MSLD 511 Module 6 - 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?
In reflecting on leaders from my past, there has definitely been a mix of leaders with both good and bad qualities. It's inevitable that you will have both good and bad leaders at some point in your professional career. Interestingly, the better leaders that I have always had were invariably those that exhibited some form of transfromational leadership. As a follower, I always admired a leader who wanted "buy-in" from their followers.
Distinctly, there are two particular leaders that come to mind who were polar opposites when it came to transformational leadership. The first was a leader who was never interested in the ideas of others and always wanted things done exactly how they wanted it. There was no "wiggle" room. As a mid-level leader within our work center, I could sense the frustration of my subordinates and those around me when it came to morale and work satisfaction.
On the other end of the spectrum, my current leader is much different when it comes to transformational leadership behavior. We have a weekly meeting to plan upcoming training events and exercises as a military organization. Nobody at the meeting is taboo from contributing ideas and creating plans or strategies for upcoming events. This leader is genuinely concerned with making the organization better through positive change. This approach has allowed me to notice a stark contrast between the aforementioned leader and the current one. The attitudes and morale of the followers in regards to each leader tells the tale of two very different uses or in the former case, non-use of transactional leadership.
Northouse (2016) describes placing strong emphasis on the needs, values, and morals of followers as a particular strength in transactional leadership. This was the other glaring difference between the two leaders. The former hardly asked myself or others how things were going (at work or in our personal lives) or what we needed to do our jobs better. This inherently made myself and others think that this leader was only concerned with their own personal interests and how they could make themselves look good.
Alternatively, my current leader regularly asks myself and others how we are doing. He has regular sit-downs with many of his subordinates and stays involved with the welfare and concerns of his followers. Everyone in the organization feels as if they matter both as individuals and members of the organization. This type of transformational leadership has helped the organization achieve success on many levels in the two short years that I have been a member. A prime example comes in the form of being named an Oregon Air National Guard Outstanding Unit for the year 2016.
In closing, I have come to the realization of what type of transformation leader that I would like to become (remembering the positive and negative transformational behaviors of past leaders) by utilizing three main strategies. Vernon (2015) makes three key points that help a transformational leader with the task of accelerating meaningful and lasting change: 1) Be genuine and curiously playful - genuinely approach your people and always ask yourself and your followers how the organization can get better, 2) Identify and tell relevant stories - help your audience to understand organizational goals, efforts, and "lessons learned" through storytelling which serves to inspire, motivate, and teach them valuable lessons & 3) Follow your heart - Don't always approach your followers with intellectual ability, but hit them with emotion and speak from your heart as it will connect with them in an emotional and often more compelling way.
References
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications, Inc.
Vernon, A. (2015). Developing The 3 Habits Of Transformational Leaders. Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/yec/2015/08/27/developing-the-3-habits-of-transformational-
leaders/#6b0e70781c45
In reflecting on leaders from my past, there has definitely been a mix of leaders with both good and bad qualities. It's inevitable that you will have both good and bad leaders at some point in your professional career. Interestingly, the better leaders that I have always had were invariably those that exhibited some form of transfromational leadership. As a follower, I always admired a leader who wanted "buy-in" from their followers.
Distinctly, there are two particular leaders that come to mind who were polar opposites when it came to transformational leadership. The first was a leader who was never interested in the ideas of others and always wanted things done exactly how they wanted it. There was no "wiggle" room. As a mid-level leader within our work center, I could sense the frustration of my subordinates and those around me when it came to morale and work satisfaction.
On the other end of the spectrum, my current leader is much different when it comes to transformational leadership behavior. We have a weekly meeting to plan upcoming training events and exercises as a military organization. Nobody at the meeting is taboo from contributing ideas and creating plans or strategies for upcoming events. This leader is genuinely concerned with making the organization better through positive change. This approach has allowed me to notice a stark contrast between the aforementioned leader and the current one. The attitudes and morale of the followers in regards to each leader tells the tale of two very different uses or in the former case, non-use of transactional leadership.
Northouse (2016) describes placing strong emphasis on the needs, values, and morals of followers as a particular strength in transactional leadership. This was the other glaring difference between the two leaders. The former hardly asked myself or others how things were going (at work or in our personal lives) or what we needed to do our jobs better. This inherently made myself and others think that this leader was only concerned with their own personal interests and how they could make themselves look good.
Alternatively, my current leader regularly asks myself and others how we are doing. He has regular sit-downs with many of his subordinates and stays involved with the welfare and concerns of his followers. Everyone in the organization feels as if they matter both as individuals and members of the organization. This type of transformational leadership has helped the organization achieve success on many levels in the two short years that I have been a member. A prime example comes in the form of being named an Oregon Air National Guard Outstanding Unit for the year 2016.
In closing, I have come to the realization of what type of transformation leader that I would like to become (remembering the positive and negative transformational behaviors of past leaders) by utilizing three main strategies. Vernon (2015) makes three key points that help a transformational leader with the task of accelerating meaningful and lasting change: 1) Be genuine and curiously playful - genuinely approach your people and always ask yourself and your followers how the organization can get better, 2) Identify and tell relevant stories - help your audience to understand organizational goals, efforts, and "lessons learned" through storytelling which serves to inspire, motivate, and teach them valuable lessons & 3) Follow your heart - Don't always approach your followers with intellectual ability, but hit them with emotion and speak from your heart as it will connect with them in an emotional and often more compelling way.
References
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications, Inc.
Vernon, A. (2015). Developing The 3 Habits Of Transformational Leaders. Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/yec/2015/08/27/developing-the-3-habits-of-transformational-
leaders/#6b0e70781c45
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