As promised, I will make blog entries the same as you. This way we can all feel like we are all participating and working together.
For my first text post, I will focus on the Preface to our text, Leading at the Edge. At the end of the “Preface” is a section called “Expedition Log.” Here our author, Perkins, asks if we have ever been in a situation in which we were “stretched to [our] limits of performance or endurance” (xix).
I do have a very dramatic survival story of an experience in Antarctica (Nankyoku Tairiku in Japanese) that involved trying to climb a high mountain and getting lost in a storm in extremely severe conditions. I’ll share this later but you can click here if this interests you now.
But I have to admit that my current job, simply being the Assistant Director of the ELA has been surprisingly challenging. The instructors all come from different nationalities and cultures and everyone seems to have a strong opinion about everything. For the last couple of years we have been undergoing a reform process, and all these different points of view along with a great deal of factionalism have created a highly charged political working environment.
What has helped me get through this situation?
Empathy. Trying my best to listen and understand the various points of view has been very important. Everyone wants to feel like they are being heard.
Trustworthiness. Creating trust involves being honest, protecting the confidentiality of others, and trying always to do what I say I will do.
Optimism. Maintaining my optimism has been critical to both success and my sense of well being. There are occasional very bad days, and weeks, and even terms, but knowing that better times are ahead has kept me focused on going forward.
These three qualities—empathy, trustworthiness, and optimism—have helped me enormously. But these qualities do not necessarily come naturally, and I have had to constantly work at it.
So that is my first text post. I now look forward to hearing from you your reactions to our text and other related experiences you wish to share. For a text related post, consider responding to the same question that I have above, that is, have you been in a situation in which you were “stretched to [your] limits of performance or endurance”?
Ken,
ReplyDeleteI also believe the three qualities you mentioned (empathy, trustworthiness, and optimism) are key to overcoming obstacles when it comes to human relationships, especially in the context of organizations. I feel that some cultures especially those with extreme hierarchies, sometimes don't accept this kind of leadership, and rather idealize leaders who don't listen to their peers and use pessimism instead to try and motivate them. My opinion is that these three qualities are universally effective in creating good relationships, but cultural values are blocking it. Although one could say that using pessimism is effective because it makes workers work harder in some way, I would defend my opinion by bringing scientific evidence of how workers are motivated (for example using references from the book Drive by Daniel Pink).
Tak
Hi Tak,
ReplyDeleteNicely stated, and I believe we are building a set of questions that we need to ask actual leaders who have succeeded in Japanese environments, namely ICU President Hibiya and the former chair of IBM Asia, Kitashiro-san. And I love that your referenced Drive by Dan Pink!