A511.6.4.RB - A reflection on “Getting Beyond Engagement to Creating Meaning at Work

For this leadership analysis, the question of the day is what it means when we say that leaders must create a “cause” or "meaning."  Without a doubt past and present leaders have lead followers throughout times of struggle.  The article mentions that even when environmental situations seem degrading and dangerous, people still persevere when there is good solid leadership leading them.  But how does leadership connect with followers to give them that sense of cause or meaning.  For example, I can think of biblical heroes such as Moses who had to lead the Hebrews through many difficult situations, the Egyptian soldiers, the Sinai Desert, a lack of food and even those that questioned him and the journey they were on. Other examples that come to mind to support this article include the story of the heroic king, Leonidas of Sparta and how he led 300 of his finest soldiers to battle a heavily favored Persian conqueror, although the story has been modified for effect, there is no doubt that the followers believed in a cause, knowing their odds of their survival.  Even recently, Dr. Martin Luther Kings has been seen as a leader who was able to get people to find meaning in something they believed in.  The one thing all these leaders had in common is that they were agents of change; whether it was being forced upon them or if they were the ones instigating it.  This process of change was not a challenge for them because they had a vision of what needed to be done and the benefits.  The challenge was the followers and how to get them to adopt the same cause.  What we must keep in mind is than Dr. King did not say I have a plan for change, he stated repeatedly that he had a dream, something everyone can believe in.  

 Author Gary Yukl explained how in today’s business word we refer to this meaning in different ways such as Vision.  Vision can be broken done into numerous characteristics such as value statement, slogans, strategic mission objectives, mission vision, and even organizational core values.   From a personal perspective, I do not feel that just the title leader will automatically assist in instilling meaning of work to followers.  For me, the leader that fills this role must definitely be either very charismatic or have a strong understanding of how to apply the transformational leadership process.  This organizational leadership “meaning” cannot be forced upon individuals. They have to want to believe in it and believe it will benefit them either now or in the future.  As mentioned in the video clip by Ken Blanchard company associate Pat Zigarmi, Ed.D, people will always ask, WIIFM (what’s in it for me?).  This is probably the hardest sell for any leader.  I myself have been on both side of the coin as the employee who question why we were doing something and the person in the leadership position trying to answer "why" questions in a clear and concise manner.  The authors mention seven drivers of meaning that leaders can adopt to help employees find meaning at work.  Of the seven statements mentioned, the one that stands out the most to me is number 5; help people identify and work at the types of challenges that line up with their personal experience of engagement or flow.  I feel when you can combine personal experiences, identity of task and engagement by all, overcoming change to find that meaning becomes an easier task to achieve. 

  

 

 

A511.5.4.RB...Remote Leadership article

Or this assignment, I am going to discuss the article, entitled “Remote Transformational Leadership”, written by the numerous researchers, but led by E. Kevin Kelloway.  The overall purpose of this research was to look at transformational leadership from two study perspectives as it relates to remote leadership.  The article failed to provide a support definition.  Because to that, for my response I will define transformational leadership as a style of leadership in which the leader identifies the needed change, creates a vision to guide the change through inspiration, and executes the change with the commitment of the members of the group.  Study one focused on electronically-mediated leadership in its infancy.  The focus was on the perceived effects of transformational leadership, management-by-exception, and laissez-faire from two aspects of employee morale as it relates to transformational leadership. The second study’s purpose was to build on these results by examining the effects of remote leadership on motivation and performance using a laboratory-based investigation.

           
There were two different hypotheses for this study.  Study one was primarily interested in two questions: can recipients perceive and accurately identify leadership a style communicated by e-mail and is receiving an e-mail with a positive leadership message as opposed to a negative message perceived to be associated with positive outcomes?  Study two hypothesized that individuals exposed to e-mail messages containing a charismatic or intellectually stimulating message would express higher levels of task motivation, and demonstrate higher levels of performance on a laboratory task than individuals who received e-mail instructions that did not contain these aspects of transformational leadership.

Two different research methods were used for this study.  First research method was students reading vignettes that focused on electronic email that communicated laissez-faire, management by exception, contingent rewards and the second research method was students reading an intellectually stimulating message electronic message concerning transformational leadership and a problem solving task.  Two different population samples were used for both research methods in these studies. Study one was 175 undergraduate students and study two 105 undergraduate students. However, I do not feel the study results were supportive of the research goals.  As stated in the article, neither the covariate nor the interaction attained statistical significance.

 

I am not sure if the research contains any tangible value.  The findings suggested that remote transformational leadership can still have the same positive effects on performance and attitudes that occurs with face-to-face interaction.  This fact has many unanswered questions, due to the fact that information can be received differently when delivered through an electronic medium (the finding are not definitive).  Findings also suggested that electronically mediated communication channels may be used to convey the same leadership message as in face-to-face interaction, which questions the suggestion that leader-follower distance has a negative effect on performance and followers perceptions of their leader.  Again, the significance of the results was not well supported in this research.  I feel the study was too general and the population was too small.  While these findings await replication in field settings, they suggest considerable promise for the effectiveness of remote transformational leadership.

 

A511.4.4.RB - Leadership Analysis

One of the most essential functions of management is to create willingness amongst the employees to perform at a high level.  That being said, the role of a leader is creating an environment to enhance interest in performance of employees. Motivation is a powerful tool for employee performance, particularly when it is induced by management. Over time there have been numerous studies that have tried to explain how motivation works. The advantages of motivation are numerous and include things such as enhancing overall organizational productivity, improving product quality and can increase employee unity.  What must be kept in perspective is that employees' motivation varies from employee to employee; what motivates one employee might not motivate another employee.  Just as motivation must not be considered as a single entity, neither must the trait that leaders possess.  The style of leadership that focuses on traits can be traced back to the argument that leaders are born versus being developed.  Through personal experience and research, I would definitely state that there are innate qualities and characteristics possessed by strong leaders as addressed by author Gary Yukl in his book Leadership in Organizations, Table 6-2 (Yukl, 2013).  However, this thought process is not without flaw; certain leadership traits will not always identify successful leaders and predict there overall effectiveness. Factors such as the type of organization can also have a huge impact on the effectiveness of a leader, no matter what traits or skills they possess.

Since joining the military at the age of 18, I have become very in tuned with my leadership skills, traits, and competencies.  These personal abilities that I possess have changed over time for various reasons.  I would like to think that I continue to gain knowledge when it comes to using the certain leadership skills and traits for success.  I have taken numerous personality and leadership assessments to include the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, DISC assessment, Dealing with Conflict Instrument (DWCI) and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.  To this date I have not been surprise by any of the results.  By analyzing the results of these assessments I have been able to identify at what stages in my life certain traits blossomed and when some were suppressed.   I believe I possess some of the skills mentioned in Yukl, Leadership in Organizations, Table 6-3 (Yukl, 2013).  Conversely my strengths are concentrating my aptitude to formulate ideas; conceptual skills. These ideas have been heavily influenced by both internal and external environments in which I have held leadership positions.  I feel this has given me an advantage over other leaders because I have held positions in the Department of Defense, Retail, Corporate America and the US Federal Government; all having different standards of operations.  These differences have allowed me to understand how to lead around situational variables and remain successful.   On the other hand, these differences have taught me how to focus on particular variables related to the environment that might determine which particular style of leadership is best suited for the situation.  This was particularly true when it came to the military because there was more control over the qualities of the employees and a better understanding of presented situations.

 

A511.3.4.RB - Reflection Blog: Leadership Analysis

The understanding and comprehension of leadership, power and influence is not a new concept in today’s society as we know it. Look at talk shows, the Internet and various journals and magazines, you will find various articles, conversations, and debates. These intellectual information exchanges about leaders have gone on for years and years dating back as early as 1513 by the Italian diplomat, historian and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli who raised the question of whether it is better to have a relationship based on love (personal power or as I see it influence) or on fear (position power). To date, this argument is still a center piece of many conversations. Great leaders have mastered how to use power and influence to create a leadership identity that subordinates believe in and are willing to follow whether it is morally right or wrong. When we think power and influence we often think of leaders with virtuous objectives. However, some of the most memorable leaders who were able to use power and influence have changed the history of the world. With that statement, many would not realize I am referring to Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Pol Pot. In the textbook Leadership in Organizations…8th editions, author Gary Yukl makes it very clear that understanding leadership power and influence is not a simple endeavor. Various concerns must be taken into consideration for a leader to be successful. Not only must a leader look at the internal and external environment, they must take into consideration themselves, subordinates, peers and even their bosses.

It is a well-known belief that everyone possesses and exercises some type of power in their professional and personal. Personally, I would like to think I have a solid understanding of what type of power and influence I possess and I understand the nature of the source. I have learned that Expert and Informational Power fit my personality very well. The nature of both is based on me being able to combine my life experience with my in-depth education. I often find myself using both powers to support my opinions and thoughts during conversations, during lectures and during various confrontations. I also use them in my personal life; sometimes the outcome is good and sometimes the outcome is not so good. The good is when dealing with my kids and on the flip side my wife tells me I will try to manipulate arguments by focusing on certain words said by others to prove someone wrong. As individuals components, I think I lean more on expert power; using my gained knowledge as a subject matter to influence others. I also use this type of power to influence situations at work because I do not currently hold a supervisory position.

After enrolling in this course I have even come to realize that I am using this course to increases my expert power and credibility. Just a I use both listed powers to lead, I have also learned to use them as a follower. I have learned to listen and learn, enhancing my type of power and influence. Like they say, to lead one must learn to follow. When it comes to peers, I find myself withholding information for my own needs. I have even been told that I possess knowledge that others need or want, but I know I am not willing to share that information freely. Although it may seem selfish, I feel that individuals need to go through the same steps I did to gain that credibility and status. As far as addressing the question of having experienced high quality LMX situations within my current workplace, I would have to say no. My current organization is so cold and rigid; this type of relation between leader and member would be considered suspicious more than anything.