Individual
Assignment 3
One concept that I learned from
Chapter 8 is that leaders do not really have as much control as people would
imagine. One point made is that leaders
need to exhibit and demonstrate a great deal of confidence to have the people
around them look at them as leaders. They
should project confidence on their employees to motivate them and get them to
believe in a common goal of the company.
It is no that leaders have the control that people believe, but it’s how
they carry themselves that allow them to become leaders of their organizations. The book says that leaders should take some
credit, but also the blame as well. Taking
the blame in a situation shows that a leader is modest and humble. A good leader should also know when to get out
of the way as the book states. I think
this is a powerful statement because if a leader tries to have too much control
it could hurt the company. This also
shows that the leader is willing to listen to others which can motivate their
workers.
Another topic I found to be
interesting this week was the badges developed at Alex Pentland’s lab. It just amazes me how far technology has come
that something like this exists. The badge
collects an array of data in order to measure the communication and interaction
within a group. Pentland thinks that the
badge will be able to be integrated into organizations in the future and will
look simply like an id badge. The data
collected can measure the tone of a conversation, who is talking, listening and
interrupting, and if they face one another when they talk. The data can report if the team was
productive or creative on a certain day.
I think this could be helpful to measure the dynamics of a team setting
for a given assignment. Therefore the
badge would only be worn when working in that group. However, it seems like a tracking device in a
way. It may be a little too inappropriate
for a work environment in my opinion.
The article “What
I’ve Learned From Three Decades in Retail” is about JC Penney’s ex-CEO Ron
Johnson’s experience in the field of retail and leadership. Johnson explains where he started in the retail
industry and the lessons that he has learned along the way. Many of the points he talks about in the
article can be related to concepts discussed in the textbook. Some are learning by doing it yourself and
owning your own mistakes. Another point
that is discussed is to know where you fit in when choosing an
organization. This concept was discussed
in our article for our team project this week.
In a way this article is an evidence-based article because Johnson is
talking about his own personal experiences.
It’s concepts that he has learned and had come to think of as true for
him. The article also states that
Johnson had read hundreds of case studies that expand the knowledge he
discusses. This is evidence that Johnson
has found to be true through his own life experiences.
This week has taught me more about
leadership and working in a team environment.
I think that it has helped me to be more open and listen more when dealing
with other people. I appreciated how the
book explained that leaders are not always in control as much as people more
think. This is a good thing because leaders
who do have that much power tend to become unethical leaders. It is important to show confidence in
situations and could help lead to a leadership position.
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