Category: Unit 4

B, I really appreciated your message about the value of time management in your recent post. It reminded me once again about the importance of our thoughts and how they impact everything that we do, including how we use our time. The bible mentions that we are what we think (Proverbs 23:7). I have come to the realization that the root cause for the struggles that people have with issues such as procrastination or time management (indeed any issue at all) is what they THINK and BELIEVE. This course is instrumental in helping me make changes in how I operate, and it all starts with the thoughts in my head. I recognize that I need to look beyond a particular behaviour to the underlying thoughts governing my behaviour in that situation. Prayer and studying God’s word will enable me to see and to change negative thought patterns into positive ones. This will take as much tenacity as the character in your story demonstrated as he fought for the vision he had for his life, but it is a challenge well worth meeting. Thanks for your inspiring post.

Daniel you made an interesting point when you compared psychodynamic emotional intelligence to that of servant leadership in your blog post:

There is a difference between emotional intelligence and servant leadership’s awareness. Mainly that emotional intelligence focuses on looking at and understanding the follower’s emotions and then harnessing those so that the follower can become more productive and effective. Whereas awareness in the servant leadership approach allows the leader to step aside and view themselves and their own perspectives in the greater context of the situation (Northouse, 2019, p. 229).

I agree with your view. According to Northouse, the underlying premise of the value of emotional intelligence is that “people who are more sensitive to their emotions and the impact of their emotions on others will be leaders who are more effective” (p. 28). However servant leaders use their awareness of the feelings of others as an opportunity to serve. Not only do they step aside and put the follower’s needs before theirs, they understand the impact that this will have upon others in turn. They know the value of the golden rule: that treating others they way we would want to be treated will in turn give rise to a desire for service on the part of the follower. In the videos this was demonstrated exceptionally well . The employees of Southwest airlines give incredible customer service and the company was rewarded with much success simply because the leaders made it a priority to place their employee’s needs above all else. Ms Barrett and Mr Kelleher translated their awareness of their employee’s needs into direct opportunities for service.

I feel that Ms Barrett demonstrated exceptionally well the approach to psychodynamic leadership that you defined in your blog post. Just by listening to her you could FEEL the passion that she had for serving others and it motivated everything that she did. She believed 100% in modelling the golden rule and this is evident in the fact that it is in fact the mission of the company., thus proving that if you pour yourself in to people, they will in turn pour themselves into others.

With respect to emotional intelligence, it seems that John Maxwell emphasized emotional intelligence more so than Ms Barrett did. He called it ‘people skills’; the ability to be aware of and connect with people.  May takeaway from the two videos is this: the key to successful leadership is the ability to create positive relationships with people through which you can serve their needs and promote their personal development. John Maxwell pointed out that if you can connect with people and invest in their development, you will earn their loyalty and they will be inspired to treat others in exactly the same manner. The goal of leadership according to Maxwell is in fact to replicate yourself; to create other leaders who in turn serve and develop others. This is the essence of transformational servant leadership.

 

In my opinion Colleen Barrett is an excellent example of a servant leader. The fact that she had no previous leadership training or experience speaks volumes to the power of servant leadership and the fact that it is something that can be learned, rather than a special trait. According to Ms Barrett (KnowledgeAtWharton, 2008), Southwest Airlines chose to prioritize providing proactive customer service to their employees above everything else. This high level of service created a domino effect. It motivated the employees to provide excellent service to their customers, the customers became loyal to the company, the company became profitable, and the shareholders were recipients of the profits. Ms. Barrett also spoke of the positive, family-like atmosphere that was developed among staff, customers and shareholders. According to Searle and Barbuto Jr, servant leaders have the potential to bring about positive behaviours in individuals, groups and organizations all at the same time and Southwest Airlines clearly demonstrates this. Ms. Barrett also seemed to meet most of John Maxwell’s levels of leadership (Leadership, 2015), with perhaps the exception of level 4: people development. She did not go into detail about what proactive customer service actually looks like, and whether efforts were made to develop the employees personally or professionally. Interestingly, Herb Kelleher is, in my mind, an example of a transformational servant leader and not just a servan leader because through his mentorship Ms. Barrett was transformed from a legal secretary into a co-president of the company despite her lack of formal training. This story helped me to better differentiate servant leadership from transformational servant leadership and it helped me see that both types of leadership can be extremely effective in the secular business world.

 

KnowledgeAtWharton. [Screen name]. (2008, July 9). Serving on southwest [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watchv=6TgR95vnM0

Leadership. [Screen name]. (2015, Aug 30). John Maxwell 5 levels of leadership full video [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oe6XacmIZms

According to Northouse (2016), transformational leadership is leadership that has as its goal the transformation of people (p. 160). The relationship between the leader and follower is a key element because the bond formed between the leader and the follower is the medium through which the follower is motivated to accomplish tasks. Transformational leadership falls at one end of a spectrum. At the other end of the spectrum is ‘laissez-faire leadership’ in which the leader imposes no direction on the follower, allowing him/her to do as they please. In the middle of the spectrum is transactional leadership. Transactional leadership is leadership in which (a) the leader rewards the follower for meeting expected outcomes using mutually determined rewards, or (b) the leader motivates the follower via correction/punishment for not meeting the expected outcomes. Transformational leadership is more powerful than transactional leadership because it involves “an exceptional form of influence that moves followers to accomplish more than what is usually expected of them” (p. 161). It causes followers to begin to look out for more than just their own self-interests, and causes them to begin to do things for the greater good of the organization. Additionally, Mulla and Krishnan (2011) found that over time, transformational leaders can have an impact upon the moral development of followers.

Servant leadership is demonstrated by empowering and developing people through the expression of humility, authenticity, interpersonal acceptance, stewardship and direction (van Dierendonck, 2011). It is similar to transformational leadership in that the leader’s focus is on the followers. The goal of servant leader puts the needs of the follower first, nurtures and empathizes with them and works for their development through empowerment (Northouse, 2016). The servant leader also demonstrates high moral standards in his/her interactions with the followers. Searle and Barbuto Jr (2011) found that this type of leadership has the potential to simultaneously bring about positive behaviours in individuals, groups and organizations.

Smith, Montagno and Kuzmenko (2004) investigated the similarities between Servant and Transformational leadership and found that in both types of leadership the interrelationship between leader and follower was very important. Both leaders put the needs of followers above their own, model positive behaviours and demonstrate integrity in their leadership. Despite these similarities, however, they also concluded that the theoretical underpinnings and the contexts in which the two are successful differ significantly. Servant leadership was found to be more successful in static environments while transformational leadership was found to be more successful in dynamic environments. This seems to differ with the findings of Mulla and Krishnan who asserted that transformational leaders demonstrated impact upon the moral development of the followers over time. This led me to wonder what would be the optimal number of years necessary for transformational leadership to significantly impact the followers, given the findings of Smith et. al.  I also wondered if there was an optimal size of the organization beyond which transformational and servant leaders would be limited in their ability to form significant relationships with their followers…..?

 

References

Mulla, Z.R. and 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. DOI: 0.1177/097168581101700203

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

Searle, T.P. and Barbuto, J.E. (2011). Servant Leadership, Hope, and Organizational Virtuousness: A Framework Exploring Positive Micro and Macro Behaviors and Performance Impact. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies 18(1), 107-117. DOI: 10.1177/1548051810383863

Smith, B.N., Montagno, R.V. and Kuzmenko, T.N. (2004). Transformational and servant leadership: Content and contextual comparisons. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies 10(4), 80-92.

Van Dierendonck, D. (2011). Servant leadership: A review and synthesis. Journal of Management 37(4), 1228-1261. DOI: 10.1177/0149206310380462