Evidence of Knowledge Acquisition With respect to the inspiring developer competency, the idea behind this competency is that leaders create an environment that is uplifting and stimulating for others. Inspiring developers inform and motivate their subordinates when it comes to the vision of the company. Leaders develop individuals when they communicate with and enlighten others as to what the company goals and strategies are. Leaders sustain and support their subordinates by investing in their well being and development as well as aiding them in accomplishing their goals. Inspiring developers are visionary and believe they can best contribute to their followers’ thriving by creating relationships with them. Leaders who are skillful in this competency challenge their subordinates to find meaning in their work, thereby stimulating their development both professionally and personally. Developing leaders assist their organization in establishing a captivating vision of what the future has to offer and promoting confidence that the vision can be accomplished. In terms of the fundamental concepts and ideas that I have amassed over the past two years, inspiring developers set goals for their team of followers and aid them in executing and completing those goals. Leaders who perceive themselves to be competent inspiring developers spend time with their followers, getting to know them and working with them on developing their thoughts and ideas. As I think about this competency, I consider the achieving styles from the ASI assessment, such as collaborative. Inspiring developers engage in collaboration with their subordinates in order to foster a team effort with respect to developing the vision and goals of the company. In LDRS 516, Leadership Development and Practice one of the most pertinent ideas was that of mentorship. Leaders who serve as mentors begin to understand their subordinates at a much deeper level and contribute to their development in a beneficial way. Mentors and coaches help their subordinates to understand their capabilities, thereby enabling them to reach their full potential.
Interpretation of Knowledge I recall learning in various courses that the climate of the organization helps leaders to better refine and develop their followers in a productive manner. Leaders connect with their followers when they take time to be cautious and heedful of the moods and tenor of their subordinates. Leaders have a big affect on the climate of the organization, for example when they encourage shared expectations, values, and visions, they inspire collaboration, team building, and employee involvement. When I think about employee contribution to organizations I think about the OCAI that was introduced in LDRS 534, Leader as an Agent of Change. One of the culture types that would fit along with this specific competency is clan culture. When leaders take the initiative to mentor their followers and commit to their team they are that much more purposeful and dedicated to developing their subordinates into effective, hard-working individuals. In a clan culture, the organization is held together by great team involvement, communication, as well as commitment to the development of employees in the organization. Quinn (1996) in his book Deep Change emphasizes that constant change is necessary in organizations in order for development and creativity of individuals to be fostered. Diligent leaders focus on reinforcing and sustaining their followers as well as leveraging opportunities, such as sharing organizational values and reinforcing learning in order to contribute to the development of their subordinates. Transactional leadership also has a great deal to do with inspiring developer competency due to the fact that people are motivated by reward and punishment, therefore when subordinates achieve or accomplish a task they are rewarded by their leader, which fosters their development in the organization because they know what is expected and required of them. Even punishments are well understood and can still be instrumental in the maturation and growth of the subordinates.
Application of Knowledge In terms of application of this specific competency, I thought about the different assessment I took in LDRS 510, which is entitled Creative and Collaborative Leadership. Going into that class and hearing about the different assessments and tools that were embedded in the course I thought to myself “What is the purpose of this?” As the class progressed on and I thought more about the leadership assessments given to us I soon began to realize that by taking the assessments we were giving ourselves the opportunity to learn about ourselves. For me personally, I took the results of the tests and assessments and began to ponder the fact that I can use the results to motivate and develop others. I did not realize at first that these tools were being given so that we could utilize them to develop our peers and those that we work with as well. Dr. Whyte always said that the assessments are not a means of judging how smart we are but rather they are utilized to help us contribute to the growth and maturation of both ourselves and others. The great thing about this course is that I was able to embed what I was learning into situations at work, for example, I wrote an “I AM” statement in this class and carried it with me everywhere because I want to live consistently with my true self and not conform to any thing else. I desire to utilize my strengths and even my weaknesses to inspire and develop others. In this section I utilized both academic and anecdotal artifacts.
Creation of New Knowledge Within this competency, I have realized that I would like to pursue continued growth in this area in that I desire to live by my own standards and not the standards someone else sets for me. In using the S.M.A.R.T goals, I am confident that my goal is specific in that I long to set the bar for myself in terms of what I want to do with my career. I yearn to put myself in a position where I can counsel and mentor someone who is at a crossroads in their life and either needs someone to listen to them or someone to give them advice. The “who” of my goal is to be able to reach out to college students who are trying to figure out what they want to do after they graduate. I do not want to set the bar for them but help to set their own bar by offering them direction. With respect to measurability, I plan to measure my progress by consistently making sure that the bar I set for myself is always the same height as it was when it first set it, meaning I want to stay true to my desires and what God is calling me to. My goal is attainable in that I firmly that God is calling me to be a bright light in someone’s life, to utilize my experiences, strengths, and weakness to empower and ethically develop others who come my way, which makes my goal realistic. There should always be a sense of urgency when it comes to making a difference in people’s lives because everyone needs someone to look up, especially in dire situations that call for someone to be there for them when they need support and empathy.
References
Quinn, R. E. (1996). Deep change: Discovering the leader within. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.