
As
student affairs professionals, we are the advocate, the coach and the
inspirational mentor to lead our students to extraordinary success. I believe
that every leader exercises in each of the five practices that Kouzes &
Posner (2012) describe, however there is potential for a single practice to act
as a dominant guide. I like to describe my leadership style as setting the
example and “walking the talk.” You need to be able to know who you are and
what you believe, before you can say what you’re going to do. The ability to
follow through on your actions builds credibility and allows your integrity as
a leader to be exemplified through those actions. My integrity as a leader and
as a professional in not something I take lightly or would allow to be
compromised. In order to achieve this status, I have aligned my everyday actions,
conversations and interactions based on my core values: honesty, respect,
trust, faith and loyalty. It is through my values that I know I can
make extraordinary things happen. I know that through my core values, success
is in my future. These values act as my “moral compass” directing me in my
actions and conversations within student affairs. I believe that “you can be
authentic only when you lead according to the principles that matter most to
you. Otherwise you’re just putting on an act. You will not have the integrity
to lead” (Kouzes & Posner, 2008, p. 31). Being clear on my values makes it
easier to have those difficult conversations and make those hard decisions with
the men and women of the Greek community, as well as the students I meet within conduct officer meetings. The values I possesses guides my conversations to
action. I constantly remind myself that through my actions and decisions, I
must always be exemplifying the values of my person, otherwise my integrity and
credibility will be compromised; how is that setting the example? Being able to
“walk to talk” can be difficult, but having established your core values and
the commitment to expressing those values through your daily actions, will
inspire others to follow in your endeavors. Albert Einstein said, “setting an
example is not the main means of influencing others, it is the only means.”
(Kouzes & Posner, 2009, p. 58).
I thrive off knowing that I am staying true to myself and that I have
the ability to influence others to follow in these shared values. I thrive off
having purposeful conversations with students and witnessing the connections
made and the action begin as they continue moving forward. At the end of the
day, if I can inspire just one student to identify what it is that they value most and to reflect on how they can align their actions with those values, I
know that I have set the example; that I have modeled the way.
Leadership is not just about the values that you hold to be true, but also the values of those that I work with directly and indirectly. I
find that my leadership style is most effective when my supervisor, my
department and the university values align with my own. When you are part of a
team that searches for similarity within personal values, I believe this only
makes the team and the students you work with more successful. While I believe
in accepting the diversity among my colleagues and accepting others values, as
they would mine, I find that success is made through the discovery of shared
values. “Leaders ensure that everyone is aligned through the process of
affirming shared values—uncovering, reinforcing, and holding one another
accountable to what ‘we’ value” (Kouzes & Posner, 2012, p. 58). I don’t see
my leadership style existing within an environment that isn’t aligned to my
values or accepting of the idea of a shared values system. I need to feel
comfortable in an environment where communication is the key to departmental
success and building relationships is encouraged. Without these two entities, I cannot begin to articulate how
to respect my colleagues if I am not given the chance to understand how they
work or what they value the most. I believe that without knowing someone’s
values and beliefs, how is it possible to trust what they say and do?
I approach decision-making within my team as I
would in any other interaction with a student or colleague. I encourage all to
provide input, feedback and perspective, while this is team process, all voices
must be heard. This is exemplified through my approach of playing devil's
advocate. I believe that through this technique I empower my colleagues to make
better decisions, avoid groupthink and ensure that our shared values are being
represented through the decisions; the decisions
we make as a team reflects not only are our teams values, but what the values we hold as individuals and if that decision does not correlate with what we and/or I believe, this is
compromising my teammates and my own credibility and integrity.
What attracts me to Kouzes & Posner (2012)
five practices is the idea that all leaders have the ability to work within and
attribute to each practice. While we might show strength in one area than
others, we still have the ability to exert the practice of all. After taking
the Student Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI), I found that “encouraging the
heart” was not an area I exacerbated through my practice. I was rather
surprised when I got the results because I always thought I was an individual
that valued recognition, encouragement and pride for the extraordinary things
being done by my colleagues. I have come to realize that if I want to see hard
work, results and productivity, I must provide my colleagues and team with one
source of encouragement: love “What sustains the leader? From what source comes
the leader’s courage? The answer is love” (Kouzes & Posner, 2012, p. 272). I
want to shower my team, colleagues and students with compassion, encouragement
and recognition; I believe that this effort I have the right to expect them
to be at their best. Though encouraging the heart, I believe that I can
“stimulate efforts to reach for higher levels of performance and to aspire to
be true to the visions and values of the organization” (Kouzes & Posner,
2012, p. 275) I want to inspire my students and colleagues to challenge the
status quo (just a little challenge the process thrown in here) and provide a
helping hand to find the courage to do the things that they have never done
before (Kouzes & Posner, 2012).
“Not enough people make enough use of the most
powerful but inexpensive two-word rewards” (Kouzes & Posner, 2012, p. 294).
I have witnessed countless colleagues and students worry too much about
extravagant recognition and forget about the impact that a simplistic “thank
you” can have on a person. Making an individual feel appreciated for their hard
work reaffirms their confidence in their abilities and makes them feel
partnered in the success of the team. Saying “thank you,” is the simplest way
to take a few extra minuets out of our days to appreciate and recognize the
work that our constituents. I don’t think this something that I do
enough and I don’t think it is something I witness within my work environment.
I want to challenge myself to take the time to thank those that have made large
contributions to our team successes, like Kouzes & Posner, (2012)
mentioned, a simple “thank you” can go a long way.
1. clarify values. done
2. set the example. done
3. experiment and take risks. done
4. recognize contributions. need improvement
5. celebrate the values and victories. need improvement
whats my game plan?
- I am dedicated to showing my colleagues and students that I believe in them and their capabilities. positive reinforcement, that is all.
-goal setting. GOAL setting. GOAL SETTING. I want to make this prevalent within my team, after all, it does contribute to what people think of themselves and what they can accomplish, right?
-feedback, feedback, honest feedback. I will never lie to someone about the feedback on their work, how can you do better, right? But, constant feedback, no matter the kind, there will be constant learning and improvement.
-close/connected relationships. get to know what drives your team! everyone is different, no one is motivated the same way. how do you show you truly care? get to know your students likes/dislikes, what motivates them & focus on each individual. it'll make a better team, i promise.
-i love being creative, why don't i do it more? i don't just mean tangible gifts (yes, those are fun too) but those don't always send the message: YESSS! You are so competent and trusted as a employee or student leader! why not a formal mass email? ehh, ehh! that would be nice, right? I gotta stay creative and savy!