Please answer the following questions based on all the experience gain in this class. After that, write a response to peers post included below.
I found the content in the class to be useful, especially since I am a manager. Many of the techniques and theories that were discussed have brought new insight into how I handle challenges at work. However, I felt that I started to blur a lot of the concepts that were discussed with incorrect authors when trying to refer back to them.
On a personal note, I found the reading within the Park University’s Library system difficult because it would randomly time out and I would have to log back in to continue my reading. Though not a major issue, I found it to be a slight problem when reading Margaret Wheatley’s book.
When looking back on the last seven weeks and the content I have read, the one area that I wish we would have focused on was crisis management and methods for working with difficult people. I believe the subject of crisis management is extremely important in today’s society, especially with the workplace violence and other unforeseen events that occur.
As a leader, not only do you have to show empathy, energize others and model the way, but you also need to understand methods for corrective action from crisis events or difficult individuals.
I believe the journal entries worked best for me because I was able to apply what I read to my personal values. I would have also liked to have had more engagement in the discussion posts by the professor to know if I was understanding and apply the concepts correctly. Sometimes I worried that I was not interpreting the content correctly from the reading and felt that more interactions could have helped me understand the content and theories better.
From the content that I have learned over the last seven weeks, I would like to take that information and apply it to my current and future management roles. As a current manager, I have already started applying some of the concepts from Heifetz to my leadership style. I hope that the newly learned concepts will transcend my ability of being just a manager into me being a great leader. As we know, not all managers are leaders and not all leaders are managers. I hope that I can be both.
The major concepts that I will take away are Heifetz and Laurie’s adaptive change, Williams’ crossing bridges, and Wheatley’s concept of organizations as living systems. From these ideas, I believe they will help me become a better leader in my organization and in my personal life. Furthermore, these ideas can be combined to make effective decisions that encourage individuals and create effective followers.
From Heifetz and Laurie’s concepts, I have learned that adaptive work is required to make us successful and when we become complacent we fail at staying relevant. As organizations and individuals face changes every day in society, markets and with customers, it is important to draw on these experience from a balcony view to fully understand the challenge. By incorporating this understanding into my leadership style, I believe I can make the correct adaptive changes to ensure success for myself and others around me.
Within Williams’ concept of crossing boundaries, I learned the importance of collaborating with others and breaking through the tribal group mentality to create innovation. By crossing boundaries of unknown territory we can learn new ideas that can help solve problems or spur innovation. This is a valuable concept that I can directly apply to my job as many departments can help our group solve issues we face on a weekly basis.
From Wheatley’s concept of organizations as living systems I furthered my understanding of the importance of emotional awareness of individuals and building relationships among co-workers. Many times we fail at incorporating the human side of our business and expect quick turnarounds on projects. The idea of engaging individuals on an emotional level and building relationships can help create trust and positive rapport with those who you work with.
After analyzing these concepts, I started to build upon them at work to further my engagement with co-workers and direct reports. It is important to me to have strong relationships with these individuals where I can rely on them to help out in challenging times. I believe these concepts helped me understand how to evaluate leadership in an organization and be an effective leader for the future.
My ah-has moment from class was learning that I need to incorporate courage into my leadership style, which is something that I do not incorporate into my current management style. Courage is needed by leaders to tap their internal strength to cross boundaries, raise issues and create adaptive change (Williams, 2015).
Sometimes we become too complacent on what we are doing to realize that we need to challenge the process through courage to find better solutions and create innovation. I believe this skill will help strengthen my understanding of what is needed to be a true leader. As I continue my career path, I hope that my experiences and personality allow me to further my knowledge and become an adaptive leader who creates change and is able to challenge the status quo.
Williams, D. (2015). Leadership for a Fractured World: How to Cross Boundaries, Build Bridges, and Lead Change. Oakland: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.