A521.2.3.RB - The Danger of a Single Story

Adichie uses several episodes from her own life's story to deliver her powerful message. For your assignment, reflect on Adichie's message.

What kinds of expression does Adichie use? How do you view her message in terms of what you have learned in this module?

Adichie's (2009) lecture on 'The Danger of a Single Story' is reflective on her own experiences in being influenced by stories whether it was through literature and novels or spoken gossip through one-on-one conversations. She utilizes the expression of thoughts that are based in conclusions and interferences drawn from her own value judgement (McKay, Davis, & Fanning, 2009, p. 35). The concern that she comes to realize is the underrepresentation of certain elements from being biased against a person to stereotyping on a cultural level based on ethnic differences. This idea of a single story skewing the perception she had started out at a young age where she consumed only American and British novels leaving her to believe that people like her could not exist in these written tales. However, as she discovered some African writers that were just as influential helped to widen her perception from having a 'single story' mentality. Adichie (2009) was able to see beyond a single view and moved towards achieving a multitude of views to understand a something in its entirety.

This recognition of her partiality made her realize her own biases and prejudices. She relates this to her personal experiences of her family having a house boy and her mother's comments about how poor his family was. This single-story view of him was all that she had and that is all that he became in her mind. However, when she and her family went to visit his family, she realized that they were hard workers too. This leads to her expression through observations that used her senses in understanding of his story (McKay, Davis, & Fanning, 2009, p. 35). Her first impression of their poverty was dispelled when she realized there was more to their story than what her mother had told.

Adichie (2009) then follows this pattern of the 'single story' perspective and retells tales of other experiences where it appears. She focuses on her roommate unintentionally patronizing her based on her ethic background and the single story of catastrophe that Africa has been commonly depicted as. This is followed by another story with her professor who told her story was not 'authentically African' enough because it was considered too relatable. Adichie (2009) then relates this issue with a single story within herself and her impression of Mexicans as the abject immigrants from the media. This particular expression was on feelings and was influenced by her surroundings and what she became to believe from the media.

The point that is heavily substantiated by Adichie (2009) is that when listeners only hear a single story over and over again about a particular person, place, or thing then that storyline what they become in the minds of the listener. One of the main concerns is that this can lead to stereotypes that cause people to become prejudice. These preconceived notions can be dangerous even when they are positive because they subject that person to become that viewpoint. If they are unable to become what is expected then it can lead to their own failure (Devarajan, 2018). Adichie (2009) notes that stereotypes are not untrue, but rather incomplete because they only tell one side of the story. She goes back to the expressions of thoughts and her own conclusions on what the impact of a single story is and how it can be dangerous.

Adichie (2009) then shifts slightly to the expression of need for people to tell stories holistically because there is so much that is made unaware to the public. This statement to help bring light to the whole story of places like Nigeria, that have a certain image based on a single narrative, can be fixed. She aims to show that it is possible to show the good sides through springboard stories and utilizes this as a call to action to avoid only listening to single stories (Denning, 2010, p. 59). This is a motivating moment because of her delivery is authentic and is sincere through her tone of voice and body language.

This leads to her second point on the subject of power that these single stories can hold when they are told as one-sided by the media or public figures. The impact is that stories do matter in the narratives of people's lives because they can be used to malign or empower. It is not justified when only a single aspect of a story is told or focused on without being able to engage in the full story of the subject. When a single story is told it can rob a person of their dignity making it difficult for us to recognize the truth. However, when we are able to see the truth, Adichie (2009) sums this up beautifully saying, "Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity."

References

Adichie, C.N. (2009, October 7). The danger of a single story [Video File]. Ted Conferences, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story/transcript

Denning, S. (2011). The leader’s guide to storytelling: Mastering the art and discipline of business narrative (Revised and updated edition). San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Devarajan, K. (2018, February 17). 'Strong' black woman? 'Smart' asian man? The downside to positive stereotypes. NPR. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2018/02/17/586181350/strong-black-woman-smart-asian-man-the-downside-to-positive-stereotypes

McKay, M., Davis, M., & Fanning, P. (2009). Messages: The communication skills book (3rd ed.). Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.

A511.7.3.RB - Inner Work for Authentic Leadership

Consider George’s three points: inner work involves having real-world experience, process that experience through some type of reflection, and seek honest feedback from others. What kinds of real-world experiences have been most instructional for you? How and where do you take time to reflect? From whom can you receive honest feedback? How have these practices (or lack of them) affected your leadership abilities?

George (2012b) suggests that self-awareness is necessary in order for an individual to be authentic as a person and as a leader. In developing this capability, he focuses on three phases which are based on real-world experience, reflection, and honest feedback from others. In terms of self-awareness, the real-world experiences allows an individual to encounter a new event. The reflection is the interpretation and meaning the individual has in reacting to the event. Lastly, honest feedback from others is being able to assess our own self-awareness of an event with an external figure.

The most instructional real-world experience that I have been able to encounter has been my experience moving away from home and embarking on my career in the U.S. Air Force. While growing up and going to college in Salt Lake City, Utah has been wonderful in having support in terms of friends and family, being in my comfort zone did not allow me to really test my abilities as a person or what values I truly embodied and cherished. Moving out to a different state by myself allowed me to reflect on my own aptitudes in a dynamic and new environment. Part of me was thrilled to become independent and part of me was anxious to know if I would be able to transition to my new life away from the people who had known me for years.

What I was able to really understand was my authentic self away from my immediate friends and family through my own beliefs, values, and principles. This alone time allowed me to reflect on my life back in Utah and what I had learned while growing up there. I had new responsibilities as a young adult entering the workforce and a blank slate to grow and develop as a person with no one else to lean on (at least in an immediate physical sense). This allowed myself to reach a new depth into my self-awareness by trying out my skills as a leader in a real workplace and interpersonal skills with people I had no connection to beforehand.

This particular idea of developing self-awareness can be explained through self-testing, exploration, and try-outs (Furnham, 2015). Trying out new things or experiences help to develop self-acceptance which in turn grows our own understanding of our self-awareness. I was able to try to connect to other co-workers on a professional level by applying what I had learned in college and found out that there is a lot more to learn than I realized. I started out my job as a Program Manager of a Modeling & Simulation Branch and realized that the type of programming that I learned back in college was a bit outdated and not used widely in industry. However, it was my understanding of how programming worked in general that was important in allowing me to be useful. This type of self-awareness allowed me to become more resilient in a sense by bringing a sense of reality to what I thought was important. The resiliency that I was able to developed allowed me to become more realistic in my aptitude. This was important because it allowed me to stay grounded and more true-to-self in my own abilities.

According to Northouse (2016, p. 196), there are three distinct ways of looking at authentic leadership. They are the intrapersonal perspective (a person's own self-knowledge, self-regulation, and self-concept), interpersonal processes (how leaders and followers interact), and developmental perspective (ability of authenticity to be nurtured in a leader, rather than fixed trait). The one that I really got to experience was the interpersonal process of how I was able to react with my fellow co-workers as the Program Manager of the team. In essence, self-awareness in leadership is similar to how transformative leadership is defined. Transformative leadership involves a leader's values, ethics, standards, and long term goals for follower's as full human beings (Northouse, 2016, p. 161). I was able to put my leadership to the test by figuring out the balance between being assertive and humble enough to know what I did not know. I used my values and principles as a guide on ensuring that there was a line between professionalism and personal relations in the workplace environment in the way I treated each team member. There is a tendency for a team to test the limits of the 'new guy' in the group so it was pertinent for me to ensure that I was not taken advantage of. It was important for me to stay grounded in order to keep my authenticity and when I faced new challenges I was able to move forward in tackling new issues with humility.

An authentic leadership should include self-awareness because it allows leaders to practice a more mindful kind of leadership.  Leaders who place self-interest ahead of the mission of the organization ended up violating trust leading to disappointment. In the words of George (2012a), "You know you're in trouble when you start to judge your self-worth by your net worth." This emphasis on values is important in authentic leadership because it builds trust in a team because they would have a sense of what a leader would do based on their principles. Authentic leadership is different from the behavioral approach of leadership because it focuses on the moral dimension of leadership in their actions (Northouse, 2016, p. 220). This type of mindset allows a leader to become more aware of how their presences may affect others. Furthermore, authentic leadership has more depth than the Path-Goal Theory where leaders help followers by defining goals, clarifying path, removing obstacles, and providing support (Northouse, 2016, p. 115). By having self-awareness in leadership allows the leader to have the ability to observe and participate in each moment with the follower based on their capabilities and values.

Whenever I start to doubt myself, the people who I turn to are my friends and family back in Utah. Whether it is venting from a rough day at work or getting advice or suggestions on how to handle a situation, they are the people I turn to because they helped to develop me as a person while growing up. Furnham (2015) compartmentalizes self-awareness into four types: open self, hidden self, blind self, and unknown self. The 'open self' includes the common knowledge (e.g. interests, ambitions, abilities). The hidden self are the parts of our selfs that include odd beliefs or socially unacceptable attitudes/behaviors. The blind self is what others see in you, but do not mention keeping you oblivious to some truths. Lastly, the unknown self are the parts that neither you nor others know that may be repressed or forgotten thoughts. In the breakdown of self-awareness such as this, the blind self is comparable to what George (2012b) refers to in honest feedback. Whenever I am uncertain and need some guidance, I go back to my roots to help me determine what direction to take.

By applying introspective practices in self-awareness helps to achieve clarity about what is important and provides a deeper meaning of the world around us. The mindfulness of this approach in leadership will help clear away trivial items in the workplace and and will allow leaders to focus on nurturing the people instead. By developing a higher sense of self-awareness, leaders can act more compassionately and authentically to those who look up to us.

References

George, B. (2012a, October 26). Mindfulness helps you become a better leader. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from http://www.billgeorge.org/articles/mindfulness-helps-you-become-a-better-leader/

George, B. [Key Step Media]. (2012b, November 1). Harvard's bill george: Inner work for authentic leadership [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmPu2LQ84ts

Furnham, A. (2015). Self awareness: How self aware are you? Do you know how you come across?. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sideways-view/201511/self-awareness

Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publishing.

A521.1.4.RB - Your Favorite Storytelling Leader

Select a story told by a leader that left an impression on you. This leader can be from your organization, community, or even a famous individual. Describe the story and what about it that made it memorable and/or perhaps positively affected your life.

A leader that has made an impression through storytelling would have to be my Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) Commander, Lt Col Michael D. Eliason. This leader has been influential in my life because he shaped my college experience and has laid the foundation on which I developed my own leadership from. During these pivotal years, Lt Col Eliason has given many stories to our class based on his career as a B-1 Lancer pilot and time in the Air Force. The most memorable story that has made an everlasting impact was one he gave to my commissioning class on the 'sheepdog.'

This story was told towards the end of the last semester before graduation during a trek up to University of Utah's 'Block U,' a large concrete hillside letter U.

Photo: University of Utah AFROTC Detachment 850 'Skyraider' Class of 2013 at the Block U.

At the summit, Lt Col Eliason took our senior class aside for a mentoring session. He made us face the Salt Lake City valley while the sun was setting and said, "You see that down there? That is what you are protecting. You are the sheepdog that will protect the herd and masses from the wolves and other predators of the world. The people down there represent the sheep. Now, there is nothing wrong with being a sheep. They go on about their day doing what they need to do without worrying about the dangers of the world. They work and sleep and move onto the next day with what concerns their own life. The sheepdogs are what you represent in this world. A sheepdog's mission is to protect the sheep from any dangers that they may encounter. They will fight wolves and would sacrifice themselves in order to protect the sheep. The sheepdog serves a purpose larger than its own life. Not anyone can be a sheepdog and it takes a very special individual to become a sheepdog. As you finish up with your academics and prepare to commission into the United States Air Force, you will enter the ranks of the sheepdog and will have the great responsibility of  protecting what we have here in this nation. I want you to remember this moment as you prepare to enter active duty. Remember what you are fighting for because the bad guys will always be lurking around to terrorize the sheep, but as long as there are sheepdogs then the bad guys better beware."

This story has stuck with me and although it is paraphrased, the emotions and message still remain from me being able to re-tell the tale. One of the elements that has been able to make this story memorable is the delivery location being up on the hillside. This particular detail made the impact of the story more grand and meaningful because it was relevant and special. This particular element of delivery relates to the setting of a story which is important because it creates the mood, tone, and atmosphere for a story (Housewright, 2011). The intimate setting of having just our senior class and commander overlooking the Salt Lake City valley during sunset gave a depth to the story that will forever be ingrained into my memory.

Synthesize the module content and share your insights into the following: Was the leader clear in the purpose of the story? Did they effectively communicate a vision? Did they seek to create a feeling that you understood their communication? Were you able to tune in with your felt sense?

Our commander, Lt Col Eliason, had a clear intent when crafting the scenario to tell us this particular story. For this story, he wanted it to leave an everlasting impression for our last class after 4 years of being in the AFROTC program. He has a range of storytelling capabilities from short and concise to graphic and detailed that related to any occasion. This particular story was narrative in nature and gives off an orator feel because it is directed to a large crowd rather than a single person (Denning, 2011, p. 42). The tone of the story is more heartfelt with inspiring a group because he has managed to create a deep relationship with our class. The use of the analogy helped to a create a connection that was relatable and memorable. These characteristics developed a setting that aided in creating a more intimate space that made the story much more engaging and personable than would have been otherwise (e.g. in a classroom setting).

The vision Lt Col Eliason was creating was forward-thinking by putting the beginning of our careers into perspective after finishing up the AFROTC program. The description that we were entering something larger than us gave us the insight of being part of the larger picture in a poetic way. The setting combined with the story narration by our commander both supported each other effectively and gave us an emotional connection to the delivery of the story. It was similar feeling to when a parent is telling you an meaningful tale or saying that they are proud of you without being too blunt about it. Whalen (2007, p. 10) describes this type of connection through communication as mirror neurons by invoking the sense of a familiar emotion. This shared emotion was felt through the mirror neurons for me when someone you deeply respect gives you accolades without coming off as too corny or cheesy. This felt sense gave myself and my cohorts a sense of pride and happiness of reaching this momentous part of our lives that we knew by looking into each other eyes afterwards. Overall, Lt Col Eliason moved us on a emotional level with his storytelling that has left an unforgettable impression that will remain with us for the rest of our life.

References

Denning, S. (2011). The leader’s guide to storytelling: Mastering the art and discipline of business narrative (Revised and updated edition). San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Housewright, D. (2016). The importance of setting. The Loft Literary Center. Retrieved from https://writersblock.loft.org/2011/08/15/644/the_importance_of_setting

Whalen, J.D. (2007). The professional communications toolkit. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

A511.6.3.RB - A Leader From the Past

Think about your leaders from the past and reflect on their qualities. Did any of them exhibit the qualities of a transformational leader? Did the leader exhibit certain elements that made you want to work harder? In what ways were you transformed by the leader you are describing?

Reminiscing on leaders from my childhood brings back memories of superheroes as role models while growing up. The depiction of Spider-Man battling the Green Goblin or Batman fighting The Joker to save humanity represented the archetypal ideals. These figures represented the good versus evil and presented a moral example on which we hope to mimic after. This is still evident today with productions of classic comics such as Wonder Woman on the big screen to showcase fanciful example of superheroes acting on behalf of humanity.

Video: In the scene above, Steve expresses the impossibility of crossing over due to a deadlock state against the German front to Diana. However, Diana believes that she will be able to cross it by deflecting incoming bullets and risks her life to show that it is possible (Warner Bros, 2017).

These heightened displays of heroic actions in comics show fanciful versions of transformational leadership. These creations involves a storyline that can invoke influence for us to become better or to inspire us to reach our goals that may seem distant and unachievable. This type of invigoration that is developed is a similar fire that transformational leadership can provide as well. Transformational leadership is reached when those who are able to lead influence others to go beyond their self-interest to accomplish tasks that are more than what is expected of them. These leaders light that fire within individuals to go beyond by fulfilling their human potential of what they did not think was possible. When I think a leader that is able to develop this superhero-like inspiration, I reflect on my time in college with my Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) instructor, Lt Col Michael D. Eliason.

Lt Col Michael D. Eliason has the textbook definition of a transformational leader by not only portraying a charismatic and visonary leadership, but also cared about our values, ethics, and long-term goals that we had as cadets (Northouse, 2016, p. 161). There was that 'professional distance' between him and our class from being an instructor, but yet he was able to be personal by remembering the small details about us. These types of details ranged from our class schedule to more personal details such as our own hobbies and interests. This relates to the Leadership Member Exchange (LMX) theory in the fact that our instructor was able to crate a unique relationship with each of us that made us feel as part of an in-group. Furthermore, he resembled a superhero to us from what he had experienced during his time in the Air Force. He was a pilot flying the B-1 Lancer bomber plane and had many great war-fighting stories. His story-telling was an exuberant and engaging ordeal that captivated each and every one of us.

Through his story-telling, there was always a moral to be taught or something to be learned. This hits one of the main core aspects of transformational leaders by being grounded in a moral matrix. According to Bass & Steidlmeier (1999, p. 181) there are three aspects in regards to ethics that are of concern:

1. Moral character of leaders and concern for self and others.
2. Ethical values embedded in the leader's vision, articulation, and program, which followers can embrace or reject.
3. Morality of the processes of social ethical choices and actions in which the leaders and followers engage and collectively pursue.

Lt Col Eliason went onto many tangents during our class that started out with a core discussion topic to a personal story of his. Although I do not quite remember the details of the story itself, I recall the main point of the story. A few of my favorite lessons include: being able to succeed no matter where you end up with an analogy to a plant by blooming wherever you are planted; you can learn as much from a bad leader as you can from a good leader in a sense of what not to do; and to put people first by caring about them because people will not remember what you did, but will remember how you made them feel. These types of lessons when given after a personal connection is developed from a leader helps to leave a mark that resonates within the in individual.

Lt Col Eliason was a transformational leader because his focus was beyond self-interest from his or the follower's perspective and aimed at creating an environment of empowerment and esprit de corps. Bass (1999, p. 11) notes that when leaders are able to use idealized influence (charisma), intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration to foster inspiration on a grander scale then transformational teams are developed that end up being high-performing through achievement and self-actualization.

A transformational team is powerful because not only are each individual inspired, but they end up inspiring each other as well as the leader of what they are capable of. When thinking of how Lt Col Eliason developed this type of atmosphere, he really was able to develop trust, loyalty, and respect with each one of us. This started out with a transactional reward system where cadets were recognized based on their performance in academics, athletics, or service. He would assigned us various tasks that we were responsible for and would gauge our progress and give suggestions on how to succeed. He was able to utilize a supportive type of leadership as outlined in Path-Goal Theory (PGT) that taught us how to carry out and practice a leadership role in the unit.

By fostering these different transactional elements in terms of recognition with supportive leadership behavior, Lt Col Eliason was able to move towards an achievement-oriented leadership that provided challenges to further develop us into leaders. Bass (1999, p. 13) points out that in LMX theory transactional methods are typically used in the first and second phase (stranger and acquaintance) between leaders and followers that moved towards being transformational in the third phase (partnership). Lt Col Eliason was able to use his charismatic leadership to progress towards a transformational team by remaining dominant and influential pushing us to gain a higher sense of self-esteem. Ultimately, this developed our confidence that improved our self-efficacy pushing us to work harder for our ROTC detachment as a whole.

From my own experience, I was changed by learning how to trust my own intuition through finding my leadership style in this training environment. By having a collective culture in our detachment, it provided an atmosphere that helped to facilitate the growth of a transformational team with the direction from Lt Col Eliason. Because of the mentality of our detachment through our core values derived for the Air Force (Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do), we had a unifying purpose. As we became seniors, we became mentors to the freshmen class because we had the responsibility to take care of them. I was able to practice developing a professional relationship with the underclassmen and help with any issues they may be facing similar to how Lt Col Eliason and the upperclassmen did for us. I realized that I had leadership potential from being able to develop and practice it. I was able to embody elements of Lt Col Eliason's leadership and emulate being a transformational leader as well.

References

Bass, B.M. (1999). Two decades of research and development in transformational leadership. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 8(1), 9-32.

Bass, B.M. & Steidlmeier, P. (1999). Ethics, character, and authentic transformational leadership behavior. Leadership Quarterly, 10(2), 181-217.

Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publishing.

Warner Bros [Filmic Box]. (2017, August 29). No man's land scene | wonder woman (2017) movie clip [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlwHKphUU_Y

A511.5.3.RB - Mid-Term Reflection

You have reviewed a number of theories and concepts associated with leadership up to this point in the course. You have likely been associated with individuals who led using some or all of these principles. Therefore, you should have your own opinions about which leadership theories work well and which may be less effective or less representative of those used in the "real world." After watching the TED talk consider the following questions:

The lecture that Talgam (2009) gives is based on various styles of conductors and how it relates to leadership. The insight from this examination reveals how developing the musicians (followers) to become more autonomous from learning from the conductor (leader) is a pinnacle mark of an orchestra (team). The conductor is able to back away from giving direction from a baton because the musicians 'know' what is the cue is because they are in sync. Talgam (2009) shows this through examples of conductors leading that range from authoritative commands to others that are flexible, but in-command and emotionally tuned.

How do you interpret Talgam’s ideas?

Talgam (2009) first notes the scope of what a music hall entails which is analogous to an organization. The music hall represents not only the musicians and conductor, but the efforts of the architects that built the music hall, the quality of the instruments being played, and the audience enjoying the performance. These aspects are all supporting elements that have been able to bring about the success of the establishment. This particular idea does not directly corresponds to an immediate theory in management or leadership, but puts the music hall (organization) at the focus and implies that a good conductor (leader) is able to appreciate in its entirety.

A second idea that Talgam (2009) brings up is that the style of conductors can vary from being authoritative to relaxed. The authoritative style of Muti was overbearing and directive when it did not need to be. This type of leadership did not bode well with the musicians and escalated to 700 of them to sign a petition to get Muti to resign form being conductor. His authoritarian style of leadership did not allow them to develop as musicians and they felt like objects rather than people. This ties into the Path-Goal Theory (PGT) which is geared towards enhancing follower performance and satisfaction by having the leader supplement what is missing in an environment (Northouse, 2016, p. 115). Muti need to be more supportive or achievement-oriented to allow the musicians to grow and develop as performers. The dogmatic and authoritative approach was too restricting and did not fit the atmosphere of the La Scala music hall. With the musicians having the technical capability and talent, Muti just needed to provide nurturance to the musicians that would have allowed them to thrive. The conductor's job is to help followers reach their goals through direction, guidance, and coaching along the way.

This example that Talgam (2009) touches on is based on the different types of control that exists as leader. This next idea can be tied back to our text on the six bases of power including reference, expert, legitimate, reward, coercive, and information (Northouse, 2016, p. 10). Muti utilized coercive and legitimate power that did not work well with the musicians. In a contrasting example, Talgam (2009) showed Strauss and Karajan's conducting skills that showed the same legitimate, but also referent and expert power. The expert power was apparent because the musicians did not need clear instruction during the performance, but learned how to listen to each other and act as a cohesive ensemble. As Strauss' first rule states that the music is not for the conductor to enjoy, but for the audience (Wise, 2014). This is interpreted by Talgam (2009), that a conductor should not have to force the music, but to allow it to develop with no interference. This is because the interpretation of the story by the performer is the real story being told.

Another reason according to Talgam (2009) on conductors not giving clear instruction is because it would prevent the musicians from acting as a cohesive ensemble. Talgam is hinting at the team management component of the behavioral approach. This leadership style has a high concern for people and a high concern for results (Northouse, 2016, p. 76). This means that the orchestra already has committed individuals that are fully engaged in a common purpose and need to work interdependently to achieve the goal. This allows the ensemble to grow and develop through working with each other laterally rather than being directed on what to do. The musicians do not have the authority to change the production, but will have to interpret the conductor's vision with their own technical capabilities and intuition.

In terms of a situational approach, the conductor just needs to lead with supportive leadership that is lower in direction, but high in support. This is highlighted by Talgam (2009) in pointing out that conductors need to open up the space for the musicians to add another layer to the overall symphony. Talgam (2009) further depicts this as a rollercoaster that is created by the conductor into the musician's mind. He extends this metaphor to include the musician and conductor building the rollercoaster so that the two act in partnership. This relates to the latest chapter on Leadership-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory where the focus is on interactions between leader and followers. There are the three phases in leadership that follows different stages being strangers to acquaintances to partnerships (Northouse, 2016, p. 143). This shows the progression in the relationship between follower and leader being further invested as an ensemble. Most of the musicians are heavily devoted and work with each other in a reciprocal manner to complete the symphony. The musicians are able to develop and hone their skills as an artist and the conductor is able to execute the symphony with a cohesive ensemble into one magnificent masterpiece.

What are the parallels or disconnects between Talgam’s ideas about how conductors lead and what you know now about leadership?

There are many parallels between Talgam's ideas on how conductors lead and how leadership is understood theoretically and in practice. The first is that authority by itself is not enough to make your followers become partners. This stems back to the initial chapter in our textbook that distinguished how leadership was understood. It was first seen as being focused on dominance and moved to influence and transformations in character motivations (Northouse, 2016, pp. 2-5). This reflects how Muti conducted versus all of the other conductors introduced. Muti was too focused on clear direction, but was too authoritative and coercive in his leading that was off-putting to many in the ensemble.

This is true in my experience as well because if a supervisor is too aggressive in their demands it can cause burnout or shutdown in productivity. For example, at my workplace we were put on an accelerated schedule to reach full operational capability in terms of qualifying our capabilities as a laboratory. This meant that the team, comprised of civilians, contractors, and military, had to put in hours long past the standard eight when possible. At first we were able to adjust for a few weeks, but as time went on it wore on all of us. People ended up making careless mistakes in the lab and overall morale declined. This type of behavior from our leadership was of the authority-compliance method of management that strived for results with little concern for people. When the mistakes started happening, upper management had to reel back and reassess the schedule of reaching full operational capability. The safety of the people was of concern and should not have been risked for the mission requirement sake. The overall schedule should have been re-evaluated and adjusted or the team leads should have spoken up when there was a noticeable decrease in morale and productivity due to employees becoming burnt out from work.

Another notable parallel is the emphasis that conducting not only creates a process, but also creates the conditions for which the ensemble is able to learn and develop as musicians. This touches on two primary aspects of the book being that (1) leadership is a process and (2) a leader's job is to help followers reach their goals according to PGT. Leadership is a process because it works through influencing followers to accomplish a task. This is explained by Northouse (2016, p. 6) that it is a transactional event that occurs between leader and follower that is not a one-way event, but interactive. It is important for leaders to create conditions through a process to develop content in order to create meaning for followers.

This leads to PGT theory in terms of the follower's motivation and helping them succeed their professional goals. Whatever obstacles exist, it is the leader's prerogative to help the follower by creating an environment so that they can reach their goals. In the lecture, Talgam (2009) noted that the musicians wanted to be able to hone their musical capabilities and not be treated as a prop. Some of the conductors were able to create an environment that challenged the musicians to develop their musical aptitude based on the conditions of the conductor. This is similar to what I experience in a laboratory setting in what our employee's goals are. Many of our technically skilled and doctorate level employees thrive on challenges that allows them to think critically. An achievement-oriented leadership is utilized at our workplace that attempts to limit as much of the administrative burdens as possible so that our subject matter experts can just focus on what they are passionate about.

This segues into LMX theory because it is something that upper management knows is an issue for many of the employees. The employees have vocalized how much it detracts from the time that they have to work and how it impacts their productivity. The administrative paperwork is kept down to a minimum as possible with a few key personnel dealing with it. This results in many of our skilled and talented members able to do what they care about. Our workers are able to become more autonomous with the ability to reach their goals with the conditions set by upper management. This ends up making the employee more proud of their work that satisfies their intrinsic goals as well as the goals of the organization. This helps to develop these employees into partnership phase of LMX theory because they become more invested with their work and become more concerned for the goals of the organization rather than their own personal goals.

Another aspect of LMX theory is also parallel to what Talgam (2009) shows in his lecture towards the end. In the last video, the conductor does not lead any more with the baton, but rather watches in satisfaction as his orchestra being able to play masterfully without his direction. The leader has been able to guide and create the conditions that allows the followers to tell the story to the whole audience by themselves. The conductor has been able to train the musicians to the point where the musicians became self-sufficient to perform on their own. In a sense, it is a reversal in the roles where the musicians are able to lead themselves without the assistance of direction. The conductor in this video shows the best type of feedback that is a unspoken compliment, but rather an emotional facial response that exuded satisfaction and content.

This connects to what many leaders hope to achieve with their followers by being able to inspire them to reach their own goals by the own doing. Many leaders hope to develop their employees to become better than they were before whether it is a certain skillset or other professional developments. Leaders aim to develop some of their followers to become leaders as well. From my own experience in the military, officers are expected to lead and are given more responsibility as they progress throughout their careers. Senior leaders hope to develop junior officers to take their positions in the future. With this mentorship, the aim is to progress officers to progress from being a follower to a leader in their own right.

References

Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publishing.

Talgam, I. (2009). Lead like the great conductors [Video File]. TED Conferences, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/itay_talgam_lead_like_the_great_conductors/transcript

Wise, B. (2014, June 9). Richard Strauss's 10 golden rules for young conductors. New York Public Radio. Retrieved from https://www.wqxr.org/story/richard-strausss-ten-golden-rules-young-conductors/

A511.4.3.RB - Locus of Control

Welcome back! This discussion post will delve into my results based on Rotter's Locus of Control Scale Test in conjunction with my own leadership behaviors. The term locus of control refers to the concept of generalized expectancies for control of reinforcement (Mearnes, 2017). This means that depending on a person's outlook, their beliefs determines the cause of an experience or event as being either a success or failure. There are two primary distinctions for locus of control as being either internal or external.

Photo: Cartoon scenario depicting locus of control being internal or external (Campbell, 2015).

An internal locus of control means that a person will consider their success or failures based on their own effort and abilities. On the other hand, a person with an external locus of control will consider the success or failure based on chance, luck, or fate. These two locus of controls are not discrete, but are part of a continuum and individuals can have experiences that vary between the two loci. Some people would argue that locus of control is an innate characteristic, but others suggest that it can be shaped by life experience. For example, a child that is encouraged to be independent and makes connections between actions and consequences have been shown to have developed a stronger sense of an internal locus of control (Joelson, 2017). If the development of a strong and positive internal locus of control can be influenced, then it would suggest that self-motivated individuals can be developed. In terms of leadership, would a person with an internal locus of control be better than one with an external locus of control? Let me contemplate on my own personal experience...

Complete Rotter’s Locus of Control Scale Test. Based on your results, is your locus of control external or internal? Reflect on how your locus of control affects your leadership behavior and your responses to others’ leadership styles or is this a bunch of poppycock?

Photo: My personal results from the Rotter's Locus of Control Scale.

Based on the Rotter's Locus of Control Scale, I received a rating of having a strong internal locus of control. I agree with this result because I do relate my success and failures based on my own effort. Since childhood, there has been a constant push from my parents to strive for success especially in academics. They made it clear that the effort I put forth into homework and studying would payoff in being able to ace an exam and excel in the class. This cultivation of an internal locus of control is related to what Ahlin & Antunes (2015) found in youth being able to become more well-adjusted when facing uncertainty and the ability to deal with stress in a more effective manner compared to those with an external locus of control. This would also be applied to other aspects of my life while growing up. Through my teen years, I became more self-sufficient and self-motivating in tackling various projects and goals. Any challenges that I faced were solved through my own belief in my control and capabilities. Now, I have become entirely independent and have been able to lead others to achieve the same sense of self-efficacy that I have managed to develop.

In terms of leadership, a leader with a strong internal locus of control is more traditional in the sense that they are able to transform a business because they believe they are able to do so. This relates to our textbook description of leadership in that to lead is a means to influence others and to create visions for a change (Northouse, 2016, p. 14). This belief turns into action which then brings results and ultimately change. A person with a strong positive internal locus of control can be more motivated to succeed and will take the effort needed to learn. Whereas, a person with an external locus of control will most likely not put forth the time needed for the same cause. Howell (1993) found that managers with an internal locus of control showed "greater confidence in their ability to influence the environment, are more capable in dealing with stressful situations, place greater reliance on open and supportive means of influence, pursue riskier and more innovative company strategies, and generate higher group and company performance than do externally oriented managers." Thus, the proactive attributes associated with an internal locus of control gives power to an individual in being able to make an effort to make change. On the contrary, those with an external locus of control takes power away from the individual that will make them more reactive instead to experiences.

The locus of control concept can be related to the Path-Goal Theory discussed in class this week. This theory describes the ability of a leader to enhance follower performance and satisfaction by utilizing a particular leadership style in an organizational setting by removing obstacles (Northouse, 2016, p. 115). The leaders in an organization will have to define a goal outlined with a plan while providing support to the followers. Leaders have to utilize various types of leadership behaviors such as directive, supportive, participative, or achievement oriented based on the task and worker characteristics. If a leader does not think that they are able to remove an obstacle then their have an external locus of control mindset and will not put much effort forth to resolve the issue. However, if they keep on searching for a way to overcome an obstacle and are able to maintain an internal locus of control, then they should exhaust every option until a solution is obtained. The active search in resolving an obstacle is a key component in a positive internal locus of control mindset that pushes to resolution. 

Photo: Calvin and Hobbes comic book strip depicting a comedic interpretation of the external locus of control (Calvin and Hobbes, 1988).

References

Ahlin, E.M. & Antunes, M.J. (2015). Locus of control orientation: Parents, peers, and place. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44(9), 1803-1818.

Calvin and Hobbes. (1988, June 7) I've decided to be a fatalist. [Cartoon] Universal Uclick. Retrieved from http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1988/06/07

Campbell, I. (2015, May 15) Failure: Locus of control. [Cartoon] Bitstrips. Retrieved from https://isobelcampbell.wordpress.com/author/isobelcampbell/page/3/

Howell, J.M. (1993). Transformational leadership, transactional leadership, locus of control, and support for innovation: Key predictors of consolidated-business-unit performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78(6), 891-902.

Joelson, R.B. (2017, August 2). Locus of control: How do we determine our successes and failures?. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/moments-matter/201708/locus-control

Mearnes, J. (2017). The social learning theory of Julian B. Rotter. California State University, Fullerton. Retrieved from http://psych.fullerton.edu/jmearns/rotter.htm

Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publishing.