Dear Marcelo,
Thank you for your response to my post. I found this comment interesting, “Many times I also have to learn to read “between the lines.” I must speak from what I experience. I am aware that Paraguayans do not speak directly, but one needs to learn to interpret what is being said. One can easily make a mistake when you don’t understand correctly specific observations or does not understand the comments.” It reminded me of the need to create “shared understanding” as found in Hughes et al. (2014). Your explanation highlights how different communication can be in various cultures. As an International Coordinator, I work with East Asian students, families, and agents. I find it imperative to get clarity and agreement on the smallest of details, and then I put it in writing after to verify the conversation. I have learned to not move to the next step of the issue until all parties have agreed on the meaning. As I read the example of working in Paraguay as the senior administrator, this process could get tedious, needing a lot of patience on your part.
Thank you for providing me with an example of how people in your culture do not always respond positively to TSL principles. “When I say that some people do not respond well to some servant leadership skills is that occasionally people do not want to take part in the decision-making process, for example. People want me, as a principal to decide. They don’t want me to ask, “what do you think?” You point out an interesting paradox between serving versus being seen as weak. As this is your second year in the MAEL program, have you found any change in people’s responses to your willingness to serve? Is it becoming more accepted as you practice the competencies in your organization? Do you find you must be strategic in how you implement your service? Lepsinger (2010) says “To make a good decision, you must seek out the perspectives of a wide range of people. Involving people in decisions gets them focused on generating solutions to problems rather than complaining or waiting to be told what to do” (p. 14). This must be very difficult, as you mention, “Some are so used to the top-down decision-making process that they believe the leader has all the authority to decide without asking. I had my secretary tell me the first year that I was not a leader since I allowed others to decide as well.” What an interesting walk you have!!
“I add the word situational because the leader picks and chooses the time and with whom to fully apply servant leadership skills. I might be wrong of course, but this has been my experience.” I appreciate the explanations you have provided for me. I have learned something new today, and I feel led to pray for strength for you, as well as wisdom. God bless!
Stella
References:
Lepsinger, R. (2010). Closing the execution gap: How great leaders and their companies get results. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.