After
completing the exercise on page 4 and 5 of Becoming
a Resonant Leader, I gain a bit more clear understanding of how past
leaders, supervisors, and managers have helped me learn and grow to the leader
I am today. “Resonant leaders use personal qualities to inspire employees
toward a common goal” (Kokemuller,
n.d.). This quote speaks to me as
it makes me reflect on the different types of conversations I had with past
supervisors, leaders, role models, coaches, etc. Most of these conversations
took place and form in an informal setting, where it felt more like a casual
conversation than a formal meeting. I find it that I feel more comfortable
talking to someone about leadership, feelings, and emotions in an informal
setting. I’m not entirely sure why but I feel that in a formal setting,
feelings and emotions isn’t something that should be discussed. So, I feel more
at ease in an informal setting when it comes to talking about these sorts of
things.
Overall,
I believe these conversations have indeed established the foundation of my
professional development. Many times my first supervisor encouraged and
motivated me to always do my best, try my hardest, and to never give up. Her
advices and guidance throughout my career have indeed become the foundation of
my professionalism and leadership development. Reflecting on how I have learned
and developed my own style of leadership, I believe I have been able to sustain
this foundation of leadership because I stay true to my feelings and myself. I
am a firm believer of respecting everyone even when they are rude, “don’t due
onto others what you wouldn’t like to have done to you”, and of not asking
others what I wouldn’t like to do myself. In fact a good example of this is when
“dirty” or long tasks arrive, I first ask for volunteers for the tasks. If
nobody volunteers then, then I split the task into parts so we all “get dirty”
equally. In a way, breaking down the task helps to complete it more quickly and
to stay fair with everyone.
Since I
do not like to do onto others what I would not like to be done to me, I try to
find fun or quick ways to complete tasks. An example of this would be cleaning
tasks. Not everyone keeps their area clean throughout their shift, so I made a
rule that an hour before the end of their shift, their area must be fully
stocked, cleaned, and prepared for the next employee. I know I wouldn’t like to
walk into a “dirty” or messy area, so why should I do that to the next
employee. With this example and rule, it can be seen that I stay consistent
with my feelings of how I not like doing to others what I wouldn’t like to be
done to me.
Honestly,
there is no exact recipe that I can say that helps to develop everyone. To me,
it all depends on the situation, the need of the individual, and his/her
capabilities. If this individual has the skills to complete the tasks but does
not have the will, I typically sit down with the individual and ask what do
they think is blocking their motivation for the task. Sometimes it’s the length
of the task, lack of skill, confusion, and/or unclear purpose of the task.
Depending on the cause of lack of motivation, I make the necessary changes or
steps to help the individual find motivation. Another form of helping others to
develop leadership is through informal conversations. In some situations, I ask
if it’s ok to give my advice on how to proceed, but I only do this when the
individual has first tried various times to complete the task on his/her own.
Along with these informal conversations, I also pass along the same advices
that were first given to me. I tell individuals to stay true to themselves, to
their values, and what they believe in, to respect everyone even when people
don’t deserve it, and to not due onto others what they would not like to be
done onto them.
Reference:
Kokemuller, N.
(n.d.). Resonant Vs. Dissonant Leadership Styles. Small Business.
Retrieved March 25, 2014, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/resonant-vs-dissonant-leadership-styles-65011.html
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