1.)
Has your own attitude to leaders changed in your life, and if so how? Without question, the
answer is yes. As children, we really
don’t have an understanding of what leadership encompasses. Sure, we may have been the captain of some
school group, Boy Scout troop, or sports team, but that doesn’t even touch the
surface level of the type of leadership we experience when we become
adults. Children and young adults see
leadership in certain individuals that are close to them such as teachers,
parents or even coaches; people that are tangible to us. However, as we mature and become more
educated and experience leadership for ourselves, our perspectives change. My perspective on leadership has changed in
various ways. Now, I see a deeper more
in-depth endeavor when it comes to leadership.
As young adult, I never realized some of the most evil men in history
could have been considered leaders (although their morals and ethics may have
been undesirable). Today, I have a
better understanding of the qualities and characteristics a true leader
possesses. I can now recognize various styles
of leadership. Some are good, and some
are average while some are outright bad and leave me in amazement for one
reason or the other. However to be
honest, I do not have the answer to what makes the quintessential leader, but
through this program I am learning more and more. I can say that I have a much better
understanding of how I can be a more effective leader.
2.)
If we take as a starting point the attitude to those in authority/leaders as
held by your grandparents, and then look at those attitudes held by your
parents, and then by you, and then by the younger generation, is there a
changing trend? If so, what is it? I
would have to say yes. How society views
leadership has changed with each generation.
We now live in a work society where there are four main generations and
they all have different viewpoints; Matures (Born before 1945), Baby Boomers
(1945-1964), Gen Xers (1964-1980), and Millennials (After 1980). And all these groups view leadership
differently. Matures recognize
leadership with seniority often gained through hard work and
determination. Baby Boomers view
leadership through individuals who influenced their generation, i.e., MLK,
Nelson Mandela or John F. Kennedy. They
seem to want to stand for something. Generation Xers view leadership through
people they know, people who have proven themselves to them such as parents,
grandparents, teachers, past bosses, and coaches. Last but not least is the
Millennial group, this group has not yet identified what leadership is to
them. .
3.)
Why do you think that this has occurred?
The world is changing as we speak. We now have individuals who want to be
individual thinkers that are influenced by someone else. They are willing to go against the
institutional rules and policies of the past.
To them, employee happiness is more important than profit margins. There are many reasons why we now have a
shift in how society views leadership; expansion of educational opportunities,
technological advancements, less formality in some workplaces, and the power
and influence of social media. What
worked in the past for leaders may now not have the same effect on today’s
society. American scholars,
organizational consultants, and authors are widely regarded as pioneers of the
contemporary field of leadership studies. Warren Bennis probably, summed up a definition
that encompasses every leadership perspective in our society, “Leadership is
the capacity to translate vision into reality.”
With that, we must understand that reality will always change and must so
the vision to fit it.
4.)
Additionally, while we live in a world with more information about leadership
and leadership practices why is it that we have an apparent gap in the quality
of our leaders and how do you think we can close this gap? My
opinion on this question is based on the definition of the term,
leadership. There are so many
definitions of the terms of leadership that I think we have lost the concept of
what it means to be a leader or what it means to be in a leadership position. Being a leader in today’s business world does
not have the same job satisfaction that it had 50 years ago. Society doesn’t invest in its leaders like it
once did and there is now a gap or disconnect between the past and the present. In the book Complex Adaptive
Leadership, author Nick Obolensky (2010), states that "only those leaders
who understand polyarchy will survive". To me, this means that society must now
outline the complexities of leadership in an effort to define the gap between the
old and the new leadership styles. Leadership
is not about making a difference in the organization’s culture; it’s now about
profit, profit, and more profit. It does
not matter how the organization achieves its profits so long as it reaches its
goal. That’s how a leader is now
defined. Furthermore, leaders in today’s
organizations have forgotten the importance of vision communication. They have to communicate with their
subordinates as workers and as people. In order to close the gap, they must convey
their organizational visions in a manner that encompasses the benefits for the
company and its employees in a manner that is understood by all. 
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