A521.5.4.RB - Core Workplace Values Assessment

For evaluating my workplace values, I took the 'Core Workplace Values Assessment Exercise' and determined that my values are as shown below:

Develop a Reflection Blog describing your five core workplace values and review how well your core values fit with your current job career path and employer. 

Out of my top nine values that I selected, the top five are as follows (in no particular order):

1. Integrity and truth
2. Having self-respect and pride in work
3. Using creativity, imagination; being innovative
4. Autonomy, independence, freedom
5. Adventure and excitement

From these selected values, I find that they resonate within my career path and current employer. I currently work for the United States Air Force as a Deputy Branch Chief at the Ciambrone Radiochemistry Laboratory. Being in the Air Force, we are expected to live our life abiding through the core values of integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do (Secretary of the Air Force, 2014). This is something that is ingrained into us during our time in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program and further tested at field training. This is one of the reasons that I chose to go into the Air Force because of the character trait of integrity being highlighted as being an important value in not only a leader, but just as a person. This goes along with truth because it helps act as a moral compass in doing what is right even when no one is looking.

My second value is having self-respect and pride in work. This also ties with the core values of the Air Force, especially in the third core value being excellence in all we do. This is focused on having passion in continually improving and innovating for the Air Force in order to maintain our status as the number one military in the world. This is important because it gives us a sense of pride and ownership to accomplish and perform to the best of our abilities.

In my job at the Ciambrone Radiochemistry Laboratory, I am able to use creativity and innovation by applying different scientific techniques to better our processes in analyzing our data. A major part of it is being able to stay at the forefront of scientific discovery in order to apply better methodology. This is a challenge, but it helps with having many outstanding and knowledgable employees who are subject matter experts in their respective fields. The challenge is being able to collaborate to work not only as a work group, but as a team that is dependent on each of our capabilities (Denning, 2011).

My fourth value, independence is something that is important for me that I do not really have control of in my current job as an Air Force Officer. I have taken an oath to serve and protect the people of this nation and do not have full autonomy of what I am able to do. I have somewhat of a say through putting in requests and applying for certain jobs, but ultimately, it is what the Air Force needs me to do that I will do. This is part of the second Air Force core value of service before self. This key point looks at taking professional duties over personal desires and is something that I have chosen to commit to.

Lastly, the fifth value is on adventure and excitement. Due to having the Air Force having control of my career path, I have been able to experience somethings I never thought I would be able to have the chance to. I have been able to work as a Program Manager of a modeling and simulation branch, followed by being an Operations Officer of an research and development facility, and now the Deputy Branch Chief in the Ciambrone Radiochemistry Laboratory. I have had many wonderful opportunities and have been given the chance to meet outstanding people along the way.

Discuss how your values influence you and share what, if anything, you are going to do about these results?

Based on the results from this assessment, I have been able to get into a reflective state of mind. This kind of introspection helps lead to critical thinking that allows me to evaluate about my situation in an authentic and reasonable way (Nosich, 2012). It has given me time to think about my career so far and what I care about intrinsically. Some of these intrinsic features come from the bonds I have been able to make with co-workers along the way that have become great friends. It is this sense of satisfaction that goes beyond money or other tangible things. According to Deming (1987), it was  pointed out that management should remove barriers that rob people of their right to pride of workmanship. If the workers feel as though their work is meaningless, it will be hard to motivate or inspire them to reach goals and may end up creating a toxic environment. For me, this rings especially true because even on tough days at work, what keeps me moving forward is the overall goal that we are fighting for and that is to support the warfighter in defending our freedoms against our adversaries. This value really fits into having self-respect and pride in my work because of the mission that I am a part of.

Share which of Denning’s four values best represents your organization. Describe what about your organization’s culture leads you to this conclusion. Explain how your organization transmits its values throughout the organization. Discuss what other workplace values might serve the organization better.

Out of Denning's (2011) four values, the one that best represents the Air Force is a mix between pragmatists and ethical values. It is pragmatic due to their values in supporting the mission to fly, fight, and win in air, space, and cyberspace and strategic vision in accomplishing these goals as defined by the Secretary of Defense (Secretary of the Air Force, 2014). On the other hand, the Air Force has a sense of ethical values because it aims at treating all of their stakeholders (e.g. civilians, contractors, military members, veterans, allies, etc.) as humans rather than assets and are socially and environmentally conscious of the politics of the world today.

In my four years of service active duty so far, I have seen these two values through many organizations and leaders. Many of these values are indoctrinated by going through a commission program through ROTC or Officer Training School (OTS). These values are common and constantly preached throughout the Air Force by the leaders of the organizations on a regular basis. As for other values that may serve the Air Force better, I think the traditions and core values that it is founded upon back in 1947 as departing the Army as the Army Air Corps have served it well. It is backed by the thousands of veterans who have served and are still valued by those currently service today.

References

Deming, E.W. (1987). Transformation of today’s management. Executive Excellence, 4(12), 8.

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.

Nosich, G. M. (2012). Learning to think things through: Critical thinking across the curriculum (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Secretary of the Air Force. (2014, November 12). Air force culture (Air Force Instruction 1-1). Washington, DC: United States Air Force.

A521.4.4.RB - Listening

In your reflection blog, reflect on recent examples when you were an 18-second manager or examples when someone was being an 18-second manager to you. Share how listening in this manner negatively impacted the situation or your relationship with that person. Reflect on how better listening and clarifying language might have positively affected the outcome.

By using the healthcare industry as an example, Peters (2009) points out that doctors on average listen for about 18-seconds before interjecting and giving their opinion. The downside to this is because the patience is the number source in regards to their ailment. If a longer period of listening was practiced, then it would allow the doctor to gain a number of pearls or enough facts and insight from the patient to describe their issue without any interruptions. This prevents the doctor from jumping to conclusions too prematurely and gives time to the patient to speak without feeling rushed. This concept shows the importance of listening in an organization. According to Peters (2009), the single most influential strategic strength of a business is not the plan, but rather the commitment of listening to each member of an organization.

From my own experiences in my career field, I have been fortunate to have managers who were more akin to mentors for me. They were patient enough to allow me to ask questions as a new employee in order to get a better understanding of where I was coming from. This allowed them to hear me out rather than use a listening block such as assuming through mind reading or advising before hearing the whole about the entire situation. This made me feel like my opinions and thoughts mattered and that validated me as a new employee to the team. It allowed me to learn, develop, and assimilate to the team and become a well-informed employee.

On the other hand, I have had experiences with managers in other functional groups who were 18-second managers. An example of this includes our Information Technology (IT) Help Desk that deals with technical problems with hardware and software issues on computers, telephones, and other electronics. The workers in this area are more like 10-second managers because they diagnose IT issues through a series of steps by trying to resolve it through general solutions while progressing to more advanced solutions. It makes it seem impersonal, but they are trying to resolve many common issues that people may face and if the solution they give them are not working then they will inquire further to help fix the problem. They use a mind reading type of listening block that progresses into effective listening when the problem is not easily solved.

Based on these two examples from my experience, there are times when being an 18-second manager makes sense, but other times when it is detrimental to the success of others. As I progress into my career field, it is important for me to listen to other employees to understand what issues they may identify in the organization and to help them out on a personal level when they need it as a friend. By utilizing real listening, it allows us to understand someone, enjoy their story, learn something about them, and allows us to help them if they are in need (McKay, Davis, & Fanning, 2009). This aspect enables us to form bonds and deepen our relationship with our co-workers. This kind of relationship can strengthen organizational morale because we are able to connect and understand each other on a more interpersonal level.

Listening is considered both a commitment and a compliment in communication (McKay et al., 2009). It is a commitment because the listener has to put aside their own bias to hear out what the other person is saying and it is a compliment because it takes times and effort on behalf of the speaker to do so for the listener. Listening make up communication in a unidirectional sense, but becomes two-way when the information is heard thoroughly and the listener is able to respond based on what was said. The four components of effective listening are as follows:

1. Listen actively (paraphrase, clarify, give feedback)
2. Listen with empathy (know that everyone may be dealing with a struggle)
3. Listen with openness (do not prejudge or selectively hear)
4. Listening with awareness (compare with your own knowledge)

By harnessing the power of strategic listening by authentically hearing and understanding what members of an organization are expressing can be the greatest strength of a business. The employees that work with producing the output of a business can sometimes have a different perspective compared to those in upper management and may see things that leaders may overlook. Thus, it is vital for leaders to take the time to listen to hear from their followers in order to gauge their thoughts and opinions that can be vital in making decisions on behalf of an organization and the vision moving forward.

References

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

Peters, T. [Tom Peters]. (2009, December 7). Tom Peters' leadership thoughts: Listening. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwB7NAvKPeo

A511.9.3.RB - Course Reflections

Revisit your original definition of leadership from Module 1. Would you make any changes to your definition of leadership? In what ways have learning about these leadership theories informed your own view of leadership? What type of leader are you or do you aspire to be?

"My definition of leadership follows similarly to what has been discussed in the readings for this week. My personal definition of leadership is the ability for a leader to inspire followers towards not only achieving a goal, but for both parties to also improve and push each other to become better than they were before. Leadership is a personally invested process for a person that begins by being immersed in a cause or mission and being able to convey the same vision to others. Leaders are able to compel others to support and work towards a goal or cause because they are motivated enough to do so."

My initial definition of leadership was strikingly similar to the concept of transformational leadership. From what we learned in class, transformational leadership involves an exceptional form of influence that moves followers to accomplish more than what is expected of them (Northouse, 2016, p. 161). The particular aspects that I referred to is the idealized influence and inspirational motivation components for this concept. These two aspects are the top factors for this along with charisma. This type of leadership changes the morality and increases motivation of the follower, but both the leader and follower transforms for the better in a reciprocal manner. It represents the process aspect of leadership that is elevated from transactional leadership and focuses on the follower through the vision of the leader. This synergetic effect is one of the most profound influences of leadership that can be reached through transformational leadership--both subjects affect each other for the better.

"This helps to distinguish between the dichotomy between management and leadership through assigned leadership and emergent leadership (Northouse, 2016, p. 8). For example, a person can be assigned a position in a company by being in-charge of a team, but may only have position power and not be necessarily inspiring or able to really improve their workers to become better. The boss in this case may be able to manage well and meet the deadlines as set out by the company, but does not transcend this on a personal level as leadership would."

The second paragraph that I followed my explanation of leadership with focused on the the difference between management and leadership. This goes back to one of the key lessons of this course that aimed at differentiating between the two. Sometimes, the two concepts can be perceived as being interchangeable when they are not. They have similarities, but fundamental differences. Leadership aims at influencing people and management aims at optimizing processes (e.g. planning, organizing, staffing). Leadership can have managerial aspects and managers can use leadership techniques, but the concepts for each can be analyzed separately from each other.

"One of the points that really resonates with me from Northouse (2016, p. 6) is that leadership is transformative and changes the mental capacity of both the leader and follower to accomplish something greater than expected. In a sense, both parties supports each others with the initial jolt given by the leader. Thus, to lead means to influence others in order to reach a goal that is driven by inspiration on a deeper level."

The third paragraph again reflects transformational leadership and spotlights the notion of change. Leaders without followers is void of the potential to have influence. Hence, the relationship between leader and follower acts as the social link where interactions can create significant societal or organizational progress. The way that this is done can be through a variety of means including Path Goal Theory, Leader-Member Exchange Theory, Authentic and Servant Leadership (Northouse, 2016).

"In the article by Zaleznik (1977, p. 70), the distinction between managers and leaders follows along this trend in that leaders take a personal and active attitude towards goals whereas a textbook manager can be more impersonal. This is only in the sense of a manager that only cares about reaching a goal without care for those who helped to reach the goal and at what cost. Managers can exist without having that sense of care for their workers. An experience that I have encountered that relates to this was when my boss would delegate work without much detail and then leave work early many times during the week whilst everyone else working overtime to cover for all of the tasks needing to be accomplished before the next day. This felt very impersonal and gave the impression that they did not care for the job and was just doing it for the money and that was it. They did not care for the actual mission nor the people which adversely affected morale and the reputation of that boss."

Going back to the leadership and management dichotomy, this paragraph delves deeper into the differences between the two. In the impersonal version of management, workers are not seen as 'followers' but as a disposable asset where no relationship exist other than the positional aspect of an organization. There is no emotional care that is needed or really necessary to conduct business as needed. This dry and detached depiction of management shows no leadership. Leadership can be void of care, or for that matter, ethics as well, but this would be considered coercion or domination instead.

"The transformational aspect of leadership is what separates a leader from a regular manager because it goes beyond the assigned leadership and goes as being emotionally and personally invested in the well-being of the individuals. A respectable leader cares about their subordinates on a level that goes beyond the mission. The leader is able to care so much that they are able to inspire their followers to push harder than ever before. This is something that the military does care about and it reflects on aspects of what Winston and Patterson (2006, p. 12-13) focuses on in terms of mental, spirituality, emotion, and physical energy. Leaders are able to transcend beyond reaching a goal, but can change individuals on a personal level to transform for the better through inspiration. That is what I would consider a leader."

My final paragraph reflects leadership by hinting at the servant, adaptive, and authentic concepts in relation to the transformational approach. I touch upon different methods without being able to distinguish between the theories. Ultimately, this class has brought a greater depth to what my understanding of leadership was after completing college, commissioning through AFROTC, and entering the workforce as an Officer in the USAF. I still agree with my initial definition and interpretation of leadership, but have a greater understanding between the different approaches and am able to separate the different approaches. The various perspectives that I have in regards to leadership now is more refined than ever before.

With my better understanding of organizational leadership, the type of leader that I aspire to be starts with continuing to harness my own natural inclination towards the servant leadership while understanding myself better through authentic leadership. I hope to be able to embody transformational leadership as I hone my interpersonal skills as a leader and continue to learn from my subordinates and colleagues as well. I am both a follower and a leader and have a lot of more developing to do as a person. There are many experiences I have yet to encounter that will test my abilities as a leader as I progress through my career and life itself. Leadership is a process and one that is ever evolving within ourselves whether we realize it or not.

References

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

Winston, B.E. & Patterson, K. (2006). An integrative definition of leadership. International Journal of Leadership Studies, 1(2), 6-66.

Zaleznik, A. (1977). Managers and leaders: Are they different?. Harvard Business Review, 55(3), 67-78.

A521.3.4.RB - Credibility

Select one of the Whalen pillars that represent the area you feel you need the most development in, to increase credibility with your organizational followers. Reflect on why you think you need development on the selected pillar and create an action plan to improve it.

Out of the the five pillars of credibility described by Whalen (2017), the one that I need to develop further is the application of 'dynamism.' This aspect of credibility is communicated through enthusiasm in order to persuade people. However, this definition of enthusiasm is not necessarily based on intense emotions, but rather showing the passion for the topic at hand. This particular method of engagement shows the care an individual has for a particular subject. However, my issue is being able to overcome anxiety and introversion in speaking to a group of people that I am unfamiliar with. Within my circle of colleagues at work, this is not much of a problem, but when I have to present my work in a forum or at a conference my thoughts come across as incoherent and I end up getting a sense of stage fright and can lose my train of thought from the gaze of the audience. I have the passion for my work, but being able to translate it in an open forum that is difficult for me to overcome. The question is, how do you show people your passion for work when you become too anxious to deliver a smooth, free-flowing presentation in a credible manner?

The initial step for any presentation is to prepare and rehearse key points in order to drive the main ideas home to your audience. That is common practice, but what do you do if you have stage fright and cannot seem to keep it together in front of a crowd? For myself, I have learned that it is okay to use notes or an index card to help keep tension or shakiness down. This is also suggested by Kearns (2013) by using a podium and to avoid unsteady gestures because of the distraction that it can create. Sometimes, I can get through a good amount of the presentation, but then midway through I have a blip in communication. By having these index cards can help to guide me back to the main topic instead of going astray or having uncomfortable silence.

To add credibility in a more sincere manner, it also helps if you admit in front of an audience that you are nervous, but you are passionate about the topic at hand. By admitting it through self-disclosure it helps to release some inner stress and allows the audience to be more empathetic as well. According to McKay, Davis, & Fanning (2009, p. 26), self-disclosure helps to improve communication, gives more energy from not having to hide emotions, and lightens uncomfortable feelings. This helps to clear any misinterpretations of shyness or anxiety for lack of knowledge. Furthermore, on a subconscious level, it helps to calm my anxiety because admitting it allows it to be expressed and not bottled up internally.

In order to keep on improving my credibility, I will have to keep on pushing myself to present more even if I feel uncomfortable doing so. By doing so, I hope to become more desensitized in front of an audience. The more I am in front of a crowd, the more my anxiety will decrease, and the more likely that I will be able to express dynamism in my presentations. It is important for me to keep on practicing and applying small features that I have learned such as using index cards or self-disclosing anxiety to be more genuine so that I can speak freely without losing my thought-process in front of an audience. Some other techniques that I need to be cognizant of moving forward is to avoid making apologies in my presentation and to avoid using filler words. This is described by Kearns (2013) because it detracts from the credibility of a presenter by bringing the focus on an unnecessary distractions. Nonetheless, although dynamism does not come as naturally to me as I would like, I should be able to increase my ability at conveying this aspect of credibility through pushing myself to present more to become more secure doing so.

References

Kearns, K. (2013, August 3). You don't have to imagine their underwear! Seven tips to becoming  dynamic presenter. Attard Communications, Inc. Retrieved from https://www.businessknowhow.com/growth/dynamic.htm

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

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

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.