Leadership Challenge 5

LdC Template #5

Influential Practitioners (Leadership Challenge): Leading in a COP

Enhancing Action Research and Leadership Possibilities

through the Development of your Collaborative Skills

Module 5                                                                    Name: James D. Lett

The process below relates to the following Leadership Provocative Question(s): 

How can your behaviors shape your action research study to be a collaborative action research study?

I have been going through a growth period since taking on a leadership role seven months ago. I have been transitioning from a military mindset of doing it all on your own and being the person who always has a plan. I am learning that through collaboration there can be a multitude of plans in a group when the right environment is cultivated. That environment is one that values open communication, focuses less on demonstrating individual competence and more on shared competence, and shares a common goal.

My behaviors as a leader and group member can cultivate this positive environment or damage the progress of a collaborative group. I tend to dominate conversations. I often have so many ideas that I begin sharing them without allowing adequate space for others to share what their insights are. Additionally, I can be obnoxious with my planning. I live in my head a lot. I sometimes feel responsible for all of the plans and the decision making and I can experience hurt feelings if my way is not accepted. Also, I am learning more about my generational tendencies. I tend to feel a little bit like I can do anything, I feel a greater level of self worth even though I have not given the requisite amount of years to warrant the respect I feel I deserve.

Given that I know these things about my behaviors, I can self evaluate and work on those in all of my communications. I have form new conversational habits. Habits that involve continuous active listening, reading non-verbal cues, consciously considering the feelings and ideas of others, and taking every opportunity to develop an understanding of it feels to walk in the myriad of shoes representing our lived lives. This approach will help me overcome internal bias and appreciate the cultural generational sensitivities of my colleagues.  This approach may also open us the opportunity for imagination and multiple resolutions to challenges within our network.

a. Preparing for an on-line Conversation

Copy and paste the matrix of quotes/ideas that you developed last week and upon which you implemented your Leadership Challenge (LdC) from last week.

Quote/ideas from the book; applications/instances from your workplace setting (from last week)	Page number
Recognizing our experience in others, knowing what others are doing, being in someone else’s shoes	185
Defining a trajectory that connects what we are doing to an extended identity, seeing ourselves in new ways	185
Locating our engagement in broader systems in time and space, conceiving of the multiple constellations that are contexts for our practices	185
Sharing stories, explanations, descriptions	185
Generating scenarios, exploring other ways of doing what we are doing, other possible worlds, and other identities.	185
In terms of participation, imagination requires an opening. It needs the willingness, freedom, energy, and time to expose ourselves to the exotic, move around, try new identities, and explore new relations.	185
I have been working on a handbook for my staff members. However, I have decided to ask for input from those who will use the handbook rather than including what I think they need.
Recently, I have been creating some new marketing materials and updating others. In the past, I have done this on my own. However, in an effort to be more collaborative, I have shared these items with the group and I have gotten some amazing suggestions that I would have never thought of (We have a marketing and communications department, but they are a bit undermanned. Therefore, we often create materials internally and then submit them for approval to get them done faster).

b. Holding an on-line Conversation

Copy and paste your notes from your on-line conversation from last week and upon which you implemented your Leadership Challenge (LdC) from last week.

During our discussion we talked about collaboration from a leader’s perspective. Essentially, we were saying that, as leaders, we need to share more upfront rather than parsing it out to our colleagues and employees. Bret shared, “Leaders should create an environment where others have an opportunity to participate.” This statement got us going on a leader tangent that became the theme of our conversation. Greg stated that it’s important to “bring people in on the important stuff not just the periphery for things that don’t really matter.” He added that leaders often arrive in a rather “obnoxious” manner with all answers. I concurred with Greg and Bret’s statements. I also pointed out how I am guilty of “obnoxiously” arriving with my plan only to have it rejected in resounding fashion. I added a quote from the text where the author spoke of alignment within our community of practice. In order to build a collaborative environment, and an eventual community of practice, we must create opportunities to share our experiences, have them valued, and then align these experiences with our common enterprise. Greg stated that creating this inclusive environment is how we can gain buy-in when initiating new innovations or projects.  

g. Determining your Leadership Challenge

Note:  We are directing the Leadership Challenge for this module.

Expand your social network to include knowledgeable individuals beyond your workplace setting.  Find 1-3 others not in your institution, who have a similar problem as yours.  Establish a dialogue with them whereby you compare situations and learn from one another’s experiences. 

Submit the channel your used to connect (Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Alerts, discussion boards, email, phone call, etc.), who you connected with (a group or individuals), and a summary of your interactions thus far.  

Through Facebook chats, leader number two talked about the difficulties and challenges of maintaining motivation. He talked about how changes within the employee care model have impacted his usual methods for engendering a positive work environment. However, he has found that direct communication about life as a whole is what has resonated best with his team members. They want to connect with their leader on a personal level, not just a professional one. People want to be more than just workers. They also want to work for a person who connects and appreciates their lived circumstances. His insights made me think of my own approach. My notions of being a good leader have been challenged. I am reflecting on all of my communications. I have become so entrenched in the right way to do things and the proper approach to things, that I often have trouble being both professional and personal while maintaining the cooperation of my staff. Through conversations like these, I am learning how to be more than the “taskmaster” that I have become over the years.