Reading Ryan Morrow‘s brilliant post was very timely for me. I have noticed a pattern in my life: work to exhaustion, become incapacitated, recover, then repeat. I am ashamed to say that this pattern has been happening for many years (the older I get, however, the longer the recover stage takes). I believe that there is wisdom in withdrawing from the busyness of daily life, and as Ryan aptly notes, Jesus modeled this in his life on earth. However our society tends to see this as the two-week vacation we take once a year to get away from it all. I have recently come to the realization that daily quiet time with God is hugely beneficial for re-focusing, clarifying purpose, and even rest. Having made this a regular part of my routine, I will next begin to implement a true Sabbath. Too often my weekends are simply a change from being busy with work, to being busy with other activities. I am starting to appreciate the value of spending time doing very little activity once per week. Like Ryan noted, life “can quickly allow me to become buried in the details of the urgent or distracted by things which shouldn’t be important” and regular times of solitude and reflection are as necessary as air and water for us to be able to function effectively in our lives.
Response to Georgeena’s Unit 8 Learning Activity 1
I know of two women who have lost their jobs because they were pregnant. One is a friend who had recently started a position at the time. When she found out that she was pregnant and told her boss, she was terminated during her three month “probation”. The second is my mother. She was being groomed for management at her job when she discovered she was pregnant with my sister. Her supervisor actually told her that she BLEW IT. She was never given the opportunity for promotion.
I wholeheartedly agree with Georgeena’s thoughts citing Northouse in her post : “legalities around the Family and Medical Leave Act should be front and center for an organization (Northouse, 2018). Senior administrators and division heads should have this legal education embedded into their practice and organizational policy and immediate action must be taken if law is violated. Moreover, training sessions on rights of employees and educational seminars to bring awareness to gender discrimination in the workplace is necessary.”
When women today feel they are terminated due to pregnancy I fear there is still a lot of ignorance about their rights and how to proceed legally. It is important that women know their rights and are able to speak out about injustices such as this. The only way that change will take place is when people are empowered to speak out.
My Leadership Story: A Tribute to A Leader
Response to Monica Grace: Unit 8 Activity 2
After reading Monica’s post I was even more surprised that my score on the IAT was positive, indicating that I have subconscious associations between female / supporter and male / leader. Like Monica, I also work in a female-dominated environment. I fully expected that I would not have these stereotypes in my head. The experience made me realize how important it is that these stereotypes continue to be addressed, even in companies that have a higher proportion of females than males. I wondered if I have in any way communicated gender stereotypes to my students? The readings in unit 8 really served as an eye-opener for me. It made me appreciate my work environment, but I realize that I have to be careful and very intentional to challenge gender stereotypes and not promote them inadvertently.
Response to Chris Vacher Unit 9 Learning Activity 2
In his blog, Chris’ quote by Goodwin clearly showed that a successful company needs to do more than just come up with a good product. For just because you make a good product today does not mean that circumstances will stay that way forever. He also argued that companies, including non-profits, need to be honest about the impact that societal trends are having on them, and they need to exercise foresight. Such was not the case with GM, General Motors was fortunate to be bailed out by the US government in 2009. Had that not happened, they would not be in existence today. It is unfortunate that many people will lose their jobs because the leadership lacked foresight and was resistant to change. They chose not to act as good stewards of their resources and ended up almost losing everything.
Light from Many Lamps #5 Unit 10
The story I selected for my final Light from Many Lamps assignment was about Franklin D. Roosevelt’s last speech, a radio address he was to give in honour of Jefferson Day. In it he also addressed the upcoming end to the second world war and his hopes for peace and a better life for all. He encouraged the people of America to conquer their fears and spend time cultivating relationships. He ended his speech with these inspiring words:
“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith” (Roosevelt, 1979, p. 309).
Unfortunately President Roosevelt died before giving this address. It turned out to be his final written message to his countrymen and the world.
Northouse (2016) defines leadership as ‘a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal’ (p.6). My greatest influence as a leader presently comes through the relationships that I create with my students, colleagues, friends and family. Although I have not been formally promoted to a leadership role, I have come to the realization that life is all about relationships. The words of President Roosevelt’s speech are very timely as the end of this course fast approaches for me. I do not know where my leadership path may take me in the future, but I continue to move forward with ‘strong and active faith’ investing in the lives of those around me while I discover more about myself and new ways that I can make a difference in this world.
Roosevelt, F. D. (1979). The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith. In L. E. Watson (Ed.). Light from many lamps (pp. 309-318). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
Unit 10 Learning Activity
Northouse (2016) states that “leadership is a highly sought-after and highly valued commodity” (p. 1). Some people seek it for the power associated with it, others seek it for prestige. Some seek it because they have a dream or a cause, and others are propelled into it. Two course learnings that have impacted me and my practice as a result of taking Leadership 500 are the power of servant leadership, and the power of critical thinking.
The idea that leaders can act as servants and yet influence people in powerful ways seems at first to be an oxymoron…..until one points to the life of Christ the most influential leader in history. Aside from Christ, the greatest example of servant leadership that I encountered in this course was that of Herb Kelleher and Colleen Barrett of Southwest Airlines. They set out to be servant leaders and their motto was simple: to treat others the way they would like to be treated (Stanford Graduate School of Business, 2009). Ms Barrett focused upon the needs of their employees above all else (KnowledgeAtWharton, 2008). Although they did not set out to become transformational leaders, they were so influential that they transformed the entire aviation industry.
Whereas traditional leadership is transactional in nature (leaders monitor employees and either reward or punish their behaviour) (Northouse, 2016), Northouse points out that servant leadership has at its core a positive relationship between leader and follower. Through this relationship the leader comes to understand the follower’s perspective, strengths, motivations and needs. The leader puts the needs of the follower above all else. I am working to build such a relationship with my new teaching support staff now that I have learned the importance of placing their needs even above those of my students.
Mulla and Krishnan (2011) found that transformational servant leaders can have a positive impact upon the moral development of their followers, and therefore the character and values of a transformational servant leader are very important. Moral character is derived from the quality of one’s thoughts (Mulla and Krishnan, 2011). Critical thinking is thus crucial for making good decisions. The second way that my practice (and indeed my life) has been impacted by this course is by my new awareness of the need to be aware of my thinking. I now prayerfully examine repetitive behaviour patterns in my life to uncover my underlying beliefs. The following quotes taken from The Foundation for Critical Thinking website aptly summarize the need for me to demonstrate critical thinking:
“You are what you think. Whatever you are doing, whatever you feel, whatever you want—all are determined by the quality of your thinking.” “Critical thinking, when deeply understood, enables you to take control of the thinking you are doing in every part of your life. It enables you to solve problems more effectively, make better decisions, as well as recognize pathological and manipulative thinking.”
KnowledgeAtWharton [Screen name]. (2008, July 9). Southwest Airlines’ Colleen Barrett on ‘Servant Leadership’ . [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TgR95vnM0c&t=303s
Mulla, Z. R., Krishnan, V. R. (2011). Transformational leadership: Do the leader’s morals matter and do the follower’s morals change?, Journal of Human Values 17(2), 129 – 143.
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Stanford Graduate School of Business [Screen name]. (2009, July 27). Herb Kelleher: Managing in Good Times and Bad. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxyC3Ywb9yc&t=393s
The Foundation for Critical Thinking (n.d.). Professional and Personal Development. Retrieved from http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/professional-and-personal-development/800