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Take Time to Celebrate
OL 7102, Assignment 3 DuBose, Justin Z. Dr. Robert Schultz 28 July 2019 The Value of Celebration Research continues to demonstrate the importance of leaders celebrating with their followers. For example, Johnson (2013) noted that crises are inevitable and that everyone will, at various points, face a crisis together. When a crisis hits people and organizations, it causes various kinds of damage to those impacted (physical, emotional, social, psychological, etc.) and Johnson (2013) noted that celebrating victories in the midst of crisis can both positively contribute to the healing process and help others learn. Johnson (2013) also noted that celebrating demonstrates care and compassion for others and that these celebrations contribute to raising the awareness of others of the value of their fellow human beings in times of crisis or otherwise. Jensen (1996) also noted that celebrations can raise awareness of corporate, or shared, values. While Johnson (2013) focused on the value of human worth, Jensen (1996) focused on organizational values. Jensen (1996) noted that leaders should be asking the question of themselves and others of, “how does this affect our important values?” and that, if the actions of others markedly align with and contribute to important values, then a fitting celebration needs to occur. Doing so, they noted, continues to reinforce the expressed and desired values of the organization. Warrick (2017) noted several additional benefits of corporate celebration. Firstly, he noted that celebrations actually serve to increase the performance and effectiveness of an organization. When leaders take time to celebrate with their followers, it serves as a morale boost to those who labor so diligently and their performance and desire to perform well increases. Similarly, it also pushes those present for the celebration to perform well to achieve the same recognition and award. Warrick (2017) also posited that celebrations increase the ability of organizations to attract, retain, and motivate talented people. When people outside the organization take note of how employees are celebrated within the organization, they desire to become a part of such an organization. Not only does this celebration express and reinforce values, but it also demonstrates care and compassion for those inside the organization (Johnson, 2013). One noted example of this is Tony Shieh, the CEO of Zappos, Inc. Shieh is noted for the celebratory tone of his company and he places such a high value on celebrations that he views every other function as stemming from such actions. When asked about the importance of celebrations, Hsieh noted that establishing an organizational culture that celebrates others is so important that, when this is successfully established, every other aspect of organizational culture will more naturally fall into place (Hsieh, 2010). Consequently, Hsieh focuses on establishing and reinforcing the desired organizational culture of Zappos through frequent celebrations of employees and achievements. Feldman (1981) noted the benefit of celebrations in providing increased socialization opportunities for employees. Socialization provides increased resiliency amongst employees and, coupled with celebrating the achievements of fellow employees, also publicly reinforces values and behavior. Feldman (1981) further noted that shared experiences between employees create lasting, meaningful bonds which provide for a more cohesive unit and allow for a heightened sense of family and belonging. In this way, celebrations also serve the purpose of reminding employees that they are part of a family and not just an employee collecting a paycheck. One great example of celebrations comes in the form of my own Brigade Commander, Colonel Sherman. These past three weeks, our engineering unit has been laboring together on a training exercise and our people are weary. Within the first week, Colonel Sherman decided to end each staff meeting with a “good news story” from the troops. He took this opportunity to not only celebrate that daily achievements and actions of his Soldiers, but also to tie such actions to the overall purpose of the mission. These small celebrations began to have a cumulative effect on the Soldiers, which culminates in an awards ceremony on our final day in the field. As Soldiers were celebrated, pride in their unit grew as did their desire to exemplify the values of the mission. Even in these small, short celebrations, the conclusion of researchers about the value of celebration was evident. References Feldman, D. C. (1981). The multiple socialization of organization members. Academy of Management Journal, 6(2), 309—318. Accessed on July 29, 2018. Hsieh, T. (2010). Delivering happiness: A path to profits, passion, and purpose. New York: Grand Central Publishing. Jensen, J.V. (1996). Ethical tension points in whistleblowing. In A. Jaksa & M.S. Pritchard (Eds.), Responsible communication: Ethical issues in business, industry, and the professions (pp. 41-51). Cresskill, NJ: Hampton. Johnson, C. E. (2013). Meeting the ethical challenges of leadership: Casting light or shadow (5th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Warrick, D.D. (2017). What leaders need to know about organizational culture. Business Horizons, 60, 395-404. Accessed on July 29, 2018.
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Introduction of Self as Leader
As a leader, my background falls within the realm of religion and the not-for-profit sector. Since 2010, I have served in the United States Army Reserves as a Chaplain. This includes serving as a Detachment Chaplain, where I traveled and provided religious support when needed or requested. In this role, I was extremely independent and had no direct oversight or supervision and traveled widely to provide necessary religious support. I have also served as a Battalion Chaplain providing religious support for eight-hundred Soldiers as well as overseeing a unit ministry team of two Chaplains, two Chaplain Candidates (seminary students studying to be chaplains), and one Religious Affairs Specialist. Presently, I serve as a Brigade Chaplain overseeing religious support for four-thousand Soldiers and overseeing four unit ministry teams distributed over a multi-state area. In addition to these responsibilities, I also serve as a civilian pastor and oversee a private Christian school of preschool through twelfth grade. The church currently averages one-hundred in weekly worship attendance and the school employs a staff of fifteen and a current student enrollment of one-hundred and seventy-five. These responsibilities require a balance of relational leadership in both the church and school as well as executing administrative duties as required by the private Christian school. My own leadership style can best be described as servant leadership (Landis, 2014). My goal in any form or function of leadership – but especially in my role as a spiritual leader – is to inspire others to serve by first serving them. I tend to invest heavily in personal relationships with the hopes of inspiring followers to become better leaders themselves by personally experiencing the benefits of servant leadership. One consequence of my personal leadership style is that I tend to be weaker in areas of administration. For the proper exercise of these necessary administrative functions, I often rely on delegation to those who are stronger in these areas than myself. Most often, those gifts are discovered, encouraged, and developed through the personal relationships I seek to develop as a leader. As a leader, my personal philosophy is to invest heavily – both relationally and professionally – in the area of leadership development. When those who have a desire or an inclination to lead begin to surface through my spending personal time with them, I want to see them grow and develop as people and leaders and, in the process, discover the satisfaction of servant leadership themselves. I make every effort to connect with them emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually in order to see them flourish. Once they are flourishing in their roles and begin to invest in others as well, I then seek to find another person to invest in in hopes of accomplishing that goal again. Evaluation of Leader from Personal Experience For the purposes of this paper, my leadership evaluation will focus on Dr. Scott Borderud. Dr. Borderud is a leader within my organization who serves simultaneously at multiple echelons of leadership. Dr. Borderud serves as a local pastor of a church of approximately 500 congregants as well as the treasurer of our district (three states and approximately one-hundred churches). Previously, I served for three years under Dr. Borderud as an Associate Pastor before departing in 2013 to lead my own congregation. Dr. Borderud immediately stuck out to me because of his unique leadership behavior and traits which positively impacted my life. Dr. Borderud was a graduate of the Naval Academy and spent time as both a Marine Infantry Officer as well as an Army Chaplain. Consequently, he was thoroughly trained and well-versed in a variety of leadership styles. He always spoke very directly and easily commanded the room in which he was present. However, despite this training and presence, his leadership behavior and traits were consistent with two dominant leadership theories: spiritual leadership and servant leadership (Landis, 2014). He effortlessly combined these two theories to produce effective leadership. Dr. Borderud’s spiritual leadership – a fitting characteristic for a pastor – was evident in his consistency in directing his followers to the Almighty and sacred texts for wisdom and guidance, not to himself. Rather than a dependence on himself and his strengths (which are more emphasized in transformational, charismatic, and strategic leadership theories), Dr. Borderud consistently directed his followers to look beyond him and to a greater and higher power. I remember once when I was facing a problem and looked to him for the answer. Rather than provide me with the answer, he directed me first to pray about it, search the Bible, and then come and talk to him again. I took his advice and, while he still guided my thoughts and actions, it was to a much lesser degree than if he were to immediately provide me with his solution to my problem. In this way, he exhibited great spiritual leadership. Dr. Borderud’s other great leadership style was his embodiment of servant leadership. Washington, Sutton, and Sauser (2014) define servant leadership as a distinct leadership style in which the leader values the good of the follower above their own self-interest. He told me numerous times that while he valued my contributions to the team, that it would be self-serving of him not to acknowledge my strengths and the future potential available. He selflessly took time to develop my skills and talents and went out of his way to expose me to greater opportunities for service and leadership. One instance in which this was evident was when I confronted him about an opportunity to serve on my own as a pastor, and asked him again for guidance and wisdom. He then advocated for me to candidate for the position, which is a large part of the reason why I am in my present position. He selflessly placed my needs – and the needs of others – above his own for the betterment of the organization and the individuals comprising the organization. Emotional Intelligence and Resonant Leadership Research has noted that ethical leadership is more effective at attaining desired results as well as motivating and inspiring others to perform and achieve personal fulfillment (Johnson, 2013). In particular, Maulding (2012) noted that emotional intelligence is one of the most important traits a leader can possess and one which is a strong predictor of leadership. Emotional intelligence is defined as “the capacity of reasoning our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, and for managing the emotional will in ourselves and our relationships” (Maulding, 2012, pg. 21). Maulding (2012) further concluded that emotional intelligence allows for leaders to connect with their followers on an emotional level, inspiring them with hope, demonstrating compassion and empathy, and touching their hearts and minds. One of the most important connections between resonant leaders and their followers is their personal connection allows the leader to process through thoughts, emotions, and plans with the follower. Researchers have labeled this process “meaning-making” (Huevel et al., 2013). The process of meaning-making establishes a connection between leader and follower which facilitates the translation of personal and organizational values into action. Meaning-making facilitates “integrating challenging/ambiguous events into a framework of personal meaning using value-based reflection” (Park, 2010, p. 265). This meaning-making allows an individual’s willingness to adapt to change (Huevel et al., 2013). Huevel et al. (2013) concluded that the process of meaning-making also translates to successful adaptation for employees when it allows them to reflect on organizational changes and link or align their own personal values to the changes. Dr. Borderud was integral in this process for me and other followers and, in the process, helped translate organizational values into action. Translating Values into Action One occasion in which Dr. Borderud helped translate organizational values into action for me occurred early in my ministry with him. One of our organizational values was simply to love others. What I did not grasp at the time was that “love” was communicated differently to different people. He had repeatedly given me his speech on loving others, but I got to see him live it out in the context of a board meeting. He was being grilled about the present and future of various ministries in the church, and he repeatedly responded in kind, with patience, and demonstrated love to a hard group. Observing this display helped transform that abstract value of loving others into a concrete action for me. Though his natural personality and communication style was more direct and aggressive, which I experienced on many occasions, he met others where they were and gave them what they needed. This was just one occasion (in addition to those mentioned earlier) where Dr. Borderud exhibited emotionally intelligent, resonant leadership. He demonstrated compassion and empathy to those within the organization who were struggling to grasp concepts or resistant to ideas and, in doing so, demonstrated to me and others that he was in tune with himself, others, and the organizational culture. Dr. Borderud inspired me to become a better leader as well as being more personally committed to the organization. His resonant leadership was integral in transforming my own understanding of emotional intelligence and the importance of it to personal interaction. While I had served other under servant leaders, none were as relationship-oriented as Dr. Borderud and none connected with as many different types of people as he did with those throughout his organization. As a result of his resonant leadership, several colleagues have stepped up into greater positions of leadership all over the world, and each of them attribute much of their inspiration to the personal connection they shared with Dr. Borderud. References Heuvel, M. V., Demerouti, E., Bakker, A. B., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2013). Adapting to change: The value of change information and meaning-making. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 83(1), 11-21. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2013.02.004 Johnson, C. E. (2013). Meeting the ethical challenges of leadership: Casting light or shadow (5th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Landis, E. A., Hill, D., & Harvey, M. R. (2014). “A synthesis of leadership theories and styles”. Journal of Management Policy and Practice, 15(2). Retrieved July 14, 2019. Maulding, W. S., Peters, G. B., Roberts, J., Leonard, E., & Sparkman, L. (2012). Emotional intelligence and resilience as predictors of leadership in school administrators. Journal of Leadership Studies, 5(4), 20–29. doi:10.1002/jls.20240 Park, C. (2010). Making sense of the meaning literature: An integrative review of meaning making and its effects on adjustment to stressful life events. Psychological Bulletin, 136, 257-301. Retrieved July 14, 2019. Introduction
This paper serves three purposes: the synthesis of current leadership theory literature, the application of leadership theory, and a personal reflection on leadership theory. The application of leadership theory will apply leadership theory to an effective leader within my organization, Dr. Scott Borderud, and my observation of his leadership style. A personal reflection will follow in which I will discuss how a deeper understanding of this specific leader can make me a more effective leader. Synthesis of Leadership Resources THEORY THEORIST YEAR TENETS Transformational Leadership Bass 1998 Leaders transform the expectation and reality of followers Servant Leadership Greenleaf 1977 Leaders who serve others make the most effectual leaders Charismatic/Ideological /Inspirational Leadership Weber 1947 Leaders possess a charisma which is visionary and inspiring Transactional Leadership Bass 1981 Leaders motivate followers through reward/punishment incentives Implicit Leadership Offermann, Kennedy, & Wirtz 1994 Leadership is a conceptualization of leadership traits and behaviors Situational Leadership Gerth & Mills 1952 Leadership is a combination of an individual and their leadership in unique situations Contingency/Relational Leadership Fiedler 1967 Leadership is contingent upon relational and task-oriented situational demands Great Men Theory William James 1880 Great men bring about great changes in society Trait Theory of Leadership Kohs & Irle 1920 Leadership is defined by inherent traits and personality characteristics Attribution Theory Pfeffer 1977 Thought processes of a leader must be understood in relation to their situation Exchange Leadership Theory W.E. Scott 1977 A leader is only as effective as the behavior he/she changes in their followers Collective Leadership Bolden & Gosling 2006 Leadership is impactful only a collective and not only and individual scale Strategic Leadership Boal & Hooijberg 2001 A “top-down” approach to leadership where an organization is aligned with strategic goals Team Leadership Zaccaro, Rittman, & Marks 2002 Leadership emerges in team performance and team building Ethical Leadership Fry 2003 Leadership surfaces in those with altruistic behaviors Identity-based Leadership Hogg 2001 Leadership includes self-concept and social identity frameworks Destructive Leadership Humphrey 2002 Leaders behave contrary to the well-being of followers and the organization E-Leadership Theory Avolio et al 2001 Leadership encompasses virtual space and virtual workplaces and communication Entrepreneurial Leadership Cogliser & Brigham 2004 Leadership emerges in entrepreneurial vision and behaviors Application of Leadership Theory For the purposes of this paper, my leadership profile will focus on Dr. Scott Borderud. Dr. Borderud is a leader within my organization who serves simultaneously at multiple echelons of leadership. Dr. Borderud serves as a local pastor of a church of approximately 500 congregants as well as the treasurer of our district (three states and approximately one-hundred churches). Previously, I served for three years under Dr. Borderud as an Associate Pastor before departing in 2013 to lead my own congregation. Dr. Borderud immediately stuck out to me because of his unique leadership behavior and traits which positively impacted my life. Dr. Borderud was a graduate of the Naval Academy and spent time as both a Marine Infantry Officer as well as an Army Chaplain. Consequently, he was thoroughly trained and well-versed in a variety of leadership styles. He always spoke very directly and easily commanded the room in which he was present. However, despite this training and presence, his leadership behavior and traits were consistent with two dominant leadership theories: spiritual leadership and servant leadership. He effortlessly combined these two theories to produce effective leadership. Dr. Borderud’s spiritual leadership – a fitting characteristic for a pastor – was evident in his consistency in directing his followers to the Almighty and sacred texts for wisdom and guidance, not to himself. Rather than a dependence on himself and his strengths (which are more emphasized in transformational, charismatic, and strategic leadership theories), Dr. Borderud consistently directed his followers to look beyond him and to a greater and higher power. I remember once when I was facing a problem and looked to him for the answer. Rather than provide me with the answer, he directed me first to pray about it, search the Bible, and then come and talk to him again. I took his advice and, while he still guided my thoughts and actions, it was to a much lesser degree than if he were to immediately provide me with his solution to my problem. In this way, he exhibited great spiritual leadership. Dr. Borderud’s other great leadership style was his embodiment of servant leadership. Washington, Sutton, and Sauser (2014) define servant leadership as a distinct leadership style in which the leader values the good of the follower above their own self-interest. He told me numerous times that while he valued my contributions to the team, that it would be self-serving of him not to acknowledge my strengths and the future potential available. He selflessly took time to develop my skills and talents and went out of his way to expose me to greater opportunities for service and leadership. One instance in which this was evident was when I confronted him about an opportunity to serve on my own as a pastor, and asked him again for guidance and wisdom. He then advocated for me to candidate for the position, which is a large part of the reason why I am in my present position. He selflessly placed my needs – and the needs of others – above his own for the betterment of the organization and the individuals comprising the organization. Reflection of Leadership Theory My time spent serving under the tutelage of Dr. Borderud was a great lesson in developing my own personal leadership theory and style. As a graduate of a military college, an officer in the United States Army Reserves, and a graduate of seminary in preparation to serve as a leader in the church, I had already explored and been exposed to a variety of leadership theories and ideals. However, as Latham (2014) noted, while there exist numerous theories on leadership, there is very little consensus on what constitutes an effective leader. In observing Dr. Borderud, however, I was afforded the opportunity to observe a leadership style and characteristics which not only directly impacted my own life, but also positively impacted an entire organization and the individuals within. Dr. Borderud also showed me the importance of not only developing certain individuals into leaders, but having a process whereby multiple individuals are able to grow and flourish into leaders. Schyns et al (2011) contrasted “leader development” with “leadership development” which expands the focus to a process of development as opposed to the development of a specific individual. This idea of “leadership development” or “mentorship” was a key component of his spiritual and servant leadership which continues to shape and develop me into a more effective leader. With his example and model, I have been able to likewise develop a leadership development process and develop several men into leaders using his same model of spiritual and servant leadership. Summary Dr. Borderud has often echoed to me the sentiments of Landis et al (2014) that the leadership traits of Moses are still just as cherished today as they were thousands of years ago. These traits of spiritual leadership and servant leadership are invaluable and have historical precedent for their effectiveness. Unfortunately, this does not seem to have translated to more scholarly research on this subject. For example, Dinh et al (2014) discovered that transformational leadership occupied the largest percentage of leadership literature (twenty percent), while spiritual leadership occupied just two percent of leadership literature. Servant leadership received even less, occupying only one percent of leadership literature. Leadership is often measured not necessarily by production or result, but rather the qualities embodied by the leader. Antonakis & House (2014) cited the alignment of follower motivation and resource mobilization with organizational mission as the two most important qualities of leadership. In these two qualities, spiritual and servant leadership provide perhaps the most compelling leadership style as the leader willingly surrenders their own position and interest for the larger mission of the organization. They not only verbalize leadership, but they model it by investing in their followers and empowering them to succeed, thereby providing the greatest motivation for success. They also, if necessary, mobilize their own personal resources in order to achieve mission fulfillment. References Antonakis, J., & House, R. J. (2014). “Instrumental leadership: Measurement and extension of transformational–transactional leadership theory”. The Leadership Quarterly, 25, 746-771. Retrieved January 14, 2018. Dinh et al. (2014). “Leadership theory and research in the new millennium: Current theoretical trends and changing perspectives”. The Leadership Quarterly, Vol. 25, 36-62. Retrieved January 14, 2018. Landis, E. A., Hill, D., & Harvey, M. R. (2014). “A synthesis of leadership theories and styles”. Journal of Management Policy and Practice, 15(2). Retrieved January 14, 2018. Latham, J. R. (2014). “Leadership for quality and innovation: Challenges, theories, and a framework for future research”. Quality Management Journal, 21(1), 11-15. Retrieved January 14, 2018. Meuser et al. (2016). “A Network Analysis of Leadership Theory: The Infancy of Integration”. Journal of Management, 42(5), 1374-1403. Retrieved January 14, 2018. Schyns B., Kiefer, T., Kerschreiter, R., & Tymon, A. (2016). “Teaching Implicit Leadership Theories to Develop Leaders and Leadership: How and Why It Can Make a Difference”. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 10(3), 397-408. Retrieved January 14, 2018. Washington, R. R., Sutton, C. D., & Sauser, J. I. (2014). “How distinct is servant leadership theory? Empirical comparisons with competing theories”. Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics, 11(1). Retrieved January 14, 2018. |
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