Then assess your own leadership skills,
traits, and competencies. Where are you strong? How can you leverage those
strengths to improve your value to organizations like your employer? How might
contingency theory and situational variables assist in that process?
Some personal traits are important to
aspects of effective leadership. “[A]spects of personality, temperament, needs,
motives and values” (Kukl, 2013) that shape who we are and why we do what we do
can impact the kind of leader we’ll be. Traits such as self-confidence, extroversion, emotional maturity, and energy level are
commonly thought of a desirable traits in a leader. There must be a balance
though. An extrovert who has strong self-confidence and a high need for power
can derail a team by alienating those on the team who have less self-confidence
and are more introverted. Those who aren’t emotionally mature, but have a strong
achievement motivation and are narcissistic will probably make some incredible
sales but will inevitably put their own needs ahead of the organization’s and
will also derail. Balancing achievement needs with emotional maturity,
understanding technical and conceptual skills and interpersonal skills will bring
success without alienation and collaboration instead of intimidation. “Because
everything a leader says and does (or leaves unsaid or undone) has an effect on
his associates, his true self will, in time, show through.” (Yukl, 2013) If a
manager or anyone in a perceived leadership position, or even a perceived
position of authority believes that what they say or do, even in a social
setting, won’t affect the team dynamics, they are wrong.
Similar to a litmus test for acids and alkaline,
all high numbers or all low numbers can have devastating results. Super high
acidity can be part of a process to etch metal so that paint can adhere and strength
can be added. However, I also learned in the Boeing High Hazard Chemical Access
training I took last week that high acidity can also burn the flesh of a human on a
cellular level. “Phosphoric acid anodizing is basically used for structural
adhesive bonding in high-humidity environments.” (Juhl, 2010) High self-confidence
will come across as arrogant and reckless but not enough self-confidence and a
leader will not have any influence or gain any authority with their teams. In
life, with personality traits and leadership traits, as it is in nature,
balance is essential.
Kukl has given several guidelines for
managers on how to achieve that balance. One of the main bits of advice that I
think is essential is maintaining a high
level of self-awareness. “Self-awareness includes a good understanding of
one’s own needs, emotions, abilities, and behavior.” (Kukl, 2013) He also
discusses how a leader should be aware of their strengths and weaknesses and
understand that some perceived strengths can become weaknesses. Self-awareness
is definitely a strength but I would think that if I were to become overly
self-aware, then I would question my needs and behaviors to the point of
self-sabotage and inaction.
When thinking about my own leadership
skills I had to really take an honest look at where I am in that journey. In my
first true test of leadership, I let people down because of my low emotional
maturity. I was unintentionally narcissistic which led me to believe that my
decisions were always right. My self-confidence and internal locust of control
were both at all-time lows and it was very tough to climb out of that chasm.
Today, I am a lot more cautious and realistic with how I perceive my own
leadership skills. I have a more mature emotional intelligence and stability,
low stress tolerance, a need for affiliation that is at a much lower level than it was when I was younger, self-awareness and personal integrity. Most of these traits are
at moderate levels. I have a low power motivation because that has not ended
well for me in the past and frankly, once bitten twice shy. I do have a
moderate social power orientation as defined by Kukl, “Managers with a
socialized power orientation are more emotionally mature. They exercise power
more for the benefit of others, are hesitant about using power in a
manipulative manner, are less egotistic and defensive, have a longer-range
view, and are more willing to take advice from people with relevant experience.”
(Kukl, 2013) I omitted the part about
material possessions because I have six airplane models, four figurines, a
coffee maker, plants and other minutia at my desk so I guess I’m working on
that.
I think to be more effective to my
organization, I really need to work on my energy level and stress tolerance. “Physical
vitality and emotional resilience make it easier to cope with stressful
interpersonal situations, such as a punitive boss, troubled subordinate, an
uncooperative peer, or a hostile client.” (Kukl, 2013) I am not the picture of
physical vitality or emotional resilience yet, but I am getting better. Two
years ago, in a status meeting with my peers, out of frustration, I stood up,
threw my hands up in anger and said (well, kind of yelled), “You know what? Do
what you want. I don’t give a sh*t!” and stormed off. Later I apologized and I
realized that I was letting myself become someone I wasn’t okay with (professionally or personally) out of
exhaustion and frustration. I felt like I was being pulled in too many
directions and was completely out of control and dysfunctional. In a way, the
peers and I actually became closer after that because we were able to be
completely forthcoming from that point on. I think I was lucky not to end up in
HR but going back to the Kanter video, I was not zooming out at all and
everything was very personal.
I also think that my ability to understand
the balance needed between technical skills and conceptual skills is a benefit
to my organization. I am happy to go to the shop and talk to the people who do
the technical work in order to apply real-life variables to the applications I
try to estimate. This is important because when managers leave out the
technical skills when making a decision, they are running the risk of project
scope creep at best and complete disaster at worst. The director we have now
implemented huge takt-time boards in our shop where we’ve had electronic
real-time takt-time boards for at least three years. He did not consult with
the industrial engineering community or with the people expected to maintain
these boards. If he had, he would have known that this is about the seventh
iteration of the area boards and that all of the iterations before ended up
pushed against the walls collecting dust. Even if he had still decided to go
with the boards, he would have been able to understand from us, the technical
skill people, what had failed before and how we could incorporate current
practices with his ideas. He did none of those things showing a very high level
of self-confidence and achievement motivation but an almost non-existent learning
ability. If I were in his shoes, in order to be an effective leader, I would look
to the “cognitive resources contingency theory” in order to grow and adapt to
each situation. Cognitive resources theory is, “the conditions under which
cognitive resources such as intelligence and experience are related to group
performance.” (Kukl, 2013) This would work with the variables of cooperation
and teamwork especially as a new director within an industry of which I was
unfamiliar. I’d put all of my efforts into understanding the factory’s
processes from a technical standpoint, even at a high level of detail, so that
I could make very effective and hopefully collaborative decisions instead of
just “innovative” or “progressive” decisions that have worked in other
factories.
Leadership traits and contingency theories must,
above all, be able to adapt and change for each situation. Every day something
different can happen that will change everything and an effective leader will
know how to adapt to solve the problems by understanding the technical aspects
of the work performed, the big-picture visions, and their own personal
strengths and weakness.
Resources:
Juhl, D.A. (February 1, 2010). Anodizing
for aerospace:101. AluConsult, LCC. San Diego, Calif. http://www.materialstoday.com/metal-finishing/features/anodizing-for-aerospace-101/
Yukl, G. A. (2013). Leadership in
organizations (8th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
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