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