A633.9.3.RB - Polyarchy Reflections

According to Obolensky, polyarchy has come out of oligarchy and anarchy. Most leadership models have some sort of oligarchy which is leadership is done by a few leaders over many followers. Obolensky (2014) suggest that success depends on the ability of the organization to deal with polyarchy, and to manage the paradox of the existence of polyarchy within oligarchy.

 Oligarchy arises because leaders wish to hold onto their positions of power either for psychological reasons or because the positions provide them with economic rewards and social status that they would otherwise lose were they to return to the ranks of the membership (Michels, 1962: 205). In the other hand, polyarchy puts emphasis in which power is invested in multiple people. I don’t believe that since polyarchy is fast replacing the old oligarchy these models are not redundant. The reason for this is because there is oligarchy present in some of the leadership models in use today.

Through out this leadership course I have learned that there is a balance between polyarchy and oligarchy and the effects it has on the organization strategy and culture. There are positive and negatives of both models. However, accepting that leadership is about leading others and developing your subordinates to be leaders. Complexity and chaos is an ongoing struggle and the understanding of the use of both oligarchy and polyachy is imperative. Oligarchy will continue to be part of the follower development especially when going from level I to level V of the followership framework. Leaders need to work together to meet expectations and develop future leaders.

Michels, R. (1962) Political Parties: A Sociologi- cal Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy. New York: Collier Books.

Obolensky, Nick (2014-11-28). Complex Adaptive Leadership: Embracing Paradox and Uncertainty (p. 4). Ashgate Publishing Ltd. Kindle Edition.

A633.8.3.RB - How do Coaches Help?

Coaching is a popular capacity-building tool, especially in the area of leadership development (Deans, & Oakley, 2006). Coaches are able to help employees stay focused on the organizational goals; they also assist in developing a strong sense of awareness and connection to the behaviors that can enhance effectiveness. It provides instrumental value to development and success of the organization. The International Coach Federation provides a great definition:  “Coaching is partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential” (International Coach Federation, 2010, p. 92). A coach identifies the needs, weakness and strength of the client in order to channel the client’s strength to achieve the required goal.

Coaching is a vital part of leadership and organizational growth. Coaching represents a powerful strategy for meeting the continuous growth and “connectedness” needs of future leaders (MATTONE, 2012). Coaching is personal development method that nurture a person’s own abilities in order to improve behavior and performance (Deans, & Oakley, 2006). Additionally, Coaching can be key methods assisting leaders to adjust their behavior to give space for the organization to change. According to Deans, & Oakley, (2006) coaching provide ways of helping individuals become aware of and responsible for their own actions – a core aspect of leadership development.

Coaching has an impact on a individual lever, this in turns has an impact on the organization, during the change process. Coaching also improved styles of leadership, management and communication within the organization. Additionally, coaching can have a positive impact on performance when employees realize how cultivating new abilities can help them advance. Coaching helps strategy of the organization by impacting leadership across all levels. It increased confidence and self-belief leaders. It helps encourage and develop creative thinking and problem solving through reflection and discussion with an external person. Moreover, coaching improves the sustainability of management and leadership.

Coaching is a great tool for organization to utilize when cultivating their leaders. The Navy has a mentorship and coaching program to encourage junior sailors to reach out to superiors and learn from their experiences. I think my organization can better utilized coaching by making it more a formal session. This approach will encourage individuals to take coaching more seriously and invest in their own future growth.

Reference:

Deans, F., & Oakley, L. (2006). Coaching and Mentoring for Leadership Development in Civil Society. Retrieved March 3, 2016, from http://www.intrac.org/data/files/resources/371/Praxis-Paper-14-Coaching-and-Mentoring-for-Leadership-Development.pdf

International Coach Federation. (2010). ICF code of ethics. Retrieved from http://www.coachfederation.org/about-icf/ethics-&-regulation/icf-code-of-ethics/

MATTONE, J. (2012). Executive Coaching: A Vital Strategy for High-Potential & Emerging Leader Development · John Mattone. Retrieved March 06, 2016, from http://johnmattone.com/executive-coaching-a-vital-strategy-for-high-potential-emerging-leader-development/

A633.7.3.RB - Leader Follower Relationship

When thinking about leadership, Theodore Roosevelt always comes to mind.  He’s the only one to win both the Nobel Prize and the Medal of Honor. Roosevelt believed that leadership is an ongoing project of self-creation (Strock, 2015). Roosevelt stated, “If I have anything at all resembling genius, it is in the gift for leadership…. To tell the truth, I like to believe that, by what I have accomplished without great gifts, I may be a source of encouragement to Americans” (Strock, 2015). President Roosevelt was an inspirational leader and a master manager. Becoming a Naval Officer has taught me about Honor, Courage and Commitment. In my career, I strived for excellence, knowledge and leadership growth. I’ve been lucky enough to have mentors and coaches in my life that invested their time to teach the many lessons in leadership.

The classes that I have taken toward the master’s degree in Leadership at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University have been instrumental in my leadership development process.  Recently, I’ve researched the difference between leadership and management. There is a distinct difference between leadership and management; however, each without the other is unsustainable (Obolensky, 2014). Obolensky (2014) points out that leadership is about developing people and ensuring goals are achieve; where management is the act or process of deciding how to utilize people to achieve the goals. Using the right strategy for the right situation is important in leading high performance teams. Obolensky (2014) provided an assessment that delivers a glimpse into the strategies one uses when faced with certain leader-follower situations.  This assessment is located in Chapter 10 of Complex Adaptive Leadership: Embracing Paradox and Uncertainty (Obolensky, 2014).  The results can be use with the Hersey and Blanchard (1988) model to see how to adapt leadership style to follower development style. There are four leadership styles (S1 to S4) that match the development levels (D1 to D4) of the followers (Blanchard, Zigarmi & Zigarmi, 1988). The four styles suggest that leaders should put greater or less focus on the task in question and/or the relationship between the leader and the follower, depending on the development level of the follower.

After completing this test, I was able to see which strategies I utilized and didn’t utilize in leader-follower situations. Obolensky (2014) stated,  “leadership strategies fall into four categories. These categories are telling, selling, involving, and devolving” (pp. 170-173). Strategy 1 (S1): Tell (Low People, High Goal) is as simple as showing someone how to do something. Strategy 2 (S2): Sell (High People, High Goal) is where the benefits of a certain proposal is laid out in order to achieve buy-in. Strategy 3 (S3): Involve (High People, Low Goal) is used when a leader wants to hold back to see if the follower can discover the solution. Strategy 4 (S4): Devolve (Low People, Low Goal) is where the leader is hands off and practicing in a wu wei state of inaction (Obolensky, 2014). I scored a 5 in Tell (S1), a 4 in Sell (S2), a 4 in Involve (S3), and a 3 in Devolve (S4).  Taken together S1 and S2 are typical strategies when the leader knows the solution and either needs or chooses to ‘Tell’ it or ‘Sell’ it.

Obolensky (2014) describes that considered as pairs, the approach of S1 and S2 is more Yang than Yin – it assumes a male type leadership ‘pushing’ solutions. Meanwhile, S3 and S4 assume a more Yin type approach, more female and ‘pull’
(Obolensky, 2014). Obolensky (2010) states, “if the sum of S1 and S3 is greater than the sum of S2 and S4 then you may be taking too direct an approach”. In my case this is a true statement; there has been many times where I have done the work of others because I felt I could do a faster and better job. I realized this was neither good for the team or for me. I’m continuing to learn how to find a balance between being direct and still empowering others.

Looking back on the last 6 weeks, I have learned the many ways a leader can implement change and adapt to the demands for change. I’m extremely confident that this course has taught me valuable lessons. I’m already seeing positive results of some of the changes I’ve already made in my department. I highly encourage everyone to see a Ted Talks video by Bob Davis on management and leadership.  This video in my views summarizes some of the things I’ve learned in these couple of weeks.

https://youtu.be/UQrPVmcgJJk

Reference:

Blanchard, K. H., Zigarmi, P., & Zigarmi, D. (1988). Leadership and the one minute manager: Increasing effectiveness through situational leadership. New York: William Morrow.

Obolensky, Nick (2014-11-28). Complex Adaptive Leadership: Embracing Paradox and Uncertainty ( p. 153). Ashgate Publishing Ltd.

Strock, J. (2015, October 26). 10 Theodore Roosevelt Leadership Lessons. Retrieved February 28, 2016, from http://servetolead.org/10-theodore-roosevelt-leadership-lessons/

A633.6.5.RB - Circle of Leadership

        Nick Obolensky (2014) depicts a diagram for a typical vicious cycle for leaders.  A typical vicious cycle is illustrated by the Follower thinking he has to defer more, then the Follower asks for advice-demonstrates low skill to leader, the Leader gets concerned and the Leader takes a more hands-on approach, this results in the Followers confidence lower (Obolensky, 2014). This cycle hurts the natural effect of followership and decreases the overall climate of the organization. Followership maturity can be defined as the extent to which a follower is prepared to take the lead and get on with what needs to be done without leadership provided by an ascribed leader. If leaders don’t empower subordinates to do their jobs then followers will not have the confidence to step up and take up a leadership role. Obelensky (2014) describes how follower behavior will dictate the type of leadership that is shown from the leader. This is important part of the vicious cycle and leaders need to understand the influences they made have on their subordinates. Instead of taking over a project, motivate the followers to lead and to take the initiative in order to achieve the mission. According to Bayer (2010) top Management can only fully focus on the strategic aspect of the business if people at all levels can be relied on to do their job well. My department is improving in this area by communicating concerns and increasing the level of involvement within the team. The cycle plays a small part in my organization.  There are times when subordinates may ask for advice on an issue and might be taken as a lack of confidence or knowledge. Additionally, the advice from leaders is not taken as constructive criticism but as a punishment. This is something both the manager and follower need to understand how to communicate with each other.

The question, How does a person, leader or follower, break the vicious circle?  Having leaders institute and practice upward and downward communication can break the circle.  Instilling confidence, and giving a sense of responsibility or purpose to follower can also help break the cycle. Bayer (2010) suggest a number of things a leader can (and should) do to increase responsibility:

• ·      Delegate authority to the lowest appropriate level and set minimum number of check-offs (depending on capabilities) in order to empower people.
• ·      Ensure that subordinates have sufficient room to act and encourage them to:

o   Be adventurous in taking personal initiative

o   Exercise individual judgment

o   Take reasonable and calculated risks

o   Manage their time well, and

o   Overcome obstacles to reach the objectives

• ·      Encourage subordinates to cooperate, communicate, and practice teamwork within their unit and across the lines.
• ·      Informally check in with the staff to provide information, reinforce progress, and listen.
• ·      Show concern for people by helping them grown and develop.
• ·      Hold people accountable for overall performance

            To create a better circle of trust, communication and transparency leaders need to train, empower and trust their followers. It is important that leaders of organization continue to break this vicious cycle. By breaking the complacency of a top-down approach and encourage a balance of a bottom-up approach organization will see an increase of confidence within their subordinate and more will rise to the plate and take on more leadership roles.

Bayer, A. (2010). Breaking the vicious circle. Retrieved February 21, 2016, from https://www.haygroup.com/Downloads/gr/misc/Breaking_the_vicious_circle.pdf

Obolensky, N (2014). Complex adaptive leadership: Embracing Paradox and Uncertainty. Burlington, VT: Gower Publishing Company