What is the most important aspect of academic leadership? I believe the most important aspect of leadership, not specific to academia but certainly applicable to it, is leadership by example. Webster (2011) defines leadership as a “position or office of a leader; the capacity or ability to lead” (p. 423). What is interesting is one of the sub-definitions mentions the words guidance and direction. Although it may be true that leadership can be reflected in a position, and should reflect the capacity to lead, without guidance and direction, leadership may be nothing more than a title. What is missing from the definition (and often the discussion) of leadership is the idea of situational awareness (SA). A talented leader will look at organizational performance, individual performance (to provide feedback), and even use performance criteria to hire new personnel. In fact, “Employers often want to detail the activities of the workplace to determine what type of personnel is needed or why some employees are unhappy working in the setting” (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2009, p. 504).
I first heard the term situational awareness in flight school. In pilot training, SA was described as understanding the position of the aircraft, where other aircraft where, and the environmental factors (fuel state, altitude, thrust available versus thrust required, angle of attack, G-forces, etc.) that affected aircraft and pilot performance. A more generic definition states situational awareness is “the continuous extraction of environmental information along with integration of this information with previous knowledge to form a coherent mental picture, and the end use of that mental picture in directing further perception and anticipating future need” (Dominguez, Vidulich, Vogel, & McMillan, 1994, p. 15). A leader who cannot grasp the context of the situation, regardless of how well equipped with models or academic training, will often fail to lead the unit to a successful finish.
In reference to leadership, I reflect on my time as a leader in the military, as an Area Chair at University of Phoenix (UPX), and as the president of a large homeowners association (HOA). The military experience—from a flying squadron commander to a deployed mission commander in Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom—formed my perspective of leadership. It is through this experiential lens that I view my current positions of leading collegiate faculty, the president of a large neighborhood association, and leadership in the classroom. I have witnessed what strong leadership can do to a workforce, especially under the most grueling mental and physical conditions. I have also witnessed what a lack of leadership can do, even in the most benign educational or residential environments. From these experiences, I have developed a definition of leadership that reflects the concept of leading by example.
Leadership by example—although a simple sounding idea—is the way I describe my style. The values I have developed and refined reflect my own epistemology yet closely align with the trait-based approach to leadership. The leadership elements described by Kirkpatrick and Locke (1991) of drive, motivation, integrity, confidence, cognitive ability, and task knowledge begin to illustrate my personal leadership model. To infuse my trait-based leadership model with the lifeblood to make it work, I use something similar to the Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) model. I believe the situation (both the circumstances and the people) are critical pieces to the leadership equation and the LMX model “…tells us to be aware of how we relate to our subordinates” (Northouse, 2010, p. 158). The penultimate part of the leadership model is a fusion of several ideas—team and transformational leadership. The concept of team leadership is an amalgamation of several ideas that could be termed authentic transformational leadership. It “treats leadership as a process that occurs between followers and leaders [with] …relational transparency on the part of the leader working with the follower(s)” (Northouse, p. 216).
The final piece to my leadership model specifically focuses on the followers. While the LMX model and team leadership cover the leader/follower relationship, I look at the followers through a slightly different lens than the LMX or team model. I like the description put forth by Michael Banutu-Gomez (2004) that “Great leaders teach exemplary followership and serve as servant leaders. To succeed, leaders must teach their followers not only how to lead: leadership, but more importantly, how to be a good follower: followership” (p. 143). This idea is why I believe the leader—especially in a team setting—should set the example and train his or her replacement. It is not about the crisis du jour, it is about the current task
and the tasks on the horizon. Leadership by example is leadership based on solid situation awareness and has helped me lead widely different organizations.
I cannot think of a better way to set the standard for peers, subordinates (and superiors), neighborhoods, and students than by setting an exceptional example. Setting an example worthy of emulation means passing on lessons learned, providing guidance based on strong SA, and the drive to do the work that is asked of others (the walk the walk idea). It means helping people use their talents to complete a task and thus grow during the process. Whether a commander, a teacher, or the president of the company, leaders have an obligation to act as the conduit for growth and learning. Ultimately, it is about modeling the desired behavior—it is about leading by example—and it is not always easy.
A successful leader is conscious of the status quo and increases his or her SA by proving the utility of an approach, not arbitrarily sticking with the current method. In the end, what a “leader systematically pays attention to communicates [his or her] major beliefs” (Shein, 1997, para.7). If, as instructors and leaders, we actively look for better ways to run the classroom and communicate the learning objectives, most of the students will follow.
Reference
Banutu, M. (2004). Great leaders teach exemplary followership and serve as servant leaders. Journal of American Academy of Business, 4(2), 143-155.
Dominguez, C., Vidulich, M., Vogel, E., & McMillan, G. (1994). Situation awareness: Papers and annotated bibliography. Armstrong Laboratory, Human System Center, 1(85), 1-18.
Kaplan, R., & Saccuzzo, D. (2009). Psychological testing: Principles, applications, and issues (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Kirkpatrick, S., & Locke, E. (1991). Leadership: Do traits matter? Academy of Management Executives, 5(2), 48-60.
Merriam-Webster (2011). Merriam-webster dictionary. Springfield, MA.
Northouse, P. G. (2010). Leadership: Theory and practice (5th ed.). London: Sage.
Shein, E. (1997, October). Organizational culture and leadership. Retrieved from
www.tnellen.com/ted/tc/schein.htmlHow do you model this in the classroom? It may sound simplistic but I try and model this behavior using the idea of time. I show up to class early, return thorough feedback as quickly as possible, and harp on time management during the class. Many of the problems I see with students reflect poor time management and inadequate levels of grit. There is a tendency to procrastinate and/or give up at the slightest sign of adversity. When the students find they are up against a deadline, several things can occur. One of those is the temptation to cut and paste. When time is short, the ability to sit and think about a topic is limited and this is where I often see plagiarized work. Second, if work is put off to the last minute, any delay becomes catastrophic. How often is technology brought up as an excuse--my computer or Internet failed. Well, that may be but had the work been done before 11:59pm, then a minor issue could have been easily overcome and would not be a major setback. The way I describe this is, students tend to leave themselves no wiggle room!
What could the humanities section at the Chattanooga campus do to improve our classroom performance vis-a-vis leadership? This is more in the realm of others to answer but I will say, one of the main charges I think I have as an LFAC is to communicate. If I do not communicate campus happenings, then how can expect others to be up on current topics, training, or changes. That is why I send frequent email communications and have tried to develop other ways to communicate (like this forum) that work without face-to-face meetings. That said, I do not plan to eliminate the face to face function of our CAMs and we will hold a face to face CAM in conjunction with the November and April 2014 GFM (currently scheduled for 2 November and 5 April 2014).
