Leadership

          Motivation is a key factor when trying to get the most out of your team, when your team is motivated to do good work the results will show. Many managers see the benefits of having a motivated team and will give motivational speeches to their team, other managers have been known to bring in motivational speakers to get their employees going.

            Along with managerial motivation comes other traits that contribute to leader effectiveness, one trait which I find very important is High energy level and stress tolerance. “High energy level and stress tolerance help managers cope with the hectic pace, long hours, and unrelenting demand of most managerial jobs”( Yukl 2013, pg. 143). This in my opinion is very important, I find a leader that can work hard and not be phased by the demands of a managerial position can motivate employees to work harder. I think that employees for the most part see when a manger cares about their work and it can be contagious, on the other hand if a manger is very lazy and cannot handle stress then subordinates might take advantage of the situation.

            A manger cannot look weak and stressed out, I feel that a manger needs to have “moderately high self-confidence”. “Without strong self-confidence, a leader is less likely to make influence attempts, and if an influence attempt is made, it is less likely to be successful” ( Yukl, pg. 144). I think that we have all had those leaders at some point in our lives where a leader is lacking self-confidence, I have seen that these leaders prove to be ineffective. Subordinates can feel weakness and walk all over mangers, once this has occurred it is hard to gain the respect that you need back from subordinates. “At the end of the day, leadership is about having the confidence to make decisions. If someone is afraid to make and commit to decisions, all of the communication and empowerment in the world won't make a squat of difference” (Inc).

            There are many traits which make a leader who they are amongst their peers but I think the one trait which cannot be overlooked and probably the most important one is “personal integrity”. “Personal integrity means that a person’s behavior is consistent with espoused values, and the person is honest, ethical, and trustworthy” (Yukl, 2013 pg. 147). Many leaders do not realize the influence that they have over their subordinates, if an employee see’s that their manager is unethical they will surely follow suit. I have seen it far too many times that usually a new employee will come in motivated and ready to do a good job but lack of leadership will change their attitudes very quickly. Usually if the manager is unethical, with in a matter of weeks the new employee’s attitude has changed and they begin to take on the unethical actions of their manager.

            When I think about what kind of leader I am I like to think that I am a fair leader. I like to think that I do show very strong ethical behaviors and I believe that I can motivate and inspire people. I know that I must continue to push through my sometimes lack of authority and show self-confidence. I would say that I feel I am a good leader but if I had a weakness it would be my tendency to find it hard to say no. A leader must be strong and find that at times they will have to say no to people, I also feel like that is a part of having moderately high self-confidence. The thing about being a leader which I find the hardest is not always being a friend to subordinates, a leader has to find a balance between being a manager and also being understanding.

            As a leader at work nowadays I do feel that I am good a certain things which make my company stronger. As a manager I do have a high energy level and stress tolerance which is key for the job I do. Stress is a huge factor when you are dealing with transportation safety, many people become overwhelmed and let the job take over them. If you cannot handle stress in my line of work you are putting many lives at risk, I feel like my stress management skills bring a calmness and safety oriented atmosphere which at times is missing when I am not around. Safety is huge amongst today’s top companies, with so many lawsuits and company regulations safety is a big cause for profit loses.

References:

Yukl, G. A. (2012). Leadership in organizations. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.

Dao, F. (2008, March 1). Without Confidence, there is No Leadership. . Retrieved June 26, 2014, from http://www.inc.com/resources/leadership/articles/20080301/dao.html

  

 

 

 

Power and Authority

            Power and authority, most of us at some point in our life have held it over others; some people have had power all of their life and others have acquired it through hard work and commitment.  It is important to realize what power is and how it is different from authority, it is also important to realize that even though you might have authority you might not have all of the power you think you have. Sometimes those with the true power are the ones which are hiding in the background, and sometimes those who think they have power are just used as a puppet for everyone to be distracted by. In the work place and in our society power and influence are constantly shown in public, we can see this in politics. Many times we might count on our politicians to make a change in society but there can be other forces at work which will not allow this. We see power and influence at work, sometimes we might ask our boss for a raise but the people who are actually making these decisions have already made the choice for your boss. There is a lot we do not know behind every profession and to know all of the answers to what lies underneath is almost impossible.

            Power and influence can be seen outside of work also, it exist in our everyday lives amongst our families and our relationships with a significant other. If we think about the relationships of powerful people, many times we might see that a young woman will be with a much older man and we think why is this woman with someone whom she might not have anything in common with? In this case it is easy to see that the man’s source of power might be his wealth, although I will say that this is not always the case. Money is a power source which is understood as “reward power”, “reward power is the perception by the target person that an agent controls important resources and rewards desired by the target person” (Yukl 2013, pg. 195). The authority relationship is a big source of this power also; I will use the example of my family life which is a constant power and authority struggle which I must deal with on a daily basis. Even though I am twenty eight years old I have been lucky enough to have a teenage daughter which turns sixteen in a month. I can say that this has made my life very interesting but as kids get older we all know that it is a struggle to keep some sort of power, control and authority over them. I have found that my source of power which is the money I make has given me the authority to take away my teenage girl three essential items which I have provided her with.  Those three items are her automobile, phone and make up without these items that I can use as my power source I feel that my life would be much more difficult. Something to keep in mind is also for someone with authority and power is that you do not want to abuse the power that you have; you do not want to only rely on power alone for you will not be able to develop your relationships.  

            At Home it seems that I have all of the power in the world, I am the boss or at least my wife lets me feel that way. At work things are different, as a rail traffic controller I do have the authority most of the time but I do not possess all of the power. My job is to move trains and maintenance personal by giving them authority on to my track which I am in charge of. If I do not give authority on to my track then nobody gets on my track to complete their job; this means that no one can go home without my help. The power source which I possess at work is called “legitimate power”; “power stemming from formal authority over work activities” (Yukl 2013 pg. 194). The nature of my power is authoritative; I have been entrusted with this power from a hire authority. This is a good authority to have so that I can get what I need but at the same time there is always someone with more power than me at work. All it takes is one phone call to my chief asking them to politely change my mind about when I give out my authority and I am forced to comply.

My power at work and at home helps me to lead by giving me certain options which would not be available if I was powerless. I am able to make certain decisions on my own accord which helps me to prioritize and run a smooth railroad, this power although not used often nor abused gives me the strength I need to be a better leader . I am able to be a better leader to my family of five and to the two hundred workers across my assigned territories which depend on me to get them home safely on a daily basis. 

References:

Yukl, G. A. (2012). Leadership in organizations. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.

 

 

Being Supportive

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?

            During my time as a leader I have always been the kind of person that has not felt like I am a natural leader, yet many times I have been called upon to be in the leadership role. As a very young person in the military I never knew why I was constantly asked to be a leader, I almost used to dread the fact that I would have to be in charge of others and have that responsibility weighting on my shoulders. I would almost start to get mad at some of my Chiefs who would choose me to lead smaller teams, I felt as if they were purposely coming after me to see if I would be able handle it. I never understood why this was the norm in my military career until one day I came out and asked my Chief why he would continue to choose me as a leader. He paused for a second, took a deep breath and told me “well if you must know, people like working hard for you”. He told me that I had a certain compassion which was hard to find in people, he thought that I always knew how to find the good in people.

            This was an important discovery for me, I then began to look at my leadership roles from a different point of view. I could see what my Chief saw in me, it was true that when I would ask someone to complete a task they never gave me a hard time about doing it. The amount of consideration, acceptance and concern that I would show for others made them feel like they were working with me and not just for me. I felt that I was really good relating to my subordinates, I think that when I showed them sympathy and support in my own way I was at my strongest. If someone was feeling disgruntle about their job instead of arguing with them about it I would show them that I could in many ways agree with what they were saying. People like someone that can relate to their problems and after listening to my subordinates get what they were thinking off of their chest; they would then give me some quality work. Not only would I listen to my people talk, I would then turn things around and shine a positive light on what they were doing and this would “bolster the person’s self-esteem and confidence”(Yukl 2012 pg.67). By doing this I have now indicated to the person that they are important to the team and I showed them that I have confidence and I believe in them.

            Another form of supportive leadership that I would practice is showing concern for each person’s development. I would do this by creating a book which tracked all of the good things which my team was doing and create a point system which could be kept track of everyday. Every time my team would reach a certain goal which was placed by me, I would provide praising and recognition. On top of praising and recognition I would come out of my own pocket and by lunch for my over achieving team. At this point in my career I felt a bit strange because I could feel that I was proud of what we were accomplishing, I did not know that I could possess the power of making people better.

 By having a good, positive and supportive attitude I was able to create a lot of change. I see now that I have left the military that there are some managers which could really learn from this portion of our text. Sometimes a bit of kindness and compassion towards your subordinates can go a long way. I never felt that I would have to keep a short leash on any of my subordinates, I think that letting your employee’s show you how good they can be is very different compared to a manager being forceful. I think that as a leader we have to see what people are made of and then push them according to what their personalities can handle. Not every employee is built the same mentally and it is our job as leaders to spot these different characteristics from the beginning. Once we have begun to understand who and what we are working with then we can support our team accordingly.

References:

Yukl, G. A. (2012). Leadership in organizations. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.

 

 

 

 

               

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            When I try to think of a leader which inspires me it takes me a while to think about that question. I sit back in my chair and I am puzzled by this question, I guess I never gave it much thought. I started to think about where I was in my life, who I thought I was, what I was and why I am doing what I do in my everyday life. I started to question why I was still working hard to get better in life, I have a great paying job, I am a college graduate and for the most part life is pretty good. Although here I am doing school work on a sunny afternoon when I could be at the park playing baseball with my son. It instantly came to me in a second when I thought about just doing what is easier in life and I thought about my dad. My Father was born on a farm in a foreign country, probably not an easy life by any means, I am sure that it consisted of hard work but I knew that my dad was comfortable doing what he did. It was not a challenge for him and he knew the ins and outs of farm work. At the age of 18 my dad took his life savings and got on a plane to come to the United States. Now of course there was a lot of thought to this, it was not spur of the moment, nor was he just doing it just for fun. There was reason for him changing his life, he wanted to do something special in his life and give his future family more than he ever had. He believed in the “why” of what he was doing which is why he poured his blood, sweat and tears into his new life.

            My dad was the leader of my family and he inspires me to this day more than anyone that I can think of. He might have not changed the world as the wright brothers did which were able to fly the first plane but he was able to show me that in life we need to keep pushing and never stay in our comfort zone. My dad inspires me as an individual because I also come from humble beginnings growing up in New York City where the majority of people stay in their comfort zone. At the age of 18 I was just like my father and now I had the “why” that I wanted to pour my hard work into. I did not want to stay where I was comfortable and work a regular job for the rest of my life, I want to do something special and provide my children with the life that I did not have growing up. There is something to be said about a leader that goes beyond being satisfied with their work, a leader must push the envelope never being satisfied with mediocrity. A leader does have to ask why they are doing the things they do and not just for profit but to do the best possible job they can do. There are many companies that have the “why” and still to do this day people will spend years working for a company that can only afford to pay them less than others places might, the difference is that the employees believe in what they are doing. They have a love for what they do and this is what makes some companies much more successful than others. Companies that know why they do what they are doing have managers which take on the leadership role and make a difference. In this case the word manager is more than just a title, your managers in companies that believe what they do are more like leaders.

            When we think about what a typical manager does we have to think about how a manager works on a daily basis. “Most managers make less momentous decisions in the process of solving operational problems, setting short term goals, assigning work to subordinates, setting up work schedules, authorizing the expenditure of funds for supplies or equipment and approving pay increases(yukl pg.28). This is not what a leader does, a leader does not use their time doing task rather they use their time creating new ways of doing things and knowing how to get the most out of his subordinates. A leader does this because they believe in a company or they believe in their goals and they want to get the most out others imaginations and creativity. A leader wants to do new things and be the first to achieve new heights while bringing along his following. A leader wants to be someone that can create change even if it is just in one person like my father did for me. Being a leader or a great leader is so much more than just a job, it is hard to describe “It is consequently very difficult to settle on a single definition of leadership that is general enough to accommodate these many meaning and specific enough to serve as an operationalization of the variable (Yukl pg. 7).” What this quote means to me is that leadership is just something that you can feel and it is not a task nor is it a job.

Reference:

Yukl, G. (2013). Leadership in organizations (8^th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.