The capacity for evolution defines the intellectual, emotional, social, physical, spiritual, and historical experience of humanity across time and space. It is this human capacity for simple and complex changes within the structures of self and society which provides the inspiration for the scholarly study of leadership.
The term leader naturally conjures up historic examples of remarkable human beings, like, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Junior, Muhammed Ghandi, Mother Theresea, and countless others whose life example points out the ability of an individual to ignite within humanity a yearning for cooperative efforts toward creating and sustaining change. Leadership is woven into the fabric of our indivivual and societal life, it provides structure and purpose within an otherwise chaotic world, therefore it is vital we empower men and women to be ambassadors of innovation and transformation within their respective realms of influence.
This week we had the opportunity to read chapters one, two, and nine within the course textbook, “The Leadership Experience,” and gain insight into the art and science of leadership within the twentyfirst century. For me the critical themes of application for leadership center on vision for the future, self awareness and mastery, effective communication, and finally relationship. Vision is the only static component a leader can grasp onto within the everchanging landscape of our daily lives thus successful leaders must remain cognizant that decisions made today will impact the trajectory of tomorrow.
Therefore a leader must convey the vision of tomorrow effectively, i. e. , inspire followers by an appeal to the heart, ultimately this connection will create internal drive and investment among followers that the work of today equals the opportunities we seek for tomorrow. The labor of today, i. e. , focus on identification and mastery of personal strengths is another prominent theme within the chronicles of successful leadership. Abraham Lincoln is a prime example of the fruit stemming forth from a conscious awareness and deliberate effort to develop upon his strength of communication.
Lincoln had an encounter early on in his political career during which his unwieldly verbal skills, i. e. , mockery and ridicule, left an opponent in tears (Daft & Lane. 2015, p. 3). This experience lead Lincoln to make a conscious effort to regulate his emotions, exercise empathy, and utilize his craft for the advancement or noble endeavors (Daft & Lane, 2015, p. 3). An effective leader must not only be aware of his or her strength but also develop them through continual practice and refinement of individual character.
Lincoln’s strength of communication could not have become the asset it did without the cultivation of emotional regulation, empathy, and conscientious effort to apply his language abilities to positively influence others. For me this theme highlight the importance of not only developing our strengths as individuals, followers, and leaders but also mastering those elements of our character that inhibit us from using our gifts to the fullest potential. Communication is a vital skill leaders of the twenty first century must hone, this provides the basis for the creation of relationships, trust, and transmission of a common vision.
It is not enough for a leader to be able to articulate a thought or idea clearly, instead a leader must also employ effective channels for communication, offer inspiration, provide clarity, and finally create platforms for reciprocal feedback among all members of the group. Successful leaders communicate a vision symbolically providing followers with more than just a big picture and instead a clear idea of the affect the work he or she does directly supports the shared purpose of the organization.
This communication is essential because it is here the leader can unite a group of individuals around a central purpose, build trust, and most importantly motivate individual members of the team to take ownership for moving a vision into tangible actions. It is equally important for leaders to listen and create an environment that allows for the concerns of individual members or the group to be heard without fear of reprisal. Part of a leaders responsibility is providing a forum for open communication between members of the group and leadership.
This can be done by leaders being present among employees and asking questions with the purpose of gaining perspective from all stakeholders. If employees do not feel open communication can occur with members of leadership the organization cannot operate productively and problems multiply creating the perfect storm for catastrophe. Effective communication requires establishing a relationship built on trust with members of a group. Leaders must demonstrate trustworthiness through transparency and genuine concern for the well being of the organizations entirety not just specific stakeholders.
Here again communication is critical and leaders can potentially make or break trust with followers by choice of message delivery tactics. The critical errors leaders make that create negativity within the organization are transmission of a message through inappropriate channels and failure to provide purpose for actions or decisions. The advent of social media has taken the world by storm and leaders must find ways of integrating this technology into daily operations, however remain aware overuse can lead to feeling of disconnect or misinterpretation of messages.
Therefore delivery of information that affects members of the group directly or significant changes should occur face to face rather than via email. Along with the medium for communication is the importance of not just informing the group of necessary actions but also the rationale behind them, without this understanding individual members of the group act within a vacuum rather than a fluid machine with a common purpose informing its every action.
For me the elements of effective communication, vision for the future, self awareness and mastery, and finally relationships provide a direction for the further development of my own leadership capacity. Specifically, the importance of communication among all stakeholders not only in the creation of buy in on key intiatives our department is implementing but also in the establishing of relationships built on trust. The nature of my position within our organization does not always lend itself to transparent communication among all stakeholders because we have to follow data privacy laws with regard to our students.
However, I understand the importance of all members of the organization feeling apart of the process, especially with relation to the work my department does on proactive management of challenging student behavior. Ultimately, if all staff can latch onto the vision of proactively and positively managing student behaviors the entire organization will achieve better academic, social, emotional, and environmental results.
Along the lines of communication, I recognize the importance of using the appropriate channels of communication and often the nature of messages my department needs to transmit would be better suited for face to face communication. This can provide an opportunity for constructive dialogue to occur around student behavior plans and an opportunity to unite staff around way to work collaboratively with a student versus independently. Finally, I recognize the importance now of developing those areas of character that inhibit me from successfully using my strengths of building relationships for the creation of systematic changes.
