Personal Leadership Statement

The main ideas from this information are: - The role of a leader is to fulfill the needs of both management and employees and handle any situation that arises. - A leader must keep a level head and practice self-detachment from issues in order to have clearer thoughts. - Effective leadership in coherent organizations requires a leader who treats everyone as equals and a team that is willing to create or change the company's culture. - The fundamental state of leadership involves being internally driven, results-centered, and open to possibilities. - A positive attitude and a focus on creating a positive work culture can help a team overcome challenges. - A leader should act ethically and self-monitor to ensure the company's foundation is strong. - Qualities that a leader should possess include keeping a level head, treating everyone with respect, operating under the fundamental state of leadership, and acting ethically. Good morning, my name is Brandon Bollins and this is my personal leadership statement. What is the role of the leader? The overarching role of the leader is to fulfill the needs of both management and employees as they are the bridge between the two. If a leader were to keep their role in the back of their mind, the leader has an idea of how to handle any situation that arises. Whether it be handling a big project on their way at work or whether it be dealing with a loss in quarterly sales, it is the leader's role to know how to manage any situation. The clear pathway for the leader to be able to do this is to keep a level head. Having a level head is a quality that the leader must possess in order to be successful. Not stressing while under pressure is a characteristic that leaders with level heads have. The way to keep a level head is by practicing self-detachment from the issues that arise. Alex Patikos, I think I said that right, Patikos writes about the ability to self-detach in the workplace. Detachment is a conscious choice to create psychological distance that opens the door to action, learning, and growth. That's a quote that Patikos wrote and that was in 2004. Being able to self-detach from the issue and reflecting with an open mind on the issue will cause the leader to have clearer thoughts. This is not just an aspect that the leader must follow. The leader must be able to instill self-detachment in the team that eventually will become part of the company culture. What makes for effective leadership in coherent organizations? To answer the question of what makes for effective leadership in a coherent organization, there are two elements that must be met within the workplace. These elements are a leader that sees everyone as equals and a team that is willing to create or change a company's culture. Starting with a leader that sees everyone as equal. The leader should treat the CEO and the janitor the same way. It's the bigger picture. Everyone has a role in the company. Whether it be someone on your team or not, having general respect for everyone is a great quality for a leader to have. Michael Beer writes, leaders believe that they can bring together employees from different business units, functions, cultures, ethnicities, and nations and form one global community. Once again, that was Michael Beer. He wrote that in 2011. I fully believe that this is the best way for the leader to operate within the workplace. Not only does it show that the leader cares about his or her team members, but it also shows that they care about the company as a whole. Alongside that, this creates a sense of a coherent organization as most people follow the leader's footsteps. That following of the footsteps is what is the foundation for a company's culture. From there, the leader is now in a better position to mold another leader from within the team that they work for. Molding another team member to be the leader gives the company an additional individual to rely on when things need to get done. With that being said, the leader that is molded has now given themselves the chance to take over another position within the company, leading a team on their own. The second element of a team being willing to create change within the workplace can heavily be seen in Robert E. Quinn's Building the Bridge as You Walk on It. Quinn writes about the fundamental state of leadership. The fundamental state of leadership is an idea that in order to be a leader, someone has to be, and I quote, internally driven, results centered, and open to possibilities. Quinn wrote that in 2004. I agree with Quinn in his statement. However, in terms of a team being able to create or change a culture, every individual on the team must adopt at least some of the fundamental state of leadership ideas. A company will stay stagnant with externally driven, self-centered, and closed off people. With the right team and with the fundamental state of leadership, a company's culture can be completely renovated within a few months. This creates a coherent organization as team members are now holding each other to a higher standard than before. Those that don't want to adopt a new way of a company will find the door quicker than later. With new team members joining in, the older team members can now mold the new team members to better fit the company's culture. Quinn also writes about practicing techniques for the fundamental state of leadership. Under this, he writes about having an authentic engagement. This engagement is the idea of facing the day with a positive attitude, engaging the world of action with genuine love for what we do. That's what Quinn wrote in 2004. If a team and a leader were to face every day with a positive attitude and have the big picture in mind of creating a positive work culture, then there aren't going to be many challenges that the team cannot work through. Having the leader take charge and show the team members how to act and work, it will only be a matter of time before others will follow this new attitude and culture. How do you synthesize the various perspectives and ideas that we have read into a coherent sense of your own ideals and values as a leader? The good thing about the different passages that we have read so far this semester and how they align with my ideals is that I already agree with most of what I'm reading. It's somewhat hard to translate some of the material that we've read into a sports setting, but most of the material is still solid knowledge to have. If I were to end up in a corporate office, that's where a lot of this material would suit me better. Regardless, I've enjoyed reading and learning all about the different leadership ideas. Some of the values that I agree with that I already haven't mentioned include John Cotter's sense of urgency and Max Bazerman's blind spots. Starting with Cotter, Cotter writes about creating a sense of urgency in the workplace. One way he describes creating it is by finding opportunities in crisis. I greatly relate crisis to the saying, pressure is a privilege. I find it true that it's a privilege to be in the position that we are in, forced to make a tough decision. Nonetheless, it's imperative that whenever a crisis strikes, the leader and the team are ready to handle the challenges that arise. Perhaps just as important as dealing with the crisis itself is how people respond after the crisis is over. Cotter writes, a crisis can be a valuable opportunity for change that appeals to the heart and reinforces supportive behavior. He wrote that in 2008. After a crisis passes, reminding the team about how teamwork and collaboration is key as no one can do it alone. Bazerman's blind spots speaks on the ethical responsibility people have in the workplace. I believe it is the leader's duty to always act ethically, especially in the workplace. A crooked leader is the quickest way for a company's culture to go down the drain. It all comes down to what the leader wants to do and what they should do. We predict how we will behave in an ethical dilemma based on our should self, but the want self dominates when actually facing the situation. That's a Bazerman quote, he wrote that in 2011. Having a leader that can overcome the want to do the right thing is necessary for a company to develop its foundation the right way. I'm a firm believer that the best way to police is to self monitor. That means you should always be doing what you're supposed to and call out someone when they aren't doing the right thing. From a company standpoint, this has to be the type of policing they do, otherwise the entire team or even the entire company will eventually go down, rather than just the individual. In conclusion, the leader needs to possess a few qualities. These qualities include keeping a level head, treating everyone with respect, operating under the fundamental state of leadership, and acting in an ethical way. If a leader were to possess these qualities, in my mind, they are going to do a great job in whatever type of environment that they work in.