Leader Follower Relationship
After taking the quick test to find
out where I was on the leadership map, it appears that I scored the highest in
strategy 3, with a 9 out of 16. This strategy consists of High people, low Goal
and is used more when the leader defers to their subordinates to discover a
solution to their problems. Obolensky states that a lot of this strategy
involves the leader asking the question, “What do you think?” (2014, pg.4019). The
rest of the scores were evenly distributed through the rest of the strategies.
I would agree with this assessment; however, I would say that my answers were
slightly swayed after the previous module readings. If I had taken this test
prior to the readings I believe that I would have landed more in the strategy I
category of Low People, High Goal; which means, that it is more of a dictator
style of leading.
The article that I read that really
had an impact on changing my mindset about leadership style was by Ralph
Stayer, CEO of Johnsonville Foods Inc., titled “How I Learned to Let My Workers
Lead. In this article he described how he used to lead with more of a control
type attitude, which left his workers with no commitment to the company. Once
he switched strategies and allowed his people to have more control and more
stake in the company there was a huge shift in morale, attitude, and
production. This article resonated with me because I was able to see how giving
up control to allow the people who actually handle the work, be the ones to
make decisions about that work, allowed them to take more pride and ownership
in the quality of work they were putting out. Like Stayer stated, he felt that
since this was his business and ultimately his responsibility, it was up to him to
make sure that things worked out properly. This is how I handle just
about everything. As the old saying goes, “if you want something done right
you have to do it yourself” is pretty much words I live by. Stayer said that
his goal was to “work himself out of a job” (1990, p. 1). This statement really
got to me and I could not understand this being a goal of a leader of a huge
company. However, this article showed me the flaw in that way of thinking and how
that is exactly what a leader’s goal should be. You should want the people
within your company to be so competent, work so well together that they do not even need your
leadership, and to be so well versed in what they are doing and what is
expected of them, that they could run the company without you.
For my future leadership goals, I believe
that changing my way of thinking, learning to loosen the reins and trusting in
my employees more, would definitely improve my leadership style. I would also
benefit from learning to tell the difference between when I can give up control
and when I should step in. This is something that is definitely going to take
practice.
Reference:
Obolensky, N. (2014). Complex adaptive leadership: Embracing paradox and uncertainty. Farnham, Surrey, UK: Gower. Kindle version.
Stayer, R. (1990). How I Learned to
Let My Workers Lead (Links to an external site.). Harvard Business Review, 68(6),
66-83.
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