Academic Work Showcase: My Leadership Journey

Introduction

Gaining a greater understanding of leadership and how various theories, approaches, and practices can be applied across different situations and organizational environments has benefited me in a variety of ways. I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to combine my graduate education in organizational leadership from Western Kentucky University with my education and development in leadership over a twenty-year career in the United States Army. From the perspective of my professional experiences in the military, I have observed many individuals in leadership positions that consider their position and title as the only necessary means to motivate subordinates and be successful and effective leaders. An autocratic leadership style in which decision making and control is exerted from the top down in a clearly defined hierarchical organizational structure was often applied across all situations and with all teams or subordinates. Although this type of power and leadership style is useful in certain situations, the most effective and successful leaders recognize that different leadership styles and means of motivating subordinates is necessary based on different tasks, circumstances, and goals. Leadership in current organizational environments that are more dynamic and diverse requires more than a one-dimensional leadership approach. Leaders in todays’ organizations must have a variety of leadership tools in the form of knowledge and experiences to remain adaptable and effective.

Developing an Understanding of Leadership

As Northouse (2016) states, “Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal” (pg. 6). Effective leaders understand that influencing others often requires different approaches based on the needs and attributes of those they are tasked with leading. Furthermore, different leadership approaches are necessary in addressing different types of challenges that arise from changes in the environment that organizations and leaders operate in. My experiences and education have led me to understand that effective leaders inspire their subordinates to believe in the shared goals of the organization. They encourage them to take initiative in making their organizations better and more effective by taking ownership of those shared goals. Engaged, motivated and committed people within an organization are critical to success. These ideas are part of the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership (Kouzes & Posner, 2012) and are one of the foundations for my own development as a better and more well-equipped leader that I have learned from my education in organizational leadership. People are an asset to an organization and with the right leadership, leaders can inspire the best performance in a variety of situations with a diverse population of followers.

Leadership and Power

            As my career within the military has progressed over the last 20 years, I have been faced with several different leadership opportunities and challenges. In my early career as a Non-Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Army, just like many of the leaders around me, I relied on my position and title within the organization to derive my power and ability to motivate others. I also relied on the power in my role and rank to recommend rewards and punishment to attempt to motivate subordinates. The style of leadership I was most accustomed to and emulated would be considered an autocratic leadership style and I felt that my rank gave me all the influence (power) and authority I needed to motivate my subordinates to accomplish the goals needed for success. My lack of experience and education as a leader gave me minimal understanding of the interpersonal dynamics involved in leadership and provided me with limited approaches to motivate subordinates. It was a “one-size fits all approach” that worked in some situations with some subordinates, but did not provide consistent or exemplary performance with all subordinates or in every leadership situation. Understanding that positional power and an autocratic leadership style alone wouldn’t instill trust in my abilities was pivotal to my development as a leader. I have learned since then there are many different forms of power and means of influence that leaders can utilize.

Situational Approach to Leadership

            Learning about the situational approach to leadership has also provided me greater adaptability in my leadership approach and understanding how to balance different aspects of leadership. The Situational Leadership II model highlights two distinct aspects of leadership which are directive and supportive. Depending on the situation a leader might need to provide more direction or more support to followers based on competence and commitment (Blanchard et. al., 1985, as cited in Northouse, 2016). As my career in the Army transitioned into recruiting operations for the Army, the dynamics of leading in an assignment with high turnover of staff solidified my understanding of adapting my leadership based on the needs of followers. I had to balance and adjust between supporting their social/emotional needs and providing direction like goals, timelines, etc. Followers (soldiers) in recruiting operations were cycled through the three-year assignment of recruiting on a continuous basis from other career fields within the Army. Further adding to the complexity of the situation from a leadership perspective was these soldiers often did not volunteer for the assignment. This led to varying levels of commitment and competence in accomplishing necessary tasks in initial stages of the assignment. My leadership capabilities expanded tremendously in this role because at any given time I found myself at various stages of the Situational Leadership II model based on the followers I was leading. Some would require various degrees of supportive behavior contrasted with varying degrees of directive behavior. By developing more of my supportive behavior like encouragement and two-way communication I was able to increase commitment and ultimately a high level of competence in followers to achieve goals.

Leadership vs. Management

My education in organizational leadership and professional development has also taught me that leadership is more than good management. Establishing agendas, timelines and providing the resources to accomplish a task are necessary management functions for success, but leadership goes beyond just being a good manager (Northouse, 2016). The organizational structure of the Army provides many management functions for success, such as rules/regulations, procedures, resources, etc. As a good manager, I made sure that subordinates understood the procedures in place and were provided with the resources they needed to accomplish tasks and goals. Despite good management and the authority as a leader inherent in my rank, my performance as a leader did not always result in the desired outcomes. Although I was expecting top level performance and an intrinsic motivation from others to do the best job possible, my early leadership approaches didn’t inspire or foster this type of performance from every subordinate or in every situation.

Conclusion

            My graduate education in organizational leadership has provided me with a more informed and focused level of hindsight to analyze my past leadership mistakes and successes. At the same time, it has provided me with the forethought and knowledge to approach new leadership opportunities with a greater understanding that each situation is unique. Leadership is never easy, but it does become easier with the ability to adapt by applying theoretical and practical knowledge gained through my education and my leadership experiences in the military.

References

Kouzes, J., & Posner, B. (2012).  The leadership challenge (5th ed.). Jossey-Bass.

Northouse, P.G. (2019).  Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed).  Sage publishing.