Sunday, September 25, 2005
Leadership and Creating Trust Readings
3 of the chapters were very motivating and 1 was a little dark. Non-Verbal Communication was the topic I had the most interest in. In our offsite, I was able to get our team to come up with a good amount of material for the presentation, although our ending was awkward, the topics were well received. I think I found that I had to be a more empathetic listener. The decoding and concentration have been hard parts for me. Sometimes I still wander, but I am trying to build a better habit of understanding what the other person is trying to get across. I still think I have issues trying to restate my point if I don't say it clearly, but I continue to work at it. I have taken a notion similar to the construction mantra "Measure Twice, Cut Once" In communication, I am trying "Think Twice, Act Once".
For Trait and Behavior Leadership, I have always felt that leadership can be behavioral. I have seen people reset their priorities and ascend into leadership positions. Some through focusing on talent and others through coercive behavior that resulted in achieving results. Although the result was achieved, I can't see how it can be rewarding. I think the character and ethics of those sorts of people are challenged and sometimes even compromised. I think a leader that is compelling and authoritative must work harder but the long term results are much greater.
Power and politics was a much darker chapter. Consulting for a large bureaucratic corporation. I always run into people that hoard information power and the politics behind it. I have always tried to share what I know and what I don't know. I think that has made me a stronger person that has more trust and better relationships that trying to lie about my knowledge. I also think that responsibility plays better in the big picture. Ownership of issues has always been something I strive for. It been interesting though watching some of the coercive power struggles going on in the organization I consult for. One leader has threatened security actions to get a problem resolved rather than just requesting a plan of action to close the issue. He had an interesting statement when we were communicating one day "If I can walk through this place one day and not find any problems, I know things are working well", I responded with "If you can walk through this place without finding any problems, it probably means you are not looking hard enough and nobody wants to tell you what they know." With his acts of coercive leadership, no one wants to identify issues because they will probably receive the brunt of the repercussion. This individual took over from a very person oriented leader, people were free to bring their issues to them and he would help guide them to the correct path. He easily shared his experience. His successor is definitely process oriented and it appears to be a shock to the organizational culture. I still think he can have process oriented goals, but should follow a more authoritative and approachable personality to achieve his results.
For Trait and Behavior Leadership, I have always felt that leadership can be behavioral. I have seen people reset their priorities and ascend into leadership positions. Some through focusing on talent and others through coercive behavior that resulted in achieving results. Although the result was achieved, I can't see how it can be rewarding. I think the character and ethics of those sorts of people are challenged and sometimes even compromised. I think a leader that is compelling and authoritative must work harder but the long term results are much greater.
Power and politics was a much darker chapter. Consulting for a large bureaucratic corporation. I always run into people that hoard information power and the politics behind it. I have always tried to share what I know and what I don't know. I think that has made me a stronger person that has more trust and better relationships that trying to lie about my knowledge. I also think that responsibility plays better in the big picture. Ownership of issues has always been something I strive for. It been interesting though watching some of the coercive power struggles going on in the organization I consult for. One leader has threatened security actions to get a problem resolved rather than just requesting a plan of action to close the issue. He had an interesting statement when we were communicating one day "If I can walk through this place one day and not find any problems, I know things are working well", I responded with "If you can walk through this place without finding any problems, it probably means you are not looking hard enough and nobody wants to tell you what they know." With his acts of coercive leadership, no one wants to identify issues because they will probably receive the brunt of the repercussion. This individual took over from a very person oriented leader, people were free to bring their issues to them and he would help guide them to the correct path. He easily shared his experience. His successor is definitely process oriented and it appears to be a shock to the organizational culture. I still think he can have process oriented goals, but should follow a more authoritative and approachable personality to achieve his results.
