Leadership is about understanding how an individual's culture can determine his/her values. A leader must also respect those with different cultural backgrounds.
I changed my definition because after finishing the cultural detectives packet I understood where my values originated, from my culture. The exercises in the course packet allowed me to reflect on the past and from there I could see that the various cultures I belong to have shaped who I am today. Since there are infinitely many cultures in today's society, it is the duty of a leader to respect those who may be a part of those cultures. This is important because certain values individuals hold may differ from the team, but they've grown up with that mindset, so the best way to resolve this issue is by working around it. This cultural acceptance is much more important regarding leadership than the previous week's definition about the factors affecting change.
Previous week: Leadership is about understanding how an individual's culture can determine his/her values. A leader must also respect those with different cultural backgrounds.
Leadership is about understanding how an individual's culture can determine his/her values. A leader must also respect those with different cultural backgrounds.
For this week's definition of leadership I believed that it needed no change from last week's. This is primarily because with continuing racial tensions rising from the Treyvon Martin issue, now is the most important time to be focusing on cultural differences. The differences and similarities individuals have between each other is not the cause of miscommunications, it's whether or not you accept it. If you have the capability to tell yourself that it's perfectly acceptable for others to have different background opinions, then you will be able to minimize personnel misunderstandings. The cultural detectives packet is a great tool for any individual or leader who wants to learn the importance of cultural acceptance and how their own culture affects them.
Cultural Detectives Packet
Previous week: Leadership is about understanding how an individual's culture can determine his/her values. A leader must also respect those with different cultural backgrounds.
Leadership is displayed when an individual is able to discuss racism and how it affects society. Leaders must be comfortable discussing sensitive topics in an objective voice.
I changed this week's definition because I believed that voicing one's opinions regarding other cultures is more important than only understanding it. Racism still exists in our society today; however, it is because of the work of leaders that help our many cultures peacefully rally our voices to make a change. In the article "Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria" by Tatum, it is discussed that prejudice is different from racism, and I agree. Prejudice is the idea of "one story" about a certain culture, while racism implies there is an advantage. Although there will always be passive racism in society, leaders must step up and give society another story to add to their "one story".
Tatum, B. D. (1997). "Defining Racism: Can we talk?" Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? (pp. 3 -‐ 17). New York: Basic Books.
Leadership is about driving change. A leader must also understand the factors slowing change.
According to the "The Real Reason people won't change" article, there are conflicting commitments that may prevent individuals from adapting to change. It is very important for leaders to be able to identify these conflicts by having a personal one-on-one discussion with the individual. These small conflicts can lead to "change" being delayed which can affect the group's ability to move forward/perform. This week's definition focuses more on change and how to identify the factors preventing it, while last week focused primarily on understanding communication styles. This definition change was necessary because a leader needs to address the conflicting commitment before serious miscommunications occur.
Kegan, R., & Lahey, L. L. (2001). The Real reason people won't change. Harvard Business Review, 79(10), 85-‐ 92.
]]>Leadership is a quality an individual develops after they accept the fact that there are a variety of communication styles and no single one is superior. That individual must also be able to identify which communication style others use.
According to the "Factors Affecting Communication Style" article, there are many different types of communication styles; their development depends on factors such as culture, values, or goals. It is very important for a leader to be able to identify the style of communication individuals in their group uses; this will help prevent miscommunications. With an open mind to the understanding that no communication style is better than another, the leader will understand how to decode what others are inferring. This week's definition differed from last week's because last week focused more on the 7 C's and how it affects decision/action making; while this week focuses on what affects communication styles. I changed it because of the examples I read in the article about the supervisors being able to resolve issues of miscommunication by understanding how it began.
Saphiere, D. H., Mikk, B. K., & Devries, B. I. (2005). Factors affecting communication style: Starring acts in the circus. Communication highwire (pp. 47 - 82). Boston: Intercultural Press
]]>Leadership is primarily an individual's understanding of the importance of collaboration and valuing individuals. A leader must also have self-knowledge as well as being able to facilitate a positive social change.
According to the "A Social Change Model of Leadership Development" guidebook, leadership is about collaborating as a group to reach a goal and that individual values/opinions are assets to the group. The guidebook provides a metaphor of this by showing how a variety of melodies (individuals) are required to work together in sync to create harmony (the group). The reading suggests that a leader must have self-knowledge so that he/she knows what their limitations are, what areas they need to improve on, and how they can help others improve. They must also be able to facilitate a positive social change, this way it will more effectively change the way the institution/community functions. This week's definition differs from the previous week primarily because now it focuses more on what a leader should understand about themselves and the group, as opposed to gathering data and facts. I believe this change was necessary because although knowing data about leadership is important, understanding oneself provides a leader with a plan on which aspects of leadership development they should focus on the most/least.
Astin, H.S., & Astin, A. W. (1996). A social change model of leadership development: Guidebook (Version III) (pp. 4 - 27). Los Angeles: University of California Los Angeles Higher Education Research Institute.
]]>Leadership is something that directly correlates to an individual who has high social intelligence. A leader must also understand how research reveals that biology is connected to social interactions.
According the Goleman's article, the definition of social intelligence is "a set of interpersonal competencies built on specific neural circuits that inspire others to be effective". It is important for a leader to possess social intelligence because research shows that if a leader can create a positive work environment for the followers, then they will feel more comfortable to work harder. Regarding the biology of social interactions, having documentation of evidence that social interactions between leaders and followers actually produce authentic responses can influence leaders to learn to gain more social intelligence. The primary difference between this week's definition and the previous week's is that while last week focused mainly on the development of a group, this week focuses more on social intelligence. I feel that it is important to focus on social intelligence because understanding how to provide an organization with a positive attitude will lead to high performance.
Goleman, D., & Boyatzis, R. (2008). "Social intelligence and the biology of leadership." Harvard Business Review, 86(9), 74--‐81.
Leadership is having the ability to understand the multiple processes of how a group is developed and always know what step in the development process the group is in. A leader must also understand group roles and be able to identify the members of the group with a role.
Understanding how a group is developed is an important aspect of leadership primarily because a leader must be able to identify what step of the process their group is in. A leader who understands the forming, storming, norming, and performing steps of a group development will be able to take the group through these steps or even revisit them if he/she feels it is necessary. Regarding the understanding of group roles, there are a large variety of roles that members of a group may hold, so it is important that the leader is able to identify these members so he/she knows how to properly motivate them. This definition changed from last week's primarily because last week focused more on core values and this week focuses more on the characteristics of a group. I feel it is important to focus on the characteristics of a group because understanding how a group functions can help a leader troubleshoot any issues.
Komives, S. R., Lucas, N., & McMahon, T. R. (1998). "Interacting in Teams and Groups." Exploring Leadership: For college students who want to make a difference (pp. 165 -‐ 194). San Francisco: Jossey-‐Bass.
2. Leadership is a coercive and noncoercive way of guiding followers to a common goal. Leadership must also be secular and not spiritual to keep a positive work environment.
a. This is primarily due to the fact that human beings tend to lose focus while working on certain tasks for period of time, and a leader is needed to guide them back on track. There are others who believe that a leader must be only noncoercive, but I argue that some followers will take advantage of your good nature if you do not implement some type of punishment. I also believe that leadership should be secular and not spiritual due to the fact that there is such a large variety of religion in the world that it would be difficult to operate under a particular belief. I changed my definition from last week from a more democratic approach to a now more neutral and managerial approach. I believe that this change was necessary to represent how leaders should conduct business in the workplace.
b. Terry, R.(2001)."Deciding what you believe." Seven zones for leadership: Acting authentically in stability and chaos (pp. 20 --‐ 40). Mountain View, CA: Davies--‐ Black Publishing, Inc.
3. Leadership is a skill that is gained when one understands his/hers core values and understands how to represent them in the workplace. These core values are imbedded into one's mind and must be held constant throughout their leadership term.
a. Leading with one's values can give credibility to the leader because if they truly believe in their decisions then it will show their followers that they can trust the leader. Identifying one's core values is the first step in understanding what natural talents you are born with and what you can succeed with. However, even after one knows what their core values are, they need to make sure that their work environment has the same values or else there may be negative results due to insubordination. This definition differs from last week's primarily because this week's meaning focuses more on a leader's personality and how it develops into his/her leadership style. I believe this change was necessary to represent how a leader is made from his/her values.
b. Lee, R. J. & King, S. N. (2001). Base your leadership values on personal values. Discovering the leader in you: A guide to realizing your personal leadership potential. (pp. 55 - 70). San Francisco: Jossey--‐Bass.