Since I began this Master’s program I have become aware of the
significant changes on how business is run.
I was born in the seventies when business was run from a very hierarchical
perspective. I think of movies such as Nine to Five with Dolly Parton or even
movies from the later eights such as The
Secret of My Success with Michael J. Fox and remember how ‘big business’
use to be run. It’s the image of the big
boss on the top telling people what to do and the little people on the bottom
scrambling to get things done. Then you
have that one employee who defies all rules and creatively finds solutions and
ways to implement them under their bosses’ noses. Those days are slowly coming to an end and we
see companies like Google or people like Hsieh from Zappos who is experimenting
with a concept called "’Holacracy,’ a manager-free operating structure
that is composed, in theory, of equally privileged employees working in
task-specific circles, often overlapping” (Feloni, 2015). I definitely
see a changing trend on how business is run and a change in attitudes from my
grandparents, to my parents and even to my generation. I also am a Navy brat and I have slowly
watched how military leadership has changed over the years. Given in the military change has been slower, I
have seen a few leaders in the military take a different stance in their
decision-making. I know of one
particular Chief in the Air Force who does not take the hard-core top down
attitude towards his men and women but actually tries to incorporate their
ideas and suggestions in his leadership decisions. It is not surprising that he is
well-respected and loved by his subordinates.
I think these changes are occurring because business practices
were becoming stagnant. Today’s
generation is less tolerable of these types of behaviors. We also live in a technological era where we
are all well communicated. Employees no
longer sit in their offices quietly and disgruntledly ranting about their
bosses, now there is the internet where people across the world can post their
unhappiness through forums and blogs. Employees
started to notice that they were not the minority but instead the majority and
begin realizing the power of the masses. We have access now to a wide variety
of opinions and experiences from other people in the field and it gives us
perspective and strength to stand up for ourselves. Leaders today have also become more sensitive
to their environment. Not only has
technology opened up channels of communication but we also have access to more
knowledge and to diversity. Companies
now are not comprised of androgynous groups but instead are comprised of
multicultural groups of individuals of different cultural backgrounds,
religions and races. Leaders who do not
diversify and adapt are criticized and looked down on. Snowden and Boone tell us that “truly adept
leaders know not only how to identify the context they’re working in but also
how to change their behavior to match” (Snowden & Boone, 2007, p. 74).
I whole-heartedly agree with Obolensky’s viewpoint on leadership
and it’s Taoist connection (Obolensky,
2014). The world is in essence
balancing out what was heavily balanced in Yang. Leadership is becoming more flat and
fluid. By understanding the “dynamics of
opposites and paradoxes” as Obolensky explains, we can also strategically lead
by finding a balance between those polarities (2014, p. 494-495). He explains it best by saying that “within polyarchy
leaders need to know how to follow those they lead as well as lead those who
follow” (2014, p. 7).
References
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