18 March, 2011

Sergiovanni, T. J. (2005). The Virtues of Leadership.

Sergiovanni, T. J. (2005).  The Virtues of Leadership.  The Educational Forum, 69(2), pp. 112 - 123.  Retrieved on March 2, 2011 from http://pdfserve.informaworld.com.ezproxy.usq.edu.au/232940_751304989_790169940.pdf

Introduction
In writing best practice guidelines, groups introduce methods and systems that outline culture, ethics and obligations.  Significant to this is that documents are written in a logical and precise manner that details the objective, but can be misrepresentative of the emotional attachment which links individuals to cause.


Role models prepare novices to integrate and accept group culture by embedding single-loop learning in group activity and behaviour.  In other words, the constancy of motivation to perform relies on the flexibility that is derived from reflection in and on action to provide or introduce direction.  Sergiovanni identifies hope, trust, civility and piety as core values of leadership practice.


The Virtue of Hope
When faced with the obvious, leaders are inclined to use hope to face reality from a positive position.  Hope and realism together inspire a confidence in ability that enables leaders to discover alternative practice.  Links to social networks are sources of support that provide encouragement and balance.


Hope and wishing
The difference between wishing and hope is that one is "grounded in reality" (pg. 113).  Hope is based on current events and a positive perspective of what can be done to improve/change reality.  Action taken by leaders who view events with hopeful eyes enable self to optimally monitor the situation to focus attention on new opportunities without losing empathy for fellows.


Faith
Commitment, or group alignment to cause, is used to describe faith.  The bond between self and objective.  In written form, faith appears as truisms.  For example "all children can learn" indicates the direction and activity needed to prepare an environment that is commensurate with what is intended.  The framework or structure provides the support required to sustain the motivation to achieve a successful outcome, and banishes the delusions of wishful thinking.


The responsibility of leaders is to create the environment where faith is supported by group activity.  The stronger the assumptions made by the group, the stronger the bond of transactive memory.  Community involvement is reflective of the values a leader holds, as it is their actions and attitude that models group learning.  This forms the basis of group ethics.  As the balance between choosing what is good and what is effective becomes apparent, trust in a leader is the foundation of group faith.


From hope to action
Faith functions as the impetus for increased readiness potential.  The action taken based on hope serves our goals as we are primed to achieve an end objective.  Activity means engaging in a predetermined plan in order to realise these goals, and recognising obstacles for what they are and the purpose they serve.


The sequence of recognising goals emerges from self-reflection.  Consideration of self and individual aims are the primary focus when defining strategy.  A reflection of achievement is the fit of plan to environment or framework.


A leader's efficacy is measured by the methods laid down to nurture the environment as a civic movement.  Potential is enhanced through environments that are charged with energy.  Therein lies the space for transformation.


Roles, role relationships, and role sets
While faith is the pre-cursor to group alignment, leaders must actively engage in accepting more ethical responsibilities that come from supporting a learning environment.  Role models serve as guides and embody the qualities or attributes that bring static knowledge to life, making the intangible knowable.


In return, this clarity of function allows novices to understand the role guides represent to prepare themselves to accept group culture, to learn the attributes and characteristics that are enhanced to fulfill professional function.


Within an environment of faith and trust words such as commitments, responsibilities, and obligations become understood as meaningful relationships.  Social networking develops an emotional level of security between guides and novices.  Links that define guide and novice bear out the objective or group mission.  Relationships that emphasise guide and novice activity create a learning environment that perpetuates group objectives.  Shared vision is communicated through artefacts (e.g. UNESCO initiatives).


The practice of social networking resolves communication issues.  How information is disseminated depends on the delivery of knowledge.  Role models carry their purpose of clarity displayed through thought and action.  As leaders reveal group purpose unconsciously, attention is focused on current affairs.


This unconscious behaviour sets the tone for novice practitioners who are visually stimulated by group activity.  Imitation reveals competency in single-loop learning.  As core group members work through experience, their knowledge is translated through subsequent activity transforming the group through double loop-learning.  Contributions from group members, irrespective of status, allows leaders to enhance and improve localised environment which in return promotes the development of energy seen as motivation to action.


Transactive memory develops as the group matures, allowing a broader perspective that increases the capacity for diversity of thought.  Learning communities require a strong and supportive network to hold in group objective.  Roles change and adapt or are mutable.  Effective leaders notice behavioural changes within the activity that are transferable skills.  However, as these skills have been developed in different circumstances, novices require time to redevelop the skills grounding single-loop knowledge.


Relational trust
In groups with strong transactive memory, role models jointly assume the responsibility of managing group strategy and achievement.  Trust between members builds a unique bond that ensures shared vision.


Communities of practice and learning communities depend on trust within the group.  The relationship members create and perpetuate between the group is supported through communication.  Emotional security correlates significantly with visual reminders of group objective as the ambiance becomes an accepted feature of the group.


Embedding activity that nurtures group culture both internally and externally is vital to energising the community.  Accumulated knowledge reveals that at this level of group function members become significantly vulnerable.


When the group carries faith in the objective, feelings of vulnerability subside.  Communication is representative of ambiance.  In an environment where there is trust, sharing represents naturally occurring behaviour.  Thus in environments where members cannot communicate trust or faith in the objective, self-protective mechanisms are activated that limit individual potential, group growth and achievement.


In situations where there is little trust, collaborative activity is stilted.  When self-verification processes meet with resistance it is generally agreed that individuals reduce focus and redirect attention to situations/environments that are more welcoming.  This leaves the group unclear about membership, relationships and direction.


Trust is fundamental for creating the discourse of the group (e.g. the methods used to communicate group objectives).  Research indicates that over a five year period, trust levels in communication increase as novices adjust practical experience with transactive memory and develop increasingly creative methods of contributing.  As alignment to group culture occurs, relationships become more supportive resulting in an environment where ideas are beneficial to the group immediately, and carry the potential for long term integration in core directives.  Progressive discourse enhances group potential and the motivation to achieve goals.


When groups or communities work together bound by faith, transformation begins.  Leaders undertake what is known as responsibility as interest is captured and the desire to pursue knowledge through exploration of situations leads to an understanding of effective planning.


Trust first
Successful transformation begins in environments that are dedicated to cause.  Typically, environments that support only strategy and vision immediately incapacitate leaders and group members as trust is required for co-operation.  Continuing without adaptation results in chronic performance monitoring that depletes attention from situation monitoring.


Groups that implement and initiate a framework where members are naturally inclined to co-operate, are more efficient in promulgating a shared concept.  Strength of concept is embedded in multi-direction communication channels found in relationship links allowing successful group decision making that cultivates performance enhancing methods.


As trust is a valuable commodity, leaders stay focused on energy points (e.g. novices who display clarity and readiness potential) to ensure a stable relationship.  In turn, the skills novices gain under master-apprentice guidance lead them to replicate a similar environment for other members.  However, experience is a reminder that there is no stable state and groups wanting transformation must be satisfied with quality of training, the objective of which must be to gain a reliable base that is strongly connected to source.


Developing trust requires role models/leaders to behave within their capacity as nurturers.  Social identity and professional identity are unified so there is no ambiguity of core values or ethics that may interfere with group objectives.  This clarity and constancy of self is living knowledge that members use as the basis for transformation.


The virtues of piety and civility
Piety in this instance is described as the strong bond that develops as relationships mature.  Group members gain the confidence and experience to make external relationships based on individually experienced group ethic.


This virtue permits leaders to understand the range of practical methods employed within the group to competently explore diversity of practice in other groups.  The structure or framework of external groups provides a template for viewing alternative architecture of embedded activity.  Tacit knowledge is revealed through communication that relays group intention and practice.


To keep from fanaticism, a level of maturity is required to ascertain the balance of faith and delusion.  Leaders remain dispassionate about group objectives so that diversity can be heard.  Clarity of direction encourages viewing contributions as potential to enhance the group.


Bonding and bridging community
With an awareness for the multiple ways and possibilities of accomplishing a task, the potential for group adaptability is nurtured.  This framework of reference raises transactive memory as knowledge must be experienced and understood.  Experience in accepting new concepts creates the need for an integration of diverse ideas that are amalgamated to generate new solutions that are in tune with fluctuating circumstance.


While groups are inherently similarly structured, diversity is recognised as the priority of group focus brought to attention.  Groups that match focus find open communication channels that enhance relationships.  Variety in practice is indicative of the support mechanisms in place to nurture local environments.


One out of many
Raw data is interpreted according to epistemic and ontological belief (i.e. the way we think and live life).  As groups are influenced by environment and situated knowledge, universal standards flow as they are alternately accepted or rejected by group members.  Collaboration between role models and members consolidates group faith in direction and objective.  This process ensures commitment is strengthened through the significance of activity, goal and meaning-making.


Leadership and learning
Transformation is an ongoing process when the source of group energy is protected and nurtured.  Leaders gain from positive contributions that have been derived from the framework embedded in daily activity.  Evidence of progress is apparent in the development of contributions from members.


Without transactive memory, leaders lack the support needed to effect transformation.  When transformation fails it is understood that the leader has set up inadequate means of delivering significant knowledge.  Group clarity is only established when leaders are themselves clear about personal and professional objectives and the significance of choice.  Single-minded focus reduces the effort required to take action.


Traditional group hierarchy supports a closed network to source with solutions dispersed as directives from power.  Higher order thought is not harnessed and group culture is built on relationships of externally sourced meaning (e.g. a salary).  Communities of practice and learning communities that align with a culture nurturing collaboration can depend on achieving tangible proof of progression from archiving artefacts.  Interactive tasks promote higher order thinking and the impetus to increase attachment to group (e.g. initial contributions may appear naive, so leaders are encouraged to recognise progress as a sequence of professional and personal development behaviours).


Improving transactive memory creates the space and meaning for leader growth that comes with nurturing self.  When individuals find satisfaction within, opportunities for self-development take place.  Increasing leader knowledge commensurately increases transactive memory, channeling new data for members to create group meaning.  Learning communities and communities of practice are adapted to enhance an internal stable state that protects the environment.


The power of a civic conscious movement

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