Leadership

         DAVE'S          LEADERSHIP EVALUATION
         

7

         












DAVE'S LEASDERSHIP EVALUATION
David Brown
Harvard Extension School
MG4100

There is great difficult in self-examination. Especially when assessing one's current performance as a leader. To accomplish a thorough and minimally biased exploration of myself as a leader, this essay will:
Describe          historical influences that have disproportionately affected my          outlook on leadership
         Describe          personal points of strength such as: mindfulness, authenticity, and          cultural intelligence
         Compare          these traits to relevant situations, management mythology, and          skills as described in the referenced articles.
History
Growing up in a working-class family of eight, I distinctly recall my father consistently imparting a simple emblematic task that shaped my perspective on work and, by extension, leadership: "Stand in the front yard, close your eyes if you must, and point in a directions, and go!"
After picking a direction, and earning the scholarships necessary to achieve my collegiate dreams. I found myself trapped between an opportunity to attend Emory & Henry College and ungovernable pressures from an escalating conflict with another student. One day after leaving school, this student and a group of his friends followed me to my neighborhood to initiate a confrontation. I vividly recall him screaming at me, "Who do you think you are? What do you want to do? What are you going to do? I'm not scared." These questions have transformed into my personal vision. When I think of leadership, my immediate thoughts go back to that moment where I first encountered my simple yet clear vision.
Who          do I think I am? A man with average talents and above average          motivation
         What          do I want to do? Succeed at every task ahead of me
         What          am I going to do? Demonstrate my motivations through effort and          unwavering belief in the attainability of my goals. Push others to          define their own goals and pursue them with the same fervor.
         Am          I scared? Yes.
I tell this story because it has had a disproportionate impact on my attributes as a leader, and seemingly underlies some other opportunities for development. I would argue that this simple vision positively expresses itself through mindfulness, acute social awareness (culturally and emotionally), and expressed authenticity; however, may be seen as unwieldy or tyrannical to others.
Strength of Mindfulness, Authenticity & Awareness
Anne McKee, Frances Johnston and Richard Massimilian (2006) published an examination of the inner conflicts that result from the pressures of leadership and concluded that mindfulness, hope and compassion have a remarkable ability to relieve and renew a leader. Most people would agree that there is a physical and emotional toll that results from good leadership-- described as Power Stress in Mckee's et al (2006). In dealing with this power stress it is proposed that mindfulness, or self-awareness, is a foundational element on the path to renew. Starting with the day of the unfortunate after school encounter described above, I have recognized that one of my best leadership attributes is the intimate understanding of myself, which can be referred to as mindfulness and practically characterized as self-control, consistently high energy levels, and low levels of power stress. As it happens, mindfulness is also an important component of skillful authenticity.
In the first chapter from "Why Should Anyone be Led By You?" Robert Goffee & Gareth Jones (2000) reinforce the importance of mindfulness from a slightly different perspective. For one to be themselves more (with skill), Gofee & Gareth (2000) look at three tenants of authenticity:
Consistency          between words and deeds
         Coherence          in role performance
         Comfort          with self
Considering the situational, non-hierarchical and relational nature of leadership, practicing skillful authenticity while being self-aware has a tendency to builds trust and enable higher levels of focus on meaningful goals and objectives. After years of sales training and high stake client interactions, I have found this to be true in my attempts to establish and maintain relationships with my clients. Considering the primary goal of these relationships are to influence decisions, it is also imperative to change surface level behaviors to accommodate cultural differences, and sense the current status of your relationships in varied situations, which is explored in depth in P. Earley's and Elaine Mosakowski's "Cultural Intelligence" (2004).
Not only did Earley and Mosakowski (2004) address the cognitive, physical and motivational elements of cultural intelligence, but he also identified several profiles. I identify with the natural, meaning I rely heavily on intuition to identify and adjust to others. While this approach comes with positive and negative attributes, I have been most successful in situations where I was able to immediately and accurately recognize the cultural elements at play.
Holistically, my primary strengths as a leader are my intuitive ability to identify culture and the needs associated, self-awareness, and authenticity. Leveraging and continuing to develop these strengths have had a tremendous impact on my ability to lead my clients and colleagues toward desirable results. Nevertheless, as characterized in Henry Mintzberg's article, "The Manager's Job: Folklore and Fact," (1975) the chaotic nature of my day-to-day leadership experiences have led to a hired gun | chosen one persona as depicted in "The Paradox of Management Tyranny" by Hao Ma, Ranjan Karri and Kumar Chittipeddi (2004). Naturally, there are considerable opportunities for personal development.
Developing Flexibility
My father's advice and my personal vision are sufficient provocations for tenacity and decisiveness. Per contra, my over reliance on intuition, injunction and forcefulness is an opportunity for development.
Henry Sims Jr., Samer Faraj and Seokhwa Yun (2009) provides support to this thought, specifically concerning forcefulness and injunction, in "When should a leader be directing or empowering?" Recognizing the value of situational leadership, I consider this a high yield opportunity for growth. Furthermore, systematizing my approach to individual cases and reducing my reliance on intuition could reduce the risk of inappropriate responses or behaviors in varied circumstances. Utilizing some of the schematics from Philip Rosenzweig article, "National Culture and Management" (1994) there is potential for mastery of 'silent languages' and indices of work related values.
Another development opportunity can be found in "Effective Managers Say the Same Thing Twice (or More)" by Tsedal Neeley and Paul Leonardi (2011). Having a tendency to expect others to anticipate, I have regular communicated needs only one. While Leonardi suggest there may be an upper threshold for over-communication, I am likely closer to the other extreme.
How Am I Doing?
Inconclusive. This self-examination of my leadership characteristic does not provide a definitive answer, but it does begin a healthy inner conversation. When considering personal and professional results of my leadership, one could argue that my successes are the result of positive inertia from situations and opportunities beyond my control. Regardless, I will remain focused on continuous improvement and exemplary leadership.



"The          Manager's Job: Folklore and Fact," by Henry Mintzberg, Harvard          Business Review,          

"Mindfulness"          chapter from Resonant Leadership, by Richard Boyatzis and Annie          McKee
         March-April          1990          

HBP:          "Be Yourself - More- with Skill" , Chapter 1 from Why Should          Anyone Be Led By You?, by Robert Goffee and Gareth Jones, Harvard          Business Review Book, September-
         October          2000

"The          Paradox of Management Tyranny" by Hao Ma, Ranjan Karri and Kumar          Chittipeddi

"When          should a leader be directing or empowering?" by Henry Sims Jr.,          Samer Faraj and Seokhwa Yun. Business Horizons 2009.

"Cultural          Intelligence" by P. Christopher Earley and Elaine Mosakowski.          Harvard Business          
         Review

"National          Culture and Management" A Harvard Business School Background Note          by Philip          
         Rosenzweig

"Effective          Managers Say the Same Thing Twice (or More)" by Tsedal Neeley and          Paul          
         Leonardi.          Harvard Business Review