Wk 1 Responses-150-200 words requirement
Larry
I was always told since I was younger that because I had gray hair I was wise beyond my years, looking back I did not understand that then as much as I do now. I have been in some form of leadership for the last 10 years. I have also, been involved in some situations that tested my judgment and wisdom. I didn’t realize how much people leaned on leaders and expect us to stand firm and have thick skin. Brings to a situation with a 10th-grade scholar whose parents were upset because of the grade a student received. The father begin to scream and was visibly upset. I could tell that the scholar was getting nervous. I asked if the student were ok to leave and go home with them and they replied no. I was able to contact the Department of Child Services, and get the student some help.
This may seem small but in the world, we live in I feel like I used good judgment and wisdom from some past situations that I decided to remain quit on, and caused some people to get hurt. Being Dean of Students is hard because you have to make a lot of judgement calls dealing with family issues for the scholars. Being a father you realize that its also hard raising a teenager in this day and age. But you have to have the wisdom to separate the two. There is a prayer called ” the serenity prayer” and it reads: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can change and the wisdom to know the difference. Have to have the wisdom.
Mary
Five years ago, department leadership redefined my job, and I took on the administration of two billing applications for the firm. The person from whom I was inheriting this responsibility was going to train me. It became the worst two and half year struggle I have ever experienced in my professional career.
To begin with, the person training me has an entirely different communication style than I do. She was very much a process-driven person. She was reluctant to hand the responsibility off unless I was performing each function EXACTLY the way she did. This was incredibly frustrating to me. I am used to working independently, and this person insisted I justify everything I did and every minute spent on administering these systems. To say she was a micromanager is an understatement.
After some time had passed with us working together, things evolved to where she was undermining my communications with my internal clients and fellow team members and inserting herself into situations I was already dealing with. This constant involvement in my tasks discredited my abilities to my clients, and it was wearing heavily on my attitude.
As frustrated as I was, I refused to abandon the process and quit working with her. I felt that my leaving would cripple the process for the firm, and I would not let her win by running me out. After two and half years of this misery, my boss’ boss finally stepped in and removed us from working with each other. I did not lose any face with this decision as I was determined to remain dedicated to the process and to contribute to preserving the integrity of the department’s responsiveness and willingness to propose solutions to our clients. My wisdom allowed me to weigh quitting the process altogether and getting away from this person or persevering through it to protect the integrity of the process and service to our clients. It allowed me to keep my reputation intact while providing exceptional experiences to my internal clients. Wise leaders create a climate of trust through personal integrity (Ellis, 2020, para. 11). It was tough, but it paid off. By demonstrating the ability to put others’ needs before mine, I could differentiate myself as a logical, practical leader who looks to the good of the firm rather than for personal benefit. Wise leaders look beyond self-interest and focus on the common good (Thompson, 2013).
References
Ellis, C. (2020, July 6). The Pillars of Leadership Wisdom. University of Chicago Center for Practical Wisdom. https://wisdomcenter.uchicago.edu/news/discussions/pillars-leadership-wisdom
Thompson, M. (2013, April 15). What Does Wise Leadership Mean? IEDP Developing Leaders. https://www.iedp.com/articles/what-does-wise-leadership-mean/
