“Unbelieveable”

“Unbelievable”

Blog #1

By:  MFLOG

To:  My fellow American leaders, especially those recently prosecuted and/or litigated against

I cannot believe that I have to bring up this topic, let alone write something about it.  I cannot believe it has come down to this.  Surely you have seen the news regarding all of the leaders in business, government, and elsewhere that are caught doing something unethical.  Because of what I have seen, I feel compelled to tell you exactly what you are doing wrong, as well as how to stop it.  I have been reading Susan B. Komives et al.’s Exploring Leadership, and its guidelines are just what you people need.  I will use some examples found in the book that should prove useful.

It seems every other week or so, especially when CNN wants to spice up its ratings, they remind America that our leadership is crap.  Lately, as it turns out, they’re generally right.  Let’s not forget, they are only showing us the jackasses that were caught.  Others are at least smart enough to get away with it, perhaps showing us some degree of respect by going to the trouble.  Then again, they could just be lucky.  Either way, I am embarrassed – for the both of us, to be clear – that the likes of me has to tell you people how to behave as leaders.

Why is this important (you may ask)?  Come on, haven’t you heard of any of these people being thrown in prison left and right?  Bernie Madoff will never again set foot on soil as a free man, all simply because he couldn’t behave himself.  He was made famous for stealing many millions of dollars from his clients, some of whom committed suicide after they had lost everything.  People like this embarrass and hurt themselves, their loved ones, and are even getting most or all of the things they stole (when it applies) taken away from them, almost always leaving them worse off then before.  Let’s not forget those leaders in our society that have committed adultery, murder, and any number of immoral behaviors (Look up Gary Condit if you need an example of this).  It is becoming evident that integrity – which is, in this case, always doing the right thing, especially when no one is looking – is becoming more and more important.  With the possible consequences in store, leaders had better act with integrity at all times if they truly want to get ahead.  At the very least, doing so should rid themselves of any worries about being incarcerated.

When I say “unethical”, I mean to convey any action of any kind – no matter how miniscule – that is in some way immoral and/or often illegal.  For example, think of an action that you or someone else may have interpreted as illegal (even if you do not understand why).  Let’s say the action in question is to be published in tomorrow’s news, to be seen by everyone you have ever cared about.  If this possibility makes you uncomfortable because you risk being embarrassed, shamed, or thrown in prison, the action you are thinking of is probably unethical.  If for some pathetic reason you still cannot tell whether or not you are being unethical, please take a look at some examples (all from Exploring Leadership) of behaviors/traits made by “toxic leaders,” or basically leaders who do wrongful things that can – and often do – destroy the very entity for which they work:

• Misleading followers through deliberate untruths and misdiagnoses of issues and problems
• Having insatiable that prompts leaders to put their own sustained power, glory, and fortunes above their followers’ well being
• Having an ego that does not allow you to see your own shortcomings and improve on them
• Having reckless disregard for the costs of their actions to others as well
• Having to think up of logical, morally sound excuses as to why you have done the above actions, if it applies

Now think hard.  If you have ever done any of these things in any way throughout your life, read on (and skip the rest of this paragraph).  If you have not, pat yourself on the back, then realize that you are a liar (a liar to yourself, at that) and you of all people need to continue reading.  I’m not kidding, finish reading this.  In fact, take notes.  The future depends on it.

So now, it has been decided:  You have a problem.  Now I will guide you once again to Exploring Leadership to tell you what you do about it.  In the book, the end of chapter six contains five ethical principles in decision making:  autonomy, justice, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and fidelity.  Since bad decision making is what gets people into trouble to begin with, this should help you get started.

Autonomy is the principle that addresses the concept of independence.  The essence of this principle is allowing an individual the freedom of choice and action.  The world will not end if your followers, for example, have the right to dispute (of course, always in a respectful manner) your instructions or policies.  The world will not end if someone disagrees with you.  On the contrary, any advice given to alleviate the problem at hand may lead to a beneficial outcome.

Nonmaleficence is the concept of not causing harm to others.  This goes back to the golden rule, “Do not do to others what you would not like done to you.”  If someone stole something from your loved ones, how would you feel?  Now, how do you think others feel if you steal from them?  If you need further incentive not to do wrong, remember that people will want to get even with you after you have offended them.  Stealing, for example, can lead to a court settlement.  More extreme examples can be the offended stealing from you in return, and the stolen goods can be anything from what you stole to, say, your life.

Beneficence reflects the leader’s responsibility to contribute to the welfare of the follower.  It means promoting the interests of the organization and your followers above your self.  This can include, you know, not stealing money from the company’s pension fund(s), as well as not fleeing the country after you have done so.

Justice refers to treating people fairly and equally.  You need to treat your followers accordingly.  This does not mean treat everyone the exact same.  K.S. Kitchener points out in his book, The Counseling Psychologist, that the formal meaning of justice is, “treating equals equally and unequals unequally but in proportion to their relevant differences.”  If you have two followers, one of whom is a better worker than the other.  If the event arose, it would be just and fair to promote the more competent employee, even if the other one happens to be your golfing buddy.

Fidelity involves the notions of loyalty and faithfulness.  In this case, this applies to everyone, to your followers, your equals, and your organization.  It also includes honoring your commitments.  An example of this is actually handing out the dividends after you have promised to do so, especially if people had bought you stock expecting this to happen.  On that topic, it also means not submitting false documents to regulators in an effort to boost the stock’s profitability.

It’s not that hard to be ethical.  Frankly, it can add many years to your life.  As a leader, see if you can implement these into your work ethic.  Who knows?  You may actually benefit others and make them, including you, feel good.  If you have never done this before, give it a try.  You may surprise yourself.

 

Go Party!

In chapter 11 of Exploring Leadership, the phases of change are noted. According to Daryl L. Conner, one of the phases of coming to grips with change includes the behavior of ignoring or not accepting change as a reality.

Right now at UH there is a great bit of change occurring.  The instructional days have passed and students no longer have lectures to attend.  This is a major change.  The daily responsibilities of students have dropped but finals are still on the horizon. The change from lectures to finals week is a stressful change for students.  Classes are pau and thoughts of celebrating the approaching holidays dance in the back of everyone’s mind.  But thoughts of Christmas celebrations are clouded by the stress of finals.  Students forget or deny the inevitability & importance of finals and they party.

I bet last night, the night of the last instructional day on campus, the bars around campus were full of students celebrating the end of classes. I bet they will be full again tonight and on Saturday night.  I am calling this “party” behavior the denial of change for students.   They deny the importance of their finals, which may be a substantial part of their grade.  I deny the importance of my finals too.  I find myself goofing off, going out and playing while I should be focusing on my finals.  I know my finals are important but I give myself lots of freedom until the night before the 1st final is due.  I questioned my actions and further stressed myself out. 

It is easy and it is a stress relief to deny the importance of finals. I have denied the importance of finals at the end of every term for my 6 and a half years at university. This term was the first term where I questioned this behavior. My feelings are that if it has worked for me for all my years at university, and I earned my BS and I never failed a class or a final, then this behavior must work for me somehow.

My denial of the importance of finals is a big step in going through the end of the term changes which occur at a university. The denial facilitates relaxation and stress relief.  My focus shifts for an interval of time before I accept the reality of finals.  Maybe it does not shift but it is defiantly clouded.  In this cloud of denial I spend time with my friends. I eat good food and I drink good drink.  I watch movies and I go swimming.  I go to parties and I meet new people. From the surface it does not look like I am progressing through a state of change but all the denial is moving me through the change. 

Student housing administrators even acknowledge the party behavior associated with end of term changes.  Dorms & apartments all over campus have events and parties because the hall directors (administrators) want students to go through this change in a safe and supervised manner.  Often students party a little too hard in their denial of the importance of finals and the dangers of this behavior are realized too often.  I encourage everyone to party responsibly this weekend.  Go out and enjoy yourself, it will help you move forward.

 

Make Every Change Positive

Whether we like it or not, change is an inevitable part of life.  In the textbook Exploring Leadership by Susan Komives, Nance Lucas and Timothy McMahon, the main topic of chapters 11 and 12 is change.  The two chapters explore the different aspects of change and provide information on how to understand change as well as provide strategies that help produce change.

Change can “bring about exciting possibilities, renewed energy and enthusiasm, and a deeper commitment” (Komives, Lucas, McMahon 329).  Sometimes we accept the changes that occur in our lives, while other times we are resistant to it.  According to Nancy Schlossberg, “a life change is difficult because it impacts one’s roles, relationships, routines, and assumptions about oneself” (Komives, Lucas, McMahon 330).  In an attempt to understand how people react to change they are resistant to, Daryl L. Conner included three additional stages to Kubler-Ross’s five stages of grief.  The following are the eight phases:

Phase 1 – Stability: the present state

Phase 2 – Immobilization: shock or paralysis to initial change

Phase 3 – Denial: change-related information is ignored or not accepted as reality

Phase 4 – Anger: frustration and anger as a reaction to change and often directed to those most-supportive of the change effort

Phase 5 – Bargaining: negotiation to avoid pending change, signifying that the person can no longer deny the change process

Phase 6 – Depression: a typical response to negatively perceived change, including disengagement and a decrease in physical and emotional energy

Phase 7 – Testing: regaining a sense of control and seeking out new ways to redefine goals

Phase 8 – Acceptance: change is responded to realistically, even though individuals may still be adverse to the change

(Komives, Lucas, McMahon 333)

During my freshmen year of college, I pledged for Beta Beta Gamma, a University of Hawaii-based sorority.  Unlike nationally-based sororities, we did not have any membership dues to pay each month (stability).  However, as sorority membership flourished, our finances that funded our events took a major hit.  It was suggested that each member should pay semester dues and after analyzing the budget, the officers (myself included) decided that this was our best option.  The Sisters were shocked by this decision (immobilization).  Some argued that we never collected dues in the past and did not understand why they would need to pay any dues now (denial). A few Sisters even stated that they would be in-active if they would have to pay dues (anger).  Likewise, some Sisters promised to participate more actively in fundraisers so that we would not have to have membership dues (bargaining).  The officers stated that funds were needed at the beginning of each semester, which would require some sort of fundraiser during the summer and winter break.  This was not ideal because many of the Sisters would not be on the island, and the group felt as though there were no other choice than to enforce the dues (depression).  Thereafter, each Sister was required to pay a semester due.  However, in order to cut the amount of the semester dues, we began planning for a big bake sale at the end of the semester (testing).  The bake sale was a success and since then, we have continued to have a bake sale fundraiser each semester.  While we are still required to pay a membership due each semester, the amount is manageable and the sorority is able to fund our events and socials (acceptance).

This is one example of how change that we are initially resistant to can eventually become positive.  We all must accept and understand that life is full of unexpected changes.  In other words, change is inevitable.  I feel that we should all approach change as a learning experience because there is always a potential to turn a seemingly negative change into a positive one.  So whenever you encounter a change that you are resistant to, please keep in mind that if you put your mind to it, you can successfully turn it into a positive change.

By: Joanne Allagonez

 

“The Only Constant is Change” -Heraclitus

+
Change is something that is embraced by some, and feared by others, yet everyone and everything eventually changes. Throughout our lives, each individual has faced change. Change be as small as starting a new semester, with new professors and new classmates, or as major as war, universal health care, etc. But, no matter how major or minor change is, it is inevitable.

 

Change…..Sesame!

The other day in my Marketing Strategies (MKT 391) class, we had a class discussion on a case from Apple, Inc. The case talked about the changes during the early years of Apple, particularly the leadership changes. After Steve Jobs left Apple and started his own company, Apple went through four CEO’s in a span of a decade and a half. The main issue was the different changes that these CEO’s were implementing when they took over the company. During this period without Jobs, the company’s profit was little, if not stagnant. There were many changes being implemented but there were no results in terms of profits for the company. Finally, the company started to go in the right direction when Steve Jobs took back reigns of the company.

He did an interview a few years ago and was asked how he was able to implement change in Apple while his predecessors failed. His response was simple. The first step was to make it aware to everyone in the company that change was needed and encouraged ideas for change. He shared his ideas and welcomed feedback before proceeding. These were the reasons why he was so successful in bringing Apple back from the dead (so to speak).
After having this discussion in class it made me think of the changes that were happening in my business fraternity called Pi Sigma Epsilon at the Shilder College of Business. Pi Sigma Epsilon (PSE) is a national, professional, co-educational fraternity in marketing, sales management and selling. PSE prepares its members to become educated professionals in Sales and Marketing through various workshops and sponsored dinners with the Sales and Marketing Executives (SME) of Honolulu. Our fraternity this semester went through a structural change within the organization. Over the years, PSE was heading in the wrong direction. With the change in leadership came change in the purpose. In the past, the fraternity’s focus was brotherhood, networking, and keeping relations with alumni. About a few years ago, that purpose changed. The organization had more of a business mindset. The communication with people who built the foundation for the organization was cut off and the organization was spiraling downward.
Our organization was having the same trouble with change that Apple was having when it was going through changes in leadership. After reading the chapter called “Understanding Change” in our text book, Exploring Leadership: for college students who want to make a difference by Susan R. Komives, Nance Lucas, and Timothy R. McMahon, there was a section called “Facilitating Change” which explains the challenges organizations, such as PSE, face when there is change. As Robert E. Quinn states, “A challenge for leaders as they facilitate major change is to help other cope with their uncertainties and fears” (p. 341 – Understanding Change). Robert E. Quinn is Margaret Elliot Tracy Collegiate Professor in Business Administration and Professor of Management and Organizations at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. He has one of the highest rates of repeat engagements in the speaking industry. Audiences regularly describe the experience as personal, powerful and practical and they leave the event knowing better who they are and the result they want to create. Instead of just talking about change, Robert Quinn actually helps people change.
The changes that were happening in our organization were not explained to the members first, therefore there was some opposition to the changes. As a result, it was very difficult for change to happen without running into challenges. This semester our President and I went with a different approach to changing the organization. After talking with a few of the older alumni, we had a better understanding of how the organization was run. Our goal was to change the organization back to what is once was before, an organization which benefitted the members and not just the organization. We wanted to make the organization a fun place to be. I remember in our Dynamics of Leadership (EDEA 360) class, we talked about the Relational Leadership Model. The Relational Leadership refers to a model or perspective on leadership that focuses on the idea that leadership effectiveness has to do with the ability of the leader to create positive relationships within the organization.

The chart of the eight-step model of change (p. 347, Exhibit 11.1) illustrated the similar approach that we were using to conduct change. This eight-step process tied into the Relational Leadership Model. A few examples of how we used these steps were 1) Increase urgency: we made members aware that change in the organization was needed; 2) Build the guiding team: the President and I formed a team with the Executive Board to work together in leading the change; 3) Get the vision right: our vision was to get the organization back to what it was; and 4) Empower action: we encouraged members to contribute ideas towards our goal.
In conclusion, though we only went through four of the eight steps, I feel we will soon complete all eight steps. Although I am graduating this semester, I feel confident that the changes that we started will continue. Our executive board is young therefore, will be here for awhile to see these changes take effect. This is how I plan to leave my legacy within the organization.

~Andrew Leong

 

Simply Upredictable

Casey Chan

After reading chapter 11 in the “Exploring Leadership” book titled Understanding Change for my EDEA 360 class, Dynamics of Student Leadership. I was able to quickly relate this topic to my life as a child, for I was a victim of being unable to comprehend and deal effectively with change, more specifically, change that is out of my control.
As an infant (ages 0-4) I was completely oblivious to change; wherever my mom and dad were, I was happy. My first large experience with change was when I was living in Roseville Minnesota. I was 10 years old and I remember a tall, strange but friendly man coming to our house to talk to both of my parents about “adult things”. During my school’s spring break, my parents told both my older brother and I that we were going off to the land where I was born, Hong Kong. I was excited because this was the first time I was going to go back since we moved away the first time. That experience was extremely fun for I ate great Chinese food that I could only get when visiting grandma in San Francisco, half way across the nation. We explored the city of the place that we once lived, and my parents showed both my brother and me around explaining our family’s history that we had in the concrete jungle.

Upon returning, my father questioned me about my experience while we were in Hong Kong. I told him I loved it. As a tourist. Weeks later, my father comes up to me and tell me that our family is going to be moving from our suburbian 3 floor house in Minnesota, to a one floor apartment in Hong Kong. I was furious for I didn’t want to leave my friends or the house that we were living in. I loved the neighborhood and all of my friends that I’ve made. When we did move that summer, I became extremely salty/bitter and I hated both of my parents for forcing me to move to an unknown city where I don’t know anybody or my way around.
Relating my experiences with the studies in the book, “Exploring Leadership”, Kubler-Ross had a five-stage model about how people react to change. Another researcher named Conner expanded on Kubler-Ross’ idea by adding 3 more phases. Up to this point in time, referring to the eight-stage model, I went through 5 phases.

While referencing my first experience with the book about understanding change from an individual perspective, when my family lived in Minnesota and I was enjoying it, I was in the first phase, where I was completely stable and I was content in the “present state”. When my father told me that my family was moving to Hong Kong, I immediately transitioned to the second phase, which is Immobilization. This phase is when one, me in this example, is shocked about the outcome or the change. I was able to transition in and out of phase two fairly quickly. The third phase is denial and after my family moved to Hong Kong; everything seemed surreal, as if it didn’t really happen. I kept telling myself that we were going to move back to Minnesota and everything I left was going to be exactly the same as I left it. After the third phase, I entered the fourth stage, which is anger. I was unhappy that my parents forced me to move to this unknown place where the people were unfamiliar and the people seemed very rude. The fifth stage that I went through was Bargaining. At this point, I couldn’t deny the fact that the change had already happened, but I was trying to bargain with my parents whether or not we can shorten the amount of time that this move was going to happen. I attempted to get both of my parents to shorten the amount of time that we were going to stay in Hong Kong so I could go back and live the life that I was living before.
The second large change that happened in my pre-college career was that my brother graduated from High School. This one wasn’t as large as when my family moved from Minnesota to Hong Kong, but it was still somewhat hard on me. I also don’t think that it was as hard on me because I was also older, 13 years old at the time, so I was more mature than I was when I was 10 years old. This change is worthy of putting into my blog because as a child, I always thought that my nuclear family, no matter how old we got, we were always going to stay together and live under the same roof. It didn’t occur to me that once my brother graduated, that he was going to move away from the home or nest that we both grew up in, to be on his own, or that I wasn’t going to see him almost every day and fight over who is going to use the family computer. Similar to how in the TV show Family Guy, nobody in that family ages.

Similar to moving to the incident when I moved to Hong Kong, I went through various phases as described in the “Exploring Leadership” book, however I skipped a few. Phase one, stability, was prior to my brother graduating and me thinking that we were always going to live under the same roof and my parents are always going to take care of both my brother and me. I didn’t go through the next 4 phases, Immobilization, Denial, Anger, or Bargaining for there wasn’t enough time for me to between the time my brother graduated to when he left the nest. I went straight to depression because things became very different. I became an only child within the household. My parents focused their attention on me, nagging me to do homework and were generally watching out for their baby boy. After my brother left for a good while, I was able to enter the seventh phase, which is testing. I was able to regain my ground and reformed my goals to become more independent so that my parents wouldn’t need to have to watch out for me as much.
The last big change that affected me happened my freshmen year of high school. What happened was that upon entering my first year of high school, I was given a schedule, which was suppose to be the same for the whole year. Months into the school year, I got used to my schedule, my teachers and more importantly, I got used to my classmates by making friends with various peers. The event that was to happen was that one of my teachers had to stop teaching the section that I was in, completely changing my schedule forcing me to readjust to a new schedule that I didn’t like at all. I wanted to keep the schedule that I was comfortable with since I knew the people in my classes and my teachers. I finished that year extremely salty/bitter about what happened and I hated school and what it did to me.
At this point in the experience, I went through the first six stages, skipping the fifth stage. These stages that I went through were stability, immobilization, denial, anger and depression. Elaborating more on anger and depression, I became extremely angry with the school for forcing me to go through such a change. I didn’t like it and I wished that the school would burn so I wouldn’t have to go through it again. While going through the fourth phase of anger, I was also going through the sixth phase of depression. I didn’t have the energy or motivation to continue to excel in school so I did the bare minimum to pass, which wasn’t acceptable to either of my parents.
My father noticed the toll that this change did on my effort in schoolwork and he decided to take action. He recommended that after my sophomore year, I should go to a boarding school that is smaller and so the teachers get to know me on a more personal basis given that I get accepted. Along with the recommendation of going to boarding school, my father told me to read a very easy-to-read book that helps people put change into perspective. The book is called “Who moved my cheese?” I will elaborate about how this book is significant in my evolution on how I deal with change further down.
I got accepted to the boarding school and I decided to go and try it out. There I was able to appreciate school and I excelled a lot more but I realized that this whole boarding school image wasn’t really for me and I desired to return home. After a semester of being at the boarding school I returned to Hong Kong and continued to go to the school that put me in the slump that I was in two years earlier.

While I was at the boarding school, I was able to officially go through the seventh phase of testing, in all of the major changes that I went through in the time span of 10 years. I was able to realize who I was and who I wanted to become. In the book I noted earlier, “Who Moved My Cheese?” I originally was the character Hem. Hem was someone who hated change and would get in a huge slump and not want to do anything about it, wishing that everything would go back to how it used to be. However what I wanted to become was more like Sniff and Scurry who have no problem with change and know that change happens no matter what so they can continually move on with their lives. Upon returning from boarding school to the place where I was eight months earlier, I was finally able to enter the eighth and final phase in regards to all of my experiences. This final phase is acceptance.
Regarding to my move to Hong Kong, throughout the 8 years that I lived there, I adapted to the lifestyle and the people. I started to love living and being there and even thought about moving back after I graduated from college but if my life didn’t lead to me moving back, then that would’ve been fine too. With my brother graduating from high school and going off to college, graduation was becoming more of a reality for me, and I realized what he went through and was able to accept that he went through the same situation that I was at the time. My last big unpredicted change that happened, I just came to the conclusion that shit happens and unfortunately there’s nothing that I can do about it.
I was able to accept unpredictable changes and I felt like I became a totally different person. I accepted change and I became more and more like Sniff and Scurry who were affected by change but didn’t let those events hurt them negatively. If anything, after going through these different incidents and being able to put a perspective on them, I now constantly seek change to put a variety in my life.

 

You Have Only One Mind Body and Soul…

In our book, Exploring Leadership, by Susan Komives, Nance Lucas, and Timothy McMahon in Chapter 14 speaks of leadership being exhausting, challenging, consuming, and stressful. It reminds me of the need to understand your body, renew yourself and find some kind of sprituallity to avoid burning out. Throughout my academic carreer I have been challenged on various levels. Somehow I been able to keep my G.P.A above most, work a 19 hour a week job, run a college newspaper, attend a 16 hour a week practicum seminar and raise my 7 year old son. Trust me it has not been easy yet its been extremely rewarding. Now that I see graduation in the near distance. I think back to those challenging times that I have been able to overcome and a huge smile lights up my face. I remember my first day on Manoa campus as it was yesterday. I remember the first social work class that I attended. I will keep the teacher anonimous but he did tell us that we always need to make sure we take care of ourselves first or we will be useless to others. He explained that burnout, stress, and loss of intrests happens to many people who do not find time to take care of themselves. He taught me to understand clearly that social work can be extremely rewarding but it can take a lot out of you too.

I never understood what stress was until I found myself in the hospital about a year ago. I was going to school fulltime, attending a mandatory 16 hour a week practicum, working part time 19 hours a week, dealing with my son’s mother and raising him as a single father. My mind was telling me everythings fine however my body did not agree. I broke out with a severve case of hives during finals week. I had a few large papers due but the big one I was worried about was a 20 page research paper which was due in a day. I had everything in place and begun to work on the assignment. My body completely broke out in an itch and hives begun to accumulate all over my body. My hands were so itchy that I felt the need to go to the emergency room. No matter how much I scratched the itch was uncontrolable. Mind you this has never happened to me in my life. I didn’t feel stressed out but my body told me differently. School, work, my practicum and life got the best of me that dayI was overwhelmed without really knowing I was overwhelmed. Today, I understand what Chapter 14 is all about. I realize what stress can do to a person under pressure. I understand what stress can do to people as well as social workers. Leaders are constantly under pressure as well. The ways I deal with stress today have a huge impact on my clients, co-workers, family, but most of all myself. I have learned the hard way about stress and what my stressors can do to me. I have learned always to make sure to take time out for myself. I play darts once a week for relaxation, I walk everytime I start to feel down or angry about something, I have found a higher power whom I speak to everyday, and I make sure to enjoy every moment I can with my son. Kalani spoke today about shapening your saw physically, mentally, spritually and socially.

 As a leader and friend I ask all of you to take care of yourselves. Take a mental day off when things are not going so well for you. Step back and relax when you get overwhelmed. Make time for yourselves because only you can renew yourself. Your mind body and soul deserves it. A hui hou everyone. its been my pleasure being besides you all in our EDEA 360 class. ALOHA

 

Approaching Difficult Changes

Today I am writing my blog about change involving critical issues as discussed in chapter 12 of the book “Exploring Leadership” by Susan Komives, Nance Lucas, and Timothy McMahon.  The book discusses the difficulty in approaching situations where change is critical and the task can seem overwhelming and impossible to begin.  This causes a feeling of hopelessness and often results in no serious changes.  In order to tame a daunting task the book suggests asking yourself some questions about where to focus your efforts and energy and relating them to the Social Change Model.  Which issues are you the most passionate about?  Are you willing to take the time and make the sacrifices to work on these issues?  Are you willing to face the challenges associated with this issue?  Which issues will get the most people interested and involved?  Which issues can you really make an impact?

This topic of approaching difficult tasks that seem very intimidating most reminds me of the predicament that our world is facing today with regards to climate change.  I can relate this overwhelming problem to the approach described in the book on many scales.  People are making efforts to battle climate change by making small changes in their daily lives to global organizations developing emissions goals and environmental policy changes.  I believe this topic to be the most daunting the world has ever faced and requires the greatest effort for people all over the world to come together and change in order to preserve our home.  Many people believe that they are too small to make an impact and don’t know where to begin or are not willing to make the changes that are necessary.

As proposed in the adapted Social Change Model for critical issues a person can begin to make a difference by asking themselves the questions put forth earlier in this blog as pertaining to climate change.  For some people the changes may be small and for others they may be large depending on a persons energy put into it, the sacrifices they are willing to make, the courage they approach the situation with, the amount of people they are able to recruit, and their choice in which issues to focus on.
I believe that because people in general are not willing to change their lifestyle which they have become so accustomed to it is the responsibility of governments around the world to come together and make these tough decisions for them.  The world is approaching a tipping point with regards to climate change similar to that discussed in the beginning of chapter 11 of “Exploring Leadership”.  What I mean by that is that people have been polluting the world for a while now with very few consequences and we are nearing the point where we will be forced to face those consequences.  If the world does not come together and realize that this issue is of the utmost importance and put forth the most energy, involve as many people as possible, and focus on the root of the problem the world will face extremely harsh times.

Here is a link to a trailer for the movie “An Inconvenient Truth”, if you haven’t seen it, you should check it out.  It may seem like fiction or government propaganda, but it’s not.       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XMn_Ry3z6M

 

Understanding Change …. Marc Arakaki

Understanding change and applying it is important for the success of an organization. Although an organization may operate on the basis of certain standards and beliefs, those beliefs are often required to change. If an organization cannot understand change, they will not be successful. In chapter 11, Connor describes five phases of positive response to change.

The first of these phases is called uninformed optimism. This is when the group realizes something needs to be changed and are excited about trying something new. The second stage is informed pessimism. In this phase, the group tries it out and realizes that it may not work. The third phase is hopeful realism. This is when the group starts to see its benefits and starts to have confidence in it. The fourth phase is informed optimism. This is when the group has tried it and moves forward with it. The last phase is completion. This is when the group has established the change and is recruiting new members for the change.

In my organization, the Kalani High Marching Band, we have always had a great balance of music, however our marching has been lacking in recent years. This is a good way Connor’s five phases can be useful. A marching band consists of playing music and marching around the field in precise pictures. In previous years, we have used a certain type of marching that helps everyone be very precise. However, if one person or a small group of people doesn’t do it properly, then it is very noticeable. We realized that something needs to change.

(I chose to use this image because although we may not be changing as an organization, we have to change because our surroundings are changing. If organizations don’t understand change, they will suffer in the long run.)

The band director came up with a solution. This is the first phase called uninformed optimism. The band was uninformed of the change that was to come however, they were optimistic because we understood that change was necessary and was eager to start. After the director introduced it to the student staff and the student staff was able to teach it to the rest of the band, it was faced with a bit of criticism. This is the stage called informed pessimism. The band was informed about the new style of marching, but didn’t like it because it seemed a bit sloppy. However, after practicing it and getting used to the new style, the band noticed that it was easier to more precise. This is the hopeful realism stage where they understand that this could work and is excited to use it.

This is now when the fourth stage, informed optimism comes in. After the band used the style of marching for the whole season, they like it and are well informed about it. The last stage completion is now in the process where we are trying to recruit students for next year that are willing to use the new marching style.

(This is a picture of a college marching band and it is clear how important technique is to be very precise.)

It is very important for your organization to be able to understand change and Connor’s five phases of positive change is a good model to follow.

 

Cheap Amusements….Change: Micah

Exploring Leadership by Susan Komvies, Nance Lucas, and Timothy McMahon discuss the topic of change, and the understanding of change in chapter 11. The importance of this chapter is ever growing, the pace at which the world grows is directly proportional to the change that we, as separate societies, face. The advent of certain technologies has made change a necessity not an option. Conner states that “We no longer simply manage change, we now pursue change.” Knowing that facilitating change can bolster a business, economy, or even culture has become the drive in this pursuit.

Conversely, the fear of change hampers many individuals want to change. The inability to control the specifics of change like the time, outcome, and integration of feeds our fears. So why not simply dismiss change? Because Exploring Leadership tells us that leadership is “a relational and ethical process of people together attempting to accomplish positive change.” By this very definition we, the leaders, are the instruments of change. Leaders are called upon to, as Komives, Lucas, and McMahon mention, “approach change processes with sensitivity and the assumption that people may perceive even the smallest of changes to be monumental.”  In doing so we diminish many of the fears that are associated with change of any size.

Daryl Connor states that the capacity to absorb high levels of change while displaying minimal dysfunctional behavior is the definition of resilience. And it is resilience that helps individuals, economies, and nations deal with change. If change is an inevitability then our willingness to peak outside of our turtle shell to see the possibilities should also be inevitable.

Leaders inevitably face change and hardships; it’s the definition of the job. And the ability to handle, facilitate, and maybe even overcome change is what defines a leader. Many of the negative aspects of change arise from individuals wanting to avoid the unknown, and keep to a normal routine; anthropologists who studies primitive tribes concluded that resistance to change was required to sustain social order and cohesion in groups (O’Toole, 1996), a supporting observation. Human beings, in general, want to control their environments, and some experience an even greater need to be in control of their surroundings (Exploring Leadership).

Exploring Leadership (via O’Toole,1996) discusses six distinct hypothesis  as to why people are resistant to change:

Satisfaction: Being satisfied with the status quo.

Fear: People fear the unknown

Self-Interest: Even if the change benefits others, it may alter their status or perks so they resist

Lack of Self-Confidence: change makes us vulnerable and requires confidence to inspire others to see the possibilities.

Myopia: Not being able to see beyond the present.

Habit: Habits can be positive, but can also inhibit change…

Being in the military, and subsequently under the Department of Homeland Security, is an exciting and rewarding profession but the incidence of change is almost nil. And while there is a lot of red tape, which deters change, the Chiefs are the ones who many times are against it. They are in positions that require a large amount of years served, many times 20 or so. And because of this, habit, satisfaction and fear set in. It has only been in recent years that the Coast Guard has been brought up to speed with technology. The integration of new hardware and software has always been an issue with older generations, and it is no different in the military. Habit begets fear, and 20 years of habit can instill a lot of fear. Whether admitted or not, a change in habit or policy can bring about the fear of losing their position or completely overhauling it. And while the ever-changing world may need the Coast Guard to be a different entity, it falls upon the resilience of the individuals that make up its crews to become that new entity. If those crews resist necessary change the entity becomes obsolete. Being the oldest continuous seagoing service is a testament to the Coast Guards ability to overcome issues of change. So I am sure that given time we will once again be able to move forward and make large strides in the growth of our Department.

Looking at the Coast Guard from the perspective of an individual, such as myself, is completely different. My issue with change stems from a lack of self-confidence. Being in the Guard for such a short period of time doesn’t give me the base that more involved persons have. Everything is new to me, and because of my program I only work one day a week, hardly adequate time to learn the ropes. It is because of this that I am hesitant to step up and participate in goings on around the station. When offered to steer the patrol boat, I politely declined. Fortunately for me my Boatswain insisted that I take the helm, and it turned out to be an incredible experience.

It is moments like these, where we overcome our doubts and fears that we truly show our leadership potential. As individuals and consequently as groups and organizations, we must push past the current satisfactions, fear, self-interest, lack of self-confidence, myopia, and habits that hold us back. Being able to do this increase our resilience; something that we, the harbingers of change rely on.

This has been EDEA360, and in the fall of 2009 we who attended this most noble endeavor, have become LEADERS…. the changers of worlds.