Based on Maslow’s heirarchy of needs and motivation, I work based on survival and fulfillment. As a Social Worker, I have satisfied both these needs. I have steady employment which provides the money I need to survive, and also provides the fulfillment I need to grow and practice personal values when I provide services for my youth.
Effective employers understand that everyone has different motivation levels. They also understand that each employee is a key member and are valued no matter their job position. It takes the entire team for the organization to be fully functional and successful. By understanding this and creating different strategies to meet the lower level of needs before the higher needs, employees are more satisfied and commited to the organization thus producing engaged individuals and great work outcomes.
This requires emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence includes being able to understands people, self-awareness, persistence, confidence, and empathy. It is an essential and indispensable requirement for leadership.
Excellent leaders are aware of this quality and can use it to guide the behaviors of others or self.
The leaders that possess emotional intelligence are able to understand what motives an individual, and what they can do to help one achieve different levels of motivation based on their current needs.
Organizational culture is such a broad description that can house so many definitions. There are so many things that are incorporated that it becomes difficult to accurately include everything that makes up such a culture. From what I gathered, organizational culture includes work place expectations, the norms, rules, shared sets of beliefs and values, respect amongst colleagues, being fair to one another, similar goals, and collaborating to achieve the desired outcomes. Good leaders contribute to developing, building, and maintaining organizational culture.
Leadership is the difference.
Barb Anderson
After conducting my Leadership Interview; I came to respect my Supervisor so much more. At first I respected my Supervisor not only because she was my superior, but because i admired her. She is so strong willed and appears so sure of herself. She has clear and concise thinking and problem solving skills when it comes to difficult problems or decisions. She puts emphasis on the best interest of all parties involved or affected before making her final decision. She is not only a guide but someone you can confide in when there is a magnitude of self-doubt. She creates an atmosphere where we can do our jobs while being fully supported in our decision making. If we make a mistake, she will let us know where we went wrong and introduce different strategies to ensure that mistake does not happen again, and provide alternative tools that we can use should we come upon the same situation again. My supervisor has brought so much to our table of organizational culture and continues to uphold the fundamental values of our work place.
Leaders do not require just followers. They require people who bring out the best in themselves as leaders, and in turn, bring out the best in their followers. A strong leader is motivated and works hard because others work hard for them. One empowers the group by creating a safe space where all ideas, thoughts, and constructive criticism are allowed to develop into an atmosphere of growth, achievement, and success throughout.
I focus primarily on my past or present experiences when it comes to writing. In regards to leadership, I tend to focus on my workplace and my experiences throughout my time being employed within Child and Family Services.
Prior to becoming employed in my current position as a Caseworker in the wonderful organization that I work for, there is what is now considered the “dark ages.” The dark ages is defined as low employment rates, high turnover, high caseloads, non-delegated workers, neglected needs of the children in care, underpaid, overworked and burnt-out staff, outdated files, missing information, unrealistic expectations, low morale, and extremely poor leadership; among many other things. It had become so bad that my organization almost lost its delegations; which means that my organization would no longer be allowed to provide services until the Government of Alberta and Child and Family Services in Alberta took over with provincial employees, and brought the entire organization up to minimum standard within the province, or have been operated entirely by the provincial and federal governments.
Shortly prior to my employment, the organization received a new director who had many years of experience in indigenous child welfare, and had many networks and resources within the industry. She was tasked with recruiting educated, competent, and caring workers for all positions, bringing the quality of the children’s care to a respective level, and bringing the filing and information standards up to par with the province. Now, this was just the bare minimum to bring the organization up to minimum provincial standard and allowing it to continue to operate. There was still much work to be done.
Many years of unwavering effort, organization, goal creation, delegating appropriate tasks, motivating employees, recruiting new staff, rewriting policies, and relentlessly advocating for equality and equity for all staff and children in care; the organization can now boast some of the best statistics and standards of all Children Services within Alberta. She brought the entire organization together and built an outstanding team of individuals working towards the same goals which turn dreams into reality.
I find it absolutely amazing how only one person can be the start of something so great and productive; and who really cares for the greater good no matter the hardships throughout the process. It took one individual to turn everything around and lay a great organizational culture foundation for everyone to build upon. She is recognized by many but does not want her achievement to be the center focus. She wants the focus to remain on the tasks at hand and the work that needs to be done to ensure stable, positive, and fulfilling outcomes for everyone involved.
My director, along with my supervisor, are my role models and mentors. I may be at the bottom in terms of heirarchy, but these women would never view any staff as inferior; we are all equal, we are all a team, and together we make the entire organization as best as possible to serve the children and families of our community.
I like to think that I am not a leader, but an individual that helps guide someone else to becoming a leader themselves. Maybe thats what a leader is. Someone who supports, nurtures, and guides. I am concerned for others more than myself. I am concerned for another’s success and the path that they take to get there. I want to see others succeed in any healthy avenue they choose. There is potential in everyone, and some times it takes a helping hand to realize what that potential is; or, what that potential can manifest itself into. Everything takes time and works at its own pace. There are constant roadblocks and obstacles of all sorts. No matter what journey you choose, there will always be trials and errors. Its how you work through those trials, and what kind of support you have that makes the difference. Anything can be accomplished with the proper support, motivation, and persistence.
In reflection of my current job as a Social Worker for Indigenous Youth, I unintentionally placed myself into a leadership role. I provide emotional, mental, financial, and communal support for the youth I currently have under my caseload. I try my absolute best to lead them along a path of goal creation and success in a healthy environment. Even when they stumble, I don’t immediately dismiss them, cut off their supports and move on to close their file. Anything that is built, requires a solid foundation of support. I’d rather exhaust all avenues of supports and services to keep my clients steering in the right direction. I’d rather be understanding and compassionate as opposed to cold and dismissive. I push bend the limitations that the child welfare system has in place to ensure my youth gain and accomplish. I prefer to think out of the box than to follow the book because not one single way is the absolute best nor right way to help my youth.
I may build others but I don’t build my self. I extremely lack in self confidence and stability. I have never been one with outward confidence. I also do not have the stability that a good leader must have. I have mental health issues, self-esteem issues, anxiety, and a multitude of others. I’ve been working on the mental health issues the last few years by attending counselling, participating in ceremony, and pushing past my personal boundaries. I acknowledge that I have alot of things to work on. I have come to terms with the majority of the issues that I have, and i’m currently making efforts to change and cope with the past and present. I am not looking to be a leader, in definition. I am working to be a healthier guide to assist the others who have been and are currently in my shoes. No one deserves to be where I have been, nor experience the lack of self-confidence that I do on a daily basis. For those reasons, I do my best to provide a solid foundation of support for those I have been entrusted to help.
Become the kind of leader that other people would follow voluntarily; even if you had no title or position.
Brian Tracy
When I think of a leader, I think of someone who not only can effectively lead a group of people to a desirable and strength-based outcome through trial, error, and solution; but also one who can motivate, inspire, and work through any issues to help an individual grow and persevere.
The most influential leader in my life: As this person comes to mind, I do not see someone who immediately takes charge, or forces their influence on anyone. I do not see someone who actively takes any leadership position, nor requires recognition for when they happen to upon the role. They have a way of being able to just naturally fall into the pattern of silently holding the torch whilst passing a torch to everyone throughout the masses. There is more encouragement, support, and motivation behind how this person leads. This individual would rather help people to see the best in themselves to bring about a positive change in order for the goals at hand to be attained. It takes certain "out-of-the-box" thinking to help one see the best in themselves and to help initiate the self-evaluation one must go through to make character changes. With this person, the question is: "how can I help everyone, help themselves, to help us all accomplish what we need to?"
My Leadership Journey 