Are leadership skills critical?
Do you think Leadership skills are critical to your organization? Why?
Leadership skills are crucial in any organization. If a message is delivered poorly the followers tend to ignore the message and focus more on the leader or situation and, therefore, not the vision. If the followers do not feel a part of the process, the leader can not move forward.
Like the course materials discuss, the interactional framework involves leaders, followers and the situation. If one of those elements is disengaged due to poor leadership, it is hard for the vision to be met.
Great point, Christine. All three elements in the interactional framework serve an important role in leadership. I'm curious, as a leader, how might you approach a situation in which the elements of the intreactional framework were not being addressed adequately?
I agree with Christine, leadership skills are critical to EVERY organization. Without a leader who possesses proper leadership skills, an organization will never function at its full potential. Much like the video in the lesson displayed, under the situation where they were lacking a leader, without the proper leader in place who possesses leadership skills necessary to make the organization run smoothly, the system will fail. In that situation, a lack of leadership skills, caused the organization to be very complacent. Leads were not being followed up with, strides were not being taken to increase opportunities for the college, and morale was low. If the proper leadership skills had been in place, the organization would have been achieving its goals because the team would have had a leader who helped them respond differently to the situation.
Excellent insights, Kevin. I would agree that it would be difficult indeed to achieve goals without a leader to share the vision of the organization. You mentioned the video as an example of an organization that lacked proper leadership. What might you do to get the team on track if you found yourself in a similar situation?
Well each individual had different problems that needed to be addressed. For the staff member who couldn't get faculty to respond, as a leader, I would go to the Dean of the department to ask for better cooperation from faculty in helping the institution achieve its goals. For the represenative who was concerned about leads growing cold before they were uploaded into the system, I would develop a new plan for procesing leads which may include photocopying the leads prior to submitting them or sending an email to the leads prior to handing them in to be processed. This would help alleviate concerns of the staff as well commence earlier conversations with the potential students. Not every situation can be handled in the same manner, but I do believe that there is a way to handle each situation.
Leadership skills are critical. In a large organization it is important to have a strong leader who effectively communicates their vision for the organization. Without that expressed vision it is difficult for other leaders to communicate the vision to their followers. The trickle down of that poor communication will have a dramatic negative impact on the organization.
Great insight, Shawn. Effective communication skills are essential for a leader, especially when you consider the impact of a leader's communication on the team! It sounds like you have some experience with the negative impact a leader's poor communication. How do you help improve morale when tis occurs?
I agree with everyone, leadership skills are crucial in any organization. Followers look to a leader for motivation and guidance. If the leader is negative, the followers will react in a similar way and this will negatively impact the results. The interactional framework involves leaders, followers and the situation. A leader needs to be positive, energetic and passionate in order to inspire others and positively impact their behavior and performance.
Leadership skills are critical in my organization. Over the last five years, we have had three Academic Deans and many changes in staff. For many years, I have felt that our department lacked meaning and direction and a sense of purpose. This year I was promoted to a supervisory position which has given me the opportunity to inspire my department to reach new levels of excellence. From this course, I realize the importance of sharing a vision with my employees and to motivate them to perform. As a leader, I need my staff to make things work and to trust me as a leader. Currently, I am creating opportunities for staff to express their ideas and to get them involved in the process. Such activity has brought about a more energetic environment and staff are more willing to work hard.
Donna,
Wow! It feels as if you have a lot of changes in your organization and yet you have risen to the occasion! Great work! The realization that the vision "sets the course" is also very powerful as evidenced by the energy you are now seeing in the organization. I'm curious, do you have some staff that have not bought into the changes?
Dr. Jean Norris
Actually yes. One individual was resistant to me taking the leadership roll and therefore, was not invested in what I had to say. Another individual wanted to see how far she could push the envelope to get what she wanted. I have been exploring ways to lend my support and gain their trust over the last couple of months. Things are slowly improving. However, a majority are excited about the changes.
Donna,
Excellent awareness again! Not everyone likes change...even if it is good. It's ok if things move slowly too as long as you continue forward. Keep up the great work!
Dr. Jean Norris
Leadership skill are very critical to the organization. The ability to manage employees towards a vision or goals within the organization is great leadership.
In accomplishing the goals set in place for the organization thru effective leaderhip will take the organization to its next level.
Leadership decisions affect the students, faculty and staff of the college if not implemented or a clear vision is thought out.
Leadership skills are critical to any organization, but what about the leader that quietly leads by example allowing his followers to grow by allowing them to create situations for them to display their leadership qualities. Not everyone is that in your face, bold, personality. Sometimes there have been leaders within my area that have micromanaged the staff and not allowed them to input any ideas. Then there have been leaders who would not follow the guidelines that were put to them. There are times that a leader has to follow rules that are already in place and he may have a few followers who 1) may not want to follow the guidelines, 2) don't think that the rest of the team's input is necessary, and 3) who believes that they are placing the students welfare and education above their own but truly is only thinking of themselves and how much time it takes them to accomplish a goal. While a leader is open to new concepts and new ideas, there are those followers that will give lip service and look like they are following but really doing things that are not always in the best interest of the student or the program.
No organization that I have ever seen could exist long without leadership - mine included. My organization, like any other, is dependent upon having a leader who can organize the followers in the pursuit of common goals that support the organization's main mission. If leadership is weak, we all suffer.
James, you make a great point here. So what other leadership skills do you think are critical to the success of an organization?
Dr. Jean Norris
I think leadership skills are vitally important both from a procedural standpoint to insure that the right individuals are being trained and put to the most effective use, and from a motivational standpoint to keep the sense of purpose and unity strong in the workplace. Often times bigger companies can suffer from an insular, separated feeling from management where workers perceive themselves to be undervalued and their problems unimportant. The connection between all of the positions in the company can help keep the feeling of community strong and communication keeps small issues from growing needlessly later.
Brian, great points here. If sounds like you feel that leadership skills are connected with the overall morale of the employees. Do I have that right?
Dr. Jean Norris
Yes, of course. They are critical. Without positive feedback and direction, employees will not want to follow.
