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Week 5 discussion 1 replies

Guided Response: Review several of your peers’ posts and identify the leadership style that you can relate to. Respond to at least two of your peers and recommend path-goal styles of leadership to extend their thinking.  Challenge your peers by asking a question that may cause them to reevaluate their choice of path-goal leadership styles.

#1 Raymond Kong

SundayNov 26 at 5:05pm

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Directive leadership: 12

Supportive leadership: 14

Participative leadership: 12

Achievement-oriented leadership: 15

Directive leadership and participative leadership are two of my weakest points. Clarifying the instructions to reach the ultimate goal is a challenge for me.  Similar to the authoritarian leadership style in which the leaders “perceive followers as needing direction” (Northouse, 2017). Participative leadership is creating a climate that is open to new and diverse opinions. This is primarily similar to relationship leadership in that it helps followers feel comfortable with themselves and the situation (Northouse, 2017).

Both the supportive and achievement-oriented leadership styles are similar to democratic leadership style in which “leaders treat followers as fully capable of doing work on their own”, but more specifically under democratic leadership creates a climate “more friendliness, mutual praise, and group mindedness” (Northouse, 2017). Supportive leadership style “encouraging others when they are engaged in tasks that are boring and unchallenging” (Northouse, 2017) and achievement-oriented leadership style challenges individuals to perform at the highest possible level. Both these concepts deal with a relationship aspect of leadership, but incorporates task leadership style.

Most tasks in the military are mundane and tedious. And most military personnel find themselves unchallenged and unmotivated. In a general sense, as a leader I have to keep them positive and in the right direction. Creating a cohesiveness between my subordinates is secondary. Mission must always come first.

#2 Jeramiah Jones

MondayNov 27 at 1:03pm

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My questionnaire results turned out to be….

Directive Style 31

Supportive Style 32

Participative Style 26

Achievement- Orientated Style 32

I am again a little surprised by my results, and then again not at all. As far as scoring high in directive style, I do give instruction, set deadlines, let people know what is expected, and generally just clearly stating what I need to happen (Northouse, 2018). The way that it is worded in our text makes it seem a bit more authoritarian that I actually am, but I do want people to know what is expected of them, but it does not come down to me standing over shoulders. Some of my crew might tell you that I run a tight ship, but I don’t think that standing around giving orders is the best way to get anything accomplished.

I scored on the cusp of average and high in this area which I would agree with. I love encouraging people to learn and grow at work (Northouse, 2018). I love when my crew can do everything, and it doesn’t come down to someone standing around because they are unsure of what needs to be done. I praise my staff when a job is well done, and I support their growth, not just professionally, but personally. Participative style also speaks to this, I am aware that landscaping can get boring, that it can be repetitive, that is why I am continuing to learn new things, patio installation, and other types of hardscaping so that I can teach these skills to my crew and keep up the education and learning (Northouse, 2018). I also get out there and work with them, I am not someone to stand around giving orders, I want to work with my staff and learn along with them.

The final style achievement style I scored high in. I feel that I scored high in this area because as my company grows, I am always looking to see who will be my next foreman, and who I can trust to lead crews to different areas. I plan to move south in a few years, and I will need people that I can rely on to continue to run my Ohio teams when I am out of state. This is why I am regularly working with individuals so that I can grow my company while also keeping the job from becoming stale for the ones that excel (Northouse, 2018).

Reference

Northouse, P. G. (2018). Introduction to leadership: Concepts and practice  (4th ed.). Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/

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Week 5 discussion 2 replies

#3 Martin Fierro

WednesdayNov 29 at 7:32pm

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To be an ethical leader, one’s choices should be influenced by their morals and values. An ethical person seeks solutions for the common good, or solutions that can make the world a better place, fairer or more humane. (Northouse, 2018). There are many aspects that build on whether a person is seen as ethical or unethical. Some of these aspects range from being trustworthy, respectful, responsible, fair, caring and have a good sense of citizenship.

Most of these aspects fall hand in hand with one another. By being caring and respectful, you are showing compassion and consideration for others. To be an ethical leader, one must care for the well-being of others. To be trustworthy, responsible and fair is also important if you wish to be portrayed as ethical. These aspects hold yourself and others accountable so that when showing these attributes, it directly reflects on the type of person you truly are.

When you think of qualities an ethical leader should have such as courage, humility, sacrifice and honesty what leader comes to mind? Most people would probably think of Martin Luther King or Gandhi, whom were ethical leaders, or think of some other leaders here and there from the past or currently in the present. When I think of a leader who embodies these characteristics, my first thought goes straight to Captain America. While fiction, Captain America is shaped by moral ideas and the belief that the world is wavering between the forces of good and evil. According to an article by John Gray called The Moral Philosophy of Captain America he states, “I’m going to present Captain America’s personal morality in terms of virtue ethics, a type of moral theory originating with ancient Greek philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle and the Stoics If we look at them this way, Cap’s values are old-fashioned, dating from about 2,500 years ago, but many philosophers (including myself) regard the work of the early virtue ethicists as timeless.” If you read above I believe that Captain America choices are influenced by his morals and values, he seeks solutions to provide Americans with a life where they can be free, and he makes the world a better place. His choices are never influenced by personal benefit, and always directed towards the greater good.

Gray John. 2014. The Moral Philosophy of Captain America Retrieved from https://newrepublic.com/article/117241/captain-americas-moral-philosophyLinks to an external site.

Northouse, P.G. (2018). Introduction to leadership: Concepts and Practice (4th ed.). Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/books/Northouse.1564.17.1/sections/navpoint-Links to an external site.

#4 David Golden

WednesdayNov 29 at 7:37pm

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There is a lot that comes into play when someone is classified as an ethical leader. The book defines ethical leadership as “is the influence of a moral person who moves others to do the right thing in the right way for the right reasons” (Northouse, 2017 p. 200). One of the biggest duties of being an ethical leader is treating the employees with respect. Treating them as people and with dignity is what makes them want to be there with you. If you choose not to, then you are using them as means to another end (Northouse, 2017).

               There are six factors that are the aspects of what makes a leader ethical special.

Character is one of these factors, and many understand that your character says a lot about you period. When you are perceived as being a good person who is trustworthy people can stand behind and know that the leader will do what is right. Sometimes your character can be based on how you grew up or something that defines you, its developed over time. Your character shines when you are in a leadership role and your making decisions. The actions that a leader does when completing goals is another factor that makes an ethic leader great. the leader depends on their morals to complete their goals, if the way to accomplish the goal crosses some lines that can hurt people or break rules, the morals of the leader take over. Asking yourself does this justify the means is how to understand if the actions are right. This ties into character, the action of treating others with respect is a great way to show that you care, and the value of humans are more than a product or the means end. The third factor of being an ethical leader is how the leader influences his goals on others, showing passion and making the goals worthy in for others is what makes this an important step. Showing that the bigger picture is more important than is more important to the personal will of the leader shows that its not about just one person. Honesty is another big part of being ethical, being truthful is a foundation of a leader. If a leader is honest, you know he can be trusted and is reliable. Which also goes into respect, when you are not honest, you lose respect. When it comes to leadership another factor is gaining power. What a leader does with that power defines him as ethical or not. If a leader uses his power correctly, that can benefit all kinds of different ways to help people or the company, but if it is used incorrectly that can be devastating. The last factor is the leader’s values. The values that the leader believes in is important to their followers. The leader will display his values by how he leads every day. The ideas and beliefs that is shown through his actions can also be spread onto the employees. Not all values are the same, and its up to the leader to respect other members values as well as keeping theirs faithful and following what is right (Northhouse, 2017). As you can see there is a lot that goes into what makes a leader ethical. Walking the walk and being the best example for everyone sums up the 6 factors.

One of the examples of a great ethical leader would be President Lincoln. He took office during an extremely hard era in the U.S. history and did the best he could with it. if you look at what made him great is he embodied what it meant to be an ethical leader. According to General Carl Schurz Abraham Lincoln is “a man of profound feeling, just and firm principles, and incorruptible integrity,” (Miller, 2002 para 1). That quote gives 3 of the 6 factors that displays ethical leadership ability. Lincoln also thought about how his actions would affect others and if it was good for the Union. He really wanted the war to end, so there wouldn’t be any more bloodshed. The Civil War, had Americans on both sides, and he understood that using his power killed the people he swore an oath to protect.

References

William E. Miller, Lincoln’s Virtues: An Ethical Biography (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002) retrieved from

http://www.abrahamlincolnsclassroom.org/abraham-lincoln-in-depth/abraham-lincolns-values-and-philosophy/Links to an external site.

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