Those organizational leaders who act as designers perhaps have more responsibilities than those who prefer teacher and steward styles. They simultaneously have to perform as restorers and builders of organizational structure and culture and philosophers and creators of guiding ideas and vision (Senge, 2006). During my work experience, there have been a couple of instances where the combination of freedom and responsibilities provided by employers has allowed me to act as a design leader. In 2020, I was hired to assist a team leader in reorganizing the functioning and work processes of the staff of a medium-sized firm where my distant relative works. I think I have succeeded in developing and formulating guiding ideas and vision, but my redesign efforts can only be considered partially successful.
Moreover, I have taught my parents and grandparents about integrating digital devices and software for remote workplace communication during COVID-19. I ultimately succeeded in the role of teacher-leader since I quickly identified and fixed their gaps in understanding and introduced new technologies to my family for job purposes and daily ones. I believe my experience as a group project organizer during high school can be considered steward leadership. I was good at spreading a shared vision, but cultivating a collective commitment was not as effective.
Looking back, I think creating a new teaching infrastructure or advising the team leader to do so would make my redesign efforts more impactful. Teacher leaders serve as growers of talented and productive workers in a work setting (Senge, 2006). I should have focused more on creating a domestic environment that allowed me to transform my relatives’ one-sided mental model of a standard employee into a dual one consisting of remote and office work. Reflecting more on certainty would improve my performance as a steward.
Reference
Senge, P. M. (2006). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. Doubleday.