Lecture 5 Relationships (Section 2/ Chapters 6-10) While in our personal lives, we may look at the ways we interact with our peers, friends, family members, etc. as relationships, it is not as common in the area of the leaderfollower. It is a unique relationship in that the workplace relationship may not be selected in the same manner as a friendship or romantic interest; and is not predetermined as in a familial relationship. However, in order for the relationship to exist, we cultivate it almost as a hybrid between the two. Earlier in the course, we considered what you were looking for in an ideal leader. If you supervise people or hold a leadership position in an organization, would you agree with the text in that leaders are looking for followers who have similar tendencies as those we look for in leaders? We also discussed earlier in the course leadership from the leader-centric view; including Blake and Mouton's Managerial Grid. This approach, and others, focus solely on the leader - what approach can the leader take to maximize the organizational productivity? As we progress in our learning, however, we learn that the environment influences productivity/ organizational outcomes. In addition, we begin to understand the impact that the leader and follower have on each other which truly transforms one other as well as the organization. Thus, a partnership emerges between leader and followers - each working toward moving the organization forward in reaching what are hopefully shared goals. On page 74, the authors state, "Effective leaders realize that they are also followers and purposefully set the example when performing that role." As you start to move into positions of leadership, it is important to note that you will be evaluated by your new followers based upon your performance in your prior role; where you may have been their peers or in some cases, their subordinate. Further, on page 75, the authors state, "But effective leaders create opportunities, help provide necessary resources, delegate authority, and vigorously support the decisions made and action taken." The closer that an individual ascends to the top of the hierarchy in an organization, the more they support senior leadership and less advocate for those in supporting positions. A delicate balance that can cause heartache and indigestion. It may not always feel good to be in these positions; and as much as we might want to do what feels right or what we believe is right; there are many instances where we are carrying out the will of senior leadership.

2 Chapter 6 It is often argued that fresh eyes in an organization can bring new perspectives and ways of solving issues that may have been previously posed difficult for the organization. Leaders are not always willing to engage their followers in solution finding, and even less willing with new individuals in the organization. There can often be a sense of thinking that a new person has not been with the organization long enough to provide meaningful feedback, yet we are at times willing to have an external consultant come and evaluate our current operations. As this chapter continues, we look at a grid that is similar to the Managerial Grid, in that on one axis we see relationship and on the other productivity; however, this one relates to a series of follower styles: Subordinate, Contributor: Politician, Partner. As you think about your current or a past organization, were there members that fit into one or more of these roles. How did you define these roles at the time and how similar/different were they to those as described by the text? How did the leadership address these followership roles? How did you as leader or colleague navigate your own daily activities based upon this? What role(s) have you played in your experience as a follower/ subordinate? The most positive result is the development of partners/ partnership. In one of the attached links this week, I have posted an article about Leader-Member Exchange Theory. This theory speaks to the organization having an in-group and an out-group; with the leader's challenge to bring all individuals into the in-group and create partners in order to gain their best efforts toward the best effort for the organization. The premise of this theory can make some individuals uncomfortable as it forces us to acknowledge that in organizations there can be a tendency to have those that we would rather work with and thus we end up providing them with the most or best opportunities to shine. Chapter 7 In last week's lecture, we spoke about the concepts of Valuing Independent Judgement, Shared Responsibility for the Organization's Future, Naming the Elephants in the Room, Building Leadership Capacity, and Institutionalizing Reflection and Continuous Learning. This chapter continues this discussion from the perspective of building the confidence of the follower while also ensuring that the leadership is creating an environment which is safe for individuals to share their thoughts appropriately. The environment of safety is crucial for leaders and followers up and down the organizational structure to be mindful of. The leaders must create safe spaces and the followers must maintain discretion and trust so that the leader also feels that they may be vulnerable in both sharing sensitive information and receiving critical feedback. The

3 text refers to this being courageous - both as a leader and a follower. Just as a leader can become consumed with their survival - which leads to status quo or worse yet, tyranny, followers may become consumed with their survival as being the trusted confidant to the leader or what may be referred to as the leader's "second." When the follower becomes so consumed with the role that they become part of the status quo or hesitant to question (at the appropriate time and in the appropriate setting) the decisions or ideas of the leader, the organization can also become weakened. Remember, our crucial idea is that in most situations, the organizational goals and productivity are more important and greater than any individual in the organization is. Our survival instinct couple with aspirations for greater opportunities for ourselves as individuals can conflict with this notion. Review the questions on page 91 -93 and consider the following: Think about a time where your individual goals/ success were stalled due to happenings in the organization. How did you and others handle this conflict? What was the result? Were you able to put your own personal feelings and emotions aside to be aligned with organizational mission and progress? A certain "politic" arises when followers / partners share their thoughts. One must be careful not to overstep their boundaries, while making certain to share appropriately as well as provide solutions as well as challenges. It might also be important to support those ideas that we also agree with as not to be consistently considered the proverbial squeaky wheel. The comments of dissent are more often verbalized than those of agreement. As an individual, you also want to be mindful that you do not become the topic of the meeting before the meeting or the meeting after the meeting. Chapter 8 Chapter 8 begins in alignment with the concept from the Adaptive Leadership text of Shared Responsibility for the Organization's Future. A model of Team Leadership is discussed in a supplemental reading for the chapter, which is attached in this week's assignment. In many organizations, team leadership is most often exhibited when a project is imagined or a problem needs to be addressed. They are rarely utilized to continually monitor the progress of the organization. Think about a piece of equipment that is continuously monitored and maintained. There is preventative maintenance in addition to sensors and gauges that allow the technician to best predict issues that may arise. Team leadership provides similar opportunities for the organization. Shared leadership, which emerges from team leadership, places alternative individuals "in charge" as different situations emerge. As a general organizational practice, the

4 person with the most expertise in an area is rarely the person who placed "in charge" of the problem solving process. However, it is important to acknowledge that the person who is most senior in the organization or in an administrative position may not have the most insight in finding the solution. This does not imply that the technical expert is always the person with the solution - as noted when we look toward technical and adaptive challenges. It also should not imply that the technical expert cannot have adaptive solutions to offer. Shared leadership requires the organizational members to have trust in one another, put personal feelings and the past aside, acknowledge that the leader-follower relationship can change at any time, and provide for the peaceful transition of leadership when the time comes. Furthermore, for shared leadership to work most effectively, the work-group members need time to get to know each other and build trust, etc. Remember those icebreakers and team builders that you may have had to participate in. They sit at the core of establishing an environment of shared leadership. Unfortunately, there are those who see these exercises as time wasters or that do not do them often enough to continue to develop the team. Chapter 9 In the university environment, we consistently and loosely utilize the term mentorship with peer mentorship programs, academic mentorship programs, and professional mentorship programs. In K-12 schools, there have been new teacher mentors for a long time. In Greek lettered organizations, the role of the big brother or big sister has been to mentor the individual through their experience and "on-boarding" to the chapter. This concept of mentorship is increasingly becoming a part of organizational life outside of education. Take out a paper and write down the names of several people who you have learned from. Think further about the memorable and effective characteristics and attributes that you have adapted from each one. Now list the negative attributes and characteristics that each had. Which have you adapted or removed from your style? The mentor/mentee relationship is delicate and can provide a number of areas of growth and development; both from a career standpoint and a psychosocial standpoint. The career functions that mentorship can provide growth and development in include but are not limited to: Sponsorship, Exposure & Visibility, Coaching, Protection and being provided Challenging Assignments. This is true for mentorship not only in an employment arena, but for those of you that are student organizational leaders; as well. The psychosocial functions that mentorship can provide growth and development in include, but are not limited to, Role Modeling, Acceptance and Confirmation, Counseling

5 and Friendship. When we think about mentorship from this standpoint, we need to consider who is mentoring us as well as who are we mentoring. As we growing and developing, we too should be growing and developing others. This is true from an organizational or professional succession planning as well as from a personal growth area. As we make others stronger, we become stronger ourselves. Mentoring is far more than a question of "Will you Mentor Me?" There are expectations on both parts that should be agreed to including how often individuals will be in communication; what they are each looking to gain from the relationship; how long the relationship will last, etc. It is best to organize these expectations so that a meaningful relationship can take place. Looking ahead to Chapter 10, the authors address some questions that you might want to ask before you decide to mentor someone (p.108). Once you decide to enter into a mentoring relationship, the text offers some excellent steps toward how to establish one. Even if you are at the mentee side of the relationship, you should look through these, as not all mentors are aware of what it means to mentor someone. Some mentors agree to be a mentor without realizing what it really means and additionally, there are individuals who ask to be mentored without realizing what the commitment entails. Chapter 10 As in many relationships, the mentoring relationship can fall on difficult times. As you think about being mentored, the authors offer some "insurance" tips on page 110 - 111. In reflecting on Chapter 9, there are some steps to take to potentially limit the level of "stress" that a mentoring relationship can place on you. Make sure to choose your mentor/ mentee wisely and to set up those expectations. Think about the selection of the relationship, whether as mentor or mentee as a job interview. There are definitely conversations to be held. You should be leery of someone who comes up to you and states, "I want to mentor you" and someone who comes up to you and asks, "Will you Mentor Me?" The mentor/mentee relationship can be one of the most powerful and meaningful relationships there is; so choose wisely.

6 For this week's discussion, I would like you to think about the highlighted portions in the text above and provide a meaningful reflection. You do not need to "name names" in terms of your posts as I can understand that some of these issues may be sensitive

Discussion Prompts:

• What makes a good follower?
• How could you be a courageous leader in your role?
• Why does location matter in leadership?
• Who has been your best mentor and why?
• What skills are most important in leadership?
• What skills should you not have in a leadership position?

The next section of the Contemporary Issues in Leadership speaks to the meaning of relationships for you within your organizations. As you prepare your response, think more about the highlighted areas of this discussion as opposed to summarizing your readings.

2- PLEASE MAKE SURE TO APPLY THE LESSONS FROM CLASS TO YOUR ANALYSIS.

Find the transcript from a speech given during a time of crisis or an annual address from a political leader and discuss it in the context of the texts. Compose a written response of 1-2 pages. Utilize the example if you are unsure how to start:Transcript Example .pdf

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You can use the State of the Union (from this President or any of the past Presidents), the rebuttal from the major/minor parties, a State of the State (from the Governor of your home state or Florida), or a historical figure. The importance is to find something that you can speak of through the lens of:

Protection, Direction, & Order (through adaptive/ technical challenges addressed), leader's Emotional Intelligence (Five Components from Chapter 2 of CI ), Transcendent Leadership, and/or the Five Big Ideas of Leadership (Chapter 3 of CI), etc.

Please upload the transcript of the speech as well as your discussion.

Be sure to use 12 point, times new roman font, double spaced, and cite using APA format.

Examples include:

Paraphrase: (Author, date); (Swingle, 2020)

Direct Quote: (Author, date, p. 200); (Swingle, 2020, p. 213)

Finally, be sure to create a reference page and cite in APA format.

Examples:

Books: Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Publisher Name.

Website: Lastname, F. M. (Year, Month Date). Title of page. Site name. URL

3-Choose one of the following:

• Find an article or a website (include the URL) that offers some insights and/or resources to emergency planners with regards to people with disabilities. Briefly summarize the article and one thing that you found interesting or surprising.
• Find an article or a website (include the URL) that offers some insights and/or resources to emergency planners with regards to public health capabilities. Briefly summarize the article and one thing that you found interesting or surprising.