In our Module 5 readings, we added the stewardship of adaptive leadership through servant leadership, as well as the art of persuasion. Based on your reading and viewing this week, discuss how your decision making in the leadership role of the Patient Zero simulation adopted either servant leadership or the art of persuasion, or if it did not, why? Be specific about your thought process and why you made the decisions supportive or contrary to stewardship or persuasion.
Be sure to post an initial, substantive response by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. MT and respond to 2 or more peers with substantive responses by Sunday at 11:59 p.m. MT. A substantive initial post answers the question presented completely and/or asks a thoughtful question pertaining to the topic. Substantive peer responses ask a thoughtful question pertaining to the topic and/or answers a question (in detail) posted by another student or the instructor.
YOU ARE TO PLEASE RESPOND TO TWO LEARNERS 1 reference per response learner please.
LEARNER ONE:
As I reflect back on my decisions in the first round of the Patient Zero Simulation I think perhaps my decisions were a mixture of both servant leadership and the art of persuasion. For example, when I chose to not subsidize the drug I also chose to educate the public about its efficacy. Even though some might argue that subsidizing the drug may have served the citizens I disagree because the drug was not effective and little was known about long term effects and by choosing not to subsidize the drug I hoped to protect people from unintended consequences. Another example of applying both servant leadership and the art of persuasion was my decision not to use the tracking software and to work with public health officials on other options for tracking and reporting infections. This decision served the citizens of the country because it upheld their rights but it required the art of persuasion to presumably work with public health officials who may have wanted to use the software to help with the burden they faced on tracking infections.
Observing leaders in the workplace, in government and in our society I can’t help but see a real need for better leadership. Sometimes I think that the people in positions of power and authority that we call leaders are truly only leaders in name and not in practice so perhaps we need a new name for them; pseudo leaders? I think the servant leadership approach is one that I would like to see more leaders adopt. Wouldn’t our world be a much better place if all our leaders practiced listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to growth of people and building community (Gandolfi & Stone, 2018). I particularly like the notion that “servant leaders, at their core, are those individuals who develop and empower others to reach their highest potential” (Sendjaya & Saros, 2002 as cited by Gandolfi & Stone, 2018, p. 266).
Question for the class: have you ever had the opportunity work in an organization whose leader practiced servant leadership? How did this leader help members of the organization grow and succeed?
Thanks,
Jennifer
Gandolfi, F. & Stone, S. (2018). Leadership, leadership styles and servant leadership. Journal of Management Research, 18(4),261-269.
LEARNER TWO:
Hello everyone,
After considering the reading, I personally do not believe that my decision making in the leadership role in Patient Zero simulation adopted either servant leadership or the art of persuasion. According to the Society of Human Resource Management, it states that a servant leadership, “they take the traditional power leadership model and turn it completely upside down. This new hierarchy puts the people—or employees, in a business context—at the very top and the leader at the bottom, charged with serving the employees above them…That’s because these leaders possess a serve-first mindset, and they are focused on empowering and uplifting those who work for them. They are serving instead of commanding, showing humility instead of brandishing authority, and always looking to enhance the development of their staff members in ways that unlock potential, creativity and sense of purpose” (Tarallo, 2021). I do not feel that at any time during Patient Zero simulation I adopted a servant leadership style and put the power or authority on the people. I also do not feel that I have since working in the field of Human Resource have I leadership style that was more of a servant leadership. Most of it is due to Human Resource Department when it comes to employees helping them but also with the focus of ensuring the organization is not operating outside of laws, regulations, and policies. However, the Human Resource Department does help and server the managers of the organization as it provides guides for them in employee situations.
Tarallo, M. (2021, May 19). The art of servant leadership. SHRM.org. Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/organizational-and-employee-development/pages/the-art-of-servant-leadership.aspx
-Kevin