August 26, 2016
When
I think about the distinction between organizational leadership as a system of
thinking versus as a body of information, I see the former as a dynamic field
full of ideas similar to those presented in the art of the possible. When I view it as a body of information, it
becomes more of a stagnant accumulation of information without the mechanisms
to translate that information into action.
Organizational Leadership as a discipline is more valuable to me when
presented as a system of thinking. I
have a weakness in some of my face to face inter-actions with others in my
organization. I am easy to read via
facial expressions or body language. This
hinders my effectiveness as a leader when I run into obstacles in my quest to
make the organization better. I
telegraph my frustrations non-verbally, even if my words are proper. My effectiveness would be better served by
learning about ways to think about my non-verbal approach when plans are not
being executed efficiently. A critical
examination of my thinking in these situations, could re-orient my thinking
into a positive state and eliminate my negative non-verbal facial expressions
and body language. This would help to facilitate
the process of solving the immediate issue.
The continued practice re-orienting my thinking and consciously thinking
about my non-verbal communications would end up eliminating my weakness. A side benefit may also be that I would be
able to play poker! I have also been
impressed by witnessing superior leaders confront failures, obstacles, and delays
with a calm demeanor devoid of negative body language. They also have that ability to sooth others
in a tense situation with their tone of voice, their approach, and critical
thinking while navigating through tough issues.
That calming effect takes the tension out of the situation and allows
for a free-flow of ideas and information to take place. This is usually a very effective approach, even
when dealing with complex situations.
When
applying organizational leadership as a discipline for my coursework, the
perspective of how I view it is critical.
I need to view organizational leadership as a system of thinking and
using it for dynamic, positive change within my field of study in order to be
successful. Organizational leadership
would not be useful to me if it was only presented as a body of information
containing facts and anecdotal information.
It appears to me that in order for me to be successful, I have to focus
on an aspect of learning or solving problems by using systematical critical
thinking. Presenting the various topics,
but especially organizational leadership as rote memorization of facts and information
does not hold my interest and will not enable me to learn effectively. An example of my point would be my
proficiency in geometry, but not algebra.
When I was in high school, algebra did not interest me and my grades
reflected my lack of interest. For some
reason, geometry did interest me and I got considerably better grades in that
than I did for algebra. Maybe this was
because geometry requires critical thinking skills rather than rote
memorization of how to solve equations. This
understanding of how I am built as a person can be viewed with another
example. I am terrible at playing
checkers. However, I play chess at the
master level. Checkers is supposed to be
the easier game of the two, but it does not hold my interest as chess
does. Chess is extremely
complicated. It is also hard to master
the nuances of the game. I love it. I hate checkers. The bottom line: If I can translate organizational leadership
as a life skill of critical thinking rather than memorization, I will be more
effective as a leader in my organization and as a student.
John H2O
No comments:
Post a Comment