Blog
ASSESSMENT 3: RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP BLOG
Due date
Week 9
Weighting
30%
Type
Assignment
Length
1500 Words
Submission
Online (via Turnitin)
Requirements
A blog is an online post usually available on the internet for others to see. Blogs focus on certain topics, and bloggers are usually passionate about a specific topic. A blog can also be a valuable tool for leaders to build trust, to educate, and to develop awareness with stakeholders. The best blogs are engaging, deliver value, and align with leadership values and business strategy. The content you develop for your blog will help you deliver a consistent message.
For this individual assessment, you are required to:
1. Write a blog of 1500 words on the following topic:
Developing responsible leadership for a sustainable future (this blog covers topics 7, 8 and 9 and is due end of Week 9)
NOTE: Blogs are not essays! Do not write this like an essay. A blog involves selling an idea to a reader in an interesting and informative manner. A good blog:
a. Has a good title and opening paragraph – compelling titles and introductions make your readers want to read your post right away.
b. Addresses a specific audience. So, before you start developing content, decide whom you are writing for and why.
c. Shows, not tells. The goal of your content is to build trust with your audience.
d. Optimizes content for search. Include research as hyperlinks that readers can follow to check what you are saying and to develop their understanding further
e. Asks for the action. You are writing for a reason – to connect with the readers and trigger an action. You should always end a blog with something that moves the reader to perform a desired action.
f. Is useful and informative. You want to educate your reader. As you develop content, ask yourself do I find this useful or informative? Will the reader find this useful or informative? These two questions should always serve as your guide.
Below are a couple of websites that also provide advice on how to write a good blog:
5 mistakes to avoid when starting a new blog
The 12 dos and donts of writing a blog
NOTE: If you cite or refer to other writers views, you must use APA referencing conventions both in the text of your work and in your reference list. This APA referencing criteria applies to academic and scholarly work only (i.e., not student or lecturer input). If you cite other webpages or research, please make sure that you embed the links in your blog and that they are active
. Use the marking criteria when working on your blogs, as the lecturer will use those criteria when your work is assessed.
Programme learning goals
1. Be self-aware critically reflective and ethical management professionals
2. Be effective thinkers and problem solvers
3. Be effective communicators
4. Be able to demonstrate advanced knowledge of business management professional practices.
Paper learning outcomes
This assessment measures paper learning outcomes 1, 2, 3 & 4 as listed earlier in the study guide. Week 7: Shared Leadership
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Leadership styles
Autocratic?
Laissez Faire?
Democratic?
See instrument
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What is Democratic Leadership?
Democratic leadership is behavior that influences people in a manner consistent with and/or conducive to basic democratic principles and processes, such as self-determination, inclusiveness, and equal participation
(Gastil, 1994, p. 956).
Authority
A given democratic group or body, called the demos (e.g., Dahl, 1989), confers authority to specific individuals, all of whom are subject to removal by the membership.
Leaders need authority …but the delegation of authority in a democratic group is never a mandate for any leader to employ authority without the eventual approval of the group
Democratic leaders must be accountable for the decisions they make as individuals and the roles they play in the demos
Finally, democratic leaders must try to prevent the development of hierarchies in which special privilege and status differentials dominate
Leadership Functions
Leadership is behaviour not position
Distribute responsibility & decision-making rather than concentrating it
Empower the membership; avoid behaviours associated with the Great Man model of leadership, show genuine care & concern for members, and develop future leaders.
Ensure productive and democratic decision-making using constructive participation (i.e. determine how members will think and decide, not what they will think & decide).
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Leaderful Groups
One might argue that diffusing leadership functions in this way would make a group leaderless, but as Starhawk (1986) explains, “Such groups are not, in reality, leaderless.” Instead, they are ” ‘leaderful’ -everyone in the group feels empowered to start or stop things, to challenge others or meet challenges, to move out in front or to fall back” (p. 270). In the ideal demos, more than one person serves every leadership function, no individual does an inordinate amount of the leading, and every group member performs leadership functions some of the time.
Democratic Followers
Take responsibility for the well-being of the demos
Be accountable for their actions and decisions
Regularly exercise their liberties and recognize, cherish, and guard autonomy
Strive to be leaders or leaderful
Be the watchdogs of its own leadership
When is Democratic Leadership Appropriate?
(Gastil, 1994, p. 966)
Relational Leadership
Reality has no objective meaning in itself; it is given meaning by ongoing process of meaning-making and negotiations in interactions
Leadership work is about social processes of co-creation in which emergent coordination and change are produced
Leadership is emergent and ongoing throughout an entity
Terri Kelly: W.L. Gore’s Original Management Model Week 9: Matching Leadership to Situations I
The Blind Men & The Elephant
We have solved many problems by rationalising, analysing, reducing, looking for cause/effect & controlling (e.g. cured small pox)
The Enlightenment/Modernism worldview
However, we also deal with complex systems daily. Unfortunately, these systems resist reductionism, rationalism, control etc
Major problems remain unresolved (e.g. hunger, poverty, war, environmental degradation, Chronic illness etc).
We need to stop thinking the problem is out there rather than in here.
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Systems Thinking
There is relationship between the structure of a system and its behaviour
A system is a set of things interconnected in such a way that they produce their own pattern of behaviour over time
An outside event may unleash a systems behaviour but each system reacts to external events in its own way
It is more than the sum of its parts
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Think About These
Political leaders dont cause recessions or economic booms. Ups & downs are inherent in the structure of economy.
Competitors dont cause companies to loose market share. The company creates the losses, at least in part, through its own business policies.
The oil-exporting nations are not responsible for oil price rises. The oil-importing nations are responsible because they have built economies vulnerable to supply interruptions.
The flu virus does not attack you; you set up the conditions for it to flourish within you.
Drug addiction is not the failing of an individual, and no one person can cure an addict. It must be understood as part of a larger set of influences and societal issues that one can begin to address.
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Think about this
You think that because you understand one that you must therefore understand two because one and one makes two. But you forget that you must also understand and Sufi Parable
How do you know whether you are looking at a system or just a bunch of stuff?
Can you identify parts? and
Do the parts affect each other? and
Do the parts together produce an effect that is different from effect of each part on its own? and
Does the effect, the behaviour over time, persist in a variety of circumstances?
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System Behaviour
Stocks are foundations of any system
These are elements of the system that you can see, feel, count or measure at any given time.
E.g. Water in a bathtub, a population, books in a bookstore, goodwill towards others (doesnt have to be physical)
Stocks change over time through the actions of flow
These are filling & draining, births & deaths, deposits & withdrawals
A stock is the present memory of the history of changing flows within a system
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System Behaviour
STOCK
INFLOW
OUTFLOW
SOURCE
SINK
WATER
WATER in BATHTUB
DRAIN
INFLOW
OUTFLOW
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Systems Behaviour
When stocks grow/decline swiftly, or hold within a certain range, then a mechanism is at work via a feedback loop (e.g. interest-bearing bank account).
Flows in and out of the stock are adjusted because of changes in size of the stock itself.
Different types of feedback processes in a system
Balancing feedback (Stabilising loops)
Reinforcing feedback (Runaway loops)
The total amount of money in the account (stock) affects how much money comes into the account as interest.
Different types of feedback process in a system
Balancing feedback this feedback stabilises the system (see next slide coffee example)
Reinforcing Feedback this feedback causes the system to grow or diminish (see next slide interest bearing bank account)
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Stabilising Loop
STORED ENERGY IN BODY
ENERGY AVAILABLE FOR WORK
Metabolic Mobilisation Of Energy
Energy Expenditure
Discrepancy
Desired Energy Level
Coffee Intake
B
SINK
This kind of stabilising, goal seeking feedback loop is called a balancing feedback loop (B). Balancing loops are goal seeking & stability seeking. Each tries to keep a stock at a given value. A balancing feedback loop opposes whatever direction of change is imposed on the system. If you push a stock up to far, the B will bring it back down and vice versa.
The presence of B does not mean the mechanism works well. It may not be strong enough to change the direction or goal of the system.
If you are a coffee drinker, when you feel your energy level run low, you may grab another cup to boost it again. Your have a stock of energy which you aim to maintain. The purpose of the coffee may be to keep your stock of energy at the desired level. It is the gap between your actual and desired levels of energy for work that drive your decisions to adjust your daily caffeine intake.
NOTE: The labels in the above figure are direction free. They say stored energy in your body, not low energy, coffee intake not more coffee. This is because feedback loops can operate in 2 directions. In this case if you drink too much coffee, the feedback loop can work in reverse. ALSO: I didnt use a cloud for the flow because in every system there is more than one simple loop. Caffeine is only a short term stimulant that eventually leaves the body more energy deficient than before. That drop could lead to more coffee or it could encourage you to try a different healthier
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Reinforcing Loop
MONEY IN BANK ACCOUNT
Interest Added
Interest Rate
R
Can you think of a human decision that occurs without a feedback loop?
Is it A causing B or B causing A?
Reinforcing Loops The more money you have in the bank, the more interest you earn. This exponential growth this can be good news or bad news depending on what is growing e.g. money, HIV, the economy, the arms race.
Can you think of a human decision that occurs without a feedback loop? Falling in love? Suicide
Is it A causing B or B causing A? Bicycle example
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Characteristics of a System Thinkers
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Exploitation/Exploration Trade Off (March, 1991)
(i.e. Organisational Learning)
Theory of Rational Search
Gaining new information versus using current information to improve organizational outcomes (i.e., Organisational Learning)
Bounded rationality
Organizations tend to prefer exploitation over exploration
Returns from exploration are less certain, more remote, and harder to adapt to
Organizational learning improves exploitation more rapidly than exploration
Positive feedback loops can produce path dependency
What Impacts Organisational Learning? (March, 1991)
How organisations and individuals learn from each other.
Organisational and individual codes converge over time to become more homogenous
Rapid learning is not desirable; Slower learning allows for greater exploration and improved exploitation
Rapid socialisation of individuals into the organization produces inadequate exploitation and reduces exploration
Knowledge & Ecologies of Competition
Internal & External competitive processes pit organisations against each other in pursuit of scarce environmental resources (i.e. limit exploration)
Organizational learning improves competitive advantage in the competition for primacy
An emphasis on exploitation can compromise primacy
Strategic Leadership for Organizational Learning
(Jansen et al. 2009)
What type of leadership is required for exploitation/exploration (i.e. organizational learning)?
Exploration positive leadership styles (e.g. transformational, ethical, servant, democratic etc)
Exploitation traditional leadership styles (e.g., transactional, trait, situational etc)
Leadership behaviours have a significant impact on innovation outcomes.
Environmental dynamism moderates these effects Week 8 : Leading Sustainably
The Cost of Leadership:
How much do you think organisations (commercial and not for profit) spent on leadership training in the USA last year?
Has it created a better world?
Business schools need to teach managers how to be leaders in a manner appropriate to the present conditions (Mintzberg, 2004).
A recent study by Gagnon and Collinson (2014) cited USD45 billion annual expenditures in the United States alone for leadership development. The same study found that European CEOs were also extremely committed to leadership development (p. 648). Many universities offer courses on leadership, the focus of which is usually personal development in preparation for senior management in an organisation. There are moreover, several journals dedicated to the topic.
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Big Question: Is Earth past the tipping point?
Questions:
These days, in responses to the ills of the world when we often hear: We need more sustainability leadership
What is meant by this?
Whom should this leadership come from?
What do you think sustainability leaders should be like? (Based on all our discussions, readings and assessments to date, name five core characteristics of sustainability leadership)
What do you think it means to have a sustainability mindset?
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Sustainability Mindset
Sustainability mindset is a way of thinking and being that results from a broad understanding of the ecosystem’s manifestations, an introspective focus on the personal values and the higher self, and finds its expression in actions for the greater good of the whole (Rimanoczy, 2014)
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Leadership Discourses (Western, 2008)
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Leadership Discourses
The Controller Discourse
Frederick Taylor & Scientific Management;
Dehumanizing; employees cogs in the wheel of the efficient machine
The Therapist Discourse
Focus on human relations; happy workers are more productive
Hawthorne Experiments; Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Democratising of the workplace; self-actualise through work
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Leadership Discourses
The Messiah Discourse
Transformational leadership
Organisations become communities of members; inspired by leader vision, loyal & committed workforce
Peters & Watermans (1982) In Search of Excellence
Seek devotion from employees, love the firm and its goals
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Leadership Discourses
Sustainability Leadership:
Redistributes power from the centre to the edges
Recognises the impossibility of going it alone when we are interdependent
Rejects great man theory of leadership
Understands grassroots social movements lead & innovate change
Emergence of Sustainability Leadership:
Reaction to 21st century economic decline
Disenchantment with messiah leadership
New zeitgeist emerging
Quantum physics
Globalisation & Technological advancements
The environmental movement
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Organisational Forms
The primary task of sustainability leaders is to dismantle modernist forms that shape our internal landscapes – Plato’s Cave
Can you explain how what is happening in the world at present resembles Platos Cave?
The three previous leadership discourses have their place but
They must acknowledge that we live in a fragile ecosystem and are all parts of the web of life
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Form & Function
Modernity traps us in forms that limit us; these external landscapes shape our internal landscapes
Corporatized self (Casey, 1995)
Iron cage (Weber, 1930) of technical/economic conditions of machine production
Technocratic society (Ellul, 1964)
Psychic Prisons (Moran, 1998)
Colonisation of the Life World (Habermas 1984)
These approaches are conformist, utilitarian, totalising
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Sustainability Leadership & Systemic Ethics
Sustainability Leaders draw on a deeper source
It demands an ethical approach that resists Market Liberalism (Western, 2010)
We need a deep systemic character ethic that interconnects us individually and communally with all life.
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Workplace Biodiversity
Contemporary leadership advocates monocultures create success
Homogenised organizations with monocultures can be dangerous (e.g. cults, terrorist groups)
Ecosystems are healthy when they have biodiversity;
Monocultures in the natural world inevitably lead to disaster (e.g. corn in USA)
Difference is vital to promote creativity
You dont want dependent followers but leadership actors (from all cultures, ages, professions).
Sustainability Leaders decolonise organisations
Its about harmonization so each individual contributes to the health of the whole
Unity in diversity
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Organisational Architects
Sustainability leaders are organisational architects, taking a spatial leadership approach
Create organisational forms that enable operation in non-linear, non-hierarchical and sustainable ways
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Leadership at Interface
Taking the lead from employees and being comfortable with not knowing
Ray Anderson – Interface Carpets
Why is it wise for a leader to take the lead from employees?
Interconnecting with all community of life
When a company such as Interface connects with the whole of the community of life, what consequences does this have for evaluating the companys contribution to the world?
All employees taking responsibility
The Business Case for Sustainability – Ray Anderson
(1.30) I Am Mission Zero
Why do all employees have to take responsibility for sustainability?
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