Respond to (2) Colleagues

Respond to at least two of your colleagues' postings that contain a perspective other than yours.

· Share an insight about what you learned from having read your colleagues’ postings and discuss how and why your colleague’s posting resonated with you professionally and personally. (Note: This may be a great opportunity to help you think about passions you share with your colleagues who could become part of your Walden network.)

· Offer an example from your experience or observation that validates what your colleague discussed.

· Offer specific suggestions that will help your colleague build upon his or her perceptions as a leader.

· Offer further assessment from having read your colleague’s post that could impact a leader’s effectiveness.

· Share how something your colleague discussed changed the way you consider your own leadership qualities.

· No plagiarism

· APA citing

1st Colleagues Anthony Blount 

RE: Discussion - Week 1

COLLAPSE

Top of Form

Critically reflective practice as defined by the Cunliffe as “examining critically the assumptions underlying our actions, the impact of those actions, and from a broader perspective, what passes as good management practice” (Cunliffe, 2016).  It’s really taking a fundamentalist approach looking at the actions and behaviors and asking how they function to meet the desired objectives.  Further, it dissects underlying assumptions made and forces a leader determine through critical thinking and introspection if their assumptions are accurate and ethical.  I think this practice is important in ensuring that a leader practices behavior that serve in the best interests of the organization and its employees versus behaviors that have been passed down within an organization and are antiquated.  It requires the leader to adapt to change and it fosters innovation in an organization.   

Critically reflective practice incorporates a lot of philosophical principles including existentialism where there is an emphasis on thinking, feeling, and acting human.  Further, through understanding we can better understand the source of our actions as leaders.  Having a grasp of who we are and what our desires are sheds light into what forms our leadership and management. 

Cunliffe writes, “reflective analysis draws on traditional assumptions that there is an objective reality that we can analyze using logic and theory, critically reflexive questioning draws on social constructionist assumptions to highlight subjective, multiple, constructed realities… how we might contribute to the construction of social and organizational realities, how we relate with others, and how we construct our ways of being in the world. Critically reflexive questioning also means exposing contradictions, doubts, dilemmas, and possibilities” (Cunliffe, 2016).  Here this suggests that when we experience a paradigm shift or the implementation of a new leadership dogma, they most likely culminate from critically reflexive questioning with the necessity to explore how a shift will impact organizations at every level and what short term and long-range results can be expected. 

In my field of medical education/healthcare, critically reflexive practice is essential to my making informed organizational decisions and that those decisions start with a knowledge of self.  It’s not just how things change in a month or a year; it’s how do the changes affect patient care, the quality of a patient’s life, my colleagues, the type of services I am able to provide, and how these changes impact the quality of care a patient receives at another organization.  Further, it also keeps me focus on my true north and allows me to examine what habits I have which serve best to achieve my objectives and which ones need to change.  For those habits that need change, the critically reflexive practice requires that I understand how a habit needs to be changed, when, and what actions serve best to meet my fundamental goals.    

Reference:

Cunliffe, A. L. (2016, October). On becoming a critically reflexive practitioner [Republication]. Journal of Management Education, 28(4)

Bottom of Form

2nd Colleagues - Natasha Mills 

RE: Discussion - Week 1

E Top of Form

Interpretation of Critically Reflexive Practice

The most cardinal interpretation or assumption that I have derived from the presented reading about critically reflexive practice is that it involves the adoption of doubt or insecurity about the already-present realities. Cunliffe (2016) defines critical reflexivity as subjective understandings of reality that is further accompanied by a critical analysis of how an individual’s actions, assumptions and values impact others. This means that critical reflexivity is an individual’s ability to not view aspects or realities at face value, but to analyze such matters at a deeper individualistic level.

Cunliffe (2016) primarily targets management students, and thereby managers with this version of critically reflexive practice. According to the author, critical reflexivity enables managers to identify what passes as good practice as a result of their examination of their underlying actions in relation to the surrounding environment. This assumption can be interpreted as a crucial ingredient for management practice because it encourages managers to become moral practitioners and critical thinkers. This is in addition to its element of making managers more effective citizens of organizations.

Cunliffe (2016) also identifies three key issues that form the particular focus of critically reflexive practice. The first of the issues is that critical reflexivity is existential. This refers to the need for an individual to know who he/she is, as well as what kind of person the individual desires to become. Critical reflexivity is also relational in the sense that it focuses on how individuals, in this case managers, relate to others and the world around them. Praxis presents the last issue upon which critically reflexive practice is based upon. The issue’s main area of concern is self-consciousness and ethical actions that arise from a critical evaluation of past actions and using the outcome of that evaluation to determine future possibilities.

An analysis of these three key issues of critical reflexivity indicates that the practice aims to help individuals, particularly managers, achieve autonomy. This autonomy is anticipated to be the result of self-identification and an objective view of realities. This interpretation can be supported by Cunliffe’s argument that an individual’s ability to adopt critically reflexive practice prevents them from becoming ritualistic and complacent in their thinking and behavior. Instead, critical reflexivity helps them to develop into individuals that are tolerant of other people’s perspectives.

Benefits of Critical Reflexivity on My Leadership

Whereas the interpretations and assumptions presented above mainly relate to management, they can also be applied to other leadership roles. Leadership varies from one person to another and also depends on respective environments. However, one thing that is common among all leaders across different contexts is the need to establish relationships with followers, as well as the desire to stand out and achieve goals. The same applies to my leadership roles both professionally and within my community.

Therefore, critical reflexivity benefits me because it provides insight into how I can attain autonomy and stand out from the other leaders. Consequently, the concept of critically reflexive practice incorporates the aspect of moral and ethical leadership, which will significantly influence how I relate with others, primarily my followers. This latter aspect will help me develop a more tolerant view of other people’s perspectives, thereby helping me cultivate a collaborative mindset and accomplish goals. Simply, as Cunliffe (2016) puts it, critically reflexive practice will mold me into a philosophy-driven leader who will always by ready to take responsibility for organizational and social realities.

References

Cunliffe, A. L. (2016). Republication of “On becoming a critically reflexive practitioner”. Journal of management education, 40(6), 747-768.

Bottom of Form