As I struggled to fill a role on a team working in a rural town in Louisiana after the hurricanes, I became brutally aware that the cultural climate was something I had never experienced before. Folks were not motivated by time; instruction sheets for building projects were not important; my witty approach to solving problems was not accepted with a smile.
Working in an environment which appears culturally similar but in all actuality operated by completely different norms changed the way I view leadership - my leadership style, to be more specific.
I have never accepted the notion that a singular model for leadership exists - I feel there are so many ways folks can be effective as leaders that fall out of the normal models. That being said, I not only think it is impossible for a model to accompany a culturally pluralistic environment, rather a model cannot adequately encompass different types of leaders - too many variables exist. Even vague, value-based frameworks are inadequate in adjusting for the values of different cultures, folks from different walks of life, or the various types of leaders necessary to make a group function well.
In Louisiana, the goal-oriented approach that guides my leadership style crumbled beneath my work. As I readjusted to the cultural climate that valued relationships, stories, and slow-but-steady work ethics, I dropped the model for leading that was engrained into my persynality. I had to consider the culture before following the leadership suit.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Jenn,
I love that your post completely plays on my mentioning of the needs assessment. You have to assess the group of people you will be working with before you can effectively lead them. I think it's amazing that you were able to readjust your leading style to most benefit the people you were working with, that is an amazing quality and hard to come by.
I am glad that you paid attention to the response that you received for the way you wanted to work to solve problems. You noticed that it wasn't a positive response, so you proceeded to step out of your comfort zone and drop the style you were "used" to. I did notice in your post that you said that people can be effective as leaders that fall out of the normal models. However, what is "normal"?
Post a Comment