#🌱 # What I don't want as a leader ![[calendar-plus.svg]] <small>Oct 28, 2022</small> | ![[calendar-clock.svg]] <small>Jan 03, 2023</small> 🏷️ [[Leadership MOC]] *Ignatian Journal entry from October 18, 2020* ## To avoid being self-absorbed and unaware Reflecting on all that we have read and discussed over the last eight weeks, I recognize many examples of dysfunctional leadership and toxicity in organizations. When thinking of the kind of leader I don't want to be, some of these examples don't seem worth exploring because they are just not in my nature. I'm in no danger, for example, of becoming a Barry Fife (Luhrmann, 1993). But there are other, more subtle, characteristics and behaviors that I might be susceptible to and will need to work to avoid. These fall into three areas: (a) how I think and behave, (b) how I treat others, and (c) the kind of environment I create. The first thing I want to avoid as a leader, and as a person in general, is being self-absorbed and embedded in a particular view or way of understanding. I rarely operate from a single one of Carey's (1999) [[five organizational frames]], but I do tend to prefer a combination of the [[systems]], [[human]] and [[rational]] frames. I have a difficult time relating to the [[political frame]] and, if I'm not careful, I might try to fit someone with the perspective into my way of thinking. I have a visceral reaction to the phrase "we've always done it this way" and I generally embrace change as an opportunity for growth. Still, I need to be wary of a centrifugal force reinforced by my personality type, past experiences, and feelings that could constrain my future thoughts and actions (Carey, 1999). According to the [[CliftonStrengths Assessment]], I lead with relationship building. That was supported by my results from the [[Student Leadership Practices Inventory (SLPI)]], which identified that my most frequent leadership behaviors fall under the [[Enable Others to Act]] practice (Kouzes & Posner, 2017). That being said, I need to be aware of how I interact with dysfunctional individuals or those who are [[resistance to change|resistant to change]]. I don't want to act on assumptions about people and their behaviors. Raymond Reyes notes that we don't know all of a person's past experiences and they may be projecting past feelings onto a current, and seemingly unrelated, situation (mentorsgallery, 2010, February 12). I also don't want to be too quick to [[Don't write off detractors|write off detractors]]. As Ann McGee-Cooper points out, we can learn from them and, by making them our partners, develop a stronger sense of ownership that will benefit both the individuals and the organization (mentorsgallery, 2010, January 13). I don't want to jump to conclusions and react without understanding where others are coming from and why they are thinking or behaving in a particular way. Finally, I don't want to limit possibilities by falling for a single story or, worse yet, perpetrating one. It is easy to think in terms of stereotypes but as Adichie (2009) notes, ". . . the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete" (13:00). I don't want to limit my own understanding of a individual, group or situation by falling victim to a single story. But more importantly, I don't want to limit the expectations or possibilities of those I work with by perpetrating a single story. For as Adichie (2009) states, "show a people as one thing, as only one thing, over and over again and that is what they become" (9:19). In conclusion, what I do not want to be is a leader who is not self-aware. I don't want to be so self-absorbed that I can't recognize my own constrained thinking. I don't want to be unaware of where others are coming from and how that impacts their thoughts and actions. And I don't want to limit the possibilities for individuals or our organization by unknowingly believing a single story. ## Sources - [[The Danger of a Single Story - Adichie 2009]] - [[Heraclitean Fire - Carey 1999]] - [[The Leadership Challenge - Kouzes & Posner 2017]] - [Strictly Ballroom](https://www.amazon.com/Strictly-Ballroom-Gia-Carides/dp/B0061HZWTU) - [[Approach to Resistance - Cooper 2010]] - [[Causes of Dysfunction - Reyes 2010]]