Growing up, I had two different ideas about
leadership. My first idea centered on my parents, teachers, principals,
grandparents, and even characters like Papa Smurf or Master Splinter from the
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I believed a leader was an individual who would
guide a person into doing great things. They were there to “lead” by example
and direct someone to reach a goal, whether it be learning to ride a bike,
drive, grasping algebra and geometry, or even fighting the foot clan and
Shredder. I also had another vision of a leader that stuck with me well into my
twenties. This vision was the thought process Obolensky (2014) warned about.
The assumption that leaders must be “gifted, charismatic, articulate,
ambitious, knowledgeable and well-educated” (p. 18). As a child, I assumed that
my parents’ bosses were leaders because they held the title of supervisor or
manager. When I got my first job after college, I was under the impression that
my manager was a leader because of their title. As I spent more time in the
working world, I began to realize that the title did not make a leader. A
leader is defined by the actions of the individual.
My attitude on leadership began to change drastically
when I started the MSLD program. My thought process started to shift from the
leaders are the individuals who are in charge to the leaders who are the
individuals who take charge. Recently, my accounting duties were altered and I
now report to a new supervisor. As I began my new job, I believed that my new
supervisor would lead and teach how to be successful in my new position. But, I
was wrong. The individual who has been most helpful is my fellow co-worker.
They have been there to teach and guide me and help me grasp the new
information.
I have never considered myself as a leader. I never
believed that I had the qualities or skills to be a leader, but the leadership
program has helped me see that I am a leader in my job. One of my
responsibilities is to allocate funds for student scholarships. Every year I
allocate and award approximately one million dollars in student scholarships.
Though I am in the background and not visible with my cape, I still believe I
help lead these students. I help guide them to be successful which, in my
opinion, is leadership at its core.
The truth is that the attitude held by the younger
generation (Gen Z) compared to the older generations (Traditionalist or Baby
Boomers) toward authority and leadership has drastically changed. My
grandparents are Traditionalist. Both of my grandfathers fought in the Korean
War. They were raised by their parents to be respectful to everyone. The
lessons their parents and the military taught them created individuals who had
respect for leadership and authority. Unfortunately, they had the belief that
leaders were the best of the best and were always right. I do not believe they
would ever question leadership or authority.
In regards to their beliefs on leadership and
authority, my parents are complete opposites. Over the last several classes, I
have had conversations with my mom about the concepts I have been fortunate
enough to learn. I have discovered that she shares the views of my
grandparents. She does not like to question leadership and authority and does
so very rarely. My dad, on the other hand, finds nothing wrong with questioning
leadership or authority if he is steadfast in his beliefs about the correct
things to do. He has a healthy respect for leadership and authority but also
likes to voice his opinion every now and then. Though I am a millennial, I do
not question authority often. My beliefs about authority and leadership have
shifted recently, so I do find it myself occasionally voicing my opinion when I
believe I know the correct answer or process.
If we fast forward to the younger generation, the
attitude toward leadership and authority is much different. The attitude is
almost one of disrespect and disdain. At some point, leaders have begun to be
viewed as non-authoritative. But how did this happen? In my opinion, there are
two reasons for this alternative view on authority- pop culture and
technology/knowledge. Pop culture today is full of disrespect and lack of
manners. Music videos and popular music seem to degrade women and that spills
over to how the younger generation feels about authority. I recently found myself
watching an episode of Scared Straight. In the clip, I saw a young girl with
behavioral problems being scorned by an officer and she was laughing at
everything the officer said. As a teenager, my authority consisted of my parents,
police officers, and teachers/principals. If some kids cannot respect police
officers, how will they ever respect teachers or supervisors?
Another reason I believe the younger generation views
authority and leadership differently is because of the accelerated pace of
technology and knowledge. Obolensky (2014) discusses the rapid growth of
knowledge in the 20th century. Everyone these days has access to
information at the touch of a button. The instant technology and knowledge has
created a generation that does not believe leadership is as “all knowing” as
once perceived, which may not be a bad thing if combined with the respectful
leadership view of the past generations. Millennials and Gen Z have also seen
their parents pushed out of jobs after giving many years to the company just
because someone younger could be hired. The fact that their parents got pushed
out causes a lack of trust in leadership and authority.
Though our modern technology has created a world
filled with information about leadership, a gap still exists in the quality of
our leaders. Why would a gap exist given the plethora of information available?
One reason is because most businesses are out for the revenue and not the
employee. This mind frame could lead to a lack of trust in the workplace. In a
2014 TED video entitled Why good leaders
make us feel safe, Simon Sinek discussed the topic of trust in the
workplace. Sinek (2014) discussed how leaders should sacrifice the results for
the people to create the largest return. I agree with Sinek (2014) if companies
begin to care more about the people and not the revenue, a trust will be
renewed and both the organization and leader/follower relationship will be the
beneficiary.
Also, leaders need to understand that they do not know
everything about the job. Today I was called into the office of one of my managers.
He asked me to show him how to run a report in the accounting system. This act
was a breath of fresh air and more leaders should understand that the employees
sometimes have the correct answers.
References
Obolensky, N. (2014). Complex adaptive leadership: Embracing paradox and uncertainty (2nd ed.). Gower.
Sinek, S. (2014). Why good leaders make you feel safe
[TEDGlobal]. Retrieved from: https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_why_good_leaders_make_you_feel_safe?language=en
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