A633.6.4.RB - Circle of Leadership Clark_A


A633.6.4.RB - Circle of Leadership

     After critically thinking about how strategy is formulated in my organization, I determined that it is safe to say that upward leadership is not frequently practiced in my organization.  As a public school district our structure is fixed we are limited in what we are able to achieve in terms of bottom-up or upward leadership.  As with most governmental organizations with a deep hierarchal leadership model, our teams are reliant on the senior management team to develop strategy and then communicate those decisions down to us. We are however encouraged to give upward feedback to our management, otherwise things flow downward from the executive offices of the Superintendent of Schools as approved by the School Board Members, to the senior level management team and the additional staff members.

     It is not possible for the complex adaptive organizational structure to be fully operational in our organization.  But one can’t help but recognize that our heavy reliance on downward leadership comes with many setbacks and pitfalls.  One of the pitfalls which plague our department is that a few of our employees fail to take the initiative to begin projects, using the reason being that they were not instructed to do so by the chief procurement officer.  This is clear example of follower behavior which leads the vicious cycle for leaders.  According to Obolensky, “If, for example, a follower is continually checking what he does with the leader, then the confidence in the follower will be low, and a more hands-on approach will be taken. This itself drives the behavior of the follower and a vicious cycle is entered into” (Obolensky, 2014, p.162).  

     A typical vicious cycle for leaders in the situation mention above may be an iterative process as follows;  Follower asks the leader for advise- Leader gets concerned- Leader takes more of a hands on approach- Follower loses confidence- Follow feels the need to defer more – and the process begins again (Obolensky, 2014).  This type of behavior within our department slows down the procurement process and ultimately results in lower productivity for the individual and the department as a whole.  This also results in delays to the originating department having access to the goods and services which are needed in order for their department operations to continue to operate efficiently.          

     If I were to design a new positive circle which will promote strong followership and leadership at the lower levels of the organization, it will include some of the 8 principles of a complex adaptive system.  The iterative process for the circle will be as follows;

Leader assures that followers are properly trained and that the instructions for assigned tasks are clear and concise-
Leader gives followers freedom to make decisions regarding their work and redirect subtly if necessary-
Followers ask leaders for assistance with an assigned task as a last result after attempting to solve the problem independently-
Leader will assist followers to solve the problem but remains confident in the followers’ skills and will to complete the assigned task-
Leader will  encourage  followers by routinely  exchanging  feedback and lessons learned that relate to the followers assigned and future tasks.   

     This circle would have a positive effect on the organization because it would encourage leaders to behave in a manner where their followers will feel comfortable with communicating their concerns with them.  This process also results in the type of behavior which will allow the followers to reach what Obolensky considers Level 5 followership.  “A Level 5 follower is someone who gets on and informs in a routine way (Obolensky, 2014, p.159”.  The key point of Level 5 followership according to Obolensky is “ … ‘routine’ – there must be a routine for reporting to ensure accountability. Such a routine could include a weekly update meeting, a routine report, routine measurement etc. (Obolensky, 2014, p.159)”. The steps in the new circle are aimed at promoting the type of work environment which will enable Level 5 followership. 

     However, ultimately the responsibility lands with leadership.  They must provide support which is appropriate to the followers’ level of capability (Gallo, 2011).  They must be hands on while yet giving their followers the room they need to succeed on their own (Gallo, 2011).  The new circle for leaders described above will assist leader with this exact method of leading followers to Level 5 followership.

References

Gallo, A. (2011). Making sure your employees succeed. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2011/02/making-sure-your-employees-suc.

Obolensky, N. (2014). Complex adaptive leadership: embracing paradox and uncertainty, 2d Edition. Burlington, VT: Gower Publishing Limited.

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