The best and most useful concept I have learned so far this semester is that leadership is about the followers. As a leader, it is my responsibility and privilege to adapt to the circumstances and requirements of those I lead. The more I learn about different leadership communication theories, the more strongly I believe the importance of adaptation. However, this is not the only concept or theory I have learned this semester. Through the pages of this website, I hope to elaborate on the other concepts and theories I have learned and show why I found the adaptation concept to be the most useful.
I have not changed this belief since I originally composed this section. I still believe adaptability and the willingness to adapt are the two key components of a solid leadership style. While I plan to incorporate many other concepts from this course in the elements of my life where leadership is required, my ability to adapt is a skill I will particularly hone and focus on.
However, I used the midterm portfolio rubric and grading (see link 'Rubric' to the right) to help me further develop and solidify concepts I found particularly useful for the future.
I spend most of my time leading in three different environments. First, I work as a Human Resources consultant, preparing both candidates and companies to undergo the rigorous requirements of the recruiting and hiring process. Second, I direct an extracurricular Junior High program that introduces young adolescents to theatre concepts. Third, I work for a local theatre as an Outreach Director. In all of these environments, I am required to be accountable for scheduling, training, event/curriculum planning, marketing, research, and coaching/counseling employees and clients.
With all I am responsible for, my biggest frustration is time-wasters. I confess that prior to this class, I considered self-assessments to be time wasters. However, the assessments in the book and those supplied in class have provided excellent insights into my leadership styles and preferences. Understanding my preferred styles helped me evaluate whether or not I was using the most effective method and how I could improve as a leader. For example, the assessment on page 40 in the textbook (see "Assessment" category to the right) helped me understand that I prefer a Democratic Style, which led to an insight that I prefer to be involved in the process of leading, rather than allowing those I lead to handle situations without me. This insight helped me choose to change that style with my HR consulting team: sometimes, my team is better served making decisions on their own instead of calling me for every "final word." I decided to give that a spin and found, to the great delight of the entire team, that they feel more empowered to move forward on difficult projects and consequently, feel more capable of taking on the new initiatives I had been aiming to introduce for our customers.
My circumstances have changed since I wrote this. I was offered (and readily accepted) a position as the full time Community Outreach Director at The Grand Theatre at Salt Lake Community College. This unexpected change required me to re-evaluate my participation in other activities. I had committed to several events and assignments prior to this change, though, so I still had to coordinate the completion of those projects. Several projects required my attention on the same day and within the same week, and I discovered to my great delight that my earlier determination to be better about delegating responsibilities made me capable of delivering the best possible outcomes on each one of the projects. Had I not learned what I wrote above when I did, the last three weeks would not have been the successes they turned out to be.
I started my new position with requirements to coordinate a fundraising breakfast with a room full of potential donors, a final consulting project on the east coast, production and performance of a junior high aged musical, negotiation with my insurance company about a car accident I was in which happened on my first day of work, and motivation/training of 5 brand-new volunteers for the three events the theatre hosted within my first eleven days of work. And isn't it just the way of things that each big deadline on another project almost always directly related to a deadline at school? I'm not being hyperbolic when I say I would not have survived this time without that delegation process.
I think one of the most humbling experiences was watching my husband work quietly in the background to do housework and other errands so I could be out managing this crazy span of time. I indirectly referred to this in my paper about "Apollo 13" (see link to the right.) When Ed Harris said "I believe this will be our finest hour", the reason that stood out so clearly to me was because I had a partner at home, living that very principle and proving that he could be a good follower, leader, and partner, adapting as best he could. I did not directly delegate to him what needed to be done. He found the things that needed doing and did them. He did not need a fanfare to do what was necessary. I strongly believe that is another mark of a successful leader - serving those around them by getting things done without being told. The textbook describes this as Organizational Altruistic Behavior. My marriage may only be a two-person organization, but requires just as much time and attention as any other organization. I believe I will be able to use this example moving forward because the behavior was modeled so clearly for me by someone I care about so deeply.
Another particularly enlightening activity was preparing to teach the group lesson on Chapter 11, regarding Ethical challenges facing both leaders and followers. Because I prepared the section from the chapter related to Ethical Followership (see "Preparation" category to the right), I acquired a useful insight that helped me face and correct a challenge at the theatre. As the Outreach Director, I am responsible for bridging the gap between our Board and fundraising efforts. I am not the leader of the Board, nor do I have the authority to dictate their actions. However, as I am an employee of the theatre, I must find a tactful way to suggest opportunities for them to donate their time and funds to improve the experience of patrons. The Board was very cynical about the theatre, which translated into deep resentment and a usually sour disposition regarding requests for donations.
After reading the section in Chapter 11 on Ethical Followership, I learned that Cynicism is something followers choose when they experience a lack of communication and so, a lack of safety. I realized that in order to create an environment where Board members could be good 'followers', I would need to model the behavior I wanted them to employ and provide consistent, complete information about the donation and volunteer process. To put it simply: their cynicism stemmed from a lack of understanding, not a lack of desire.
I had never considered Cynicism to be an unethical behavior for a follower - nor promoting a lack of communication as a leader to be an unethical behavior. A close evaluation of the text provided me with a new insight that as a leader, I have a responsibility to provide an open, useful, communicative environment to those I lead. And as a follower, I have a responsibility to choose to communicate with my leader instead of resorting to cynical closed-mindedness.
I had another learning moment regarding ethics during this semester. As part of the local leader project, my group decided to interview Brent Lange, CAO from the Hale Theatre. One of our questions for Brent was regarding ethical challenges he'd faced as a leader. He surprised me with his answer. He directly confronted an ethical problem that was recently in the media: compensation of C-Level Executives at a non-profit, specifically Mark and Sally Dietlein (see Newspaper link to the right.) I thought Brent would either avoid this topic or respond with a spin of the answer. He, instead, used this example and explained that he felt it was ethics in reverse. He said that he believed that any C-Level Executive of any organization deserved a 6-figure income, whether or not it was a non-profit organization. Further, he pointed out that arguments about salary cannot be made by those not in the organization who have not done the job. This was a surprising argument that caused me to think very deeply about my own ethical stances.
I had to consider Mr. Lange's words side by side with the Enron case study we did earlier in the semester. After taking into account my reaction to the Enron documentary, I felt I had an adequate measuring stick for determining future ethical dilemmas. I decided that I do not agree with Mr. Lange - but only partly. I agree that the public cannot always understand why a decision is made. However, I disagree with the disparity between Mr. Lange's argument for C-Level pay and the pay given to actors, technicians, ushers, and other staff, who receive significantly lower salaries than they would if they worked at other for-profit organizations. His argument is only good so long as the theatre offers "great pay for great work" to all employees and contractors. Like Enron, Mr. Lange's argument was meant to support an elite few at the top. This was unsettling, to say the least, and I will now have to carefully consider how I will approach my participation at that theatre in the future.
On the next two tabs, I will present further leadership communication theories I have learned, evaluations of my leadership skill levels, and some of my personal goals to be a better leader.