~M’s Initial Leadership Reflections

As the past week encompassed reflection on leadership, my thoughts evolved throughout this timeframe. I began by reflecting on the attributes of admired leaders in the worksheet and learned from the course readings. My teammates furthered my learning by sharing their experiences and opinions on leadership attributes. We agreed that leaders are forward looking in their “visions of the future” (Workman & Cleveland-Innes, 2012, p. 316). I initially ranked forward looking as number one, but after our discussion, the attribute moved to number three. Surprisingly, I encountered other shifts in my thinking. As I prepared to write this blog, I got caught up in an unexpected self-reflection on leadership attributes that I deemed missing from the list. In retrospect, the research from Castelli (2016) on reflective leadership in improving my self-awareness had weighed on my mind; therefore, further reflection ensued over the weekend.  

For instance, from my digital leadership experiences, trust with team members was paramount in bringing digital learning initiatives to fruition. As trustworthiness was not a characteristic on the admired leaders list, I returned to the research to uncover other relatable attributes from our readings. Upon exploration, I discovered that Kouzes and Posner (2011) explained that “credibility is about how leaders earn the trust and confidence of their constituents” (p. xi). In this research, the authors also advised that integrity is synonymous with trustworthiness regarding managers emphasizing the importance of the characteristic in the “people leading them” (Kouzes & Posner, 2011, p. 4). Covey and Merrill (2018) also reiterated the significance of credibility and integrity as vital characteristics required for building trust.

Another characteristic that I found interesting to discuss with my teammates was intelligence. We ranked the intelligent attribute at ten. Upon further reflection, I would revisit this attribute to focus more on emotional intelligence than just intelligence alone. I can reflect upon leaders I had who were undoubtedly academically intelligent but lacked the emotional intelligence of self-awareness, empathy, and the ability to communicate effectively. Moreover, Goleman (2011) explained, “the higher the rank of a person considered to be a star performer, the more emotional intelligence capabilities showed up as the reason for his or her effectiveness” (p. 3). This correlation of leaders using emotional intelligence skills and being high performers holds in my professional experiences. The leaders who lacked emotional intelligence could not gain support and build trust with team members, resulting in unsuccessful outcomes.

My biggest surprise in the readings was the transactional leadership style of “providing rewards and punishments” (Khan, 2017, p. 181). This theory name was new to me as I had previously worked in the private sector, where transformational leadership was discussed frequently. For example, Ameke (2023) described transformational leaders as people who “motivate their teams by articulating a compelling vision and inspiring action” (p. 59).  By doing so, these leaders foster a “culture of collaboration where ideas are valued and everyone has a role to play in achieving the organisation’s goals” (Ameke, 2023, p. 59). As a result of working with some inspiring leaders, I can attest that their collaboration methods led to incredible results.

Since moving out of the private industry and returning to a career in post-secondary over a year ago, I consistently tell colleagues I am adaptable on a regular basis. Therefore, the adaptive leadership theory resonated with me (Khan, 2017). I am currently intrigued by how to apply the practice of adaptive leadership. In my introduction post for this course, I stated that I admired leaders who lead with an empathic nature. Furthermore, my teammates felt strongly, too, and we ranked caring as our most admired attribute. In adaptive leadership, Heifetz et al. (2009) highlighted the need “to take care of yourself rather than work to exhaustion” (p. 289). I appreciate this caring attitude and look forward to learning more about the adaptive leadership approach.

References

Ameke, C. (2023). Leadership values: The comprehensive guide to effective leadership & management. Concept Media Publishing. 

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

Covey, S. M. R. & Merrill, R. R. (2018). The speed of trust: The one thing that changes everything. Simon & Schuster, Inc. 

Goleman, D. (2011). What makes a leader? In HBR’s 10 must reads on leadership, 1-21. Harvard Business Review Press. 

Heifetz, R., Grashow, A., & Linsky, M. (2009). The practice of adaptive leadership: Tools and tactics for changing your organization and the world. Harvard Business Review Press. 

Khan, N. (2017). Adaptive or transactional leadership in current higher education: A brief comparison. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 18(3), 178-183. https://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/3294

Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2011). Credibility: How leaders gain and lose it, why people demand it. Jossey-Bass. 

Workman, T., & Cleveland-Innes, M. (2012). Leadership, personal transformation, and management. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 13(4), 313-323. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v13i4.1383