OBLD 633

 This situation, one presenting questions of how to lead when you're not the boss, should the boss have the answers, and how to handle adaptive vs technical challenges, is one I have faced recently. At an exercise, I was placed in charge of a planning team. Though I held positional authority, there were 3 higher ranking personnel on the team. This created a strange situation where I was leading while in charge, but while not being the boss. In keeping with the recommendations of the Harvard article, I focused on providing goals for the team and keeping all members engaged. At the same time, I provided the higher ranking individuals with breathing room so their authority was not threatened. In terms of the challenge itself, I was the team member with the most relevant technical knowledge. Still, the problem exceeded my capabilities and was not merely technical. Much of the team seemed to expect me to have the answer, given my expertise and position. I did not, and needed to work wit...

 My attitude towards and relationship with leaders has evolved throughout my life. As a child, I, like many, was frequently disobedient. That said, being a child, I was also rather unquestioning. Part of my maturation consisted in paradoxically becoming both more obedient and yet also more skeptical of those in positions of authority. My attitude now would be that those who legitimately hold authority are entitled to obedience and positional respect commensurate with their title, but must earn personal respect by demonstrating leadership competence. My understanding of what this competence entails has also morphed over time. As a teenager, I would have said that competence consists almost entirely of task performance. As a young adult with more experience seeing leaders in action, I now understand that to lead is to influence others to accomplish tasks. As such, I see interpersonal relations and care for subordinates as a much more important part of leadership competence. Having ar...