Interview With Dr. Kathy Hanisch Essay

Leadership in an organization often plays a critical role, and is frequently, though not always, one of the major drivers of the success or failure of a company. (Bass, 1990) Effective leadership helps a company through times of peril and brings a future of brightness. It makes a corporation successful. However, what is leadership? According to Kouzes and Posner, it is the art of mobilizing others to want to struggle for shared aspirations. (1995, p.30) Leaders set a clear direction for us; they help us realize what is ahead; they support us to achieve and win; they encourage and inspire us when we feel depressed. Without leadership, an organization will degenerate into chaos and unstructured because people view things in different ways.

As a college student approaching my senior year at Albany State University, I have experienced a wide range of psychology courses that have introduced me to different ways of critically thinking about my future. However, one particular class that has given me a new insight to the profession that I hope to encounter would be the Professions of Psychology. The purpose of this course was to introduce scholars to the different professions involved with psychology. While taking this course, I carefully researching the different fields, and cross-referenced the descriptions with my passion for improvement, I decided that I wanted a career in the Industrial/ Organizational field of psychology. This course had the greatest impact because it not only explored the different professions, but it also helped me understand what was needed in order to pursue a

When examining various institutional examples of leadership, there are common threads imbedded in each of their definitions. To be a worldwide industry leader; to provide value to shareholders; and to create sustainable, environmentally friendly solutions are examples of business leaders’ statements. Although with the same overall intent, educational leadership statements tend to include best teaching practices, ambitious scholastic goals and inviting others to share in its vision development. Closely aligned with these ideals is the Army’s definition of leadership - “the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation, while operating to accomplish the mission and improve the organization.” (AR 600-100 Army Leadership). Leadership can be conceptualized using a continuum ranging from strategic and organizational attributes through management and

Leadership is, and always has been, a vital aspect of social and economic constructs. It is essential to the survival of societies, industries, organizations, and virtually any group of individuals that come together for a common purpose. However, leadership is difficult to define in a single, definitive sense. As such, theories of leadership, what constitutes a great leader, and how leaders are made have evolved constantly throughout history, and still continue to change today in hopes of improving upon our understanding of leadership, its importance, and how it can be most effective in modern organizational cultures.

carefully planned out and considered, the total closure or failure of the organization could be at hand in the near future. In our modern age, employers know that salary is not the only factor that should be considered and that salary alone will not lead to better or more highly profitable workers alone. This is why compensation planning is important and why pay should have some connection between performance and compensation. This is why the human resources department should consider many monetary and non-monetary factors when considering how to properly compensate and motivate employees (Dessler, 2013).

Landrum, R. E., & Davis, S. F. (2014). The Psychology Major: Career Options and Strategies

Rutgers University students enroll in many different majors. Throughout the student’s four year education, they get the opportunity to participate in internships which are not a requirement for graduation for every major. An example is the Psychology major. The Department of Psychology at Rutgers does not require its students to participate in any fieldwork, research, co-ops, or internships. The person that will serve as a patron for this project will be from the Department of Psychology, Chairperson David Vicario. The department will benefit from making this “choice”, an essential part of the major’s curriculum. Because Rutgers University is considered one of the top 10 colleges that teach psychology as a major it is important that they not only have a good educational program, but also a program that successfully helps students work on their field of study after graduation (Cahill). Therefore, the department would find it very beneficial to support this program. The program will require students enrolled in any psychology major to participate in programs that will reinforce their real world experience in their field of study and consequently increase their chances of landing a job after graduation in their field.

In Kouzers and Posner’s view, leadership is to mobilize others to get extraordinary things done; and it is not about personality but it’s about behavior.

Leadership is a term that cannot be defined or simplified with a standard definition (Bethel, 2011). The term’s complexity is a phenomenon, as it carries a different meaning for each person. During the

Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task”...

By definition, leadership is the position or function of a leader, a person who guides or directs a group. But can we really sum up “leadership” in a single sentence? Recently, an article was run in Business News Daily (2015) that listed 30 ways to define leadership. In those 30, there were many quotes by CEOs, COOs, Founders, and company Presidents. Common attributes like “behavior”, “ability”, “vision”, and “followership” were mentioned. So it goes without saying that if these prominent individuals can figure it out, why can’t those below them? Thankfully, most do, and some will even rise to the top like those previously mentioned. The key point to all of this though is that it takes more than just one characteristic to make a leader. Throughout this piece, I’d like to explore the aspects that make up a Leader, how I fit the role of a leader, and what I’ve learned throughout this course in leadership.

For the last 14 years, I have been an entrepreneur in the accounting field, and I’ve taught business courses part-time. I am new to the I/O Psychology field. I am a lifelong learner who craves knowledge, improving myself and helping others which has lead me to pursue a Ph.D. in I/O Psychology with a concentration in Leadership and Coaching. Recently I became a John C. Maxwell Certified Coach, Teacher, Trainer, & Speaker. I joined the John Maxwell Team to develop the skills to help others, and myself grow to our full leadership potential. Becoming an I/O Psychology Practitioner will equip me with the skills that I need to help others improve their business proficiencies and grow individually and professionally. With my John Maxwell Training along with my learning from the I/O Psychology Program, I plan to open a new business. The company will include a

The authors of the book The Leadership Challenge are regarded as the prominent leadership scholars and educators in the U.S.. Kouzes is the Dean’s Executive Professor of Leadership of Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University. Posner is the Dean of the Leavey School of Business and professor of Leadship at Santa Clara University. They have been together produced a lot of award-winning leadership books, among which The Leadership Challenge has won both the James A. Hamilton Hospital Administrations’ Book Award and the Critics’ Choice Award. Kouzes & Posner are also the developers of the Leadship Practices Inventory(LPI), a list of questionnaire for evaluating leadership behavior, which is one of the worldwide frequently used leadership assessment tools. The most distinguished honor that both Kouzes & Posner have received is the Management/Leadship Educators of the Year by the International Management Council. They then joined the team of 50 top leadership educators of the nation. Kouzes & Posner are not only studying and researching leadership, speaking actively at universities, leadership conferences, and seminars, but also conducting programs of leadership development for more than a hundred of national & multi-national companies.

Drucker’s summed up leadership as “The only definition of a leader is someone who has followers” whereas, John C Maxwell said “leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less”. Warren Bennis focuses more on individual capability and defines leadership as "Leadership is a function of knowing yourself, having a vision that is well communicated, building trust

For decade’s individuals, companies, and organizations have spent an unprecedented amount of money on researching, molding, modeling and working to define what a leader is and what characteristics make successful leaders. Despite all the research, there is not a quick answer or even full agreement as to what makes an individual an effective leader. The definition of a leader is “someone who can influence others and who has managerial authority.” (Robbins, Decenzo, Coulter, 2015. P.370)