Category: LDRS 500

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Light from Many Lamps #4

This story was about how Robert Browning convinced his wife Elizabeth to publish poems that she had written to him while they were courting. Elizabeth was understandably reluctant to make her innermost thoughts public. However, she eventually did publish them and her work—especially the poem ‘How do I love thee’ is famous today. Elizabeth didn’t feel that she had any special talent, it was her husband who recognized it and told her that her work was too important to keep hidden but should be shared with the world (p. 242). As a leader it is easy to share your ideas when you are convinced that they will work, but it is much harder to be vulnerable when you are unsure of your ability or of the merit of your ideas. Add to this an introverted personality and it becomes all the more difficult at times. When I taught alongside three educational support staff I struggled with this. These individuals had been previously trained to follow directions and keep their opinions to themselves. But I felt it was important that I create an environment where everyone’s ideas were welcomed and equally valued. So I went out of my way to solicit their ideas and perspective; utilizing our collective experience and expertise to create my programs. Having said that, however, I was reluctant to share MY thoughts when I was stuck, especially when I was required to make decisions that I didn’t have the answer for. My silence in those moments flew in the face of my hard work to create a collaborative environment. One individual who was a little bit insecure took it personally, and this grew into a conflict between us. I learned that as a leader, it is just as important to share your vulnerabilities as it is to share your great ideas. Had I done so she would not have misconstrued my silence and I would not have missed some great opportunities to learn and to grow in my role as a leader.

 

Barrett Browning, E. (1979). How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…. In L. E. Watson (Ed.). Light from many lamps (pp. 240-243). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster

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Student Choice – Article review #2

In the article “Transformational and Servant Leadership: Content and Contextual Comparisons” the authors Smith, Montagno and Kusmenko (2004) examine transformational and servant leadership theories, the degree to which they overlap and the contribution both theories have made to the general understanding of leadership.

Transformational and servant leadership are both rooted in the study of charismatic leadership (Smith et. al., 2004). Weber (cited by Smith et. Al., 2004)  described a charismatic leader as someone who “exercises power through followers’ identification with and belief in the leader’s personality (p. 81). A theoretical comparison of the two leadership theories resulted in the discovery of the following similarities with respect to charismatic leadership: the authors found that both types of leaders serve the needs of others and put their needs above their own; both leaders act as role models for the ideals they espouse; both seek to build interpersonal relationships and a sense of community with the followers; both leaders maintain interactions that are open and accountable to their followers, and both value maintaining integrity and trust in their relationships.

Despite their similarities however, the two types of leadership have significant differences. One area of limited overlap between the two was intellectual stimulation. Intellectual stimulation refers to a leader’s behavior that encourages followers’ creativity and stimulates innovative thinking (Smith et. al., 2004). Servant leaders focuses their attention exclusively on serving the followers and working to promote their personal development. The needs of the followers are prioritized over the needs of the organization (Smith et. al., 2004). Whereas transformational leadership concerns itself with transforming the organization into one that can thrive in challenging external environments (Smith et. al., 2004). According to the authors, the leader’s focus is on promoting creativity, risk-taking, innovation and high performance in the followers in order to promote the organization’s success.

Despite the fact that the two types of leaders have differing motives, I feel that there are other similarities in their characteristics not mentioned by the study’s authors. For example, both leaders work to build a sense of community. This involves valuing people, being receptive and non-judgmental in listening to their views and concerns, and promoting others.

The authors argued that each type of leadership had an optimal environment or context in which it would best thrive. They posited that servant leadership is best suited for a static environment conducive to followers’ personal growth. They argued that not-for-profit, volunteer and religious organizations as often operating in static environments, and thus best-suited for servant leadership. Transformational leadership, on the other hand, is better suited for dynamic environments. The authors also point out that one must also take into consideration the life cycle of the organization, as organizations require different types of leadership at different phases in their life cycle.

 

Smith, B. N., Montagno, R. V., Kuzmenko T. N. (2004). Transformational and servant leadership: Content and contextual comparisons. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, (10)4 80-91.

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Student Choice – Article Review #1

The article “Transformational Leadership: Do the Leader’s Morals Matter and Do the Follower’s Morals Change?” is a quantitative study undertaken by Mulla and Krishnan (2011) in which they investigated (1) the impact that a transformational leader’s empathy and values had on their follower’s perception of transformational leadership, and (2) the impact that transformational leadership on follower’s empathy and values.

Mulla and Krishnan (2011) define moral development as an increased ability to understand, care about, and act upon the difference between right and wrong. The authors describe the components of moral development as moral sensitivity, moral judgment, moral motivation and moral character.

Moral sensitivity is described by Mulla and Krishnan as the ability to evaluate a situation and identify a moral problem. They describe moral judgment as the ability to formulate a plan that applies a relevant moral standard. Moral motivation is defined as the motivation to select a moral value above other values. Moral character is seen as the executing and implementing a moral course of action. Thus moral sensitivity and moral motivation refer to the ability to perceive and be motivated to select a moral standard but moral judgment and moral character involve the actual creation and implementation of a moral plan of action.

According to Burns (as cited by Mulla & Krishnan, 2011), “the crucial task of transformational leaders is to raise the awareness and consciousness of their followers to higher levels of conduct and morality” (p. 130). Their study found that there was a definite relationship between transformational leaders and their values. They also found a relationship between impact of transformational leadership on a follower’s moral sensitivity and moral motivation was greater for leader-follower pairs that existed over longer periods of time versus those that existed for short durations. Their findings show that transformational leaders can increase moral sensitivity in their followers when they maintain a relationship with the followers over a period of time.

 

Mulla, Z. R., Krishana, 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.

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Unit 7 Learning Activity 2

In the article by Wang et. al., what are the main implications for managers in the article?  The main implication of the article by Wang et. al. (2011) was that transformational leadership (TFL) is a good predictor of “desirable performance outcomes” (p. 253).  Although transactional leadership has a greater impact upon employee task performance, transformational leadership has a greater impact upon attitudes and motivation of employees at the individual, team and organizational level. Transformational leaders are able to inspire employees such that they are willing to go above and beyond their specific work tasks for the good of the group. Therefore managers in work environments where employees work collaboratively as a team would benefit from demonstrating TFL more so than managers in work environments where employees work independently and do not collaborate with one another.

How can you use this information to become a better leader? 

I can use this information to work to support my followers in two ways: (1) in order to promote work performance, act as a transactional leader yet at the same time provide the knowledge, tools and support followers need so they can do their job extremely well, (2) act as a transformational leader by motivating followers to go above and beyond their work roles. I can do this by making my followers see that their work is significant to the overall vision of the organization and instilling within them a belief that they can achieve the goals set for them (Wang et. al., 2011).

Define and describe the principles of ethical leadership.

According to Northouse (2016), the five principles of ethical leadership are: showing respect to followers by ‘treating them in ways that confirm their beliefs, attitudes, and values’ (p. 342) serving followers by working for their interests; leading in a manner that is fair and just so that all individuals are treated equitably; demonstrating honesty and truthfulness by “being
open with others and representing reality as fully and completely as possible” (p. 346); and by building a sense of community by acting for the good of the community and influencing followers to do this as well.

Which 2 of the 5 covered in Northouse Chapter 13 do you think are the most important? Why? 

Mulla and Krishnan (2011) found that transformational leaders can influence the moral sensitivity and moral motivation of followers over time. To me, this means that transformational leaders must be ethical leaders and role models of high moral standards. Thus, although all five are important, I feel that honesty and justice are the two most important principles of ethical leadership that transformational leaders must operate by.

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.

Wang, G., Oh, I. S., 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.

 

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Unit 7 Learning Activity 1

What are the moral implications of leadership behaviour?

Non-ethical behaviour from the leadership erodes staff morale and public trust in the company. Behaviour at the top trickles down and impacts all staff and sets the tone for the kind of environment that exists in the organization.

In light of the video and article, how can you enable your organization to grow and flourish?

“Strong culture has a big impact on employee behaviour” (BuildingCapacity, 2013). Creating an ethical culture is one way to ensure that an organization grows well. Creating an ethical culture involves six principles: the leader as the role model, defining ethical behaviour, promoting financial management and integrity, ethical training, and an institutionalized ethical culture (BuildingCapacity, 2013).

1. Be a visible role model – be aware of and purposeful in your behaviour as the leader because leader behaviour will define employee behaviour. This is also known as authentic leadership. Avolio & Gardner (2005) define authentic leaders as the following:

those who are deeply aware of how they think and behave and are perceived by others as being aware of their own and others’ values/moral perspectives, knowledge, and strengths; aware of the context in which they operate; and who are confident, hopeful, optimistic, resilient, and of high moral character

Authentic leaders are open and transparent in sharing information and decision-making, considering multiple sides of an issue and multiple perspectives (Avolio & Gardner, 2005).

2. Define ethical behaviour in your company – create your code of ethics (the org’s primary values and ethical rules that employees are expected to follow) through discussion and integration of voices at all levels; how you create it (collaboratively) and how you integrate it into everyday activities will determine whether or not it gets followed

3 a). Promote effective financial management (using resources in a principled way) – focus on assessing the effectiveness of your programs and of the organization as a whole; knowing exactly what the outcomes are and the outcome measures that prove programs are effective

3 b). Promote financial integrity – Being aware of and making sure that who you take money from and who you invest with are companies that are in accordance with your values (e.g. if you are working to save the environment but investing in oil companies or taking donations from companies that strip the earth of certain resources). Thinking about how it appears to others.

4. Provide training in ethics – to create a discussion, to clarify acceptable practices, to create a code of ethics (networking is valuable here to learn about how other organizations accomplish this)

5. Institutionalize an ethical culture – measure performance against the code of ethics; incorporate ethical values and transparency into all areas: resource allocation, strategic planning, compensation, personnel—how you hire employees, performance evaluations, auditing, communications, public relations; a decision-making process that is transparent, responsive to everyone’s interests and allows all voices to be heard, even those you don’t agree with; when you are in a situation where you don’t know what to do, be upfront about it and be transparent throughout the process; be willing to ask uncomfortable questions. For example, instead of asking ‘is this legal’? you should be asking ‘is this fair’? honest? (equitable?… You want diversity on your board so that you have a diversity of views and opinions to check your decisions against, not just people who think like you

6. Provide protective mechanisms – need a whistle-blower protection clause in your personnel policies so that employees who are faced with an ethical dilemma or who see unethical behaviour can report it without fear of negative repercussions.

Avolio, B., Gardner, W. (2005). Authentic leadership development: Getting to the root of positive forms of leadership. Leadership Quarterly, 16, 315-338.

[BuildingCapacity]. (2013, March 29). What is ethical leadership? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks2QGoIq5nA

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Response to Daniel’s Unit 6 Learning Activity 3

I appreciated all of the thought that went into Daniel’s plan for training the AV personnel at his church on the new technology. He drew attention to the fact that the development of people working at the church—whether staff or volunteers—is extremely important because it impacts the ability of the church to deliver its message.  When I read this post I wondered if Daniel has noticed a difference in how open people are towards change and personal development if they are volunteers vs church staff? If so, would his approach differ when addressing each of these two different groups regarding staff development?

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Unit 6 Learning Activity 3

An example of an employee development plan for my organization, the Toronto District School Board, is the performance appraisal process for principals and vice-principals (click on the link below).  This performance appraisal process is oriented around 5 core leadership capacities:  setting goals, aligning resources with priorities, promoting collaborative learning cultures, and using data (The Institute for Ontario Leadership, n.d.).  The capacity to both collaborate and build collaborative opportunities within and across schools is a competency embedded in provincially-sponsored professional development opportunities for school administrators (The Institute for Ontario Leadership, n.d.). Collaboration is highly valued in my organization because it enables “schools, school communities and districts to work together and to learn from each other with a central focus on improved teaching quality and student achievement and well-being” (The Institute for Ontario Leadership, n.d., p. 8).

Innovation is promoted through dialogue. The ability to have ‘courageous conversations’ focused on challenging current practices allows for new ideas and innovation  leading to improvements in student achievement and well-being (The Institute for Ontario Leadership, n.d.).

Principal Performance Appraisal

 

Ministry of Education (2013). Principal/Vice-principal performance appraisal. Retrieved from  http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/policyfunding/leadership/ppa_manual.pdf

The Institute for Ontario Leadership (n.d.). Ontario Leadership Framework. Retrieved from https://www.education-leadership-ontario.ca/application/files/8814/9452/4183/Ontario_Leadership_Framework_OLF.pdf

 

 

 

 

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Response to Ruiz Riviera’s Blog X: Devil’s Advocate to Andragogy

Ruiz wrote an interesting post in which he challenged Knowles’ six assumptions of Andragogy outlined in Unit 6 of our course website (Leadership 500, n.d.). He argued that each of the six assumptions about adult learners could support or inhibit their learning. I think Ruiz was successful in making the point that teaching adult learners cannot happen without looking at them from a holistic perspective. Their life circumstances and life experiences have an impact on their ability to be successful learners. Therefore if one is to successfully teach an adult learner, you have to take all of that into consideration.

Having professional conversations with people about their goals and professional development are probably no less complicated for leaders. The individual in front of you is the sum total of their beliefs, experiences, and circumstances. The questions I am wrestling with currently are how to motivate someone to change if they don’t see the need to change, and how to have difficult conversations involving critical feedback without the person becoming defensive. I would love to see more practical examples of transformative leaders in real life so I could observe their approach in this regard.

Leadership 500 (n.d.).  Unit 6 notes. In Unit 6 [Web  page]. Retrieved from https://create.twu.ca/ldrs500/unit-6/unit-6-notes/

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Response to Monica Grace – Good fruit vs bad fruit

When Monica wrote in her post: “It is important to keep in mind, that sometimes leaders have to make hard decisions or voice difficult things, that first seem negative, but actually in the larger perspective are positive and produce growth” it really resonated with me.  I am faced with having to have a difficult conversation with an individual at work that I have been putting off out of fear that it will negatively impact our working relationship. However, the behaviour displayed by this individual is known to everyone, including our administrators. Having this conversation may be difficult, but your post reminded me that I should think of the bigger picture. In the larger perspective, if this individual becomes more aware of their behaviour and changes, it will positively impact all those he works with. Your post also aligns with this week’s focus on conversations about professional development.

I am reminded that transformational leaders “empower followers and nurture them in change. They attempt to raise the consciousness in individuals and to get them to transcend their own self-interests for the sake of others” (Northouse, 2016, p. 175). I recognize that this begins with a positive attitude, and with making a conscious decision to look beyond what the individual is currently producing and seeing them accomplishing more your mind’s eye. It involves being first convinced within yourself that he or she can change for the better, then acting out of that faith. Thank you for inspiring me to look at my current situation from another perspective.

 

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

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Unit 6 Learning Activity 2 – Introducing Jessica

Jessica works for the Fraser health care system. She coordinates home support for seniors who at the end of their life, or who are sick and wish to remain at home while they recover. Her job also involves staffing health care aides at various health care facilities. Jessica works on a multidisciplinary team with doctors, nurses, occupational therapists and social case managers. She is at her best when all the members of her team are working at their best and all are able to collaborate well together. An example of a time when she functioned at her best was when there was a flu outbreak at one of her facilities and she had to coordinate a plan to deal with the outbreak effectively. This involved quarantining affected individuals, contacting those who could have been exposed, and sending out written communication regarding the situation.

Three essential skills for Jessica’s role are: critical thinking, emotional intelligence and innovation. Jessica needs to be able to think on her feet and solve problems as they arise. There are many variables and things tend to change at the spur of the moment. She often has to drop one thing to address something urgent that has arisen. Emotional intelligence is important because her clients are often dealing with the end of a loved one’s life and emotions can run high. She needs to be able to respond rather than react, and to be empathetic and compassionate towards their situation. Innovation is necessary because one approach does not often work for every client. Jessica needs to think of new ways of getting tasks done according to each particular each situation. Fortunately, these skills are areas of strength for Jessica, and this contributes to why she loves her job so much. One area of weakness for her is conflict management. She has identified that she needs to learn how to better address situations where she needs to have a difficult conversation with someone without putting them on the defensive. She identified that her organization offers free courses in conflict-resolution and she is planning to take them.

Having a professional conversation with Jessica about her development would be very easy. She is a proactive person and has already thought about where she would like to be in five years. Her goal is to become a director of care for an home support site. She already has a plan in place: (1) to complete the Masters program; (2) to build partnerships and a network of people who are managers and directors to give her greater exposure; (3) gain more education through courses offered by her organization; (4) apply for interim management positions to demonstrate her management capabilities. It was a pleasure speaking with Jessica and I am sure that she will achieve her goals in the next five years.