A521.9.4.RB - Reflections

Stephen Denning has several dimensions to leadership in The Leader's Guide to Storytelling (Denning ,2011). Today I am going to discuss the three that I feel best represent my idea of transformational leadership and why they work for me. There are a few other dimensions, all good ones, in Denning's book but I'm not going to take royalties out of the man's pocket. Besides, it's my blog. So without further ado here are three dimensions that I have chosen as my favorites and probably the most germane.

1. The innovative leader works with the world instead of against it.

I like this dimension. I've spoke on the tendency for academics to view the world the way they want it to be rather than the way it is. I feel this affects more than just academics; the phrase cognitive dissonance can apply to a whole host of people that are unable to reconcile their view of the world with the actual reality. For the leader, myopia is a crippling affliction, even if your goal is just to maintain the status quo. However, the innovative leader wants to bring about change. Change, in business units, appears to be reactive in nature. It's only recently that agri-business discovered profit in organic goods so new business models cropped up (pun intended) to capitalize on organic spinach. However, people have known for years that pesticides in foods and goods drenched in chemicals were having negative effects. An innovative leader would lead a trend towards organics rather than waiting for the populace to demand them. Apple has built an empire based on generating needs where people never knew they needed things. "Hey! I never knew I needed an ipad...thanks Apple! Here's all my money." However, even Apple isn't truly innovative, they make neat gadgets but are still stockholder, not stakeholder, focused and their labor and environmental problems seem to be recurring .

All of that being said, innovative leaders still need jobs. It is my belief that if you want to change the beast you must first look like something the beast wants to eat. Innovative leaders understand that they aren't going to be Dali Lama of hedgefund  management without first getting a job as a hedgefund manager. Once established it can become difficult to overcome institutional barriers to innovation. It is a double-edged sword; to first become part of an organization you have to be something the institution wants, but once you try and change the institution you may find yourself without an institution to change. So what does it mean when the leader must view the world as it is? The innovative leader will utilize skills such as emotional intelligence, multi-cultural viewpoints, and communication techniques to grasp a realistic vision of how the section of the world in which they are operating actually operates. From there they can begin to devise strategies to move the markers further away from status quo and into innovation. To get somewhere new, you first must understand where you are. Be aware that resistance will be met at some point along the change process. However a proper usage of Lewin's Change Management Model may help. Also keep in mind that change is a process that takes time; don't expect to change the world overnight but by working within a company's policies and with proper support from superiors, it is possible to innovate in established firms.

The other option is to create your own business and many entrepreneurs are doing so. Several green companies are springing up to fill a consumer need for green goods and services. Here leaders are free to be as innovative as they please, and if successful they will create profitable companies with boardrooms, and CEO's, and CIO's, and all the trappings of hierarchical leadership.

2. Innovative leadership doesn't depend on the hierarchical authority.

Hierarchical authority structures usually wind up existing only to perpetuate their own existence. Don't misunderstand, someone has to call the shots but that someone needs to understand that shot calling can be trusted to other people as well, and creating new shot callers means pushing authority as low as it can go. Strict adherence to a command structure limits creativity; people need the room to make their own choices if they are to truly innovate.

In our successful green start-up, Patrick's Organic Spinach and Management Consulting (I call dibs) eventually Patrick, if he's not careful, will assume his innovation is better than some middle manager or sales clerks' innovation and will start to consolidate power in small rooms. Instead, Patrick needs to provide the resources and support to allow the sales clerk or middle manager to develop their ideas. This may mean investing resource and treasure into dead ends, but true innovation means learning from failure as much as successes. People need to know that failing does not mean a loss (and then termination), but rather a learning opportunity. To do that, you have to let them make their own choices. It is perfectly fine to provide a framework for operation but be sure to make that framework as broad as possible.

3. Lastly innovative leadership builds on personal integrity.

This is sort of a no-brainer if you ask me. People have to trust in you in order to have them believe in your ideas. Last week I equated public speaking or "working a room" with performance art. But I also said that you need to be sincere. Sincerity comes from authenticity and when you are authentic people will connect. You can be authentic and still play a part when speaking to a crowd. Your passion for your ideas is authentic, your desire to improve is authentic, and while it is true that you may need to provide data to back your dreams that is where integrity comes into play. If you are seen as a person with integrity, people will be more inclined to believe your data and the conclusions you draw from it. Remember we must deal with the world as it is, and in the real world data drives decisions. When you are authentic and viewed as someone with integrity, it becomes easier to convince others your innovative dreams are the direction in which to go.

These three dimensions of innovative leadership are dimensions that blend very well with my vision of leadership. I believe that understanding how the world works, pushing authority to its lowest level, and being authentic make up the foundation of innovative and transformational leadership.


Denning, S. (2011). The leader's guide to storytelling. San Francisco, CA : Jossey-Bass. 

A521.8.4.RB - Making Contact .

Making contact, working a room, meeting a new friend, schmoozing...these are all things that many people find themselves dreading. I've never had that problem. It isn't because I'm full of confidence or consider myself the center of attention. Far from it, I actually struggle with esteem issues; something that many that know me may be surprised to hear. However this post isn't to analyze my self-esteem, I have a therapist for that; rather the idea of meeting new people and "working a room" and how I manage to pull that off when plagued with self-doubt.

Growing up as a young adult my father's house was home to many visitors. Many of these visitors were from Mexico or Sweden. My father was in sales, very high dollar sales, and meeting customers was more of a social event than a sales pitch. I learned early that it is more profitable to build working partnerships than to sell and move. This requires a bit of play-acting. The dinner is a set-piece movement where conversation goes as scripted and everyone, including the children, have a role to play. This isn't to say that things were stilted or contrived. Rather my father's easy going nature and inquisitive mind made conversation naturally free-flowing...even when it was designed to persuade. Folks who know my family will say I'm just like my father in that I will talk to a tree if I get restless. Oddly enough, folks that know me now will see that I am often withdrawn when not clocking office hours.

Being a business man's son, moving into adulthood, experiencing homelessness, joining the military, and now being involved in training and public speaking have allowed me to perfect the art of social graces. Believe it or not, when homeless your charm can mean eating or not eating. So you learn really quickly how to turn a phrase or toss a compliment in order to achieve maximum utility. However, people are quick to perceive dis-ingeniousness. While I may see working a room, or public speaking as a performance art I am sincere in my desire to build connections with people.

Only recently have I learned to reveal my real-self with with a trusted person (outside of the therapist that is) but I've always been good at the public-self. I was raised to understand that people have value. My mother and my father, while being wildly divergent on most things in life, both believed that all people have value. I think this, more than anything, is what helps when connecting with a room full of people. Understand that it is a performance art but it is conducted by people with real feelings, everyone in that room is being their public-self to some extent. However, be sincere in your desire to connect and operate from the "do no harm" standpoint. This will enhance your public-self with a real value that you can project. This value projection allows the other parties to see your humanity and your sincerity. After that it just comes down to conversational skills.

Conversational skills are important. I don't wish to expand on them too much but I will say this: it takes practice. You'd be surprised at the faux pas people are willing to forgive if they detect your sincerity. With time, practice, and hopefully some feedback, people can learn to become naturally more conversant.

The trick for me(remember self-esteem issues) is that my public self is an act built with internal values. I am sincere in my desire to "do no harm". I am sincere in my desire to build connections. I am sincere in my desire to help my clients. What the public sees is a character. As I mentioned above, you must project values that you hold dear. Being in character does not mean being a liar. In many ways my upbringing is what shaped this view of "working a room."

A521.7.4.RB - Knowledge Sharing Story

Knowledge sharing stories are a bit different than a normal story. There isn't a plot, climax, or denouement. They can be dry and lifeless along the lines of "I went to fix a computer and the user had every toolbar imaginable installed and they were draining all the RAM. I learned a new technique for clearing them and here it is." There you have a basic knowledge sharing story; the knowledge being the technique used to remove toolbars.  Exciting stuff.

However think of it this way. I could have built a PowerPoint, included steps and best practices, and told you all about how to remove toolbars in five easy steps in a thirty minute presentation. Along the way you would have no doubt wanted to jump from the nearest window. However, if I tell you about the time I went over to a friend's house to help clean up the mess they made of their PC and fill you in on this sweet new program that deletes all these toolbars, you will be engaged. Knowledge sharing stories can be tailored to suit your audience but there isn't a rule that says they have to be boring.

In my line of work knowledge sharing stories are told quite a bit. I help rehabilitate disabled veterans into the workforce. These veterans may have addictions, PTSD, homelessness, or any combination of barriers preventing them from obtaining employment. There are often techniques that people in the business share with each other regarding how we coach our clients. Here is a knowledge sharing story about how I taught a client to give clear and concise answers during a job interview

Job interviews are tough for some people. There are those that tend to ramble on anytime a question is asked. It can be tough to get folks to understand how short to keep an answer. In the vocational rehabilitation world we train for 30 seconds to a minute and half depending on the question asked. It isn't a hard and fast rule but for the most part if you can't answer a simple question about your behavior in 90 seconds you are doing something incorrectly. My idea was to set an alarm on my phone using the stopwatch feature. I'd ask a question, hit the button and let the clock run to 90 seconds when an alarm would sound. After the alarm I would debrief the client on the question and try to trim the language down or eliminate unnecessary verbiage. Rinse and repeat. I shared this technique with a co-worker who had their own long-winded client they were training. We have found it to be a useful way to coach.

Knowledge sharing leads to what we call "best practices."  Often an informal body of knowledge that has helped us in our daily tasks. After some time these practices are sometimes formalized as taught techniques. All in all knowledge sharing stories are the meat and potatoes of storytelling leadership. After you motivate and inspire you need to share what you've learned. These stories allow that to occur.

A521.6.3.RB - High Performance Teams

This week we are discussing collaboration and high performance teams. High performance teams have  a few elements that differentiate them from regular teams. As taken from Stephen Denning's The Leader's Guide to Storytelling these teams have the following: actively shape the expectations of those who use their output, rapidly adjust their performance to the changing needs of the situation, they become stronger with time as members learn to anticipate, mutual concern means individuals grow, interpersonal commitments fuel performance, and shared passion (Denning, 2011). In essence these teams produce a synergy, that great buzzword. However, synergy is a real thing that can exist and when it occurs, teams truly do perform. 

I was recently part of a high-performance team, although we didn't call it such. It wasn't a large team, but it shared common goals, passions, and most importantly, the members truly cared what happened to one another. That caring is what allowed the team to function through some turbulent waters. It was exhilarating to say the least. Recently, after a year, that team has appeared to end and I must say it was gut wrenching. There is, for me, a profound sense of loss. It isn't often that I connect emotionally and such things are frightening. No one likes to be vulnerable. It's when we are vulnerable that bad things happen to us. However, that openness with one another is what allows the team to succeed in the first place. 

In this team I used the assertive style of communication outlined in Messages: The Communications Skills Book by Matthew McKay, Martha Davis, and Patrick Fanning, though I didn't have a name for it. (McKay et al, 2009)I asserted my needs and how I felt about a given  topic and respected the thoughts and feelings that were offered as input. It was difficult at first but through relating some of my own life experiences I was able to build a connection that strengthened over time.  Assertive and open communication gets easier with practice. 

At the end the outcomes were out of my hands though at times they far exceeded anything I thought I was capable of. I did the best job I knew how to do and I'd join the team again in a flash if offered the opportunity. Having been on both regular teams and a high performance team I know which one I prefer. As someone that now knows how rare they are I am saddened to see it go. 

A521.5.4.RB - Aligning Values

Organizations must align their values with their actions. Or better said, align actions with values. Values and actions on an individual level are one thing, but creating a value system and transmitting that across an entire organization is something else. Stephen Denning in The Leader's Guide to Storytelling puts forth the idea of ethical communities and that ethical communities have three basic components: trust, loyalty, and solidarity (Denning, 2011).

I like the idea of viewing an organization as an ethical community, this begins the process of moving from a simply profit-based organization to an organization based on values. The two aren't mutually exclusive, Denning mentions several value based organizations that are doing quite well; The Body Shop, Costco, and Ben and Jerry's are among those mentioned.

Getting back to the three ethical values. These values are certainly expressed in my organization but not all to the same degree. Trust is pretty evident in my organization. Managers refrain from micro-managing, co-workers are generally kind and trusting to one another, and I feel that I can trust the chain of command to make choices that consider my needs. The recent government shutdown demonstrated they are willing to stretch to keep workers on the payroll and limit negative impacts. This also demonstrates a certain loyalty. Loyalty is created through trust so trust must be present. I argue that trust is the central pillar of Denning's three tenants and without it, the other two can't exist.

Solidarity is trickier. While I trust that the people in the organization will stick by each other even when it is more expedient to not do so builds solidarity. However, consistently low wages are an issue and when people are not paid enough to move up Maslow's Hierarchy (i.e. they are still worried about housing and security) cracks start to form in the solidarity feature. At a certain point people will go into "survival mode" and start to look out for themselves. This is the opposite of what solidarity hopes to achieve. All in all I would say solidarity is transmitted through trust and loyalty but it is probably the weakest of the three.

Therein lies the trouble. Denning's model relies on all three to be equally present. Ethical communities require a synergistic relationship among all its parts. For me it is simply an awareness of how I can work to achieve these three values. Since they build on themselves, improving one can help to improve the others. I can't affect pay but I can affect trust and loyalty. By improving those two perhaps I can create more solidarity.

Denning, S. (2011). The leader's guide to storytelling. San Francisco, CA : Jossey-Bass. 

A.521.4.3 Meta-messages and Hidden Agendas

This post will be organized into two parts but they are related in that both meta-messaging and hidden agendas are part of communication. In order to get at what a speaker's hidden agenda may be you have to understand the meta-message and how to read it.

I am going to paraphrase meta-messaging as defined in McKay, Davis, & Fanning's work Messages (2009). Meta-Messages are the sum of the whole message as delivered via body language, tone, inflection, rhythm, word choice, and the speaker's actual voice. When these various components are in line with one another the message and the speaker's enthusiasm and positive emotional state come through clearly and the speaker is engaged. When these are not in line the message may be garbled or even heard in a light completely opposite of what the speaker intended. I think that most people are aware of their emotional state and how to indicate that through their inflection and body language however public speaking or sales meetings are a unique environment where the speaker has to be in total control how his or her message is delivered through all channels of communication.

In this excited or nervous state it can be easy to intone a sentence incorrectly and give the wrong message to to the listener. For one-way communication this is something that just takes practice and self-awareness, however in two-way communication it becomes crucial that you are able to sort the message correctly. This takes even more emotional intelligence than one-way speaking as now you are listening and working with internal bias, filters, and emotions. McKay, Davis, and Fanning suggest the listeners be sure and ask for clarification of the actual message in order to ensure better communication (78-79).

Hidden agendas are not the nefarious thing you may have been thinking all along. We aren't talking sales but rather the internal motivators for people. McKay et al divide agendas into eight categories: I'm Good, I'm Good (But You're Not), You're Good (But I'm Not), I'm Helpless, I'm Blameless, I'm Fragile, I'm Tough, I know it All. These all manifest in the message. For example You're Good (But I'm Not) looks like flattery but it is often coupled with self-deprecating statements. "Can you collate these files? I'm horrible at organization."  According to McKay el al these serve two purposes (p.86) one to set your stance and place and the second to promote ulterior motives. These motives may be a simple as making a friend or as complex as negotiating sales arrangements. 

As leaders it is important to hear what people are saying, their meta-message, and what their hidden agenda really is. If a follower sees themselves a certain way their may be an opportunity for transformational leadership or esteem building. We can place people in roles that play to their strengths (as they seem them) and also to challenge them with growth. 

Lastly, we can listen and communicate with sincerity when we hear ALL of what the person is saying. As one who believes in transformational leadership being able to form those connections is critical to trust building. 

McKay , M., Davis, M., & Fanning, P. (2009). Messages the communication skills book. (3rd ed.). Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications, Inc.

521.3.4 Formative Stories.

This week I have been asked to pick three stories from my past that have had a formative impact on my life and how they relate to organizational leadership.

 The first story is a story I tell quite often to my clients and the following are my own words from a class discussion. Before I joined the Air Force I was a steelworker. After Sept 11th the US diverted funds from projects that contributed to infrastructure and decided to spend all of that money on a war and the newly formed Department of Homeland Security. This led to a cascade of layoffs in the private sector that built the roads and building infrastructure projects support. I was one of those laid off. At first I thought I would be able to find another job but the industry was in severe contraction. To make matters worse, reductions in funds to retraining programs meant that I was unable to learn new skills. After robbing from Peter to pay Paul for a few months I was evicted from my apartment. I had found work as a bartender but service industry jobs really don't pay a living wage. After living in a van for almost two months I began to believe that was my fate, that was all I was good for. No one wanted me, I was damaged goods. My credit was shot; my mother would occasionally help with small things but it was a constant internal struggle for me to overcome my shame and guilt. I had no addictions, just a crushing existence that began to affect my sense of self-worth in a very severe manner. When I joined the service for career training I was initially declined for poor credit. I had to scrape and find around $3,000 to pay some of my debt. My father decided to give me a loan at this point. I was very lucky. This has helped me understand the difficulties people face in overcoming obstacles. While I was homeless I hid a great deal of my pain behind a smiling face and charming manner.

When I meet new people or in a managerial setting, I often take a moment to remind myself that the exterior of a person may not be the real person. They may be facing challenges that they are hiding. This helps to begin the listening process as I am reducing my own barriers to communication.

 Another formative story occurred in my early childhood and involved Mrs. Gast, my math teacher. Mrs. Gast was a no-nonsense-take-no-prisoners teacher. Fair and firm she tolerated no dissension in the ranks and woe to the student that failed to memorize their multiplication tables. One fine morning I was distracted by writing some poetry into my notebook when I realized that Mrs. Gast, all 5'2'' of her, was striding in my direction. I can assure you that even at that modest height she was Paul Bunyan and the ax wasn't far behind. She stopped at my desk, grabbed my notebook, read for a bit, and told me to remain after class for a discussion. Discussions with Mrs. Gast were never discussions in the traditional sense; they were the Inquisition. The bell rang, the class filed out, some casting glances at their former student, possibly wondering what their first funeral will entail. Mrs. Gast asked me to come with her to a file cabinet where she withdrew two or three composition notebooks and handed them to me. She told me, in no uncertain terms, that I was to keep practicing my writing. And that was that. No further words were spoken. I was gobsmacked to say the least. I later won a Young Author's award that year.

 This has taught me that people have abilities that need nurturing. Talent, in anyone, begs to be used. It screams at the brain until the brain acquiesces and uses that talent. I'm not a rich author, but I do like to compose from time to time. I feel that everyone has talents and we need to allow them room to develop them.

 Lastly, we journey to a time when I was a brand new Watch Supervisor in an Air Traffic Control facility. For those that don't know what that entails, the short version is that the Watch Supervisor is responsible for all the operations and all the personnel inside the facility. In essence the buck stops at that desk, be it a good or bad one. It was a otherwise normal afternoon when the Chief Master Sergeant in charge of the Sun and Moon (as far as I was concerned) came into the facility to ask about the status of a trainee that was on shift. I responded "I don't know". If any managers are reading this you know that this is the wrong answer. The Chief informed me in the most delicate manner that I best become informed of this trainee's status or I would be a trainee again myself. I learned really quickly about being aware of my area of control.

 This Chief reminded me that as a manager I have a responsibility for the people and property I oversee. It wasn't that I didn't care about that trainee, it was that I appeared to not care about that trainee and that is almost worse. From this I have learned that we must always be aware. We must care about the people we manage and we have to demonstrate that care so that they can trust we have their needs in our minds as well.

Danger of Stories

In this week's class we are studying the power of stories as well as the limitations of speaking and how people listen. The jury is out on how just how much people "listen" by usage of body language versus spoken word. As a matter of fact two of texts contradict each other on this idea. The Professional Communicators Toolkit (Whalen) says 75% of communication is body language, while Denning's The Leader's Guide to Storytelling pretty much says Mehrabian, the guy responsible for the study that came up with that number, derived that from a specific set of laboratory environments and added a great deal of extrapolation. I'm inclined to agree with Denning as I have interacted with people with whom there is a significant language barrier and while my posture, facial expressions, and gestures may indicate mood and intent they cannot deliver meaning. To assign a number to that seems meaningless. There is no doubt that body language is crucial to communication but to pin a number to it would be an attempt to quantify a variable that exists on a sliding scale.

Another distinct limitation is something I am going to call the Storyteller's Myopia. I will elaborate on that more below but it relates to the video of a novelist's experience with what she calls the "single story." Chimamanda Adiche gave a talk on the dangers of the single story. Before I elaborate on communication and stories it will help to understand Adiche's point. People will draw conclusions on things that are foreign to them based upon the stories that they are told regarding that subject. In her case she had drawn conclusions about Mexico that weren't accurate. Likewise she had encountered the dangers of the single story while interacting with her roommate. This gets into ethnocentric behaviors that aren't germane to THIS entry but need to be addressed in the greater scheme of leadership. Modern organizations may span the globe and ethnocentric attitudes are a barrier to effective leadership.

 What Adiche is also saying and what I am going to call the Storyteller's Myopia is as a storyteller you need to be aware that the stories you tell are going to influence your listeners in many ways. You want to take care to not interject ethnocentric ideas into your stories. Also you want to be aware of how your actions within a story may be perceived by your listeners. The rule "know your audience" is just as important here as well.

Stories and Organizational Culture

In this week’s learning we understand the importance of The Story. The Story is an integral part of communication and it is a great way to impart meaning and relevance to any situation. It can be easier to relate to a concept when you are able to contextualize the material in story form. Stories give life to living. In my current role I work with disabled veterans or veterans that are facing barriers to employment. My task is to case manage these veterans to aid them in overcoming these barriers. This involves everything from creating resumes to working with veterans as they go through addiction recovery and PTSD treatment, and that is just my office. In my organization over a dozen (perhaps more) programs are administered dealing with employment and assistance issues. Some of these are simple grants for education or training but others, like my program and a few others, are intensive services designed to directly address the needs of clients. In this capacity many people develop a bit of a dark sense of humor or create other coping mechanisms. Story telling is one of those mechanisms.

To pinpoint one particular story would be very difficult. A great many conversations occur when someone plops down at your desk and says, “You have to hear this…” This isn’t to say that there aren’t some that don’t stand out more than others. One story involves a man that needed to wire money from his New York accounts because Obama was bombing Libya and his liquidity was an issue. This man suffered from an obvious mental illness but he is only one of the many heartbreaking stories that live in and breathe in our waiting rooms. There is the story of the battered wife trying to feed her children. There is the story of the man laid off from work for no reason other than the employer wanted to hire a family member. There is the story of the young veteran home from the front and finding out that a great deal of the time a “commitment to support our troops” really just means a bumper sticker and not a job. Yes, there are also stories of people attempting to scam the system though those stories are in far less supply than some in the media would have you believe. In all of this there are the stories of the men and women that work in our building. There is the story of the man whose wife left him. There is the story of the low wage earners here that struggle to make ends meet as wages fall far behind cost of living. There is the story of the guy that struggles with his own mental illness as he works to help others solve theirs. These stories merge into a greater story, a unified story, of the daily struggle to take care of one another. I believe that stories are just crystallized versions of life; much like poetry is the crystallized essence of a moment or feeling. To ask for a single story would be to do a disservice to how all these stories unify a culture. I have held and will always continue to hold to the concept that we too often focus on the tree while the forest goes unheeded.

These stories bring together the office as a whole and they do provide a bit of focus for what we do. We aren’t paid very well, civil servants rarely are. The newsmakers make news because they are rare. Many of us do what we do because we believe that we can make a difference in someone’s life. Others do this work as a means to garner experience in office settings. And still others do this because in our region of the country it is one of the better jobs you can have. This isn’t to say that these people are not professionals, they are, and through these shared stories we can reaffirm a bit of our commitment to what we do. This is how stories impact my organization’s culture. They provide shared laughter and success and sadness. In an organization designed to affect lives isn’t laughter, success, and sadness life itself?

Women, Diversity, and the Workplace

The topic of diversity and gender equality is broad and, quite naturally, diverse. For this blog post I am reflecting on the comments made by Rosabeth Moss Kanter as they pertain to gender discrimination.

Ms. Kanter makes an early point that it is difficult to draw black and white distinctions about gender inequality while being firm that it exists. Women and men often find themselves in different roles as far as leadership is concerned. Men are found in high risk roles and women are found in people roles. This distinction may be reflected in the national pay disparities as high risk roles tend to pay more. This begs the question, why don't more women get into these roles? Kanter states that people trust people that are similar to themselves. If men have traditionally are in high risk roles as places by obvious discrimination in the past it stands to reason that men will promote other men to those roles. However, Kanter states that women are making their own inroads in other areas such as sole-proprietorship's and even politics. It may be that there will be a shift to women in power in the future.

The crux of many of Kanter's comments centered around women taking care of other women and through that sort of empowerment, create company cultures that are supportive of family and gender equality. I really like her perception that people trust the judgement of those that find familiar. However, that sword can cut two directions. As we grow a new generation of leaders it is important that we begin to not discuss the gender of a candidate but rather what they bring to the table. Supportive corporate cultures will begin to chip away at these distinctions as they will allow workers to thrive free of discrimination concerns.

Yukl brings a few concerns about gender identity to mind and these also need to be addressed in the broader concept of diversity. Once again, I feel that as these ideas gain acceptance by larger amounts of the population you will see trans-gender (using this term to include gay and bi-sexual as well) people moving into leadership roles and then bringing their values with them to the workplace. As noted, this will start to change corporate cultures as well.

Many of Yukl's other reasons for sex-based discrimination such as lack of inclusion, lack of mentoring, and lack of opportunity I feel can be addressed by people trusting what they see as similarities. To say this is discrimination is inaccurate as I think discrimination is willful. Instead this is a lack of emotional intelligence and self-awareness. Becoming aware of one's own biases and tendencies is important for any leader and must be addressed if we are to become a more diverse and inclusive group of leaders.

Acting on core values

"....think about yourself, and reflect on what differences distinguish you and would help you in living and acting on the basis of your core values."


Above is my task for this post and after some thought I narrowed my core values down to professionalism, honesty, ethical behavior, and kindness. Those are in no particular order and this will be a short post due to external stress. This has been an interesting question this week.


Professionalism, at its core, means that one does their job without prejudice, bias, malice, or to poor standards. I think that professionals have a duty to execute their responsibilities to the best of their abilities despite personal hardship or external situations. This is NOT to say that one has to "play hurt" or put aside their own lives for a job. Certain things such as divorce, death, child birth, health issues, and financial stressors are going to affect a person and that's to be expected and persons in those situations should be supported (kindness). However professionals don't let things such as a bad mood, or personal biases interfere with their work. This relates to emotional intelligence and that is something I've spoken on before. A leader must know his or her self first.


Honesty and ethical behavior are intertwined. Honesty is an ethical trait but I think it stands alone as it is the basis for all other ethical behaviors. If one isn't honest it their dealings with others than one cannot be operating in an ethical manner. One must also be honest with one's self. This will allow you achieve a certain level of emotional intelligence and from there you can become a more effective leader.


Kindness speaks for itself. Leaders do have to make choices that may cause injury, distress, or worse to followers and this is an unfortunate aspect of leadership. However, leaders should be kind where possible and I know I try to be kind to others as. Like most humans, I am not always successful but I strive for kindness in the hopes that it makes me a better person.


Living and acting on these values is important and becomes easier once they are internalized. When I am going through times of stress and anger I reflect on these things and see if I am acting consistently with these values and the answer isn't always yes.

Creating Meaning at Work

This week I have been asked to reflect on how leaders create meaning in a work place. I think this question is making a few assumptions. The biggest assumption is that the people within an organization are at point where they are able to meet their basic needs and are thus searching for new meaning. As Maslow's hierarchy of needs tells us there are several basic needs that must be met. A greater number of people are experiencing income insecurity as costs are outpacing wages. Additionally, the income gap is widening at an unprecedented pace. These economic indicators are meaning more and more people are increasingly worried about security and even physiological needs as they struggle to make ends meet. To ask how one creates meaning in this environment is a bit intellectually dishonest. I feel that as academics we too often postulate on how the world should be rather than how it is. So to answer the question, in order to create meaning we have to provide an environment where meaning can be an added value as opposed to environments where meaning is expected to replace living. When creating environments for meaning to be an added value a manager must see to it that workers are not worried about the first two levels of Maslow's hierarchy which are physiological and security. They do this by providing certain benefits such as health insurance, (in America at least, every other first world nation provides this to all the people not just the percentage of the population lucky enough to have coverage) fair wages, and other benefits designed to aid employees in meeting these needs. This isn't always the case as for many worker in service industry fields these benefits and wages are not available and the US is rapidly heading in that direction. So creating meaning becomes an academic exercise rather than a reality. No one cares if their ability to flip a burger or clean a hotel room has "meaning" if they can't afford food or housing. As studies have shown that raising the minimum wage has little effect on employment and a small affect on prices; to add to this meaning we have to change the way we view labor. This is a societal change that I am not sure the US will make and it is one of the reasons the nation is falling behind in quality of life for its citizens.

Be all that as it may and assuming we solve all of those problems, we move into step two. Managers create meaning by providing a vision, mission, or shared culture that employees can internally quantify. As noted in prior discussions, Southwest Airlines created a culture and vision where people believed in providing safe, friendly, affordable, and efficient air travel to their customers. In doing so they were able to attract and retain employees that were willing to work for below average industry wages until the company was able to attract enough market share to thrive. As I've mentioned, people need to have certain needs met before they are able to share in a vision and find meaning. However, once those needs ARE met people search for satisfaction within themselves and what they do. A great deal of a person's sense of self-worth and identity is tied into their job. Think about meeting new people, within the first few minutes someone will ask "What do you do?" People need to feel proud of their accomplishments and their contributions to society.

As we know, people are motivated by different things and I think the question assumes that all people are needing to find meaning. I respond negatively to charismatic leaders though I appreciate a transformational one. Others might be the opposite. A manager's approach to leadership is tied in with creating meaning. I chose charismatic and transformational leaders as I feel those are the two types of leaders that are able to best create meaning for their workers. Through their vision and efforts they allow others to believe in what they do. There is a caveat to this and it speaks to the second assumption; the target needs to be amenable to finding meaning. For some, work is a means to an end. They find meaning in giving, or nature, or any other activity not related to the work place. That doesn't mean that they don't appreciate a clear vision but that they don't attach personal meaning to their work. There is a difference in enjoying what you do and finding meaning in what you do.

To say that everyone needs to find meaning in their work to truly excel in their work is incorrect. Meaning has to come from within. If a manager can convince, through whatever means, a person welding in a water-filled ditch that their work will better society or have a meaning for others AND the target has a personality that desires to attach meaning to their work (or can be convinced) than the added value of meaning will enhance the person's work experience. Otherwise the attempt to create meaning may fail.

I do believe that managers, especially transformational ones, should attempt to create an added value of meaning to the work-place. It has positive repercussions for the employees and the organization as happy employees are productive employees. Even if the attempt to create meaning passes over a few the overall affect will be a net gain.

Go Go Transformers

Recent research into transformation leadership and how it relates to the remote work environment has been summarized in a recent article. It is an interesting new direction for leadership study and application. At its root, researchers are attempting to discover if transformational leadership can be executed via email. Previous studies focused on face-to-face interactions and in the modern workplace this isn't always possible.


Without going into a lengthy discussion of transformation leadership I will link its key definition here via Wikipedia: (bold print is mine)


"Transformational leadership enhances the motivation, morale, and performance of followers through a variety of mechanisms. These include connecting the follower's sense of identity and self to the project and the collective identity of the organization; being a role model for followers that inspires them and makes them interested; challenging followers to take greater ownership for their work, and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of followers, so the leader can align followers with tasks that enhance their performance.


The full range of leadership introduces four elements of transformational leadership:

Individualized Consideration – the degree to which the leader attends to each follower's needs, acts as a mentor or coach to the follower and listens to the follower's concerns and needs. The leader gives empathy and support, keeps communication open and places challenges before the followers. This also encompasses the need for respect and celebrates the individual contribution that each follower can make to the team. The followers have a will and aspirations for self development and have intrinsic motivation for their tasks.

Intellectual Stimulation – the degree to which the leader challenges assumptions, takes risks and solicits followers' ideas. Leaders with this style stimulate and encourage creativity in their followers. They nurture and develop people who think independently. For such a leader, learning is a value and unexpected situations are seen as opportunities to learn. The followers ask questions, think deeply about things and figure out better ways to execute their tasks.

Inspirational Motivation – the degree to which the leader articulates a vision that is appealing and inspiring to followers. Leaders with inspirational motivation challenge followers with high standards, communicate optimism about future goals, and provide meaning for the task at hand. Followers need to have a strong sense of purpose if they are to be motivated to act. Purpose and meaning provide the energy that drives a group forward. The visionary aspects of leadership are supported by communication skills that make the vision understandable, precise, powerful and engaging. The followers are willing to invest more effort in their tasks, they are encouraged and optimistic about the future and believe in their abilities.

Idealized Influence – Provides a role model for high ethical behavior, instills pride, gains respect and trust." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformational_leadership)


I know Wikipedia isn't scholarly but I am only including the definition of transformational leadership for ease of discussion. Below is a series of links that also define this type of leadership if you would like more reading on that topic. Yes I know APA doesn't hyperlink but work with me here.


Cherry, K. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/a/transformational.htm


Hall, J., Johnson, S., Wysocki, A., & Kepner, K. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hr020


Moving on


Research found here has hypothesized that transformational leadership (TL) can be executed via a remote method. The research team devised a series of tests using fabricated emails and gauged subject reaction to them via survey. This validated the hypothesis that job satisfaction could be increased with transformational methods. A second study found that transformational and intellectually stimulating messages embedded in email correspondence also increased job satisfaction. and motivation.


Initial Initial results are indicating that it is possible to utilize the proven potential of TL via electronic correspondence. However like many things leadership it is difficult to separate what individual motivators are used internally by the followers. Additionally, these were quantitative studies and as such only show if the hypothesis was proven or not proven. In this case it was, but it does not show why it was proven. I think a qualitative study would be most useful as a follow-up.

As the workplace becomes more geographical separated many team members may never have face-to-face interactions. It is vital that managers are able to motivate and inspire using electronic means. Managers may use different styles when communicating via email than they would in-person. A manager may appear cold via email but is actually quite the opposite. Managers need to be aware of how they are communicating via the written word. It will become imperative that managers become effective at the written word as well as the spoken word. 

And who said the internet killed grammar?
 

Asas

A511.4.4.RB-Contingency Theory

This week the discussion turns to contingency theory and managerial traits. Many of the early forays into the academic world of leadership focused on defining what traits make a good manager and how a manager behaved in certain situations and that behaviors effectiveness. It appears to me that early studies seemed to start with an idea and work towards validation of that idea. As in, there has to be something that makes a leader a leader and these traits must be present in order for a leader to come forth. According to Yukl this has been supported by multiple studies which begs the question that how many studies are needed to determine leaders need self-confidence? Snark aside there are traits that tend to come out when leaders are studied. Aside from the obvious ones such as self-confidence there are competencies such as emotional intelligence and internal loci of control that are also present. Other traits such energy level and stress tolerance and integrity are pretty self-explanatory. Short version: you need those things. Also, ambition (broken down by power motivation and achievement orientation) is important. Effective leaders tend to want to be leaders.  Surprisingly, narcissism can be of benefit to a leader but only if properly contained and applied. When a leader brings adoration upon his or her self by also empowering others narcissism can be positive. 

In my view emotional intelligence (EI) is critical for leaders. A leader needs to understand how his or her biases, emotional state, prejudices, and state of mind are affecting decision making. Leaders need to be able to work with many different people in many different capacities. In order to make sound decisions a leader needs to understand how these varying people and emotions are affecting the leader internally. It takes a great deal of self awareness to be highly emotionally intelligent and this is where I try to continually improve. I don't consider myself a master of EI by any stretch by any means but I'm getting there.

Where I am strong is self-confidence and ambition. I came through the crucible of homelessness to become an air traffic controller and a college graduate. That gives a person a bit of confidence. I made plenty of mistakes but I have tried to learn from them and move forward with my new knowledge. Some of my life lessons have been very painful but I moved forward and tried not to repeat them. Once again, not always successful but I have learned to trust myself. Ambition is good when one tries to rise those around him as well. I never want my ambition to come at the expense of others. I think leaders need to be ambitious but also need to develop and mentor subordinates. This was a lesson I also learned the hard way but that just means it stuck. 

Power and Influence

Power and influence are intangible and ephemeral concepts but at the same time very real and important in any leadership/followership role. As indicated in Yukl's text "Leadership in Organization" power stems from many sources such as legitimate power, reward power, coercive power, referent power, expert power, information power, ecological power, lastly position and personal power. This is a lot of different types of power and, while it is strictly my opinion, I don't see leaders sitting around picking a type of power and then applying it to a situation. I do think that good leaders use different types of influence when called for, and a good leader may understand that referent power can be lost if the target loses affection for the agent. Good leaders may also know that coercive power may breed resentment. Other types of power such as expert and information stem from more technical prowess and information knowledge. These types of power are very handy but they may not be enough to gain promotion or additional responsibility. I believe that referent power coupled with expert power would be a winning combination for any leader. Add in a dash of charisma and I think one could be a great leader.


Power is used for many reasons such as achieving a unit goal or pursuing a strategic direction and it is expressed in many different ways. Power, in and of itself, is neutral it is how it is used that determines the "good" or "bad" of power. However, no matter what the end result of an application of power is; theory says that power is expressed through channels such as rational persuasion, apprising, and pressure. There are others and the underlying point of this post isn't to list them all but to illustrate that power has a type and a channel. The target of power will react to the type of power used, and also the channel through which it is channeled. Leaders need to be aware of the affects both can have.


As both leader and a follower I have experienced and used power and influence. As a non-commissioned officer I had positional and legitimate power but as a subject matter expert I also used expert power. However, as younger NCO I wasn't always the best at using power and as I grew as a leader I became better and gained more referent power. I had much better success with that type of power and I wish I had learned a few lessons faster than I had. Now I have clients that count on my expert power to help them get over barriers to employment. I have to say that I am a bit intimidated at times at the trust some of them place in me and I assure anyone reading this that I do not meant that in an egotistical way. It is actually quite humbling. I don't have any sort of legitimate power over the clients and in a way this is worse I have to rely only my skill and ability to persuade. You might say that I use rational persuasion quite a bit as a coach....and you would be incorrect. Many of my clients are immune to logic. Instead I have to find other motivational techniques to encourage them to reach goals.


Power and influence work two ways as well. I influence my boss to a certain extent as she trusts my work product as well as my knowledge. My clients also influence me in that I try to learn from each one of them and I often find myself learning new ways to approach the next client. I listen and change my approach based on what they are telling me. It is challenging and rewarding work.

A511.2.4.RB - Reflection Blog: Leadership Analysis

Take the opportunity to reflect specifically on Yukl's material on pages 63 through 72, Supportive Behavior.
Assuming that these leadership behaviors are appropriate at all levels of organizations, do you use these behaviors in your work with others? Subordinates? If so, how are they effective in producing results? If not, could they be added to your personal repertoire of leadership behaviors?

Supportive leadership is something that I find highly useful when case managing my clients. Many of them have, or have had, things that are holding them back from achieving goals. Specifically, I am there to help them gain meaningful employment but to do so I often have to help them with other issues as well.

For the most part, no one winds up at my desk if everything in their life is going peachy. They typically are seeking help and they've exhausted any other option; or never had other options. Either way, they come to me for some sort of guidance. In a way, I do become a mentor and a leader. I try to establish trust over a couple of meetings and then see where I can be of help. In a way I use Yukls' guidelines for supportive leadership with great frequency. A list of the most common guidelines I use would be:


1. Show concern for each person's development
2. Help the person find ways to improve performance
3. Be patient and helpful when providing coaching
4. Provide helpful career advice
5. Provide opportunities to learn from experience

These five guidelines are taken from Gary Yukl's Leadership in Organizations 8th Edition and are very useful to me in my daily activities.

No offense to Gary, but I was doing this before I read his book and I learned the hard way about negative leadership traits. As a new NCO I wasn't as supportive as I should have been and I created a bit of animosity between myself and subordinates. After not getting the results I needed I went back and re-evaluated my leadership style and found out that I was not very effective so I took the opposite tack. What I came up with was similar to Yukl's guidelines and I have had much better results. I think supportive leadership is a great way to let subordinates know that their needs and desires are important to you. By doing this they stay engaged in the developmental process.

A511.1.5.RB Leadership Reflection

The discussion of the intersection between leadership and management is one worth having. I argue that one cannot have one without the other. The two are not the same in that managers tend to deal with more work-a-day issues such as scheduling, conflict resolution, and other such tasks while leaders deal with more strategic vision and long-term goals and plans. I think in order to be a good manager one must be a good leader. Leadership, as a concept, has never been empirically defined. If that were the case there wouldn't be entire academic bodies of work all attempting to define leadership with no two agreeing with each other. This is all well and good, leadership is as much art as science and a guy can go nuts trying to pin down Dali's "Persistence of Time" why should leadership be any different? However, as a student of leadership I must have metrics, and terms, and things to group together and analyze. Determining between managers and leaders seems to me to separation for the sake of separation. Leaders that are poor managers never last very long. Adolf Hitler, the internet's favorite dictator, is a perfect example of a leader lacking managerial skills. On the other end of the spectrum you have managers that lack leadership skills. These rarely make it to the history books as their careers aren't noteworthy of study. I would wager that most of us have come across managers that aren't leaders. I know I've worked for a few. It is important to note that managers and leaders have different connotations but I think that they are two sides of the same coin. Leaders may inspire and motivate but they also have to manage, if only on a strategic level. I understand that there are differing schools of thought on this subject but my goal here is to reflect on my view of managers versus leaders. I prefer the view manager/leader. In this Ted Talk http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action.html the topic of Southwest Airline is discussed. One of the concepts regarding leadership was inspiring people to work even though at the outset pay at Southwest was lower than the competition. This is true, a leader needs to inspire towards a common goal and a shared vision. Here's the rub: people that can't pay their rent aren't interested in vision. People, at a certain level, take jobs because they like to eat every day. A gate agent for Southwest might receive less wages than one for Delta but it beats being homeless. As you move up the professional ladder the importance of vision and motivation becomes more important for retaining talent but once again, it only goes so far. MANAGERS understand job satisfaction relies on more than just being committed to a vision. This is why I argue you can't have one without the other and be successful. Leadership and managerial functions are intertwined. It looks great to say a leader hires managers to implement his vision, and that's true, but it takes managerial skills to manage the managers.

Course Reflections

Reflect on your perceived value of this course. Include both positive and negative aspects of your experience. What might you have done to improve your learning experience in this course? How might the University or your instructor provide additional support for your learning? Were there topics covered in this course that seem particularly relevant or irrelevant to your experiences and to what you expect to come in future courses?

This course has been extremely helpful in laying a foundation for improving critical thinking skills as well as providing a good introduction into action research. I think that many graduate level courses are focused on a chosen field rather than a broad range of topics and this is a good thing. This allows for deeper understanding of the material at hand and has the added benefit of the student being genuinely interested in the subject matter. I took Accounting for my undergraduate but I wasn't interested in it. I even understand needing to have an understanding of accounting and finance but I feel no connection to the material. A Masters allows that connection. That being said, I did not feel a connection with this course. I totally understand the need for this course, and I understand how these concepts covered in this course relate to the overall theme of Leadership, but it wasn't teaching leadership principals. I almost view this course as pre-requisite course so all students understand what is expected in future courses. I understand this, but it doesn't mean I feel connected to it. The material on action research was most helpful. It is good to know what is expected of a student in this program. It also provided a good place from which to grow as a researcher. I enjoy research and I especially enjoy qualitative research. Understand how people interact and think is important from a leadership standpoint. A few things were un-ejoyable or provided little utility. TheBrain is something I can do without. I understand wanting to provide tools for students to be able to organize thoughts and plans and TheBrain may even be widely accepted. I fully understand that I may be the only guy who thinks I could have saved that $300. I don't need concept maps to organize my research, and while I usually lose points on papers due to formatting, I've never had a paper be poorly organized.

Which brings me to my last point and that is I would like to see more support for students like myself that focus more on substance than form. I accept that there needs to be a standardized format for submitted work and instructors (and this one was no different) with ERAU typically post resources for formatting. My larger point is that within the module it is helpful to have that information handy. The section detailing literature reviews had this under "What is a literature review?"

"The purpose of a literature review is to find relevant scholarly material to inform your area of study. You conduct a literature review to discover what others have said about the topic that you are studying. You may find that someone has already done the legwork and has studied a situation very similar to your own. Perhaps you can generalize the results of that study to your own situation. You might find that someone has completed research that you find interesting and that you would like to extend through a similar study."

Ok that's easy enough to do. Of course there is nothing there to inform about formatting or form. My mistake was using the same format as an annotated bibliography. I am efficient that way. This link http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/literature-reviews/ details literature reviews and is much more in-depth than what ERAU provided. It also pretty much says "book report only a scholarly one". Sardonic humor aside, I would have benefited from a better understanding of what a literature review entails. At this point in my academic career I should have dug deeper on my own into the concept so the failure is just as much mine.

Overall this was a great course and I took away a good foundation for future classes. Dr. Beasley was engaged and facilitated discussions well and provided timely feedback. Two thumbs up.

A500.8.3RB Presentation Problems

Death-by-PowerPoint, we've all been there. Sitting in a stuffy conference room or suffering eye fatigue in a fluorescent torture chamber, yes, we've all been there. More often than not, you've absorbed next to nothing during the presentation and came away with a negative connotation of the subject at hand. This is all too common and I feel comfortable making the assertion that most professionals have sat through presentations that made you contemplate career changes or early retirement. There may be many reasons for this, from poor subject matter to poor presenters. Here I am going to discuss two variables: presenter and presentation material. For the following consider the terms "public speaker" and "presenter" to be interchangeable.

First we have the presenter. A poor sap of an individual drafted into delivering meeting notes or market research to a group of disinterested listeners that may or not control the career of said presenter. This poor fellow (he's going to be male..hey it's my blog) is often untrained in the art of public speaking and may not be able to control the content of his presentation, he is just expected to deliver. It's a nightmare scenario for anyone that is terrified of public speaking.  In this scenario the presenter is not likely to deliver information in a way that allows the audience to process and retain information. Even skilled presenters struggle when being forced to deliver material that is dry or uninteresting.

However, skilled presenters leave an entirely different feeling with their audience. I am going to be blunt and say that not everyone is good at public speaking. Some folks have a phobia and we can discount those right off the bat. I am talking about people that do not have this phobia but are not able to deliver clear and concise presentations. This is not unusual and is more a lack of training an practice, although I think it is fair to say that some people are more naturally inclined to speak publicly. I am not cut out to play in the NBA but I know what a basketball is designed to do. A skilled and practiced presenter can engage an audience and allow them to be part of the information transfer. That's all public speaking is; transferring information. Using open-ended questions and employing techniques such as asking what the expectations of the audience are before starting (and writing these on a whiteboard for all to see) are ways that presenters engage audiences. Right away the audience is part of things, keeping this going is not nearly as difficult as getting it started. Much like a car rolling downhill, presentations have a momentum that is easier to sustain rather than start.

The presenter usually has presentation material. One of the most common forms of presentation media is PowerPoint, and we all know the lethal side-effects of this program. However, PowerPoint's evil can be harnessed for the greater good. When properly utilized PowerPoint slides can be just as engaging as the speaker. Techniques such as contrasting images and concepts are ways that presentation material engages audiences. The eye notices differences. The eye also notices movement, it can be beneficial to have graphs that are interactive. Rather than a static display, a graph that fills as the speaker transfers information is much more engaging than a static pie chart. Also, you can use layers to give slides depth. It is perfectly fine to be creative however always remember the focus needs to be on the information and not the cute cartoons in your slides. Stay professional but don't be afraid to have a bit of fun.

Quantitative Research

Quantitative research differs from Qualitative research in that it is a numerical representation of a theory or empirical finding rather than an extrapolation concept derived from a question. Aside from differing methodology, quantitative research is concerned with empirical findings. By its very nature, qualitative research isn't empirical though it can be accurate. Qualitative, on the other hand, is designed to arrive at an empirical finding; usually through the testing of a hypothesis. It is an important distinction. However, the two forms of research are complimentary in nature as findings in one can lead to studies in the other. For example, quantitative findings can tell you that divorce rates are higher in states with strong religious populations but it cannot always tell you why or what that might mean. Qualitative studies may be able to break down what that means as it relates to the society as a whole. Conversely, a qualitative study may derive a finding that states people equate education with higher standards of living but it a quantitative study would be able to track the numbers to see if such a perception is supported by statistical evidence. 

At its heart quantitative research (in the social sciences) is based on the premise "social phenomena can be quantified, measured and expressed numerically. The information about a social phenomenon is expressed in numeric terms that can be analysed by statistical methods. The observations can be directly numeric information or can be classified into numeric variables." (Mamia) Mamia also goes on to state the usages of matrices for the presentation and usage of data but doesn't state if this is a requirement to considered a qualitative study. I have seen and conducted qualitative studies where a matrix was not presented as part of the methodology.  I don't see where the usage or non-usage of a matrix validates or invalidates data provided the methodology is sound. 

All in all quantitative research is best used to determine causal relations between two variables or to track change. Where it falls short is in producing a living view of reality and it is predicated on the researcher knowing enough about the matter to ask relevant questions. 

Qualitative Research

Qualitative research is a different approach to the traditional quantitative research. Whereas quantitative research is statistically driven, qualitative research is designed to extrapolate new thoughts and perspectives from a multitude of sources not all of which are statistical data. In order to fully explain how this type of research operates it is beneficial to understand a few commonly accepted rules for qualitative research. From the Journal of Technical Education as written by Marie Hoepfl.

"Several writers have identified what they consider to be the prominent characteristics of qualitative, or naturalistic, research (see, for example: Bogdan and Biklen, 1982; Lincoln and Guba, 1985; Patton, 1990; Eisner, 1991). The list that follows represents a synthesis of these authors' descriptions of qualitative research:

1. Qualitative research uses the natural setting as the source of data. The researcher attempts to observe, describe and interpret settings as they are, maintaining what Patton calls an "empathic neutrality" (1990, p. 55).
2. The researcher acts as the "human instrument" of data collection.
3. Qualitative researchers predominantly use inductive data analysis.
4. Qualitative research reports are descriptive, incorporating expressive language and the "presence of voice in the text" (Eisner, 1991, p. 36).
5. Qualitative research has an interpretive character, aimed at discovering the meaning events have for the individuals who experience them, and the interpretations of those meanings by the researcher.
6. Qualitative researchers pay attention to the idiosyncratic as well as the pervasive, seeking the uniqueness of each case.
7. Qualitative research has an emergent (as opposed to predetermined) design, and researchers focus on this emerging process as well as the outcomes or product of the research.
8. Qualitative research is judged using special criteria for trustworthiness" (Hoepfl)

   

In a way, this type of research is designed to capture the often vacillating nature of the human experience. While it is possible to model behavior based on mathematical/psychological models, and to do so with a certain amount of accuracy, the outliers of data often have their own story as well and it is a story that may be able to be extrapolated into a broader field of study. As Hoepfl points out, it is possible to derive new quantitative studies from qualitative findings.

In the end, qualitative and quantitative studies produce two different types of knowledge. The former is empirical and the latter designed to "illuminate" or expand the body of knowledge (Hoepfl)

Data collection in the qualitative study is typically done through interviews, observation, and in some cases document analysis. As qualitative research is designed to better emulate the human experience it stands to reason that the collection methods are taken directly from the source. Once again from Hoepfl:

1. Determine a focus for the inquiry. This should establish a boundary for the study, and provide inclusion/exclusion criteria for new information. Boundaries, however, can be altered, and typically are.
2. Determine the fit of the research paradigm to the research focus. The researcher must compare the characteristics of the qualitative paradigm with the goals of the research.
3. Determine where and from whom data will be collected.
4. Determine what the successive phases of the inquiry will be. Phase one, for example, might feature open-ended data collection, while successive phases will be more focused.
5. Determine what additional instrumentation may be used, beyond the researcher as the human instrument.
6. Plan data collection and recording modes. This must include how detailed and specific research questions will be, and how faithfully data will be reproduced.
7. Plan which data analysis procedures will be used.
8. Plan the logistics of data collection, including scheduling and budgeting.
9. Plan the techniques that will be used to determine trustworthiness.

In short, the data collection is structured and accurate but is designed to be take into account the often inaccurate nature of the human experience. The tricky part of qualitative research is accuracy and reliability of the information. Hoepfl points out that several other researchers often call into question the validity of quantitative research. As noted:

"There are many researchers, however, who call into question the true objectivity of statistical measures and, indeed, the possibility of ever attaining pure objectivity at all (Lincoln and Guba, 1985; Eisner, 1991).

Patton (1990) believes that the terms objectivity and subjectivity have become "ideological ammunition in the paradigms debate." He prefers to "avoid using either word and to stay out of futile debates about subjectivity versus objectivity." Instead, he strives for "empathic neutrality" (p. 55). While admitting that these two words appear to be contradictory, Patton points out that empathy "is a stance toward the people one encounters, while neutrality is a stance toward the findings" (p. 58). A researcher who is neutral tries to be non-judgmental, and strives to report what is found in a balanced way." (Hoepfl)

However, calling into question the validity of another type of research does nothing to validate your own. In essence, the only way to truly support your conclusions is to demonstrate the accuracy of your methods and neutrality of the researcher. This is difficult to do when your subject is vague from the start but with proper documentation and methodology researchers should be able to prove veracity.



Hoepfl, M. C. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/v9n1/hoepfl.html

Critical Thinking About Critical Thinking

As I sit here on vacation, scratching bug bites and watching my mother's dog bounce around around the living room like a vegan at Burning Man a few things occur to me. One: the nap earlier must have done wonders for the dog. Two: it is rare that we think about our thinking. Lastly, without thinking about our thinking how can we improve our thinking?

I can't do much for the dog but my thinking is mine to control. Thinking is something we often do without reflection. Our day to day lives are filled with thoughts about the grocery, thoughts about work, thoughts about school, thoughts about family, thoughts about a million tiny things that make up our lives. I would argue that we spend more time thinking about things that control us rather than the things we can control. I don't know about you Wayward Internet Traveler but I think this is backwards. I am thinking I would rather think about the things inside my sphere of influence (and possibly expanding it) as opposed to spending my grey matter on things that control me. I want to trade more of the latter and gain more of the former. This degree is one step in that path. However, learning how to think in a critical manner will allow a person to better determine what the "truth" of a matter is telling you. Purely linear thinking leads to a world of black and white Many people find this comforting, and while it is anecdotal I find many veterans find this VERY comforting. However, once you spend some time thinking about our thinking the realization that the world is more shades of grey should start to sink in.

Mediocre novels aside, seeing shades of grey and determining a course of action from them is at the crux of leadership. Improving one's critical thinking competencies should increase the shades of grey one sees as well as provide the tools to discern a correct course of action. It is important that one internalize techniques for critical thinking such as action research in order to allow critical thinking to become organic. Simply seeing a concept as a concept isn't critical thinking though it is a start. Many people tend to view concepts as single issue concepts.

For example, poverty in the United States is such that 22% if all US children live below the poverty level. Without delving into the politics of the situation, examine the concept of poverty on its own. Then, from that concept try to think of what poverty means as it relates to education. Now gun violence. Now income inequality. Now Obesity. Poverty on its own just means that people live below a certain income level but the reality is so much more than that. Poorer people tend to have less educational opportunities. Many colleges have fees that prevent poor students from attending even if they are accepted. This means that the ability to move into different social strata is increasingly difficult. Moving from that, linking poverty to gun crime is fairly easy to do, however not all gun crime is committed by impoverished people. Mass shooters tend to come from middle-class white families.

Income inequality in the US has reached staggering proportions. This inequality has led to a downward spiral of wages, couple this a weakening of labor rights in the US and you are left with even fewer avenues for escaping poverty. For many professionals a sick day from work is paid. However, for the vast numbers of workers sick days are unpaid days. Add lost wages in with doctor visits and medication and many people simply cannot afford the doctor and missed work and still pay rent and utilities. This is just one example, poor public transportation systems, costly vehicle maintenance, and a multitude of other expenses that you and I may readily be able to handle and the poverty trap is almost impossible to leave. These people are still going to work and contributing to the GDP while their quality of life declines. 

What does poverty have to do with obesity? SNAP benefits cannot be used at McDonald's so why the issue? Are they buying mounds of food with tax payer dollars? No...they aren't. SNAP benefits are about $4 dollars a meal. This is not a great deal of money. On such meager means poverty-stricken people are buying calorie-dense foods with not much nutritional value because they are cheaper than organic and natural foods. When you have to stretch every cent you go for quantity not quality. This means the body is hungry again sooner than if the person had eaten a smaller meal with greater nutritional value. As such people in poverty tend to gain weight for no other reason than they can't afford the better quality foods.

Poverty affects society on a multitude of levels. Obesity is just one level. Obesity drives up medical costs. Medical costs drive up tax burdens for John Q. Public and causes bankruptcy for the ill. Bankruptcy leads to poor credit which means no home loan and possible not receiving a better job (some employers check credit scores). All of this means that even more doors are shut for those trying to move up in life.  

The point of this isn't to editorialize about poverty but rather to illustrate that poverty as a concept isn't as simple as it appears and that most all concepts can be approached this way. What does that have to do with critical thinking and ways that I can improve my thinking? Consider this; by examining a concept such as poverty from a critical thinking standpoint I have attempted to draw interlocking pieces of a larger puzzle. This is how critical thinking begins. Examining concepts as meta-concepts is how I plan on improving these skills. It is from there that I can begin to view ALL concepts as pieces of a larger puzzle. A leader that wishes to examine and reduce poverty needs to address all the components of the issue rather than focus on just one.

http://www.nccp.org/topics/childpoverty.html

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-12-20/lifestyle/36018512_1_white-males-crimes-mass-killings
http://www.businessinsider.com/wealth-and-income-inequality-in-america-2013-4?op=1 

http://feedingamerica.org/how-we-fight-hunger/programs-and-services/public-assistance-programs/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program/snap-myths-realities.aspx 

I am going to leave the link to this video right at the top of the page so on the off chance that the one denizen of the web that isn't my instructor or a fellow student happens by on his or her way to the funny cats...http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/sheena_iyengar_on_the_art_of_choosing.html

I had to watch this twice to catch all the awesome and so should you. Not you Dr. Beasley, well I suppose you can if you like, but something tells me you're familiar with the content. Just a hunch.

As a leader one is constantly presented choices. Some are incidental, some have lasting consequences for a company, and some can ruin lives. How we view the way the we choose is an important reflection for a leader to pause and take from time to time. As Dr. Iyengar presents, different cultures view choice in different ways. For me this was the most profound point. The perceptions of choice are just as important but how a leader understands the way they choose, and the way their followers choose can be incredibly beneficial.

Today's large corporations span the globe. Even smaller companies may have suppliers outside the United States. This multiculturalism has many ramifications; from wages to prices and all points between, multiculturalism is changing the way you and I interact with the world. We can either choose to wall ourselves off in a cocoon of ethnocentrism or we can choose to accept the change and work to ensure that all participants are uplifted in positive manner. The recent tragedies in Bangladesh underscore how multiculturalism and global economics are clashing. I refuse to shop at Wal-Mart (and now anything owned by Gap) on principal. I am fortunate enough that I able to afford a slightly higher food budget by shopping elsewhere. This is a choice I made because I see how my actions are affecting a different culture. I can't, in good faith, support an organization that won't hold itself accountable. Were I to choose based only on what was best for me I may continue to shop at Wal-Mart as I might be able to save on groceries each month. For me the choice was simple, I will support the greater good. However, as Dr. Iyengar pointed out, this may still be a choice designed to please the individual (me) as it makes me feel better to support more socially conscious industries and merchants. I hadn't really thought about how my culture affected my choice but I do know one can only peel the onion so far before you get into the absurd argument that all choices are ultimately selfish.

So what does this mean for the leader? A leader would do well to understand that their followers, or partners, or suppliers, or even customers all choose differently. A wise man once said you can't please all of the people all of the time and that is certainly true but as leaders and people, we can achieve a balance of impact when we recognize that all people choose and view choice with a unique perspective.

How is the scholarly information you found in the library different from the typical information you find when you Google a leadership concept?




Google's algorithms are pretty neat to a layman like myself and I freely admit to only having a basic grasp of how they work. I do know that when I type in "Leadership" in Google I am presented with a list of links with that keyword. The links are chosen by popularity of hits that other users have found when using Google. It is a self-learning program that crowd-sources information. What this means is that there is no guarantee that the links you are presented will be scholarly, scientific, credible news sources, or some dude's blog.

Above is a screen grab of my recent search for leadership in Google. As you can see Psychology Today was as close as Google came to a scholarly article.



The Hunt Library is designed specifically as an academic resource. That being said, it stands to reason that there will be a greater number of scholarly articles in a hit.

As you can see, three down is a usable reference for an online student like myself. All in all the Hunt Library is a superior student resource as opposed to Google. Which I am gathering was the point of this exercise. :)

A500.2.3.RB - Blog - Tell Your Story_Herbst

1. What are some standards that are most important in your life?

Some of the most important standards in my life are honesty, rational, reliable, and testable.

Honest sort of speaks for itself. One must be honest in their dealings with others and one must value honesty in return. In my line of work my word is often all I may to offer a client and it is important that I follow through on my commitments and not be dishonest or unreliable. Reliablity is another standard that I must maintain. My clients have needs that must be met and I task them with actions that I expect to be met. If there is a failing it can damage our professional relationship.

Rational and testable are the other two standards that I weigh many things against. I try to balance my actions against what a logical choice may be. I feel that too much emotional emphasis on decision making can lead to bad choices. As mentioned in my previous post, one must have emotional intelligence but that shouldn't mean that choices need to be emotional in nature.

Testability is also important, mostly as a managerial tool. When attempting a new process or change it is important to have a metric that is testable. This allows for feedback and process improvment.


2. In your day-to-day life, how do you go about telling what you should or should not believe among the things you see or hear and read?

It is a constant battle with my biases. If it comes from Fox News my first inclination is to throw it in the trash. This may be a bit extreme but I admit to having a filter.  We live in a world where information is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and from multiple sources. This allows us to pick and choose what we want to hear; thereby living in a constant world of confirmation bias. It is my opinion that people are having a tougher time sorting through cognitive dissonance situations when it is so easy to go back and hear whatever makes you feel better about the world.

I struggle with this myself but I think that being aware of how easy it is to confirm my own biases makes it easier for me to analyze my biases. I will often search for conflicting information in order to examine my positions.

In my job I often have to take clients at face value until proven otherwise. I know that certain people are not reliable or trustworthy and that does effect the services provided. Others are the exact opposite.

3. Analysis and evaluation. What are some things in your life that you analyze? What are some things you evaluate?

On any given day I analyze the job readiness, addiction-status, seriousness, abilities, and skills of at least five or six people. I usually don't have a great deal of time with each person so I have to be able to work quickly. I try to ask open-ended questions, read body language, and assess cognitive skills or addictions so I know how best to serve my client. It has been a crash-course in human behavior. At the end of the sessions I usually evaluate myself by asking a few questions. What did I do correctly? What did I do incorrectly? How can I improve the next meeting? This allows me to provide the best service possible.


4. Generate some questions about how critical thinking standards fit into your personal history.

I have often wondered why I place such value on being logical? It isn't like I was a giant fan of Mr. Spock although I enjoyed the series.