"Balance has much less to do with
what's going on around us, than it does with what is going on within us".
- Edie Melson
We are just ending
week three of the semester, and this week feels more comfortable than the prior
two. We were off to a rocky start with three of us on our team very focused and
committed to our team assignments due this week; however, we have one late attendee
in which was uninvolved and uninterested in joining up or responding to
inquires until late Thursday night due to work issues.
These are the kind of
things that although we anticipate happening, none the less, are not
comfortable, even when planning for unforeseen events as much as we can. Either
way, our work came together well and was submitted on time. Hopefully the team
dynamics will continue to improve and grow in the coming weeks and assignments.
This week, one of
our most interesting articles, at least in my mind, was from Kramer discussing
the various ways the greatest of leaders can still fall victim to making
terrible lapses in judgment. My biggest take away that which tied directly back
to previous weeks was the concerns leaders must embrace and encourage…diversity
in thinking.
As I mentioned in my discussion posting for this module, thinking eclectically and diversely, as well as
undertaking others perspectives for advisement and consideration throughout the
decision making process, can only help us as emerging leaders know that there
is not one perfect solution that fits everyone every time. While great leaders “…repeatedly demonstrate
the intelligence, resourcefulness, and drive to go the distance” (Kramer, 2009,
p. 58)
as well as consistently prove their abilities to overcome “…whatever obstacles
they encounter along the way” (Kramer, 2009, p. 58) , they are human and
can “…demonstrate uncharacteristic lapses ion professional judgment or personal
conduct (Kramer, 2009, p. 58) .
As our article
demonstrated through several examples, it is not unheard of for us to have
“…stints of miscalculation or recklessness” (Kramer, 2009, p. 60) . Based upon our
collective articles this week, it would seem that even as great as we are, and
despite all of our hard work and finely tuned relationships we have with
others, we do this entirely unknowingly and unintentionally as we maintain
focus on “…the pursuit of power that often changes people in profound ways” (Kramer,
2009, p. 60) .
For example, one of our
assignments this week was to identify two distinctly different leaders, in
which one acted reckless and one acted responsible. I selected Dennis
Kozlowski, former CEO of Tyco, and Sir Richard Branson, CEO of
Virgin Group. In my preliminary research, (Josephson Institute of Ethics, 2014)
Had Kozlowski remained humble and more in touch with his
people and reality, instead of “…living in a CEO-type bubble” (Freifeld, 2013) and that he admitted to having a
“…strong sense of entitlement…” (Freifeld, 2013) in which caused him to steal “…a lot of
money” (Freifeld, 2013) , he may have avoided
numerous felony charges and jail for over six years after being found guilty of
helping himself and his friends to over $100 million dollars in compensation.
On the flip side, Sir Richard Branson is seen
by most as an outstanding leader "...for his great achievements in
business and philanthropic contributions" (Richard
Branson Leadership Principles) . Branson is known
for his inspirational leadership, as well as some of his unusual manners in
which he promotes “…breaking down breaking down barriers in your business'
corporate hierarchy… to keep employees comfortable and open to sharing ideas” (Feloni, 2014) . Specific
characteristics, not only his entrepreneurial spirit, but also his leadership
consistency “…has shown an
ability to think proactively and remained focused on the big picture…” (Capitalist Creations, 2014) .
I have personally seen women treated
differently on their rise to success over men; I personally have been a victim
of it almost every day. My replacement does not understand the business, nor
does he have the ability to complete many of the basic functions and elements
of my job, yet other men in power enjoy his company, and even when he blatantly
makes companywide noticed mistakes, he is not held accountable for his lapse in
understanding or responsibilities. I can remember times when I was brought into
a superior’s office because I had a typo in an email where I used “then”
instead of the word “than” and how I reflected our department poorly because of
my lacking communication skills and grammar. I also recognize that while I
reported to men whom were decades older, the generation gap allowed them to
believe that women should be seen and not heard, much like children.
Now that I have moved onward and
upward from those times and that department, I still encounter treatment that
other women I am sure contend with…if you are an educated, goal oriented and
independent woman in the workforce, you are considered to be acting like a
b#tch. This message only compounds itself, when the same men would look upon
other men with the same actions, demeanor and leadership as “strong” and “one
of the guys”. Is it ethical, not by some of the definitions we uncovered this
semester thus far, but it may be found in culture that
women have a certain place, and leadership and power is not part of their
particular plan. I personally was never on the “mommy track” but I am also not
sure that I would have given up a family, had that been in the cards for us,
just to move onward and upward in any company either. For me it comes back to
balance and happiness.
As I also researched and reported
this week, we need to have things that ground us and encourage practices and
behaviors that help us achieve the level of great leadership. Understanding,
digesting and listening to what our critics are commenting about our behavior
or decision making process can allow us time to not only reflect on what is
appropriate, even under the best of intended circumstances, but also snap us
back into reality and prevent further disillusionment (Kramer, 2009, p. 64) . If we tie this back to ethical thinking, the
more disillusioned we are, the greater our tendency to make selfish decisions
based on our own internal priorities and not what is in the best interest or
deemed morally right or acceptable by our people. By nurturing their humility,
openly admitting our shortcomings, “keeping your life simple” and displaying a
“…high degree of self-awareness” and proportion (Kramer, 2009, p. 64) , successful leaders
are able to psychologically combat behavioral habits that may help “…them stay
grounded” (Kramer, 2009, p. 64) . I think balance,
particularly in our society today, is the cancer that eats at our ability to
make rational decisions that are in the best interest of anyone but us. If we
could find more rational balance and tolerance, we may find that there are a
plethora of decisions before us that could be answered in a myriad of ways.
Until we blog again!
References
Capitalist Creations. (2014). Culture of
Capitalisim. Retrieved from Capitalistcreations.com:
http://capitalistcreations.com/richard-branson-you-need-to-be-bold-to-make-billions/
Feloni, R. (2014, October 17). Richard Branson's
10 rules for being a great leader. Retrieved from Businessinsider.com:
http://www.businessinsider.com/richard-bransons-leadership-rules-2014-10
Freifeld, K. (2013, December 03). Ex-Tyco CEO
Dennis Kozlowski Granted Parole From Prison. Retrieved from
Huffingtonpost.com: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/03/convicted-ex-tyco-ceo-kozlowski_n_4380263.html
Josephson Institute of Ethics. (2014, April 1). Making
Ethical Decisions: A 7-Step Path. Retrieved from ucsd.edu:
http://blink.ucsd.edu/finance/accountability/ethics/path.html
Kramer, R. M. (2009). The Harder They Fall. Harvard
Business Review, 58-66.
Richard Branson Leadership Principles. (n.d.). Retrieved from Freshyoungmillionaire.com:
http://www.freshyoungmillionaire.com/richard-branson-leadership-principles/
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