Gender Differences in Servant Leadership - Essay Example

 I currently work for Zayed University in the human resources department as a recruiter and development consultant. Zayed University is an innovative university which was founded in 1998, and currently has campuses in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The student body of this University is comprised of 7,121 males and females from 19 different countries. The University has undergraduate areas of study in the departments of Arts and Sciences, Business Sciences, Communication and Media Sciences, Education and Information Technology. The University segregates male and female students. On the Dubai Al-Ruwayyah Campus, the males and the females attend classes during different times. On the Abu Dhabi Khalifa City Campus, males and females attend separate campuses. The University is currently accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, which is one of six regional accrediting bodies in the United States. The University has been accredited by this body since 2008. The accrediting process runs for five years, and Zayed University expects to become re-accredited in 2013. The University, in addition to providing a multitude of undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees, also provides other programs for professional development. One of these programs is the work readiness program, which assists UAE national with educational and professional skills which are necessary for their employment. The skills which are taught with this program include workforce preparation, communication skills, interpersonal skills, management skills, decision-making skills and customer service skills. Program in social entrepreneurship is another program offered by the University. This program is for those in the public sector who are looking for business practices which are used in the private sector, to help their organization perform and grow. Therefore organizations which are in the government and social sector may be assisted with training and development ideas which are developed from the private sector. Included in the skills which are taught in this program is idea evaluation, social business planning, social impact assessment, managing a social enterprise, and leadership. Another program is the program for the development of human capital. This program assists those who might be marginalized in the employment sectors, as well as those who are seeking to switch careers. This program helps by focusing on the target groups by evaluating the individuals’ aptitudes and skills, designing and delivering focused training, placing students with employers and assessing, post-employment, the fit between the person and the work environment. Also included in the development of human capital rubric is the professional development program, which seeks to enhance English language skills, provides information technology programs and essential business effectiveness programs, as well as specialized development programs. Organizational needs analysis is another area provided by the University, and this is a program which helps organizations design a professional development strategy. A program in the English Language is another critical part of the program. Additionally, the University provides programs which seek to provide certificates for internationally recognized training programs, such as the Institute of Leadership and Management, which provides qualifications for individuals for all aspects of leadership and management, along with coaching and mentoring, HR and enterprise. The School of Finance also offers international degrees, as well as the Society for Human Resource Management and the Institute of Management Accountants. In my job as a recruiter and development consultant, I recruit new students, as well as individuals are who are interested in our programs. This involves community outreach, as I look for individuals who are in need of programs to help them find employment or develop professionally, as well as work with organizations who are in need of these services. I work with the human resource departments of major corporations, and help the college provide services to them through our professional development programs. I also help to develop the existing programs, as well as develop new programs which help serve the community. The organizational issue which I will focus on deals with group dynamics. As a recruiter, I work as a part of a team which has the common goal of recruiting individuals and organizations to either use our professional development programs to enhance their goals or to enroll in a program of study, both undergraduate and graduate. The team works as a unit. The issue is that the team is revolving, which means that different people go to different teams on a regular basis. Moreover, there is some turnover on the team, in that there are new people who are hired to join the team and people are departing. This issue was selected, because it is a common issue with organizations and teams. Teams are usually dynamic and always changing, not just in our organization, but in many organizations. The culture of any given team is going to be different from the culture of another given team, and everybody has to find a way to work with one another, as well as get used to adapting to different teams and different leadership styles. Leadership is also another issue with these ever evolving teams, because it is helpful for the group to have a leader, yet, because the teams are dynamic, it is sometimes difficult for any one person to be a leader of the team. The pinpointed issue is why do the different teams cultures change, and how can the team members adapt to it. Moreover, how can one person lead the team when the teams are always changing? The analysis of the problem begins by examining Bruce Tuckman, who formulated a group theory in 1965. Tuckman states that every group goes through four processes, called forming, storming, norming and performing. When a group goes through the forming process, the group is formed for the first time and the members get oriented with one another. Conflict emerges in the second process, which is known as storming. With norming, the group members get used to one another – their styles of communication, their quirks and foibles and their level of work ethic. It is at this time that the group begins to become more cohesive and function better. Performing is the next process, and this is where the newly-coherent group works on task and completes the work to which it was assigned (Tuckman & Jensen, 1977). According to Oemig et al, the performing element is assisted by group awareness. This is where every member of the group gets to know every other member of the group, including information about the other members’ goals, and this is how the group achieves efficiency peaks (Oemig et al.). Civettini (2007) emphasizes group member similarity – the more people within the group are similar, the less likely there will be conflict and more likely there will be a consensus within the group about how to accomplish certain tasks (Civettini, 2007, p. 264). These theories implicate the performing aspect of Tuckman’s theory. The storming aspect of Tuckman’s theory has also the subject of academic study and debate – why do groups have conflict? Rothwell (2008) states that groups have predictable emotions upon which group cohesiveness and functioning are based (Rothwell et al., 2008). Wright (2010) states that groups go through emotional phases which impact the way the group members interact over a period of time. When the group is new, individuals may have anxieties and fears regarding the group. They may fear group rejection, and this highlights the importance of leadership. It is up to the leader to help new group members assimilate. The fear of rejection may be based upon individual views – group members may not accept these views. The fear of rejection may also coalesce around a feeling of inferiority about the task or about overall abilities. Leaders may help alleviate these fears by making sure that the same competency level is attained by all group members, and that instruction complexity, competitiveness and skill demand are kept to a minimum (Wright, 2010, p. 211). During Tuckman’s norming phase, the members of the group get to know one another. The group, as well as the mission of the group, become important to the individual members at this point. Each group member knows his or her status and role within the group. At this point, the group members grow comfortable enough to express individual differences in opinion or differences in outlook and background. It is at this point that the differences which made group members, at the beginning of the group phase, feel uncomfortable or fearful, are celebrated as a way to bring opinion diversity into the mix. Moreover, each group member knows one another on a personal level at this point, and this gives the group members power to share what they did not feel comfortable sharing before, including personal information and opinion differences (Wright, 2010, p. 214). This is what helps the groups perform. However, the group reaches a point where the group is going to be broken up, and this is also marked by negative feelings, including a renewal of insecurities and fears, as well as ambivalence. Communication becomes more open, according to Wright (2010), because, since the group is coming to an end, the individual members might feel that they do not have anything to lose by speaking up at this point. This, in turn, might lead to aggression, tension and fights (Wright, 2010, p. 207). Wright (2010) states that one way to avoid the problems associated with the termination of the group is to allow the members to speak freely about their emotions regarding the ending of the group, and to encourage communication among the group members about how each individual was changed through membership of the group (Wright, 2010, p. 221). As noted above, one of the issues regarding our teams is that they are dynamic and, therefore, each group is exposed to constantly transient membership. This is the subject of a study conducted by Hingst et al. (2006). In this study, a call center was studied. As with the situation at hand, in this call center, the group was constantly integrating new group members. Hingst et al. (2006) found that new members who enter the group transition from being an outsider into an insider, and that the new members do this by finding out about interpersonal relationships within the group, and coming to understand the norms and culture of the group (Hingst et al., 2006). While the new member is sizing up the existing members, the existing members are doing the same for the new member. What the existing members were looking at when examining the new member was how their relationships with one another might be affected by the new member, and how the new member might fit in with the group. Hingst et al. found that, unless the newcomer is dominant and challenges the group dynamics, the group will not change and the established practices will not be threatened by the new member. The new group member must assimilate to the group gradually, and this is how the new member might be able to influence the group agenda, if the new member is able to at all (Hingst, et al., 2006). Therefore, the problem with the dynamic nature of the recruitment teams is that, because the teams shift new members every 4 to 6 weeks, the groups which are formed are in flux and the forming and storming processes dominate. There is not enough time to get used to one another, to find out information about one another and have a cohesive culture, before the group disintegrates and a new group is formed. The reason why the college does this is because it is interested in ensuring that all the individuals on the recruitment teams get experience with different types of recruiting, so that each team member is strong in all the different recruitment agendas. For instance, the group which is focused upon recruitment for the students would have different techniques, and the group focused on undergraduate students would have different techniques and agendas than those focused upon recruiting graduate students and students to graduate certification programs. Likewise, the recruitment for the work readiness program, which recruits individuals who are looking for work and need to have readiness to find work, as well as the program which specifically helps females, second career seekers and the young unemployed, would have different techniques and targets than the groups which are focused upon recruitment for the professional development programs and the program in social entrepreneurship. All of these have different targets and techniques, so the college wants to ensure that the recruiters are well-rounded, and this is the reason for the dynamic nature of the recruitment teams. That said, it does not make being a part of dynamic team easier, as the group members often spend much of their time getting to know one another and find out how to work with one another, as well as develop interpersonal relationships with one another, and this affects the quality of the recruitment process. One workable solution for this problem would be for the University to develop better leadership programs, so that there can always be a leader of the different groups to help facilitate the new group members into the groups. As Wright (2010) notes, the leader is often the individual who is able to help new group members assimilate into the groups, and, when the groups are composed of new members, which is a constant fact of life in these recruitment groups, good leadership may be able to help the new members get used to the group. There are different types of group leaders. The servant leader is altruistic and able to put the interests of the group ahead of the interests his or her self-interest. Because the servant leader has these qualities, the servant leader assists with the group dynamics by helping to provide emotional support for individuals who fail and the servant leader knows how to handle situations involving group conflicts. They are also able to persuade others. Moreover, the servant leaders are aware of how their groups might impact society, so they are able to use the means and the goals of the group to help society at large (Barbuto & Gifford, 2010). The transformational leader is another type of leader, and the transformational leader is a good one in times of change. The transformational leader, like the servant leader, is attuned to the individual emotions of the group members and the emotions of the group overall. This type of leader is creative and innovative, and has the ability to inspire creativity and innovation in his or her group. Because of this degree of creativity and innovation, this type of leader is able to make the group see that tasks that they thought to be impossible are possible. This type of leader is also able to inspire the group to admire and emulate him or her. This leader uses punishments and rewards, as well as pre-emptive action, to manage conflicts and solve group problems (Thomas, 2010, p. 10). Proper group leadership transforms groups by enrolling the group in the shared vision of the leader. According to Senge (1990), when an organization has a shared vision, every member of the organization or group is invested in that vision. The leader fosters this shared vision by acknowledging each individual group member’s strengths, as well as finding out about each individual group members’ personal vision for making the group excel (Senge, 1990). In this way, the group becomes a team, such as the team explained by Plenart (1995). In the team studied by Plenart, the group was multicultural, composed of Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus. Because of the diversity of the backgrounds, initially there was conflict and a lack of communication. The challenge was making this disparate group of individuals into a team, and with work, patience, and ensuring that all of the group members respected one another, this was accomplished. Plenart (1995) thus found that, while the diversity of backgrounds was initially a challenge, this same background diversity became the group’s strength. This was because each individual member brought something unique to the group, and each individual brought a different perspective, therefore the team was able to innovate in a way that would not be possible with a more homogenized group. How this group overcame their differences was because the leader was able to transmit a shared vision to the group, and the group became invested in this vision. Therefore, after the individuals became invested in the vision, their individual differences with one another became less important, and the accomplishment of the vision became paramount. This is one way that good leadership can help a group overcome diversity challenges and divisions. Therefore, the best solution for the ever evolving teams would be for the University to recruit servant or transformational leaders who are adept at transmitting a shared vision to the teams. These leaders would work with different teams, but these leaders would be parsed out so that each team has one of these cadres of leaders. For instance, the college could recruit five different leaders for five different recruiting teams: leader A, B, C, D and E. These leaders would rotate as well, and none of the groups would have two of these individuals, so that each group has one. Therefore, the leaders can also learn the different aspects of recruiting, and each of the groups would have a leader who would have the ability to understand the needs of the group, as well as has the ability to make sure that the group overcomes their differences and issues, and are able to carry out the leader’s vision for the group. The forming and storming processes would thus become streamlined, and the groups can concentrate more on the norming and performing. Also important is the impact that the leaders have on the winding up process, where the group is to be broken up and reorganized, as this is a touchy time when emotions might run high. If these groups have good leadership, then these processes will run much more smoothly. Therefore, the lesson that I have learned in my practice is that group dynamics can make or break a team, and, when the teams are ever changing, there can be issues. The studies show that these issues are real, as everybody is getting to know new people all the time, and everybody is learning to communicate with one another. Additionally, there is the issue of recruitment in a time of global uncertainty, as the world remains mired in economic issues. It is important, more now than ever, that recruiters are able to do a top-notch job of not just recruiting students but also recruiting individuals who need professional services and need services to find a job. Individuals also need the services provided to help them learn English, as this is becoming increasingly important in the global world. As each recruitment team faces these challenges, it is important that these teams know how to work together, and have a common goal, and having the best leadership will assist with this endeavor. How these lessons may affect my future practice is what I am interested in becoming a leader, and, to this end, I would like to enroll in leadership programs which will help me with this. I see how groups are in need of good leaders; sometimes, teams and groups may founder with infighting and interpersonal conflict. I feel that, if I could provide the right kind of leadership, any team of which I am a part will be elevated, because I would be able to provide the right leadership to help these teams become more cohesive. At the moment, if I am a part of a team which does not have this type of leadership, and the team is dysfunctional, then I am at the mercy of the dysfunctional team. With the right type of leadership training, however, I feel that I would be able influence these situations and these teams, so that the teams are not dysfunctional, everybody is communicating well with everybody else, and, therefore, the tasks on which we work and are assigned become that much smoother. I would also like to develop the practice of sharing my personal vision with my team members, while learning how to develop the team members’ individual visions as well, so that each team member feels included and each team member knows that they are valuable. References Barbuto, J. & Gifford, G. (2010). Examining Gender Differences of Servant Leadership. Journal of Leadership Education 2.9: 4-16. Civettini, N. (2007). Similarity and Group Performance. Social Psychology Quarterly 70.3: 262-271. Hingst, R. (2006). Tuckman's Theory of Group Development In A Call Centre Context: Does It Still Work? Fifth Global Conference on Business and Economics. Retrieved from: http://eprints.usq.edu.au/1910/ Plenart, G. (1995). World Class Manager. New York, NY: Prima Publishing. Rothwell, E.W. (2008). The Emotional Dynamics Of A Group During A Challenge Course Exercise. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning 8.2: 113-131. Thomas, J. (2010). Bet You Never Heard Of This Leadership Trait. Journal of Leadership Education 2.9: 1-3. Tuckman, B. & Jensen, M. (1976). Stages of small-group development revisited. Group and Organization Studies: 419-430. Wright, W. (2010). The use of purpose in on-going activity groups: a framework for maximizing the therapeutic impact. Social Work With Groups 28(3): 205-227. Read More