Knowledgeable

Understand and apply the theoretical concepts of leadership, organizational behavior, and systems and evaluate their effectiveness in leading change initiatives.

ARTIFACTS

REFLECTION

LDRS 801 Theoretical Foundations of Leadership is included as one of three core courses within the FHSU MPS OL program and is one of the courses determined by the Leadership Studies Department to reflect achievement of the knowledgeable learning objectives. I believe this course has been aptly titled. It was my first course within the graduate program (for which I am extremely grateful). LDRS 801 absolutely provided the foundation for not only achieving the objectives of the knowledge learning goal but also for my success within the entire program. There are so many artifacts that could have been included to support attainment of this objective; however, I have limited to the few which I believe most effectively portray the achievement.

The knowledge obtained regarding leadership is distinctly exemplified when comparing and contrasting the pretest concept map paper with the posttest concept map paper and rubric. My pretest paper narrowly portrayed leadership through placement of leadership at the top of the map with all influence emanating from it. As Waldman et al. (2011) described my portrayal of leadership was “largely narcissistic in nature…characterized by self-interest” with “an over-emphasis on the leader” (p. 61). In contrast, the posttest paper places leadership in the center of the map defined by Rost (1993) as an influential relationship between people who have a mutual purpose and intend real change. These artifacts reflect the significant evolution of my understanding of leadership at the beginning of the course compared to that at the end.

While LDRS 801 was my first graduate course in the leadership program, it was impactful. For nearly 30 years I was a Theory X manager. There has been a transition over the last several years; however, the MPS OL program (LDRS 801 specifically) has more fully opened my mind to the importance and value of Theory Y (Warner Burke, 2011). I am excited about this change. I am excited about self-fulfilling prophecy and the positive impact it has. I am excited about altering my biases, perceptions, and paradigms. Each of these alterations increases my ability to positively impact myself and those I lead.

Another significant artifact included for this learning objective is the final exam for LDRS 802 Organizational Systems, Change and Leadership which is a concentration course within the program. The final exam includes a concept map of the inclusivity, impact and application of systems thinking. Additionally, this artifact supports the achievement of understanding and applying concepts of organizational behavior as it relates to the effectiveness of leading change initiatives.

In reflecting on the experiences of LDRS 802 and the final exam, I believe it provided an amazing opportunity to critically apply systems thinking in a practical sense to a living organization. In his book Productive Workplaces Weisbord (2012) lays a foundation for the value of systems thinking, organizational learning and how they relate to the learning organization: “Knowledge and skill can’t be pumped into people the way traditional schools have done it. They can be mastered only by collaborative work on the job. That requires the learner’s direct involvement.” (p. 197). However, what about those who find themselves employed by an organization with silos of “collaborative work” or perhaps organizations without “collaborative work” at all?

Those organizational silos are where I found myself during my time as a pupil in LDRS 802. The final exam provided an opportunity to compile the knowledge obtained regarding systems thinking while evaluating the weaknesses improved as a result of the final project and executive summary. I experienced improvement in my tolerance for ambiguity, patience for nearsighted upper leadership and increased insight into the motives and perspectives of others.

Further personal development included expansion of my critical thinking skill, cultural awareness, and personal action learning skill (Bennet & Bennet, 2008). In applying these newly identified learnings I found my team relationships significantly improved. My cultural awareness became more closely aligned with the diversity of the team I was overseeing which also improved my interpersonal relations throughout my assigned market.

While I am a novice of systems thinking LDRS 802 created an understanding for and appreciation of creating a productive workplace by building dignity, meaning and community through “changing ourselves” (Weisbord, 2012, p. xxxvii) (i.e., changing myself). Organizations are affected by incivility but in healthcare it is of particular concern because it can negatively impact patient outcomes, increase medical errors, and decrease the quality of care a patient receives (Nikstaitis & Simko, 2014). In 2001 it is estimated that $23.8 million was spent annually in the United States to cover expenses related to uncivil behavior (Laschinger, Cummings, Wong, & Grau, 2014). These expenses include those related to absenteeism, loss of productivity, altered workload and activity impairment (Levtak & Buck, 2008). Our team works in the healthcare setting and holds the potential to indirectly impact the patient experience.

Due to the knowledge gained and experiences in LDRS 802, I prepared a Civility and Respect presentation to be shared with our department in our quarterly meeting October 2022. This preparation was met with pushback from the leadership team (of which I am currently a part) which took me by total surprise. Since our leadership group had recently attended a similar presentation I expected my idea/presentation to be met with enthusiasm and support. Unfortunately, it was first met with silence followed by much criticism. I believe my experiences within my prior organization and those surrounding projects as included in LDRS 802 helped buffer the reality of the response compared to what I anticipated. In the end, after much discussion, additional input from the team and individual follow-up from informal channels the team did embrace the idea and approved the revised presentation for the October call. The presentation was welcomed by the team and I received several compliments on the topic and how it was presented.

The final artifact selected for inclusion within this objective is the Organizational Intervention plan for developing leader(ship) within a defined organization. This artifact was selected from coursework completed in LDRS 811 Organizational Intervention Strategies which is another concentration course and portrays achievement of evaluating necessary change initiatives and their implementation. Through completion of this artifact, I analyzed the learning needs, readiness, available strategies, and assessment activities to be used to promote development of leader/leadership for the organization where I was employed at the time.

This artifact provided opportunity to use knowledge gained from prior MPS OL courses and express that knowledge as a culminating display of my understanding of leadership theories and concepts. A couple areas of personal opportunity were identified through completion of the final intervention plan. The first is the need to build interpersonal relationships within my organization. The second opportunity lies in improving my ability to build bonds, be a catalyst for change, and improve my skills in conflict management to promote a transition to a social capital perspective as outlined by Day (2000).

Effective leadership is a lifetime pursuit and in consideration of that pursuit the following goals are included in my personal development plan:

Goal #1:

Continue seeking out opportunities to initiate the Pygmalion effect with individuals within my currently assigned team at least three times/week. By the end of 2023 KPI reporting will reflect decreases in DRG mismatch rate, increases DRG accuracy and coding quality scores, and improvement in HAC/PSI reporting for various individual team members as applicable compared to these same individuals’ KPI metric reporting from 2022.

Goal #2:

By the end of 2023 build my leadership social network within my current company/position by developing relationships with at least three other leaders within my current department and those departments I routinely interact with. Begin with weekly contact with first targeted leader and create communication channels so that within six months we are communicating a minimum of twice per week. Continue this approach with remaining targets while maintaining relationship with initial target.

References

Bennet, A. & Bennet, D. (2008) A new change model: Factors for initiating and implementing personal action learning. VINE, 38(4), 378 - 387. https://doi.org/10.1108/030720810917633

Day, D. V. (2000). Leadership development: A review in context. The Leadership Quarterly, 11(4), 581-613. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1048-9843(00)00061-8

Laschinger, H. K., Cummings, G. G., Wong, C. A., Grau, A. L (2014). Resonant leadership and workplace empowerment: The value of positive organizational cultures in reducing workplace incivility. Nursing Economics, 32(1), 5-15,44.

Letvak, S. & Buck, R. (2008). Factors influencing work productivity and intent to stay in nursing. Nursing Economics, 26(3), 159-163.

Nikstaitis, T. & Simko, L. C. (2014). Incivility among intensive care nurses. Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing, 33(5), 293-301.

Rost, J. C. (1993). In Leadership for the twenty-First Century (pp. 97–128). essay, Praeger.

Warner Burke, W. (2011). On the legacy of theory Y. Journal of Management History, 17(2), 193-201. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/17511341111112596

Waldman, D. A., Balthazard, P. A., & Peterson, S. J. (2011). Leadership and neuroscience: Can we revolutionize the way that inspirational leaders are identified and developed? Academy of Management Perspectives, 25, 60-74.

Weisbord, M. (2012). Productive workplaces: Dignity, meaning, and community in the 21^st century. (3^rd ed.) San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.