A641.2.3.RB_MaceRoyce
Assignment A641.2.3.RB asks us as students to complete an exercise titled "Am I a resonant leader?" (McKee, Boyatzis, & Johnston, 2008). The intent of this exercise is to reflect on our abilities as leaders to be resonant - to be highly self-aware, manage themselves in stressful and complex environments, empathize with others, and lead others to get the job done. So, just where do I stand in these areas? Let's find out.
Note: For context, I am apart of an organization that is mostly made up of part-time members (the Oregon Air National Guard). This factor makes being a leader in the organization more difficult than normal. Face-to-face communication with my people only occurs once every three months as we gather as an organization on a quarterly basis. Additionally, holding people accountable and traditional counseling methods are of greater difficulty.
Question one: Am I inspirational? How do I inspire people?
In what I first think as "inspirational", I think of the leader who makes the grandiose speech. Something out of a movie. A war movie in which the protagonist/hero inspires his or her troops. More specifically would be the movie "The Wolf of Wall Street" in which Leonardo DiCaprio plays an aggressive Wall Street banker and real life man named Jordan Belfort.
In the film, Leonardo DiCaprio has a charisma and passion that is exemplified when he addresses his employees. Throughout the movie, he can be seen regularly making inspirational speeches in front of his employees which always generate cheers and an overall positive response. His ability to make a great speech inspired and motivated his people to perform at the highest levels of stock trading.
In all honestly, I wish I had this skill, but just do not have the ability to deliver powerful speeches like Leo. Knowing that I fall short in this area, I utilize other means of inspiring my people. As a supervisor, I try to connect with people on a personal level. This is key to gaining trust, which I find to be key in inspiring people. After trust has been established, I prefer to set goals for people and present measureable expectations for them to meet.
Many times, I find that just connecting to people on a personal basis and making them feel important (which they are) can ignite inspiration and the willingness to perform at a higher level. I regularly ask my people what their goals are, how they expect to reach them, and check-in with them to see how their goals are being met. Many times as leaders, we only ask our people to create goals that help our organization. While this is a natural part of belonging to an organization, we have to remember our people's personal goals. In asking people to set goals ass they relate to the organization, remember to set the example yourself by reaching your own goals as they relate to the organization.
As leaders, we have to remember that people have lives outside of work. They may have a goal to run a marathon, obtain a private pilot's license, or lose weight. I make it a point or ask about personal goals and offer suggestions or help in accomplishing them. This is a big part of understanding human capital and is likely to inspire them perform better not only in their personal lives, but at work as well. This is how I inspire people.
Question two: Do I create an overall positive emotional tone that is characterized by hope? How?
I am guilty of this one sometimes. In all honesty, I feel suppressed by my leadership in ways that translate to a negative attitude and feeling of hopelessness. It's not always easy to have a hopeful outlook when you feel as if making improvements is a enormous obstacle. This course has helped me to curb the feeling of hopelessness and negativity that has chased me for the last year or so. As a fairly optimistic person, it hasn't always been easy to operate with positivity and enthusiasm over the past year.
Luckily, I enjoy being around my people and seeing them succeed. Just because I don't feel supported as a member of the organization doesn't mean that they can't be supported by me. I genuinely like people and admire anyone who is willing to serve in the military, so I constantly remind myself that their situation doesn't have to be like mine in terms of hope, compassion, and mindfulness. I consciously try to remain positive as a means to trigger the positivity of others. I believe that we can get mush more done as a team when positivity is allowed to breed throughout the organization.
Question three: Am I in touch with others? Do I really know what is in others' hearts and on their minds? How do I show this?
As I alluded to earlier, I like to be apart of the lives of my people. Something as simple as texting them and asking how they are doing will create resonance. Communication is a tool that we often overlook as a means to inspire and motivate our people. As mentioned before, my organization is made up of mostly part-time members which adds a layer of complexity to the organizational dynamic. My best tool for creating resonance is to communicate regularly (no matter how brief or small the message) and maximize face-time with members of the organization when they are present.
Question four: Do I regularly experience and demonstrate compassion? How?
As a leader in a part-time organization, I have to constantly exhibit compassion for those under my leadership. As an example, our organization comes together once a year for a two week period in order to train as a group for the mission we control. All members are expected to participate in this period that we call "annual training". Excusals are highly discouraged as all members of the organization are counted on to attend and train, so we as an organization can perform the mission for real world operations.
One particular member expressed to me that attending this mandatory training would create a hardship. This particular member has part-time custody of his daughter and happened to be authorized visitation with her during our annual training period. My compassion kicked in and I realized how difficult the situation could be. If not authorized visitation with his daughter, it could put a strain on his family, his emotional well-being, and his ability to participate willingly in future organizational events. I lobbied hard for this individual to be excused from annual training with the caveat that the individual make future attempts to deconflict his daughter's visitation schedule. We made it happen and I was glad to do it.
Question five: Am I authentic and in tune with myself, others, and the environment? How can people see this in me?
I still have growing to do as an individual and a leader. In the past, I became irritated when my members didn't handle their responsibilities as individuals belonging to a part-time unit. Over my past four and half years with my organization, I have learned to lead with more compassion. To realize that our members serve in the Air National Guard, but have lives and careers outside of our organization. I can proudly say that a handful of the members that I supervise have come to me during this time and expressed thanks for the compassion, patience, and communication that I have given them over time. Throughout this course, I will learn more about being hopeful, compassionate, and mindful (resonant), which will hopefully continue my growth as a leader now and into the future.
References
McKee, A., Boyatzis, R. E., & Johnston, F. (2008). Becoming a resonant leader: Develop your
emotional intelligence, renew your relationships, sustain your effectiveness. Boston, MA: Harvard
Business Press.
Note: For context, I am apart of an organization that is mostly made up of part-time members (the Oregon Air National Guard). This factor makes being a leader in the organization more difficult than normal. Face-to-face communication with my people only occurs once every three months as we gather as an organization on a quarterly basis. Additionally, holding people accountable and traditional counseling methods are of greater difficulty.
Question one: Am I inspirational? How do I inspire people?
In what I first think as "inspirational", I think of the leader who makes the grandiose speech. Something out of a movie. A war movie in which the protagonist/hero inspires his or her troops. More specifically would be the movie "The Wolf of Wall Street" in which Leonardo DiCaprio plays an aggressive Wall Street banker and real life man named Jordan Belfort.
In the film, Leonardo DiCaprio has a charisma and passion that is exemplified when he addresses his employees. Throughout the movie, he can be seen regularly making inspirational speeches in front of his employees which always generate cheers and an overall positive response. His ability to make a great speech inspired and motivated his people to perform at the highest levels of stock trading.
In all honestly, I wish I had this skill, but just do not have the ability to deliver powerful speeches like Leo. Knowing that I fall short in this area, I utilize other means of inspiring my people. As a supervisor, I try to connect with people on a personal level. This is key to gaining trust, which I find to be key in inspiring people. After trust has been established, I prefer to set goals for people and present measureable expectations for them to meet.
Many times, I find that just connecting to people on a personal basis and making them feel important (which they are) can ignite inspiration and the willingness to perform at a higher level. I regularly ask my people what their goals are, how they expect to reach them, and check-in with them to see how their goals are being met. Many times as leaders, we only ask our people to create goals that help our organization. While this is a natural part of belonging to an organization, we have to remember our people's personal goals. In asking people to set goals ass they relate to the organization, remember to set the example yourself by reaching your own goals as they relate to the organization.
As leaders, we have to remember that people have lives outside of work. They may have a goal to run a marathon, obtain a private pilot's license, or lose weight. I make it a point or ask about personal goals and offer suggestions or help in accomplishing them. This is a big part of understanding human capital and is likely to inspire them perform better not only in their personal lives, but at work as well. This is how I inspire people.
Question two: Do I create an overall positive emotional tone that is characterized by hope? How?
I am guilty of this one sometimes. In all honesty, I feel suppressed by my leadership in ways that translate to a negative attitude and feeling of hopelessness. It's not always easy to have a hopeful outlook when you feel as if making improvements is a enormous obstacle. This course has helped me to curb the feeling of hopelessness and negativity that has chased me for the last year or so. As a fairly optimistic person, it hasn't always been easy to operate with positivity and enthusiasm over the past year.
Luckily, I enjoy being around my people and seeing them succeed. Just because I don't feel supported as a member of the organization doesn't mean that they can't be supported by me. I genuinely like people and admire anyone who is willing to serve in the military, so I constantly remind myself that their situation doesn't have to be like mine in terms of hope, compassion, and mindfulness. I consciously try to remain positive as a means to trigger the positivity of others. I believe that we can get mush more done as a team when positivity is allowed to breed throughout the organization.
Question three: Am I in touch with others? Do I really know what is in others' hearts and on their minds? How do I show this?
As I alluded to earlier, I like to be apart of the lives of my people. Something as simple as texting them and asking how they are doing will create resonance. Communication is a tool that we often overlook as a means to inspire and motivate our people. As mentioned before, my organization is made up of mostly part-time members which adds a layer of complexity to the organizational dynamic. My best tool for creating resonance is to communicate regularly (no matter how brief or small the message) and maximize face-time with members of the organization when they are present.
Question four: Do I regularly experience and demonstrate compassion? How?
As a leader in a part-time organization, I have to constantly exhibit compassion for those under my leadership. As an example, our organization comes together once a year for a two week period in order to train as a group for the mission we control. All members are expected to participate in this period that we call "annual training". Excusals are highly discouraged as all members of the organization are counted on to attend and train, so we as an organization can perform the mission for real world operations.
One particular member expressed to me that attending this mandatory training would create a hardship. This particular member has part-time custody of his daughter and happened to be authorized visitation with her during our annual training period. My compassion kicked in and I realized how difficult the situation could be. If not authorized visitation with his daughter, it could put a strain on his family, his emotional well-being, and his ability to participate willingly in future organizational events. I lobbied hard for this individual to be excused from annual training with the caveat that the individual make future attempts to deconflict his daughter's visitation schedule. We made it happen and I was glad to do it.
Question five: Am I authentic and in tune with myself, others, and the environment? How can people see this in me?
I still have growing to do as an individual and a leader. In the past, I became irritated when my members didn't handle their responsibilities as individuals belonging to a part-time unit. Over my past four and half years with my organization, I have learned to lead with more compassion. To realize that our members serve in the Air National Guard, but have lives and careers outside of our organization. I can proudly say that a handful of the members that I supervise have come to me during this time and expressed thanks for the compassion, patience, and communication that I have given them over time. Throughout this course, I will learn more about being hopeful, compassionate, and mindful (resonant), which will hopefully continue my growth as a leader now and into the future.
References
McKee, A., Boyatzis, R. E., & Johnston, F. (2008). Becoming a resonant leader: Develop your
emotional intelligence, renew your relationships, sustain your effectiveness. Boston, MA: Harvard
Business Press.
Comments
Post a Comment