prime quality. Integrity stems from honesty but is a higher, more public form of action. When we act with integrity we are consciously making our personal values known to others. The interpersonal nature of integrity makes it a key component of leadership (ibid, p. 77).  There are many ways to develop integrity such as owning up to one’s mistakes, taking the responsibility for consequences to acting with integrity, talking about the importance of acting with integrity and by being a good example to your team. (Unit 3 notes)

4) In Proverbs 16:9 we read, ““A human mind plans the way but the Lord directs the steps”(NRS).”

Believing in God is not incompatible with critical thinking. In other words, faith and reason can co-exist. We learn more about ourselves and the world through the lenses of faith and reason (Unit 3 notes). This also gives leadership an ethical tone. Moreover, having faith makes the leader more patient as he/she believes in God and his timing. Faith also enhance integrity in a leader. Having faith also inculcates a sense of humility in a leader and keeps them connected to their roots.

5) Brazilian philosopher, Rubem Alves (1979) commented that everything is interpretation

This is such a small sentence yet holds immense importance. Undeniably,  interpretation is key to everything as you act according to what you interpret. Every leader interprets a solution in a different way based on what values are prime to him or what is the goal of that particular situation. Rubmen Alves also mentioned about interpretations being controlled by the community, and I could not agree more to this. Rubem Alves also shared language functions as a mediation tool between humans and their world. As humans, we don’t contemplate reality face to face. Since birth, things in our world don’t come to us in their naked form, but always dressed up in the names our community has given them. This community has already defined how and what the world is like and, therefore, already knows it (the world). This knowledge of the world is crystallized in our language. Language, therefore, is not a copy of objects and facts. Language is always interpretation (cited in Goodson 2013, p.47).

 

6) How long should you remain silent? When you think you have been silent long enough, be silent a little more. (Unit 3 notes)

There is this quote by Dalai Lama that states when you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new. Being a good listener is one of the best qualities a leader can have and it is very rare nowadays as everyone has so much to say. I’m in no way saying that one should not speak freely but to listen mindfully. If someone is sharing something with you, you should listen with your full attention and not just be thinking about what you’ll respond to that. Most of the people listen just to answer but, to listen to understand is actually a quality of a good leader.

7) The value of critical transformational learning is that there is a personal intentionality to the process. ( Source: Unit 3 Notes: MA Lead Student Christel Davidson’s Jan. 9th blog post entitled ‘Designing Our Boxes’)

This blog was a delight to read and was very thought evoking. This box theory resonates with me so well. According to this, a person stays in a box until it is challenged to get out of that boxes. Then the person goes on to make another box because having boundaries is essential for humans. Then one leaves that box as well to make another box and all this will be repeated over and over again (Unit 3 notes). As one of my favorite mentor Robin Sharma says, “progress beings outside your comfort zone”. Getting out of the box here means getting out to your comfort zone and growing and leaving that place once it becomes too comfortable too and moving on to next challenge.

Each time the learner temporarily exits the box to take a fresh view of life, it is not to throw the person into a state of chaos or abandonment of absolutes, but to give a moment where thoughts can be free to explore other possible points of view or to reflect on habits and unconscious actions that are rooted in their beliefs. Once challenged or left open for review, a critical analysis can be made, conclusions drawn and a shifted belief or value stabilized, by restating or redesigning their box. There are endless ways that this can be accomplished, so long as the process evokes the emotions, stimulates the soul and matures the mind ( Source: Unit 3 Notes: MA Lead Student Christel Davidson’s Jan. 9th blog post entitled ‘Designing Our Boxes’)

 

8) How can I compare and contrast varying theoretical perspectives on the topic? (Unit 3 notes, Chong, 2015)

The thing about journals is that author controls the content and may decide to add or leave out anything they want. There are many authors and many of them can have contradicting views as well. To compare and contrast these varying theoretical perspectives one has to analyze which information intersects with policies and procedures of their field and what aligns with their values. (unit 3 notes)