I graduated from Embry-Riddle with by B.S. in Technical
Management in early 2008. The best way that I can describe the program is a
business management degree with a focus on technology and aviation businesses.
However, overall, it is still a general business degree. Though I took a few
random electives and received credit for my military training, most of my
classes focused on managing organizations. When I began graduate school, I
began with work toward my Master in Aeronautical Science. I had a lot invested
in the program when I eventually came to terms with the practicality of my
degree. Eventually, I would like to work for an aeronautical company but I
don’t feel a strong desire to work with the technical side of the industry. I
feel more comfortable with the thought of working on the business side such as
with airport management or airline human resources. That is why I chose to
begin again with a business focused course of study. I debated between a Master
of Business Administration program and the Master of Science in Leadership. I
spent a few weeks researching the differences in the programs and current
market conditions. I ultimately chose the M.S. in Leadership program for two
main reasons. First, the market is flooded with MBAs. Second, I feel that I am
a “people person”. I define a manager as one that optimizes the use of
available resources to maximize production and a leader as one that inspires
others to grow. Leadership just feels like a better fit for me.
Since I already have an academic background in business
and I am still fairly new to the MSLD program, I would have to say that I
haven’t had the opportunity to greatly alter my thinking or to achieve
significant growth in my level of self-awareness. However, that doesn’t mean
that I have not grown at all. There are five main aspects of self-awareness
(Whetton & Cameron, 2016, p. 48-49).They are: emotional intelligence,
personal values, cognitive style, attitude toward change, and core
self-evaluation.
Emotional intelligence is defined as “the ability to
correctly diagnose and manage one’s own emotions and relationships with others”
(Whetton & Cameron, 2016, p. 48). This is the area where I hope to always
achieve significant growth. Through their research, Shrestha and Baniya (2016,
p. 17) made a significant case for showing that a high level of emotional
intelligence directly affects job satisfaction. To me, emotional intelligence
also means an emotional maturity. Salovey and Mayer introduced the concept of
emotional intelligence and define it as “the subset of social intelligence that
involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to
discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and
actions” (1990, p. 189). Since I have learned that there is a direct
correlation between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction, I at least
have recognized that it is an area where I want to grow. I believe that I have
always tried to look inward and control my own emotions but I have been trying
to read how others in my organization are feeling and to let that guide my
management actions. Just as one must engage in active listening, emotional
intelligence is an active process. It does require effort, I have found, but is
a skill that can be developed. Before my enrollment in the MSLD program, I had
actually not yet heard of emotional intelligence so I at least now have a
working knowledge of the concept.
The next aspect of self-awareness is the set of personal
values that I hold. Personal values “help define our morality and our own
conceptions of what is ‘good’” (Whetton & Cameron, 2016, p. 51). Through my
study of leadership, I can’t say that I have experienced much change at all so
far. Though I am fairly new to the program, I am already well established in
life. I am a mere two years from retirement from the military. As a senior
non-commissioned officer, I have developed my own personal values by adopting
the values of my organization (the U.S. Army). However, I have been starting to
consider how those same values will translate to another organization once I
retire in two years. Some of the values that we have are not as relevant in the
business world. For example, I consider loyalty. Other than for financial gain,
what is the incentive for loyalty to an organization? Though one cannot quit
their job Army, as a civilian, it is common for people to constantly be hunting
for the next better opportunity. Though loyalty is a value that I treasure, I
will have to adapt to others not holding the same values.
Though my values have changed very little, one of the
areas where I have seen the most growth with my self-awareness is with my
cognitive style. This is “the manner in which you gather and process
information” (Whetton & Cameron, 2016, p. 48). This is broken into three
main subsets: knowing, planning, and creating. The reason that I say that I
have experienced the most growth here is because there is a very different
approach to leadership than there is to management. There are three main
differences between managers and leaders. The first is that leaders innovate
and managers administer. In other words, the leader is responsible for coming
up with the ideas and the manager is responsible for implementing them. Second,
leaders are able to inspire trust whereas a manager relies on control. This isn't
to say that control is a bad thing. It is simply a tool. The third distinction
is that leaders ask "what" and "why" whereas managers ask
"how" and "when" (Giang, 2012). Since my undergraduate
degree focused on management, I am having to reset how I actually think about
my role within the organization. I can’t just process everything from a management
viewpoint. I have to think differently now.
Next is an attitude toward change. This is how we cope
with a changing environment. “In order to capitalize fully on the strengths of
your own cognitive style, you also should be aware of your orientation toward
change” (Whetton & Cameron, 2016, p. 61). I feel that I have always be a
highly adaptable person. When I was growing up, my father was a Baptist
minister. I am not sure what a real average number of assignments would be for
a military family but I can safely say that we exceeded that average when I was
growing up. People ask all the time where I am from and I have learned to just
answer “everywhere”. As soon as I graduated from high school, I was off to
Basic Training. My nomadic ways never changed. In fact, even today, my drivers
license is from Texas but has my New York City address on it. I’m always ready
for the next move. I love change because it always gives a fresh start. Even
negative change can be an exciting opportunity for a fresh start. In his talk on the TED state, Patrick Awuah
(2007) discusses a major change that he had in his own life and the change that
he is trying to affect on others. Patrick left his job at Mircrosoft to head
back to his homeland of Ghana to start a liberal arts college. He speaks of the
opportunities that come along with change. We all have passions and hopes and
dreams. We have to learn to be willing to accept change and accept risk if we
hope to have gains.
The final element of self-awareness is core
self-evaluation. By analyzing yourself, you will learn how our personality
traits are associated with motivation, creativity, problem solving, satisfaction,
job performance, etc. (Whetton & Cameron, 2016, p. 48). Through the MSLD
program, I have heard about a concept called “The Big Five” in every class that
I have taken thus far. They are neuroticism, extroversion, conscientiousness,
agreeableness, and openness. I am fairly certain that I have even written on
this exact subject in a previous blog on this page. Through my studies in the
MSLD program, I have come to understand that this is a continual process. We
must constantly evaluate ourselves so that we can correct our behaviors as they
occur.
Awuah, P. (2007, Jun). Patrick Awuah: How to educate leaders? Liberal
arts [Video file].
Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/patrick_awuah_on_educating_leaders
Giang, V. (2012). 3
things that separate leaders from managers. Open Forum. Retrieved from https://goo.gl/uKV0ER
Salovey, P., & Mayer,
J. D. (1990). Emotional intelligence. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 9(3), 185–211.
Shrestha, A. K., &
Baniya, R. (2016). Emotional intelligence and employee outcomes: Moderating role of organizational
politics. Business Perspectives and Research, 4(1), 15- 26. doi:10.1177/2278533715605426
Whetten, D., &
Cameron, K. (2016). Developing Management Skills (9th Edition ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
No comments:
Post a Comment