Leadership in Action

This video of Johnny's story is what leadership really means in a nutshell. It all started with one boy who decided he was going to make a little bit of a difference, and in the end he wound up being the greatest leader of all. Johnny inspired all those around him to better themselves and showed individuals what it was like to truly appreciate the little things in life. Leadership begins with one person and what I love about this video is that Johnny did not have to do something completely crazy to be recognized as a leader and as someone who inspires change. We all have the capacity to lead, just do what you love and be who you really are... it will come naturally!

Wanna Know How I Feel?

At this point in my studies, leadership has become something that I am now thinking about on a day-to-day basis. It may sound weird but the readings on theories and our class discussions keep me anxious to learn and discover more about myself through leadership. As I discussed previously, I’ve always had a big heart for serving others and putting their wants/needs before my own, which is why I am classified as the “caregiver”. I believe first and foremost that I will probably always be the “caregiver” type in my leadership behaviors yet my vision has broadened immensely since our leadership theory journey began this semester. Prior, I felt very closed minded in that I viewed leadership as a process of which can be attained by a multitude of people, so long as they are willing to commit and try. Now, I view leadership with an open heart and an open mind. I am inspired to try new things and branch out in my leadership ways. There have been times where I have failed as a leader and quite frankly; maybe I just wasn’t cut out for the position or the situation I was in. On the other hand, maybe I just wasn’t willing to explore other options and ways to behave as a leader because thus far I have been so set in serving others and placing their wishes before mine. My feelings for the most part have remained the same because I know that this is how I am by nature, yet I know there is so much left inside of me as a leader that I have yet to explore. I am eager to begin practicing new ways of leadership and taking all that I have learned thus far into account. I am now more aware and more confident as a leader because of the knowledge that I have attained, even though I have so much left to learn. My belief is that I can learn all I want to by the book and by talking about theory, but until I actually get out there and experience these situations first handedly, my journey has not yet begun. I think this may be why I have been thinking about leadership so often, on a daily basis as I mentioned… I am anxiously awaiting a time when I can explore the real deal and dive into my practice as a leader.

Theory Thus Far

Prior to this course in particular, I honestly was quite blind to the realization that there are a numerous variety of leadership theories out there today. I thought about leadership and the idea that it was not solely based around traits, yet the concept never came to mind that there could be other theories besides the trait-based theory. Who would of thought there would be so many diverging views and so many widespread beliefs about leadership? Not I. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always valued leadership and the opportunity to grow as a person through helping others, I guess I just never really thought much past that. After reading about the variety of leadership theories and discussing them in class, I feel as though my mind has been renewed with a whole new sense of knowledge and a window to the future. I found it most interesting to see how ultimately many of the theories can somehow link together and you can find certain little similarities between all of them. Thus, leadership can be interpreted in a multitude of ways but the way I see it, it all boils down to a few similar components. I believe that each one of the theories is important and significant in it’s own way, however; I do harmonize with a few more than others.

Situational leadership theory stood out in my mind as a component that could not be done without. To me, leadership is VERY situational and very much related to the task and overall conditions at hand. My eyes were wide open and my ears tuned in when I began learning about situational leadership and how different leaders excel in different areas. To me, this makes complete sense. I was able to put two and two together because I did not like the idea of the trait theory. Trait theory in my mind was blind to the idea that everyone has the capacity to be a leader, not just certain people born with certain traits. Here, in situational leadership theory, this comes together with perfection as different leaders are able to take the reigns and drive in one instance and other leaders are able to do that and perform in a completely different scenario. An element of leadership theory that I found to be important was the concept of transformational leadership in that it relates to helping others better themselves as leaders and better the people around them. As it is evident, I love helping people, but often times it is uneasy to assist others and serve them when they aren’t willing to commit. I discovered that I would love nothing more than to serve as a transformational leader and inspire individuals to serve in leadership wholeheartedly while putting others before themselves. If I could touch peoples’ hearts and motivate them to be a positive influence in others lives, I believe I would have reached that goal. Until then I will set out with my new outlook on leadership theory, with all of it’s prime components at hand I will attempt my best to keep an open mind to fresh leadership techniques while staying motivated and determined to practice my own.

Inspiration: For Your Own Interpretation

Braveheart Freedom Speech

The Father of Leadership

James Macgregor Burns is better known as the Father of Leadership for his works and his philosophy that sparked a revolution in leadership theories. Prior to Macgregor Burns, leadership theories were primarily viewed as trait studies or behavioral motives through the actions that bold men took. James views the most essential elements of leadership as power and purpose and states that we are to view these elements as the basis of leadership and are not put an over- emphasis on power. His main theme of his philosophy was the idea of bringing leaders together as collaborators to work towards a mutual benefit. James looks to inspire others through transformational leadership so that they will rise to higher levels of motivation and work towards leading mutually held goals.

Striving to Find the Perfect Match

Blanchard's model describes low supportive and low directive behavior as "delegating", high supportive and low directive behavior as "supporting", high directive and high supportive behavior as "coaching", and finally high directive and low supporting behavior as "directing". In this Situational Model of Leadership, each leadership situation is categorized into one of the four sections I just referenced. For the most part, this model works as a great reference and serves true in the majority of situations. However, if the leader and the follower are not cohesive and not on the same page, then this model will not serve it's correct purpose.

I was elected to serve on the Executive Board of my sorority for the 2009-2010 year along with 8 other of my peers. I held the position of the VP of Event Planning and I worked very close along side with our Chapter President. In the years past that I had been in the sorority, our President had always been a year older than all of the other Executive Board members; however, the year I was serving on the board, our President was in the same grade and the same age as the rest of us. For the given circumstances, I thought she served as a great leader but looking back on it I would categorize her as a "supporting" leader. She was our "friend" and this is exactly how she treated us... with respect, kindness, love, and support. Of course our executive team loved this and appreciated her desire to always be there for us but at the same time, something was lacking. In almost every instance I can remember, she did not know what to do when something went array. I can even remember a few times where she asked me what to do and told me to go do something about the situation at hand. Now, I understand I was in a leadership role just like she was, but as the President you step into a higher authority and people look to you during times of trouble. With her lack of competence to accomplish many tasks and be the leader when we needed her most, my view of her as a leader quickly turned. I still respected her and admired her loving support but I knew she had to realize that she was indeed the President and it was her role to be there as a directive, more authoritative leader from time to time. Her "matching" with the situation was that she genuinely cared for us so this gave us the confidence we needed in certain times when she was not able to step up and take control. However, her "mismatch" was the role she was in because as the President it is your ultimate duty and responsibility to oversee all chapter functions and be there as the guiding force for everyone. She could not take on this role in any situation as she was too timid and thus looked to other people to serve as this leader.

I learned from this situation and my experience serving on the executive board exactly what situational leadership means. I think our President did an outstanding job of uniting our chapter and making everyone feel as though they were important. Not only was she kind-hearted, but through her inability to step up as the leader in task situations, we were all able to find that in ourselves and serve as that leader in her absence. Through this situation I have become more task oriented with time and have learned when to introduce the authoritative side of Nikki. I will admit, I'm still more on the relationship end of the spectrum but I believe I am finding my way to a balance where I can introduce task and directive behaviors into certain situations.

Taking a Dive into "Theory"

The concept of situational leadership is one that I've found I can really relate to and appreciate as both a leader and a follower. In the article "High Task-Low Realtionship Management" I was able to discover exactly what situational leadership entails and how important it is to understand when in a leadership role. Situational leadership values using one's natural management style while also utilizing the styles that fit the situation at that moment in time. The four types of leadership beahvior styles in situational leadership are as follows:

• high task-low relationship (telling)
• high task- high relationship (selling)
• low task-high relationship (participating)
• low task-low relatoinship (delegating)

Task relates to the duties and responsibilites of an individual or a group, including telling people what to do, how to do it, when, and where. On the contrary, the relationship behavior is the extent to which the leader provides encouragement, listens, and coaches. Keeping the situational factor in mind these task and relationship behaviors are best exhibited only in the correct circumstances. This depends on the "readiness level" of group members which is the extent to which a staff member has the ability, willingess, and confidence to accomplish a specific task. By evaluating my leadership theory thus far, I'd say it's pretty safe to admit that I would fit under the "participating" leadership behavior style in most all circumstances. As I've made apparent, I'm one to put people and their feelings before my own and in this instance, even before the task at hand. I believe that by giving people confidence and encouraging them with kindness and motivation, they then will be able to master the task at hand and know that I will be there as their leader to support them whole heartedly. However, I am finding out that this style of leadership behavior is not favorable in every situation. If my team was in a time of crisis, there would need to be a focus on task and getting the job at hand done, rather than simply making everyone feel loved. A leader of whom I believe exhibits the "selling" behavior very well is my advisor for the SDSU Ambassadors organization on campus. Her name is Ashley and she is an SDSU Alumni and former Ambassador. Ashley is really great at advising us as student Ambassadors because she not only has formed a relationship with each one of us, she also knows the appropriate time to step into the authoritative role and get things accomplished. Somehow Ashley always found the perfect balance for this through her behaviors and made us all feel as though we could trust her as a friend and as a leader. There were times when I saw Ashley step into the "telling" behavior such as at New Student Orientation. Ashley was very busy during this time so she would simply tell us what needed to be done, focus on the task at hand, and ensure that everything was completed properly. In this situation I feel as though "telling" behavior was what should have been used anyways because she was dealing with so much at once, if she started to focus on the relationships then she may have become distracted.

I found the Fiedler contingency model to resemble the idea of situational leadership, in fact I believe that the contingency model and situational leadership go hand in hand. They complement each other through the use of one's leadership style and the situational favourableness. Fiedler's "least preferred co-worker" (LPC) serves as an instrument for measuring one's leadership orientation. According to Fiedler, both low-LPC (task oriented) and high-LPC (relationship-oriented) leaders can be effective if their leadership orientation fits the situation. Here you see how situational leadership behaviors mesh together with Fiedler's contingency theory and situational favourableness. The model suggests that improving effectiveness requires changing the situation to FIT THE LEADER. If there is a "mismatch" in the situation and the leader's natural personality there will most likely be a "mismatch" in the leadership and the ability to lead effectively. I can agree with Fiedler's model in that it is of utmost importance to have a good "fit" between the leader and the situation itself. The question is, how to we ensure that we are able to be the ideal leader in a variety of situations? Is this something we can develop? Or do we have to change ourselves in order to behave in a way that may not come natural to us but may be the "right fit" for the specific situation? My ideal goal is to find the perfect match where I can be who I truly am and do what I love in those situations which will allow me to do so.