Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Affirmative style
"People come first". My experience is that this type of leader always rises to the top. People like to work with and for them. The leader knows the followers and fosters a trusting work environment. As I look back over all the people I have worked for, there are two affirmative leaders that I had the pleasure of working with. In my opinion, they were able to bring out the best in everyone. The pleasant atmosphere they created made all things seem possible. In one example, a huge organizational restructuring was taking place and nurses were being cross trained into areas they had had no involvement with before. The leader I am recalling made that transformation smoother than expected and in the end I think it was a very successful change, and one that I have not seen duplicated in other heathcare settings.
Authoritative style
"Come with me style". I can see where this might be viewed as a negative style. Not all people interact with authority figures well. The degree of interaction and mutual respect seems to be of paramount importance here. Buy-in and having a "shared vision" are necessary to making an authoritative leader work.
Friday, September 18, 2009
My personal vision
I have a personal vision I created when I became a member of the School of Nursing (SON) faculty a few years back...that I was going focus my energies and abilities on making Clemson SON graduates the most sought after new hires in the Upstate. I share this after reading Ed’s blog about measuring output.
We, the SON, produce graduates. We get involved with a lot of other stuff, but in the end our main product is graduates. Most are at the BS level, others are at the MS or PhD level. I am therefore measuring my success as a faculty member directly to the reputation our graduates garner in the workplace. NCLEX pass rates are one measure (our pass rate is the highest it’s been in years :). Hire rates after graduation is another. But there are the less easily measured outcomes...for instance, how do hospital staff perceive the preparation of our grads over that of other schools? Are they as well prepared? What are the 5 and 10 year career trajectories of our grads compared to those of neighboring schools (I see an interesting longitudinal study in that)? These are findings I would like to unearth. They are all possible measures of my vision.
We, the SON, produce graduates. We get involved with a lot of other stuff, but in the end our main product is graduates. Most are at the BS level, others are at the MS or PhD level. I am therefore measuring my success as a faculty member directly to the reputation our graduates garner in the workplace. NCLEX pass rates are one measure (our pass rate is the highest it’s been in years :). Hire rates after graduation is another. But there are the less easily measured outcomes...for instance, how do hospital staff perceive the preparation of our grads over that of other schools? Are they as well prepared? What are the 5 and 10 year career trajectories of our grads compared to those of neighboring schools (I see an interesting longitudinal study in that)? These are findings I would like to unearth. They are all possible measures of my vision.
variables of leadership
As I reflect on leaders and what variables I would measure as to their effectiveness I have to look at good and bad examples in my own experience.
- Leaders are decision makers. The "WILL" portion of HUMILITY + WILL = LEVEL 5. This is first and foremost in my mind. I enjoyed the part in the book about the window and mirror with regard to decision making. Leaders must be able to take the heat for decisions that don't go as planned, and then on the flip side they must share the success ones with others. This his hard to do, since most of us have been trained since childhood to hide mistakes and take the bow when things go well. There really is no place for fragile egos in leadership, but it seems that many in leadership positions suffer from exactly that.
- Leaders must know themselves...their assets and liabilities. This is key to developing teams that are a well rounded whole. Again, this is hard to do because we often don't see ourselves as others see us. I think one of the interesting assessments suggested this semester is the one that compares our self perceptions to the perceptions of our peers.
- Leaders must have a vision that is translatable to a team shared vision. I was struck by the theme of "shared vision" running through last weeks readings as well as this weeks. I believe the term vision has been abused in recent years. Visions statements have morphed into politically correct PR statements. The trick is to identify the real vision. This is difficult, because often there are hidden adgendas that create unknown variables into a problem or plan.
More later...
Now onto relections regarding leadership.
I was struck by the HUMILITY + WILL = LEVEL 5 discussion on the humility aspect of the equation. For example…the author states that Level 5 leaders often attribute their success to “luck”, versus taking credit for successful decisions made. I propose that luck DOES play a significant role. Just being in the right place, at the right time, and making the right decision.
Take for example, Cork Walgreens. I actually remember going to Walgreens as a kid and sitting at the counter getting a Coke or a malted milk. I really enjoyed those outings with my friends...and it was affordable for school girls like us. As a leader, Cork could have easily made the decision to focus the Walgreens brand on the restaurant aspect of the business and it is possible the name would have faded into oblivion. On the other hand, he might have been equally as successful with the restaurants as he was with the pharmacies. Perhaps, the success was in his focusing the company in one direction, and not necessarly restaurant over pharmacy operations. Since hindsight only allows us to look at the one course of action, we can only speculate about other outcomes. There was in fact an element of luck in the success of his company.
I was struck by the HUMILITY + WILL = LEVEL 5 discussion on the humility aspect of the equation. For example…the author states that Level 5 leaders often attribute their success to “luck”, versus taking credit for successful decisions made. I propose that luck DOES play a significant role. Just being in the right place, at the right time, and making the right decision.
Take for example, Cork Walgreens. I actually remember going to Walgreens as a kid and sitting at the counter getting a Coke or a malted milk. I really enjoyed those outings with my friends...and it was affordable for school girls like us. As a leader, Cork could have easily made the decision to focus the Walgreens brand on the restaurant aspect of the business and it is possible the name would have faded into oblivion. On the other hand, he might have been equally as successful with the restaurants as he was with the pharmacies. Perhaps, the success was in his focusing the company in one direction, and not necessarly restaurant over pharmacy operations. Since hindsight only allows us to look at the one course of action, we can only speculate about other outcomes. There was in fact an element of luck in the success of his company.
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