The leadership program
so far has taught me many tips on what it takes to be a great leader, and I once
again sharpened my understanding this week. For this week’s module, we read Roderick
Kramer’s article The Harder They Fall:
which primarily focused on power. Many people desire to move up and be
successful, however often times they are not aware of the potential risks involved
and as a result struggle to maintain efficient leadership. For this blog post,
I will be briefly discussing some of Kramer’s points and suggestions, in addition
to relating the topic to my current work experiences.
Despite being constantly
reminded how the world is getting flatter, I personally believe that strictly
following the traditional top-down styles of leadership is one common mistake
in many organizations today. According to Obolensky (2014), different levels of
an organization tend to have different kinds and amount of information. In his
study, he finds that approximately 60% of the information required for
decision-making are found at the bottom level of an organization versus 30% in
the middle and 10 on the top level (p.37). As a result, he concludes that it’s
important for ones to encourage communication (including external stakeholders)
to make more effective decision-making (Obolensky, 2014).
Obolensky’s points
adds up to Kramer’s points on the danger of over relying on power. By doing so,
ones come to believe that normal limits don't apply to them and that they are
entitled to any spoils they can seize. This behavior then causes them to become
less aware of the things happening around them, which can eventually lead them
to corruption (Kramer, 2003). To ensure that leaders can avoid the traps that
power can bring, Kramer (2003) suggests leaders to implement several common psychological
and behavioral habits. Some of the suggestions included that ones should simply
live their lives, be “ordinary” like everyone else, shine a light on their
weaknesses instead of trying to cover them up, and to always be reflective (Kramer,
2003). The suggestions Kramer made reminded me of Obolensky’s concepts of
leading as a polygarchy (where everyone works and has a leadership role). By reducing
the power barrier in the workplace, it encourages ones to communicate with one
another. This can establish more of a learning environment in the organization:
which can serve growth opportunities for the organization (Obolensky, 2014).
This week’s topic
reminds me of a time when my workplace was in the early process of simplifying
and centralizing campus operations. Some of the changes revolved around the low
levels of the university: which caused a lot of issues with student advisement.
Eventually, the university established a month-long training session: where we received
new and refresh training to clarify and improve campus operations. During our
sessions, many of the lower-leveled employees including myself were given the
opportunity to speak out and even provide suggestions to individuals from
various departments and levels of the organization. Despite higher levels having
their own preferred way, our opportunity to speak provided them opportunities
to consider additional information to a procedure or standard. Since this training,
I personally believe that top leaders have improved their understanding of listening
and hence been making improvements for the university.
References:
Kramer, R. M.
(2003). THE HARDER THEY FALL. (cover story). Harvard Business Review, 81(10), 58-66.
Obolensky, N.
(2014). Complex Adaptive Leadership:
Embracing Paradox and Uncertainty (2nd ed.). UK: Gower Publishing.
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