Blog Post #6 - What divides people?

2 points extra credit post for Leadership 325

Blog Post #6

Good stuff I learned in class on 11/10/15


     I was going through some of my old class notes and ran across this gem.  We have been learning about organizational leadership.  All organizations exist for a reason, whether this be for profit, altruistic, educational etc puposes.  There is a reason we get together.  Because of that, organizations are inherently political.  In other words, one set of values, beliefs, and purposes are competing or negotiating against another set of values, beliefs, and purposes.  There can only ever be one outcome.  To be a good organizational leader, we have to understand these things.  

     So why do we want to know what divides people?  Why do we need to know all the conflicts, and which is the dominate conflict?  Sometimes people don't tell you what the conflict is about.  Sometimes we have to figure that out.  If we can figure out the common denominators between these apposed people, then we can generally figure out what binds the different groups together.  That gives us a chance to resolve the conflict.  It's also important to remember that there isn't usually only one conflict.  And rarely do the various conflicts divide everyone on either one side or the other.  For example, folks can find themselves on the same side as someone else on one issue, but may be in different camps on another issue.  

     As I learn these things in my leadership class, I get very excited to be a leader some day in the real world.  Also, I have had the light bulb turn on so many times in this class as I remember situations I have been in, but didn't really understand what was going on at the time.  I now look back and think, "Oh, that's what was happening".  I feel a leader really needs to have a deeper understanding of the situation in order to be of help.  It's like professor S said, "Your job as a leader is to move an organization forward, make things happen, to empower people... It's important to figure out what are we fighting about, where are our values different, where can we be aligned, and what are the priorities that exist."  I say, bring it!