Course Reflections

My definition of leadership during week 1 of this course was “the art of influencing others toward a common goal.”  In my opinion, leadership traits can be learned therefore it is a process.  However, how you use those traits and influence others becomes an art. Building and using relationships as a tool to influence is a key aspect of leadership.  I would include this in my definition of leadership, saying "the art of building relationships and influencing others toward a common goal."  

Leadership should not be confined to a singular person or position. Relationships and empathy are essential to leadership.  Empathy is the ability to realize comprehend emotions and form a meaningful relationship with others.  Zaleznik does a great job of illustrating the relationship aspect with the example of the picture of the young boy contemplating the violin.  He compares the descriptions of how manager viewed the picture with how leaders interpret the picture.  "Managers relate to people according to the role they play in a sequence of events or in a decision-making process, while leaders, who are concerned with ideas, relate in more intuitive and empathetic ways." (1977)  

Learning the various leadership theories has made me realize the importance and impact of relationships on leadership.  Your past relationships with leaders and managers also greatly impact your experiences and leadership styles.  I believe you choose to acknowledge and avoid the bad traits of past supervisors and adopt the positive traits.  Trust is a critical component to healthy relationships.  With trust and credibility, you cannot successfully influence others.  

 Mentoring has always been a passion of mine.  However, I didn't realize how much of mentoring was ingrained in transformational leadership.  Transformational leadership is defined as a “process whereby a person engages with others and creates a connection that raises the level of motivation and morality in both the leader and the follower; this type of leader is attentive to the needs and motives of followers and tries to help followers reach their fullest potential” (Northouse, 2016)

I aspire to be a transformational leader.  Transformational leadership is "concerned with emotions, values, ethics, standards, and long-term goals."(Northouse, p. 161) This is exactly what I have, and continue to, work towards.  In the military, especially as a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer, I am held to very high standards.  However, exceeding these standards has always been my goal.  I also hold my Airmen to very high standards while maintaining a balance between mission and people.  Goals and milestones are essential to accomplishing the mission, but that must not be at the expense of your people. I make it a priority to develop good relationships with my team.  That, along with a clear vision and proper accountability will influence and motivate my followers to successfully accomplish the mission.    

This course has been beneficial to helping me understand my leadership traits, strengths, weaknesses, and potential.  Constant drive, mentorship, self-reflection, and self-accountability will allow me to constructively use this information.  On the other hand, this course has also allowed me to view, decipher and understand other leaders' styles, traits and motivations.  I have begun to view others interactions and correlate them to the theories and concepts we have learned.  This will be useful to provide meaningful feedback to subordinates, peers, and supervisors alike.  Hopefully, this builds stronger relationships and influence others to become better leaders.  

-Shane

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishing.

Zaleznik, A. (1977). Managers and Leaders: Are They Different? Harvard Business Review. Retrieved March 22, 2017