Reflecting
on what I have learned thus far, there is a change on what is required from a
person, as a leader, in order for him or her to get to the top management
level. About 5 years ago employees who had powerful personalities, a strong vision,
strong technical skills, and a strong work ethic would rise to the top
management level within a few years of being in the organization. These types
of traits and characteristics where thought out of as unique, strong and
powerful which were needed to lead an entire organization to success in a tough
business environment.
But
in the recent years, due to technology and environmental changes, we have seen
organizations move more towards seeking a leading personality; a personality
that consists of teamwork, strong work ethic, visionary, a creative person who has
different technical skills, and is all-around knowledgeable of the complexity
of the organization. He or she does not need to know every detail of the
organization but he or she must know how each department interacts, works
together, how one department depends on the other for success, the importance
of teamwork, the importance of good communication, great decision-making,
employee empowerment, and so on. In other words we are now asking for more than
just a typical strong leadership trait. Organizations want someone who understands
the complexity of the organization, is knowledgeable, can think on his/her feet
even when he or she doesn’t have all the answers/information, is flexible and
can quickly adapt to the ever-changing business environment. Organizations like
Google, Cisco, Facebook among many others, have these types of leaders; leaders
who don’t just see a running engine but also see how each part interacts with
another part to make the engine run. When an engine part is missing
(communication isn’t clear in an organization), the engine begins to
malfunction or continues to function with various hiccups, that when ignored
for long enough it would, eventually, break down and mess up the engine.
Overall,
it is difficult for a leader to grow into a person who can lead a system-wide
change effectively because it is a big responsibility and you need to have
everyone’s buy-in for the system-wide change to remain and be effective. If the
leader cannot or does not communicate effectively his or her vision to the rest
of the organization, the employees who do not understand it or see the benefits
and how the change would affect them will resist the change. Employees may also
resist change when someone who isn’t liked or respected implements it. Part of
the reason why it is difficult for a leader to grow into the type of leader
needed to implement a system-wide intervention effectively is because the
leader no longer only does his or her own work alone or repetitively. The
leader must be able to communicate to managers, supervisors, employees the
vision of the organization, must be able to make effective decisions, delegate,
recognize others’ success, give rewards/incentives/punishments, give yearly reviews,
set expectations, be resourceful, honest, have confidence, be committed, coach
employees, “have a positive attitude, have intuition, be able to inspire
change, inspire others, have good ambition, interpersonal skills” and many more
skills (Javitch, 2009).
Unfortunately,
I have not experienced working for a leader who has tried to implement a
system-wide intervention or change, nor have I worked for an organization that has
implemented a system-wide change. But from the material I have read throughout
the course I have been able to form my own opinion about this subject, being a
leader now is no easy job but it is rewarding and do-able when you have the
right attitude, support, confidence, cooperation, and commitment.
Reference:
Javitch, D.
(2009). 10 Qualities of Superior Leaders. Retrieved November 23, 2014, from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/204248
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