Driving with directions!

Every Organization needs a vision and mission statement. This is the founding principle of this organization and it guide and leads their actions and goals. The vision and mission statement vary greatly between different associations because it relates to their central and internal goal. A mission statement is a statement of “purpose and core values”, it describes the actions that a certain group plans to undertake to reach their ultimate goal, it serves as a compass indecision making, and it keeps the individuals in a group, centered towards a common purpose. The vision statement, however, is the final outcome, goal or expected future of an organization. It is the goal they hope and expect to achieve in the long run. The vision and mission statement work together in a parallel manner in an organization.

                In my church’s leadership group, we addressed this importance of a vision and mission statement in any association. As youth council president I was required to attend some leadership classes, and in one of these classes, this topic was discussed. The teacher explained the relationship between a vision and mission statement in a different light. He said that the vision statement was like the road directions (MapQuest and GPS) that directs people and gives the necessary actions to perform that will leader them to their destination. While a vision statement is the required destination that an individual is trying to arrive at. He explained that usually the beginning of leadership is like taking a trip or driving to a place where one is unfamiliar with. You always begin at your starting point or current destination where you decide to travel or drive to a certain place; this corresponds to the time in which a leader is thinking about beginning and organization or starting a new venture/leadership. Once one has decided to drive, they realize that though they have the address to their destination, they don’t don’t know which road or turns to get there. At this point, they consult their GPs or the MapQuest system because it provides accurate actions to do in order to arrive to the final destination. In leadership, after a leader decides to undertake a certain venture or begin a company, they are usually unsure in how to manage their company to get it to its ultimate best. So they have to create a mission statement that provides the actions that each member/driver will need to do in order to get that company to the place where he envisioned it would be someday. This goal/ final destination is the vision of that leader. The thought and idea they conceived that lead them to take some actions.

                After listening to this unusual description of a vision and mission statement, it made me view vision and mission statement differently. Everytime I embark on a leadership venture, I always create either a mental or written vision/mission statement. I always ensure that I have my MapQuest directions to lead me to my final target.

toxicity iss the root of all evil!

In every organization, there are always good people and the bad ones, those commonly referred to as the ‘Bad Apples’ of the organization. These individuals possess certain traits and characteristics that make them toxic and dangerous to the progress of the organization. This is the same as with the leadership organization, there are some leaders who possess these toxic characteristics that make them a threat to their respective organizations. Some of these characteristics include: incompetence, malfunctioning, irresponsible, sense of inadequacy, insatiable ambition, amoral and etc. All these characteristics and more are what constitute a toxic leader; these traits are dangerous traits that could destroy any association and for the leader to have these traits makes it even more unhealthy. There are two forms of toxic leadership: intentional and unintentional (toxic leadership notes).

            In previous years, while I was part of certain groups, I experienced leaders with such traits and I was also at some point a toxic leader. While in a senior Cotillion, I encountered a leader who possessed some of these qualities and could be describe as a toxic leader. The head of the cotillion had insatiable ambition, amoral behaviors, avarice and greed, and a huge amount of egotism. She managed to remain fair and equal as she possible could, but her different treatment toward each one of us made it very evident that she discriminated between us. Her trait of greed and avarice made her treat the wealthier children with more respect and care than she did the rest of us. She also had a quest for insatiable ambition; she wanted to promote and further the organization so much, she also behaved differently towards the parents. She made the individuals with connections and money, close associates of hers with no regards for the other parents. The toxic traits she had contributed to the downfall of the organization because most parents weren’t pleased with her behavior and swore to ensure that the organization didn’t prosper. In this case, she was an unintentional toxic leader because Engage in careless and reckless actions, including incompetence, nonetheless causing negative effects

            Another example of toxic leadership going on in current news is that situation with the Libyan president Muammar Gaddafi and the situation going on in Libya. The Libyan citizens are fed up with Gaddafi’s bad leadership and continuous rein, and they are demanding for his resignation. These problems all erupted partly because the Libyan constituents view Gaddafi as a toxic leader who doesn’t really care much about the need of his people, but he uses his power to further his insatiable ambition greed. Even in times of turmoil, Gaddafi is still bent on being president and will not resign. He instead decides to utilize violence, murdering the people he is supposed to protect from harm because his toxic traits already characterized him as a bad leader. he was and is still an amoral president who lacks any respect for his country. In Gaddafi’s case, he would be labeled as an intentional toxic leader because he is deliberately injuring others to enhance himself as president (toxic leadership notes).

what kind of follower are you?

The followership model explains that there is no leader without a follower. This model is definitely true and the most important aspect of leadership. Nowadays many people focus and pay more attention the leaders and teach individuals on how to become effective and successful leaders. What they fail to realize is that if everyone was taught to become a leader, the whole ideology of leadership would be destroyed. This is because there will be constant conflicts and a chaotic setting if everyone was to govern. Just as leaders are essential, followers are also very vital; so more attention needs to be given to the followers and followers need to be taught to become good followers and help the leadership cycle flow. The reason it is so difficult to teach individuals to become good followers is because the roles of followers are minimized and those who follow are belittled in society. What most people fail to realize is there would be no Mohammed Gandhi without his followers and there would be no president without his constituents. The followers are the most powerful individuals in the leadership cycle/pyramid though their placement is towards the bottom of the pyramid. Followers are like the elves in Santa Claus’s workshop; their hard work makes things happen and make people’s dreams come true.
            I have had some personal experience being a follower and I admit that it was a difficult task that however brought me joy at the end. When I was in Student Council, I didn’t hold an executive position making me a follower or the official term, a delegate. The delegates in my schools student council were the backbone that held this organization together. We assisted the executives in the idea process, but we were solely in charge of carrying out these ideas and making them come to life. Our different execs were the congratulated and acknowledge for our hard work.
After this week’s reading I realized the kind of follower I was in student council. It dawned on me that I was a participant follower. I worked hard and contributed, but my shy attitude kept me away from achieving my full potential. I wasn’t a bystander and I didn’t isolate myself from the group, but I preferred to stay away from events and activities that involved exposure to the school body. I was a behind the scenes person; I followed all the orders of my dance community executive Loralynn and I completed every task assigned to me. However, I only stuck to completing the duties assigned to me and never tried to utilize my own initiative to help further the organization. I cared more about being part of this group than going against the norms and boundaries I had been placed in. I participated, but I lacked the passion and drive and commitment like the diehards to give student council the best in me and fully involve myself in the group. I deeply regret being such a follower.