For the final blog of this leadership course, I’ve been asked to write a manifesto.  First I had to learn what that was.  One might consider it a mission statement or a proclamation.  A political platform for a candidate might also be considered a manifesto.  They are intended to inspire, create action, share new thoughts or ideas or share a legacy.  So here is my attempt at my leadership manifesto.

Five Calls to Action for Every Leader

 

1.     Inspire Positive Change

We are all wanting to experience change.  No matter the situation, in order to grow change must occur.  So what is considered normal must be challenged in a way to create positive change.  One must think outside the box and be innovative in searching for ideas to inspire change.

2.     Lead by Example

This is a relatively simple concept but are you really willing to lead by example?  Are you willing to do what you would ask someone else to do?  Often in our daily tasks we need to be aware of what we ask others to do and make sure it is something we are willing to do ourselves.

3.     Communication is Key

Often this one important task can be left in the dust.  As one gets excited and has momentum on a task or change, it is the not hard for team or group communication to be put to the side.  Great leaders keep everyone informed along the way and don’t leave anyone out.

4.     Take Action and Responsibility

      In order to inspire positive change and lead by example, leaders must be willing to take action and responsibility for those actions.  Company leaders often set direction for the company and lead the charge whether they are successful or fail.  Regardless of the outcome, leaders shouldn’t wait for someone to grant permission, they must create a vision, a path to get there and then execute the plan.  Having drive to make change is inspiring to those around you who are excited about the change.

5.     Grow Those Around You

      As leaders create their path for change and begin to take action, they will gather followers along the way.  Leaders need to spend time developing those individuals and growing them as you are working together on similar missions.  Leaders can inspire others to volunteer or help work through project teams on achieving a common vision.

These are values and beliefs which I intend to follow and grow as my leadership in various aspects grow.  Whether that be at my job, my volunteer positions, at home as a mother, or even growing myself to be a better person.  These calls to action can be used in a lot of aspects of our everyday life.

In doing some research for writing my manifesto, I came across some other manifestos I wanted to share:

The Holstee Manifesto (https://www.holstee.com/pages/manifesto):

This manifesto is about life and in reading it I was inspired to check things off that I think I do as well as make my “to do” list of things that inspired me.

Here is another manifesto that was interesting to read by Dan Dark (https://www.raidious.com/my-leadership-manifesto/).  As he notes, these are not “ best practices” but his thoughts based on experience.  I think the one that stood out to me is the first where he declares “I don’t want to do your job” (Dark, 2013).

The last one I will share was by Terry St. Marie (2011) titled 7 Little Words, One Big Leadership Manifesto.  The phrase used to establish the manifesto is “We will do it well and enjoy it”.  In this manifesto, St. Marie talks about each work individually and ties it together in the end for the phrase and this almost sounds like a charge or call to action.  Using the word to define will inspires confidence to the followers that change will happen.  You can enjoy reading the rest of it here:  http://www.terrystarbucker.com/2011/02/06/7-little-words-one-big-leadership-manifesto/.

I also located a few company manifesto videos I wanted to share:

American Cancer Society Manifesto:

Culture Amp Manifesto: 

After creating my own manifesto as well as reading and watching others, I’m charged and on fire to make change, both at home and at work. I intend to make a new vision board after completing my degree to visually set some goals I’d like to achieve and tackle them.  There are several projects that have just been sitting there that need a champion.  Can you find one around you and lead the charge?

I’m not sure I’ll be maintaining this blog for the long term, but if I’m inspired by leadership or leading a change I hope to come back and share that with you.  If you ever find want to chat about leadership topics or ideas, feel free to post below and we can share stories on or offline.  Thank you for your time and attention to reading my posts!  Let’s lead change in the world!

Monica

References:

Dark, D. (2013, Jan 28).  My Leadership Manifesto. Retrieved from: https://www.raidious.com/my-leadership-manifesto/

St. Marie, T. (2011). 7 Little Words, One Big Leadership Manifesto.  Retrieved from: http://www.terrystarbucker.com/2011/02/06/7-little-words-one-big-leadership-manifesto/

This week I’ve been attending a conference in Salt Lake City for Cityworks, which is a software program we use at work.  The keynote speaker at the event was an inspiring leader.  Kristen Cox is the executive director of the Utah Governor’s Office of Management and Budget.  First, I need to let you know that Kristen is unique.  We learned that she started going blind around age 12 and was fully blind in her early 20s.  Her perspective of leading is unique and was inspiring.

The premise of her talk was “to achieve the organization’s goal, a leader must: aim high, believe there is a hidden capacity, and commit time and attention” (Cox, 2018).  First she talked about how there are multiple groups within a company and not one group or department can achieve the company’s goal alone.  This is true in that they may be able to do part of the job, but not all of it.  In order to aim high she indicates that the leader must “focus on THE right problem to solve”(Cox, 2018).  Often we try to focus our efforts on a lot of things that really don’t get us to a common goal.  Every organization has issues to be solved, but it is the underlying problem that needs to be solved, addressing the root cause of issues.

Second, she discussed a lot of the beliefs we have as managers.  They included believing in things that are complicated, defining problems to narrowly, having no structure to the main issue, and often think there are lots of issues to solve rather than the one main problem.  We often think more of things will help solve the problem, but they often don’t.  More people, more technology, more training and more money won’t solve our issues.  We often don’t think outside of the box when we need to open up our thoughts to more ideas and possibilities to solve the problems.

Lastly, committing time and attention need to be a focus of the leader or manager.  As managers we need to focus on the core issues and be able to identify with them.  We need to listen to our staff and schedule regular check ins with project teams.  Often we get distracted with the little fires we put out daily that we lose focus of the big, main item we are focusing on.

Listening to Mrs. Cox talk about some of her personal challenges along the way being blind and trying to find her way was very inspiring.  She was able to translate challenges to real life personal examples to her management style and remind us that things are “possible with the right mindset, skills and tools” (Cox, 2018).

After reading this week’s text about the challenges of gender and culture in leadership, Mrs. Cox added another element of ability or disability to the equation also.  Sigmund Freud’s comment “When you meet a human being, the first distinction you make is ‘male or female?’ and you are accustomed to make the distinction with unhesitating certainty” (1965, p.141) is a great statement of reality to what humans do.  I think there is probably another level of judgement for those with apparent disabilities.  As a female leader, Mrs. Cox has worked to overcome the gender difference and evident disability to rise to the top. 

In regards to culture in leadership, it is very important for a leader to acknowledge that people come from all walks of life and a variety of different cultures.  Culture defined by Northouse is “the learned beliefs, values, rules, norms, symbols, and traditions that are common to a group of people” (2016, p.428).  Most would agree that culture is the way we live, how we were raised, and the what traditions we hold close to us.  For instance, celebrating holidays can be an important tradition and something that is discussed in the workplace.  Most US companies provide time off for traditional U.S. holidays, such as independence day or July 4^th, but that holiday is not a tradition in other countries.  These cultural traditions have shaped the beliefs of most Americans and foreigners who visit or decide to stay learn these customs as would an American traveling to another country.  These traditions also play out in the workplace in relation to hours worked per day, if breaks are allowed, and how many days a week are worked.  These customs are part of a culture that defines each individual.

Regardless of culture or gender, there is another part of leadership that I wanted to touch on this week and that is ethics.  Are you an ethical leader?  It really is about two things: character and conduct.  Character is about doing things right and wrong and using your moral compass.  Conduct is how one behaves when in a particular situation.  One of the main things leaders need to evaluate is their concern for self versus that of others.  Leaders can have high self-interest, can focus on what’s right for the majority or being selfless and help others.  Some typical traits or descriptions of ethical leaders include courageous, integrity, honesty, generosity, and fairness.  Hopefully you consider these elements of your leadership to be ethical in your day to day activities.

As I close out this week I want to leave you with a few videos to check out.  To learn a little more about Kristen and her successes check out this video:

Here is a simple video about ethical leadership:

Monica

References:

Cox, K. (2018). How to achieve breakthrough results. Cityworks Conference: Salt Lake City, Utah.

Freud, S. (1965). New introductory lectures on psychoanalysis: Femininity. New York: Norton.

Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice (7^th Ed). Thousand Oaks, California : SAGE