Are the traits of good leaders easy to determine? (Photo by pixabay user geralt)
We started our Leading Change in Digital Learning course in the RRU MALAT program and our first section of readings was very interesting. Leadership is such an engaging topic because we all come to the discussion with a wide variety of experiences and from various contexts. I was hoping that through the readings I could connect to the qualities that I wanted and needed to develop in myself, to increase my ability to lead in my workplace role.
As I browsed through the LRNT 525 suggested readings, I began to write bullet points of the qualities of leaders that were considered important for success. O’Toole’s (2008) writings on values-based leadership emphasized the ability of leaders to listen, analyze issues and reframe them. Khan’s (2017) work on adaptive vs. transactional leaders highlighted the supportive nature of adaptive leaders as they consider the needs and goals of their followers. Khan also mentions developing follower ability, understanding their values with a focus on environment and relationships. So far, the qualities that I admire in my own leaders are supported by these authors. I have had the most respect for leaders who allow me to develop my growth and learning. By supporting my continuing education and allowing me to use those skills in my work, they nurture my growth and that of their own corporation. They help themselves by developing me. Yet, there were qualities that I knew I was working on within myself that were still missing from these readings. There were certain ‘buzzwords’ that I was waiting to read.
Nurturing both belonging and connection emerges as a theme for desired leader competencies. (Photo by Pixabay user geralt)
When I shifted to reading articles from online business sources such as Harvard Business Review (HBR), kununu.com, and Fortune.com and the list changed to reflect what I was searching for. HBR’s article by Giles (2016) reports on leadership competencies according to leaders around the world. Giles completed a study of 195 leaders in 15 countries over 30 global organizations and asked them to “choose the 15 most important leadership competencies from a list of 74” (Giles, 2016, para 1). Emergent themes of high ethical safety and moral standards emerged along with nurturing connection and belonging. Mention was made of an understanding of neuroscience being necessary to appreciate how to create this safety and why a brain that feels ‘safe’ can flourish and create to its full potential. Le Phan’s (2017) article on kununu.com describes the top 5 compelling qualities of a leader as resilience, transparency, emotional intelligence (EQ), passion and empathy. Many of these skills would be considered difficult to obtain without considerable personal development and internal reflection. Now I felt like I was reading what I was hoping for! These were the characteristics that I was working hard to develop in myself personally after being led by some rather unstable, untrustworthy leaders in the past. I was hoping to grow my ability to lead reflectively and in a connected manner, by using what are commonly known as ‘soft skills’ as they can be more difficult to measure than things like intelligence and competence.
In Fortune’s article, George (2019) raves about authenticity, denouncing leaders who do not practice self-examination. To me, this trait is highly necessary and respectable. Give me a leader that puts as much time and energy into themselves as they expect me to put into the work required for ‘our’ vision to be a success. This is what I have been waiting for! I have the best connection to and understanding of leaders who openly state they are recognizing and working on their own flaws.
Leaders who acknowledge they have room for self-development and regularly self-examine top my list of the ones I would follow. (Photo by pixabay user geralt)
Finally, I read Castelli’s (2016) work on reflective leadership – another one of the recommended readings for our course. Castelli provided a framework for improving organizational performance through reflective leadership using Mezirow’s transformational learning as a backbone theory along with change management concepts. Castelli (2016) describes reflective leaders as holistic with a focus on internal thought processes vs. external characteristics. Through their self-awareness, mindfulness, and creation of personal wisdom, they recognize their own flaws and how these impact their workforce. By doing this internal work, they inspire and motivate their follower workforce. By creating well-being, strengthening trust, and creating participation, they support innovation, challenge their workforce and integrate the full human potential of their supporters. Castelli’s (2016) reflective leaders, as described, were the ones I felt were most representative of the leaders I would follow and the leader that I aspire to become.
CB
References:
Castelli, P. (2016). Reflective leadership review: a framework for improving organizational performance. Journal of Management Development, 35(2), 217-236.
Giles, S. (2016, Mar 15). The most important leadership qualities, according to leaders around the world. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2016/03/the-most-important-leadership-competencies-according-to-leaders-around-the-world?referral=03759&cm_vc=rr_item_page.bottom
George, B. (2019, Jan 30). Why is it so hard to be an authentic leader? Forbes. Retrieved from http://fortune.com/2019/01/30/leadership-theory-qualities-of-leader/?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-share-article
Khan, N. (2017). Adaptive or Transactional Leadership in Current Higher Education: A Brief Comparison. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 18(3), 178-183.
Le Phan, L. (2017, Mar 15). 21 Most compelling qualities of great leaders. kununu.com Retrieved from https://transparency.kununu.com/compelling-qualities-of-great-leaders/
O’Toole, James (2008). Notes Toward a Definition of Values-Based Leadership. The Journal of Values-Based Leadership, 1(1). Retrieved from https://scholar.valpo.edu/jvbl/vol1/iss1/10/