Lindsey Wilson MLSD

Watch the following YouTube video from Bill George. Consider George’s three points: inner work involves having real-world experience, process that experience through some type of reflection, and seek honest feedback from others. What kinds of real-world experiences have been most instructional for you? How and where do you take time to reflect? From whom can you receive honest feedback? How have these practices (or lack of them) affected your leadership abilities? I remember my dad having a saying that he would sometimes tease people with, “Those who can do, those who can’t teach.” Although I know my dad values the teaching profession, his saying has the same core to what George expressed in regards to authentic leadership, that a leader must have experience. We can learn about leadership theories and study inspirational leaders, but unless we apply this learning in a real world setting we are not leaders, but students. Some things cannot be learned through books and research, an...

Think about your leaders from the past and reflect on their qualities. Did any of them exhibit the qualities of a transformational leader? Did the leader exhibit certain elements that made you want to work harder? In what ways were you transformed by the leader you are describing? As I was reading about Transformational Leadership my mind kept going to the president that was in charge of the USO chapter I worked for named Elaine. To provide some background, Elaine started her career with the USO just after the Vietnam War when she was still in her 20’s and grew her organization from one small USO center to 10 different centers to include one of the largest centers in the world and a staff of about 40 people. She also often asked to help consult for the Joint Chiefs of Staff to help the military determine the moral needs of the military. Although I did not interact with Elaine on a daily basis it was still very clear to me as a follower that she touched every aspect of the organiz...

You have reviewed a number of theories and concepts associated with leadership up to this point in the course. You have likely been associated with individuals who led using some or all of these principles. Therefore, you should have your own opinions about which leadership theories work well and which may be less effective or less representative of those used in the "real world." After watching the TED talk consider the following questions: How do you interpret Talgam’s ideas? First, I really enjoyed this TED talk video. There are so many tidbits that can be applied to so many areas of leadership and life in general. Overall I think Talgam is trying to tell the audience that there isn’t necessarily a right way or a wrong  way to lead. However , how you as a leader interpret your role will influence how followers interact with you, and the overall outcome or story that is produced. In other words, I think Talgam is calling leaders to ask themselves: What story do I wa...

Complete  Rotter’s Locus of Control Scale Test . Based on your results, is your locus of control external or internal? Reflect on how your locus of control affects your leadership behavior and your responses to others’ leadership styles or is this a bunch of poppycock? When I first started reading about follower characteristics and the locus of control in regards to the Path-Goal Theory (Northouse, 2016), alarm bells started going off in my head. I thought, “This is why I’ve gotten so frustrated in the past with some leadership!” I learned two major things about myself as a follower this week: One, with a score of a four, I have a very high internal locus of control; two, a key follower characteristic that I have is the need for affiliation (Northouse, 2016). As a result of these two findings I realized why I have had difficulty working with bosses who have a heavy directive leadership behavior. Although I would argue that these bosses were managers, not leaders, in those sit...

Blanchard (2008) includes a leader’s directive and supportive behaviors as the foundation of his situational leadership theory. Directive behavior typically represents a one-way communication where the leader directs the activity that the follower will complete. Supportive behaviors are considered “two-way” where the responses exhibit emotional and social support and the follower participates with the leader in the discussion. Consider some of your roles (parent, child, friend, leader, follower, etc.) and provide examples of how you use supportive and directive behaviors. As I read Blanchard’s (2008) article each example he provided, I was able to tell how I’ve used the different styles throughout my life in different ways. Coaching: The coaching model is a high directive and high supportive style of leading. (Blanchard, 2018). Looking back this was my dominant style when I was teaching. I learned somewhat the hard way when I was first teaching that I had to limit the decisio...