360° leader reflection
While learning about the 360º learner model, there were a few sections that I felt very moved by, and felt a personal connection with. I think these key takeaways can make a large impact on my learning and my experience in the TALONS program.
One of the most impactful parts of the 360° leader book for me was the concept of the leadership loop. I think this tool highlights at base values what you need to be a leader. I feel that people can sometimes be too focused on what tiny improvements they can make to tweak their leadership style, but forget to maintain the core principles that are required to lead. For me, it is a good reminder that as long as I stick to the five principles in the leadership loop, I can succeed as a leader, and that while honing your skills is very beneficial, it is not valuable until you have mastered these principles. I like how the loop shows the natural progression of leadership, starting with caring, then learning, appreciating, contributing, verbalizing, leading, and succeeding. I find it interesting too that leadership is all the way down at number six. I think most people would assume that leadership should be one of the first parts of the cycle, but they don’t realize that you have to build up a strong foundation if you want to be a good leader. You need those strong connections with people in order for them to listen to you and respect you. I think this idea relates well to my learning in TALONS. Since everybody wants to be a leader, everybody tries to be a leader, which usually ends up being more cumbersome than advantageous. I think I struggled with influencing people at first in the program, because I didn’t take the time to build up that strong foundation that is really needed before you can consider your role as a leader.
Another really meaningful section was regarding the position myth, and the five levels of leadership. I always thought that if you are in a high position of leadership, then people will follow you. This is a myth that I have believed for most of my life, and I am only now finding out its lack of validity. The concept: “I can’t lead if I am not at the top” is such a harmful myth, because it discourages so m any people from trying to lead up. If people think they have to be on top to lead, then they will do all in there power to get to the top, and once they do, they will realize that they have no idea how to do it. I think Mr. Maxwell highlighted this fact well in the five levels of leadership: Rights, Relationships, Results, Reproduction, and Respect. I liked how this section was organized into a staircase to show the different levels of leadership are important. It also shows that while respect is the highest level, you need reproduction to gain respect, results to gain reproduction, and so on, and so forth. This idea stuck with me because I feel that it also has a great deal of impact on my life and my learning in TALONS. Not only do I often have a low level of position in the program, but I am also required to lead from that position. “To do nothing in the middle is to create more weight for the tip leader to move. For some leaders – it might even feel like dead weight. Leaders in the middle can have a profound effect on an organization.” – David Branker (Maxwell, 2006) I think this quote is a good reminder to me that leadership is a choice you make and not a place you sit. This concept continues to motivate me to be a leader no matter my position of influence.
Lastly, I was very moved by the issue of the vision challenge, “Championing the vision is more difficult when you didn’t create it” (Maxwell, 2006) This section really stood out to me as it is something I struggle with a lot. I like to be in control of the vision, and I find it hard to follow other’s visions if I did not create them. This is a big struggle of mine, especially in TALONS, because you often have to compromise with other people, and let them take the lead, even if you think your plan is better. In the book, Maxwell states that the key to navigating the vision challenge is that “the more you invest in the vision, the more it becomes your own.” (Maxwell, 2006) I really like this quote because it gave me a new way of thinking about the challenge. Why should I withdraw from the idea because it is not my own, when the only way to make it my own is to adapt to it and champion it? Maxwell also highlights some ways that people respond to the vision challenge that I have been guilty of many times. Most notably, I have found myself ignoring the vision, and instead, carrying out my own plan on my own. This has happened in the past when I felt that my vision was better than the main leaders, but I felt that it would be more efficient to just do it on my own than go through the process of debate. I see now that I should’ve been more open-minded and tried to champion their vision rather than ignoring it.