A633.9.3.RB - Polyarchy Reflections

The oligarchy  management techniques used in business today have become outdated. The king and queen style rule of oligarchy  is an effective management technique for uncomplicated tasks with uneducated cave men. This technique doesn’t work with employees who are continuously growing smarter.

            The biggest update with CAL is the ability to challenge leadership(Obolensky,2014). Challenging leadership to me is asking the hard questions to managers. Challenging upwards is always an intimidating task because the upper management are the ones effecting your pay. Challenging the ideas of those who effect your pay was never a good idea in oligarchy. With CAL, challenging is supposed to be done, not avoided(Obolensky,2014). Challenging anyone, superior or other employees, has to be in a specific non-demeaning way.

            Followership is the other most important thing about CAL to me(Obolensky,2014). The roll of management and upper tier management has not been a goal of mine. I have always wondered where my place was in the hierarchical chain. I now understand that you don’t have to be upper tier management to be a leader, with level 5 followership I can be a leader in any position I am placed in(Obolensky,2014). The level 5 followership is leadership under a manager(Obolensky,2014)r. An employee doesn’t need a title or position to have leadership(Obolensky,2014).

            Over the next 3 years, I want to achieve a better understanding and control of my emotions. I need to leave my emotions at the door. This can be done by reflecting on my past mistakes and getting a business coach. A coach can put me into situations that will challenge me and help me control my emotions.

            I also want to support my company in putting together a training development course for inspection. In the 70-20-10 outlook I want to dedicate 20% of my time to developing this course(Obolensky,2014). I will work hand in hand in furthering the depth, the course along with what goes into the courses. I want to dedicate 10% of my time to personal/educational development, reading and education.

           

References

Obolensky, N. (2014). Complex adaptive leadership: Embracing paradox and uncertainty. Farnham: Gower.

A633.8.3.RB - How To Better Enable Leadership

After interviews and interactions with coworkers and superiors, I have found that the biggest leadership ideal to have is communication. Communication is the base for all leadership. Without the proper communication, leadership can’t be established or grown.

          The level of followership is stunted within some of the cells in my organization. Some of the areas that are stunted are because the followers don’t know who they are following. If the manager is the operations manager, then work needs to be pushed through with enough quality that the product won’t come back on warranty. If the manager is the quality manager, then the part needs to be as right as it can be towards the maintenance manual. When the manager is the sales manager, it is all about what customer is first. With all the managers, it is hard to know the direct chain of command. The subordinates work off of who is shouting the loudest.

          There needs to be an intervention of followership. The managers need to have followership to understand leadership. Through enabling level 5 followership, my organization can run at a better level of understanding each other(Obolensky,2014). While it needs to be understood that all the managers have needs, the needs need to come through a central manager to be communicated effectively.

Through the use of the GROW model, my company can communicate what the needs of the company are and how we are going to achieve them(Obolensky,2014). With small groups, the organization can promote what they see as the areas of concern are and compare them to what the floor needs to effectively achieve those goals. It will be a slow road to success with a lot of diversion based on the needs of the subordinates.

I can help my organization achieve the GROW model by not spreading gossip and devolving confidential information(Obolensky,2014). Through the use of effective and positive communication, I can promote our leadership. Personal interviews and small groups can also promote what is really going on. I have also started coaching new hires as to what the right thing to do is. Through level 5 followership, the new hires can rationalize what needs to be done and take the proper steps to achieve the goals(Obolensky,2014).

Obolensky, Nick. Complex Adaptive Leadership: Embracing Paradox and Uncertainty (p. 181). Ashgate Publishing Ltd. Kindle Edition.

A633.7.4.RB - How Do Coaches Help?

To be an executive coach, it is necessary to know that clients are the first and best experts capable of solving their own problems and achieving their own ambitions; that is precisely the main reason why clients are motivated to call on a coach. When clients bring important issues to a coach, often they already made a complete inventory of their personal or professional issues and identified all possible (known) options. Clients have already tried working out their issues alone, and have not succeeded.

After some reflection on the above statement, I realized it has to be read in the correct context. It seems to me that the executive coach is talking about multiple opportunities they have had to coach others.  The coach isn’t saying that the client already has all the answers and the subordinates are not working with them. It can be implied that the executive coach is saying that the client is capable of solving their own problems, making a complete inventory of options, and determining important issues. They have within them, through coaching, the ability to achieve leadership.

            The statement starts off with saying that a client that is going to a coach already has the recreant knowledge of solving their own problems. The statement is not saying that the client already knows and can’t execute. I think it is saying that the client has what it takes to solve their own problems. A good leader can see the big picture(“sell”) and show others what they mean(“tell”) (Obolensky,2014). A manager can tell employees what needs to be done(“devolve”) and why(“involve”) (Obolensky,2014). Through the combination of the leader and manager strategies, leadership can evolve to produce a powerful result (Obolensky,2014).

            The executive coach states that clients only bring important issues, implying that they already made a complete inventory of all important issues with all possible options. This is what a manager would bring to a coaching meeting, a list of possible outcomes. A leader would have brought their group to the meeting to see what problems could be concluded. The executive coach will show that a combination of strategies needs to be applied to have better success. It is important to know all the possible outcomes, but it is not the only strategy  that needs to be implemented. You can’t show the employees the facts and expect them to follow based on logic. Leadership will find who will have followership and who needs persuasion.

            In conclusion, the above statement made by an executive coach needs to be read with the right context, it seems they are talking about different clients in the same statement. A manager has all “devolve” and “involve” information needed to make a good decision(Obolensky,2014). The leader has opportunity to “sell” and “tell” the employees what needs done(Obolensky,2014). The coach will express the needs for a combination of the two for leadership(Obolensky,2014).  

References

Obolensky, Nick. Complex Adaptive Leadership: Embracing Paradox and Uncertainty. Gower, 2014.

A633.7.3.RB - Leader Follower Relationship

Has your thinking changed over the course of the past six weeks, if so; why, and, if not; why?

            In the past 6 weeks I have grown in the understanding of what it takes to be a leader. I have held the distinction of management and a leader to be different. The leader needs to be the example and the manager needs to make the right decision. Throughout the last 6 weeks I have only deepened my distinction that a manager can’t be a leader. The decisions between a leader and manager were too distinct. For example, a leader is in the muck and mire, while the manager was leading the team on and making the decision on where to go. Through leadership, my outlook has changed.

            Leadership is more about the combination of corporate decisions while empowering the employees. Leadership is the tough decision on corporate direction and making it work through the employees. A manager doesn’t have to be a dictator but needs to empower employees through being a leader. There is a distinct line where leadership needs to make the manager/leader decision and make the counterpart work in conjunction. For example, if a manager thinks a new program is best for the organization, then the leader side needs to tell the employees how it will work and sell them on the idea even though it will be hard. Finally, leadership will be getting the employees to a level 5 followership.  

What is the significance of this assessment in the context of your future leadership goals and objectives?

            My future leadership goals is development. I think that a leader should never stop trying to develop. This does not mean only trying new tactics or psychology, but also developing myself to see that I have to change in order to have good leadership. If a leader is not willing to change first, how can they expect followership.

            One of my main objectives is to control the conversation without emotions. A lot of leadership is tell and sell, not only to followers but other managers. If another manager won’t listen to reason of sell, then telling won’t work. Leadership is about empowering those other managers to work with you. Seeing the other side of the coin is another way to sell the idea, putting yourself in their shoes. Through leadership, I need to sell and tell not let my emptions rule the conversation.

“Many people see leadership as a position, and with any leadership position there must be followers” (Waters,2014). Leadership is not about position or entitlement for employees to follow. Leadership is about making followership. If people don’t want to follow you then you are managing, if you have followers but go against the betterment of the organization than you are leading without representation. It is easy to lead a rebellion, leadership is leading the organization in mind.

References:

Waters, Chris. “THE 3 BASIC LEADERSHIP OBJECTIVES.” LinkedIn, 26 Sept. 2014, www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140926111139-35845630-the-3-basic-objectives-of-a-leader.

Obolensky, Nick. Complex Adaptive Leadership: Embracing Paradox and Uncertainty. Gower, 2014.