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.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Thursday, June 20, 2013
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. :)
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. :)
Friday, June 14, 2013
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.
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.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
A500.1.5.RB_Herbst_Patrick
Consider how intellectual perseverance relates to your concept of a good leader.
Being a leader requires not only intellect; well let me rephrase, being a GOOD leader requires not only intellect but a concept known as emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence can best be defined as the ability to assess, control, and identify the emotions of one's self and of others. It sounds reasonably simple until you realize that emotional intelligence requires a great deal of critical thinking an intellectual perseverance. One of the great mistakes junior leaders make is thinking that you can have one aspect of these traits and not the others. It doesn't work that way. Leadership requires that all facets be present. I often use the metaphor of a gardener and apply it to a leader. A gardener weeds, fertilizes, prunes, waters, and nurtures the plants under his or her care. Much the same a leader needs to do the same for the persons or projects entrusted to his or her care. Neither one of these people will be successful if they can't understand both the needs of the people and plants as well as their own shortcomings.
Intellectual perseverance is what allows the leader to develop emotional intelligence in addition to critical thinking skills. Other skillsets will develop as a result of intellectual perseverance as well these may be anything from interpersonal skills, understanding office politics, and customer service skills. Intellectual perseverance sets the foundation for becoming a good leader.
Intellectual perseverance is defined as: having a consciousness of the need to use intellectual insights and truths in spite of difficulties, obstacles, and frustrations; firm adherence to rational principles despite the irrational opposition of others; a sense of the need to struggle with confusion and unsettled questions over an extended period of time to achieve deeper understanding or insight (Paul)
There are many other traits to intellect; however being able to persevere despite difficulties is really what makes many things possible. I doubt any of the great thinkers of our species started out as such. I imagine Benjamin Franklin, Henry Ford, Immanuel Kant, Proust, Isaac Asimov, or Dostoevsky having to persevere despite many challenges. Once again, it is important to understand that although intellectual perseverance may be the foundation, it does not exist in a vacuum.
There must be a constant feedback loop where intellectual perseverance both supports and is questioned by emotional intelligence and critical thinking. It is one thing to persevere and quite another to persevere in the wrong direction. When all parts of the system are working correctly, a leader can develop a healthy sense of confidence tempered by self-correcting self-analysis.
All in all, intellectual perseverance is a critical component of leadership. However, on its own it is useless.
Being a leader requires not only intellect; well let me rephrase, being a GOOD leader requires not only intellect but a concept known as emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence can best be defined as the ability to assess, control, and identify the emotions of one's self and of others. It sounds reasonably simple until you realize that emotional intelligence requires a great deal of critical thinking an intellectual perseverance. One of the great mistakes junior leaders make is thinking that you can have one aspect of these traits and not the others. It doesn't work that way. Leadership requires that all facets be present. I often use the metaphor of a gardener and apply it to a leader. A gardener weeds, fertilizes, prunes, waters, and nurtures the plants under his or her care. Much the same a leader needs to do the same for the persons or projects entrusted to his or her care. Neither one of these people will be successful if they can't understand both the needs of the people and plants as well as their own shortcomings.
Intellectual perseverance is what allows the leader to develop emotional intelligence in addition to critical thinking skills. Other skillsets will develop as a result of intellectual perseverance as well these may be anything from interpersonal skills, understanding office politics, and customer service skills. Intellectual perseverance sets the foundation for becoming a good leader.
Intellectual perseverance is defined as: having a consciousness of the need to use intellectual insights and truths in spite of difficulties, obstacles, and frustrations; firm adherence to rational principles despite the irrational opposition of others; a sense of the need to struggle with confusion and unsettled questions over an extended period of time to achieve deeper understanding or insight (Paul)
There are many other traits to intellect; however being able to persevere despite difficulties is really what makes many things possible. I doubt any of the great thinkers of our species started out as such. I imagine Benjamin Franklin, Henry Ford, Immanuel Kant, Proust, Isaac Asimov, or Dostoevsky having to persevere despite many challenges. Once again, it is important to understand that although intellectual perseverance may be the foundation, it does not exist in a vacuum.
There must be a constant feedback loop where intellectual perseverance both supports and is questioned by emotional intelligence and critical thinking. It is one thing to persevere and quite another to persevere in the wrong direction. When all parts of the system are working correctly, a leader can develop a healthy sense of confidence tempered by self-correcting self-analysis.
All in all, intellectual perseverance is a critical component of leadership. However, on its own it is useless.
Paul, R. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/valuable-intellectual-traits/528
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