Great leadership behavior includes encouraging the heart. It has great benefits on both a personal and organizational level. Encouraging the heart can build positive working relationships which can help to increase productivity. Encouraging the heart is important to boost employee’s confidence and trust in you, it can increase productivity and satisfaction. Encouragement is personal and positive, it strengthens trust between leaders and their constituents. Leaders should find out the types of encouragement that make the most difference among employees. A positive work environment and positive emotion can multiply enthusiasm and commitments. This also makes the leader’s job easier because it makes people want to work. Encouraging the heart can have a supportive effect on employees by reducing stress levels. “Exemplary leaders elicit high performance because they firmly believe in the abilities of their constituents to achieve even the most challenging goals. That’s because positive expectations profoundly influence not only your constituents’ aspirations but also, often unconsciously, how you behave towards them” (Kouses, J. M. & Posner, B. Z. 2016).

Take a look at this great article on Encouraging the heart:  http://www.leadershipchallenge.com/resource/encouraging-the-heart.aspx

As a leader, to be positive and encouraging you should focus on your language with constituents. Focus on what will work, rather than what won’t. Celebrate small wins often, recognizing small wins allows people to recognize progress which encourages people to keep going. “Believing in others is an extraordinarily powerful force in propelling greater performance”(Kouses, J. M. & Posner, B. Z. 2016).

Feeling good about one’s work and accomplishments feeds one engagement which feeds productivity. In one of my positions, one of my superiors always led by encouraging the heart. She encouraged me all the time and gave me a lot of advice in regards to the position and for my future goals. She became a great mentor for me. She also always expressed her gratitude for my hard work often. I grew to have trust and respect for her because of this. She always stated how much she appreciated me and was a great example of leadership.

How often should leaders Encourage the heart? Are there limits?

References

Kouses, J. M. & Posner, B. Z. (2016). The leadership challenge: How to make extraordinary things happen in organizations, 6^th ed. Hobocken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

http://www.leadershipchallenge.com/resource/encouraging-the-heart.aspx

As a leader of an organization, one must be well rounded with the four frames, it helps you to keep your approach to leadership open and flexible.  In the future, I hope to be a director of student services or student life. By nature, I am a very organized person. I would have clearly defined goals, structure, appropriate and effective technology, and specified roles amongst the team. I will coordinate using the structural frame, and implement strategies on how the department will be run and how to meet yearly goals. I identify most with the human resource frame. As a leader, I will be a supportive and empowering one. I will create professional development opportunities and be responsive to employee needs. I would make sure to create a free-spirited workspace, that way both the organization and people would benefit. Employees will be more productive, innovative and will go out of their way to get the job done. As a leader I also believe that it is important to have a shared vision,  I want my employees to be able to view my vision, believe in it and want to be productive toward that vision. “Exemplary leaders don’t impose their vision of the future on people; they liberate the visions that are already stirring in their constituents. they awaken dreams, breathe life into them, and arouse the belief that people can achieve something grand” (Kouses, J. & Posner, B. 2016, p 120). What tends to pull people forward and join in the shared visions is when they feel as though they can make a great difference in the lives of their families, friends, colleagues, customers, and communities. They want to know what they do matters. As a leader, I will make sure that each and every member of the team know how important and meaningful their personal work means to the organization. “To encourage people to do their best, you should be able to recognize their achievements and make them feel trusted and valued. It has to be personal, precise, and visible. Staff members often become frustrated and feel unappreciated when leaders do not recognize their hard work. Recognition is important and definitely has an influence on productivity. Leaders should acknowledge people creatively for their contributions (Kouses, J. & Posner, B. 2016).  I hope to have a diverse team and with diverse team members will have differences in value, beliefs, information, interests, and perceptions of reality. With that being said, I would give each persona responsibility where they will have power on the decision being made. 

Check out this article on Understanding Organization using the four frame model: https://www.psycholawlogy.com/2013/05/31/understanding-organizations-using-the-four-frame-model-factories-or-machines-structure-family-human-resources-jungle-politics-and-theatres-temples-or-carnivals-symbols/

How can we assure that leaders are effective? Should leaders be required to undergo training before accepting a leadership position?

References

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2013). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, & leadership, 5^th ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Kouses, J. M. & Posner, B. Z. (2016). The leadership challenge: How to make extraordinary things happen in organizations, 6^th ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The political frame plays a huge role in educational organizations. Many different people within educational institutions have various sources of power which all play a part in education through the chain of command. Different individual and interest groups make up organizations. Members will have differences in value, beliefs, information, interests, and perceptions of reality. “The political frame views organizations as roiling arenas, hosting ongoing contests of individual and group interests” (Bolman L. & Deal T. p 188, 2013). Some policy decisions can cause uprisings and unrest. “A jaunted view of politics constitutes a serious threat to individual and organizational effectiveness” (Bolman L. & Deal T. p 184, 2013). The Political Frame puts politics at the heart of decision making.

As a leader you should stand for something, believe in something and care about something. You have to find your authentic voice. Leaders who model the way exhibit two key behaviors. They “Clarify Their Values” and “Set an Example.” Their actions are aligned with their values. Leaders clarify values by finding their voice and affirming shared values. Leaders set the example by aligning actions with shared values. People first follow the person, then the plan.

At the beginning of your leadership journey, it is essential that you clarify your values. To be an exemplary leader it is required that you fully understand your deeply held values, beliefs, standards, and ethics. “You have to freely, honestly, choose those principles you will use to guide your decisions and actions. You have to express your authentic self, genuinely communicating beliefs in ways that uniquely represent who you are.”If you fail to express your values through words and actions, you can weaken your teams’ engagement and effectiveness”(Kouzes and Posner, 2016). People on the team will not know what beliefs and values should guide their actions when encountering daily challenges.

Next, as a leader, you must set the example,  no one will believe that you’re serious until they see you are doing what you’re asking of others. “Being an exemplary leader requires you to live the values. You have to put into action what you and others stand for. You have to be the example for others to follow” (Kouzes and Posner, 2016). As a leader, you have to educate your constituents about what the organization stands for, why certain things matter and how they can authentically serve the organization. In order to effectively set the example leaders must live the shared values and teach others to model the values.

Until reading about “Model The Way ” I have always thought leadership was something some people were born with and others just didn’t have what it takes. We all have some sort of leadership qualities but it is an ongoing process to develop ourselves as a leader, and if we do not take on the leadership challenges presented to us on a daily basis we cannot get better at it. Leadership is not about personality; it’s about behavior. Kouzes and Posner’s concept of the Model the Way showcases necessary behaviors we can exhibit to be an exemplary leader.

Take a look at this  great article on 5 practices of exemplary leadership: https://www.success.com/5-practices-of-exemplary-leadership/

What some ways in which you would express your values to the team?

Reference

Kouses, J. M. & Posner, B. Z. (2016). The leadership challenge: How to make extraordinary things happen in organizations, 6^thed. Hobocken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.