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“Be not foolish as temporary king of the mountain top” – BE by Michael Kwambo

 

When I think of leadership and who has influenced much of my leadership style, I think of General Colin Powell. This is but because many of his beliefs about what leadership means and how a leader should behave have resonated strongly with my own belief system about what it means to lead. I do not believe that being in a leadership role is a role that anyone should seek for the sake of being in charge. Leadership is endowed with power, the power to direct, influence, provide or deny opportunity (Harari, O, 2002, p.195). It is because leadership is endowed with this power that I believe this role should not be something that someone necessarily strives for, but agrees to; knowing full well the toll it will take as well as the great things that are possible by accepting to take on this role. When I accepted my position in leadership, I was acutely aware that being the leader meant that when we succeed, I have the team to thank and when we fail, it’s on me. Being a leader has been an awesome responsibility for me and one that I take very seriously because it is up me to be that fixed point that others can rely on for guidance and support.

In my opinion, a leader is role-model whether they like it or not. Castelli (2015) asserts that leaders who serve as role models are able to create safe environments for employees (p.227), however; I would also add that leaders will either be negative or positive role models because ultimately, the leader sets the tone for the organization. In my experience, the things that the leaders say and do, give implied consent to their followers to say and do as well. In my leadership role, I want the people who report to me to treat our clients with kindness, empathy, and respect. I have found that the most effective way to achieve this is to manage staff the way that I want them to treat our clients. I make sure that all of our employee’s know that my job is to ensure that they are happy, fulfilled and have the opportunity, room, and tools to grow. By making this my personal mission as a leader, I am setting the tone for the organization and staff for expectations of behavior toward the clients that we serve.   As a role model, I must always strive to keep my practice and responses consistent, transparent and empathic regardless of how I may be feeling in the moment. As Castelli (2015) notes in her review of reflective leadership, staff commitment is increased when the leader is seen to be a positive role model who acts with integrity (p. 221). In order to become and remain a positive role model, I believe that my leadership style is paramount and must reflect the type of positive role model I want to be.

If I had to categorize my leadership style, it would be collaborative, in that I seek the opinions and thoughts of as many stakeholders as possible before making important decisions (Lawrence, R., 2017, p. 93). The more people that will be impacted by a decision, the more stakeholders need to be part of that decision. Collaboration is not only inclusive, ensuring that all voices are heard, it is also the best way that I have found to make a decision as informed as possible (Lawrence, R., 2017, p. 92). Collaboration, in my opinion, takes two ground rules to work really well. Similar to Castelli’s (2015) reflective leader, I have an open door policy (p.227) and by that, I mean, authentically open. I am always busy, and that is just part of the job, but I am never too busy to stop and answer a question or help someone brainstorm and second, I wholeheartedly welcome opposing views. As a matter of fact, it makes me nervous when everyone is in complete agreement because I fear that we are not looking at all sides of the issue and we have missed something important. One rule of meetings that General Powell had was a three question rule, and I have found that with these three questions, everyone in the room can be empowered to speak even if they are opposed to the will of the group. These three questions are “First, tell me what you know. Next, tell me what you don’t know and then you can tell me what you think” (Powell, 2012 p. 77).

I have always kept to this style of meeting, and it has worked very well to allow people to disagree in respectful ways in our effort to find the best solutions. Harari (2002) points out in The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell, “Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand (p. 522).” This is certainly the type of leader that I strive to be daily and the introduction of digital technologies has made a significantly positive impact on my ability to lead in this way. Digital technologies have enabled me to connect meaningfully with more people than I would have without the affordances these technologies give.   Sheninger (2014) identifies technology as a powerful tool for communication and collaboration (p.3). Khan (2017) points to the idea that adaptive leaders make it their priority to collaborate with all stakeholders for the greatest possible outcomes (p. 180). As I would agree with this statement as well as acknowledge that technology makes collaborative participation more accessible than ever, I would assert that adaptive leadership theory is closely aligned with collaborative leadership style which I believe to be the best way to lead change within a digital learning environment. Lawrence (2017) defines collaborative leadership as shared leadership, and I can attest to the outcomes that a shared vision, ownership and commitment bring to an organization (p. 91). Lawrence (2017) further defines collaborative leadership in education as “bringing out the teacher in the learner and the learner in the teacher (p. 95).” In my view, operating as a collaborative leader has brought my organization to outcomes that we have never previously seen, and I believe that leading change in our digital learning environment will not only benefit from collaboration, it will depend on it.

 

References

Castelli, P. A. (2016). Reflective leadership review: a framework for improving organisational performance. Journal of Management Development, 35(2), 217–236. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMD-08-2015-0112

Harari, O. (2002). The leadership secrets of Colin Powell [The leadership secrets of Colin Powell]. doi:10.1036/0071406239

Khan, N. (2017). Adaptive or transactional leadership in current higher education: A brief comparison. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 18(3), 178–183. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v18i3.3294

Kwambo, M., (2015), Be [Poem]. Retrieved from https://www.potentash.com/2015/08/13/be-by-michael-kwambo/

Lawrence, R. (2017). Understanding Collaborative Leadership in Theory and Practice. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2017(156) 89-96. https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.20262

Powell, C. (2012). It worked for me: in life and leadership [It worked for me, in life and leadership]. Retrieved from EPub Edition © JUNE 2012 ISBN: 9780062135148

Sheninger, E. (2014). Pillars of Digital Leadership. International Center for Leadership in Education, 4. Retrieved from http://www.leadered.com/pdf/LeadingintheDigitalAge_11.14.pdf