Respond to at least (2) two

Discussion - Week 4Top of Form

I once worked for a company that had a senior manager who I can confidently call a servant leader based on his leadership qualities. Unlike most of the other leaders who mainly focused on the completion of tasks and achievement of organizational goals, this senior manager mostly paid attention to the needs of the followers, me being one of them, and would show us how to complete the designated tasks (Focht & Ponton, 2015). The leader was approachable, something he made clear to every new employee. He was a good listener and was always aware of the ongoing events in the lives of the employees, which made him empathetic and provided him with an understanding of the perspectives and intentions of the followers.

Also, the leader was open-minded and valued other people’s opinions, which made followers feel understood and appreciated. As a result, it was easier for team members to achieve project goals when the projects included the senior manager. This is because this leader made followers feel prioritized, which created a sense of motivation and propelled them towards the completion of tasks and realization of goals.

My leadership style has always focused more on the achievement of organizational goals and less on prioritizing followers. This style includes innovation, making difficult decisions, taking risks, and focusing on self-management, where I set project goals and trust my team members to meet them without much supervision. Instead of supervising my followers, I always set the example by matching my values with my actions with the intention of setting an example and that my followers would do the same. This makes me a transformational and charismatic leader, which are leadership styles that are quite different from servant leadership.  

Despite these differences, I am still interested in becoming a leader because there is no single leadership style that has been set aside as the most effective. All leadership styles have their upsides and downsides, and the best approach is to incorporate different leadership styles to achieve one’s leadership goals. For instance, while servant leadership has its advantages, such as the effective achievement of goals through motivated and appreciated followers, it also leaves leaders open to manipulation, which cripples effective decision-making. On the other hand, transformational and charismatic leadership may enable leaders to take risks and make difficult decisions but miss key issues affecting followers. However, the integration of concepts from the different leadership styles has the potential to maximize effectiveness, which is how I plan to lead.

As already mentioned, I plan to integrate different tenets of various leadership styles for maximum effectiveness in my leadership. Therefore, I anticipate that each leadership style will have something to offer another leadership approach. In this case, for instance, servant leadership will inform or enhance my development as a transformational leader by adding the element of prioritizing my followers, which seems to be the most fundamental factor missing from my transformational leadership traits. Such an approach will help me become a better leader since the current generation of followers need more attention for them to be able to accomplish tasks efficiently and realize set goals. As Donohue (2017) puts it, millennials, who form a significant population of the contemporary workplace, crave time with their managers.

At the same time, it essential for a leader to inspire a shared vision with his/her followers. The practice of servant leadership is more promising in realizing this tenet more than the practice of transformational leadership can. From this perspective, therefore, a combination of the qualities of servant leadership and qualities of transformational leadership contribute immensely to my ability to inspire a shared vision as a leader, a factor that Kouzes & Posner (2017) proposes as one of the five practices of exemplary leadership. Hence, servant leadership will enhance my development as a transformational leader in this aspect as well.

Previous discussions have highlighted some of the 21st century communication strategies that leaders need to incorporate into their leadership. One of the key aspects of these strategies is an understanding of the generational differences of followers, as well as their communication preferences. Thus, a grasp of this aspect will enhance my leadership abilities to motivate and inspire others since I will be aware of how best to approach my followers and achieve most of my leadership goals. This is because communication is one of the critical avenues for engaging and understanding followers, as well as working with them towards a shared goal. Not being understood and appreciated is one of the leading factors that cause the frustration displayed by followers (Donohue, 2017).

Donohue, M. (2017) The Marsha moment: The death of the manage me workplace [White paper]. Retrieved September 13, 2017.

Focht, A. & Ponton, M. (2015, Spring). Identifying primary characteristics of servant leadership: Delphi study. International Journal of Leadership Studies, 9(1), 44-61.

Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2017). The leadership challenge: How to make extraordinary things happen in organizations. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley & Sons.

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2nd Colleague - Ryan Sharratt 

RE: Discussion - Week 4

The most accepted officers in the U.S. Army are those with a servant-leadership style. Often soldiers will hear "do as I say, not as I do", which illustrates a superior officer utilizing their rank as the authoritative position. The leaders who utilize a "do as I do" approach possess a connection to their soldiers that long withstand the trials of leadership and followership. Although many leadership stories and examples can come from the military, my servant-leader was not in the military.

In this week's readings there were hundreds of buzzwords that floated around characteristics of a servant leader. Passion, encouragement, persuasion, influence, trust, vision, integrity, and many other descriptions of a moral position. One that specifically struck me was highlighted by Focht's Identifying Primary Characteristics of Servant Leadership (2015) stated by Russell (2000) "as functional attributes consisted of vision, honesty, integrity, trust, service, modeling, pioneering, appreciation of other, and empowerment" (Focht et al., 2015 p. 46). This combination of buzzwords created a critical reflection on who I knew that best fit, which led to a single person.

Born in the first year of the Boomer Generation, this servant leader was a selfless giver longing for others success and specifically the betterment of his family. Raised during the rebound of the great depression by parents that struggled through it, he was conservative, resourceful, and efficient. An era when a handshake meant your word, integrity filled his veins to never compromise his values, when breaking your word was equitable to bankruptcy on your soul. This servant leaders' vision was unparalleled to his time in putting others before himself in a commanding and authoritative way that made you want to follow him, while success was eminent.

My own servant leadership style is highly adopted from his with modern enhancements to include technology, heightened communications, diversity inclusion and the ability to travel further in shorter timelines than this servant leader would have had access to (financial constraints). My servant leadership is fundamentally built upon his with my ethos being the forefront of my decisions, my actions, and my vision. Every ounce of influence I have in my life as a servant leader is based upon the fundamentals gained from my proximity to him. Watching him in action, watching the respect that was given even during a simple task like cleaning. It is with 100% certainty that my self-employment success is attributed to the skills I observed and acquired from my servant leader.

In my opinion, being a servant leader is a requirement to become a transformational leader, at least a sustainable one. To be a true transformational leader, you must have sustained followership. Sustained followership also means that you must align your leadership with your followers' goals. If you do not, your followers will diminish, and you cannot be a leader without followers. It is almost so simple that it cannot be true, however, a servant leadership approach (a true one) could change the outcome of the world. It is also, in my opinion, the founding fathers' position that servant leadership would have been the only premise to a truly democracy within the United States. That evil would not prevail because too many good people in the world existed in that era and that virtues, principles, ethics, and one's ethos would stand true to societies morality. However, we know that morality and civility are also two factors that separate a true servant leader, which has shifted from a "what is in it for us" to a "what is in it for me" approach.

We find ourselves in yet another change in the culture as generational changes, although imminent, must be adapted to stay relevant. As 21st Century communication skills are broadening the reach of traditional leadership, it is easier to communicate across the planet than with your own family at times. In a military mission, communication is the primary focal point of any operation. Go somewhere, establish communication and relay for support, reinforcements, and sustainment aligned with any mission objectives. In business, communications are like the basis of a military movement. Establish communication and start conducting mission execution. The 21st Century has brought more technology in a higher user-friendly environment than ever before. How we use it can also help us become transformational leaders as we inspire and motivate people from the other end of a webcam.

As a transformational leader, my servant leader lacked the ability to adapt to technology based solely on the generation gap and the axiom of "you can't teach an old dog new tricks". My servant leader would have struggled with the adaptation of the technology and specifically the sheer number of options now. In contrast, I have embraced the 21st technology and have employed Microsoft Teams, Bamboo HR, and QuickBooks for the key three components of my own business. Teams has the greatest versatility in the applications we use it for, while maintaining the technology protection afforded by Microsoft Corp.

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