Heraclitus: The Adaptable Leader

Transitioning to command from any other leadership challenge in the military requires that an officer experiences a mental shift in his/her approach to exercising the newly granted authority, responsibility and accountability for the unit. Army doctrine suggests that authority, responsibility, and accountability are inherent attributes of command. These attributes of command coupled with the expectations of the commander, demand a new and holistic approach to commandership, which is defined as exercising the art of command through leadership, management, and command.

I am a person who easily adapts to different professional and social environments. I have demonstrated ability to adapt flexible work practices during my employment with Prime Tooling and Blue Fox Systems. My ability to work flexibly was a key component of my employment with Blue Fox Systems. The office culture at Blue Fox was very fast paced and reactive in nature. It required constant attention to detail, the ability to re-prioritise, and flexibility. Being an IT organization, the pressure and demands upon each staff member required that we were able to take on whatever duty or priority task was required at the time, either as a member of a team or as an individual. In my daily work, I am flexible to leave what I am working on and assist

Organizations must respond to their internal and external environment. Therefore, organizational success heavily relies on leaderships ability to manage change. Unfortunately, many leaders struggle to effectively lead change initiatives. In fact, Ashkenas (2013, para. 1) reported 60 – 70% of organizational change initiatives fail to meet their objectives.

Change is a double-edged sword (Fullan, 2001). Change is a word that might inspire or put fear into people. Leadership is challenging when it comes to dealing with change and how individuals react within the organization to the change. Marzano, McNulty, and Waters (2005) discuss two orders of change in their book School Leadership that Works; first and second. Fullan (2001) also adds to the discussion in his book Leading in a Culture of Change, with regard to understanding change. In Change Leadership, Keagan and Wagner (2006) discuss many factors of change and the systematic approach to change. Change affects people in different ways. Leaders need to be able to respond to the individuals throughout the change process.

Human are born with the ability to decide, to choose, to think, and to know more. Moreover, everyone has their perception about everything; we have our own judgment and beliefs.

One concept that I found valuable in Module 5 falls under Change Management: Three Elements of Adaptability. The Three Elements of Adaptability consist of Cognitive Development, Emotional Development, and Dispositional Development. I found these concepts important because change is inevitable and to be an effective NCO you need to be able to accept the change and motivate others to do the same. If you are incapable of accepting that change, then it will reflect on your subordinates and effect your work center negatively.

One strength good leaders bring is to switch their leadership styles depending on the situation (Darling & Heller, 2012). This is like situational leadership and it is important in organizational change as well. Situational Leadership is a model designed by Dr. Paul Hershey in the 1960s which focuses on how managers can develop competencies to diagnose, adapt, communicate, and advance the situation they are in (The Center for Leadership Studies, n.d.). Hershey stresses the importance of relationship of the approach of the leader and the readiness of the followers for a specific task (The Center for Leadership Studies, n.d.). This is the same as a change manager. Although dominant forces are often the initial go-to for change managers, good change managers must assess the situation and apply the needed ideal change manager to the situation. Because of this, regardless of the dominant change manager, it behooves an effective organizational leader to understand the different images of change and how they can influence a change’s successful

This week's hound out "EMERGENCY SERVICES LEADERSHIP & ADMINISTRATION" outlines many significant factors required to be a success for leaders at all levels in the fire service, many lessons I have learned first hand both as a leader and as a subordinate. Although "the perils of adaptive change" by definition are a new topic of discussion to my leadership education and experience. However, when broken down into adaptive change vs. technical change become manageable by understanding the difference between the two. In both categories, as identified in our homework, key elements of leadership must be present to establish oneself as a leader. The first and foremost, communication - The one leading the charge must identify and relay their plan to succeed and typically it's through change. The "what" "when", "why", "how"

Heraclitus meaning, “Everything is Fire,” is that everything is in universal flux. As fire flickers, no two flames are alike just as a snowflake; you will never find two identical forms. As a society we are indecisive and ever changing whether we change to meet the needs of our own selfishness or to meet the needs of others, the world and life in it are a continual process. The process of evolution is our soul existence in life. Try as we may to replicate history and manufacture attempts at recreating the past, it is never truly but only a carbon copy and is not considered original. In Heraclitus’ writings, one of the main themes is the blindness in humans. According to Graham from Heraclitus writings, “Of this Word’s being forever do men prove

Leaders are more adapt to change and must remember not to become desensitized to team members that are not as adapt to change. This is considered narrow minded thinking and should be avoided. When we have concerns about change we should always remember not to be afraid of change, stay calm, and articulate your concerns. John Henry Newman once said, “To be human is to change. To be perfect is to have changed often”.

Acceptability to change: The changing social and industrial situations will require changes and improvements in the working of enterprises. Employees resist changes for fear of an adverse effect on their employment. When the employees are given various opportunities of development then they can easily adapt to new situation. Thus, motivation will ensure the acceptability of new changes by the employees.

The article selected was Managing Change Successfully by Eileen O. Brownell, President, Training Solutions. The article addresses the need to adapt to change, not only in the business world but also in one’s personal life. The world is full of change and will continue through time, requiring constant flexibility, adaptability, creativity, and optimum customer service (Brownell, 2000). Businesses need to identify with the changes and make plans for the future of the business around the change. To successfully manage change, employers must focus on the following ten steps to manage change within the organization to ensure success recommended by the author. According to Brownell, 2000.

Adaptability – In responding to consistently changing situations during engagements, adjusting approach and iteratively modifying standards as required.

Adaptability in the workplace is a necessity. In order for an employee to be successful, it is imperative to remain flexible and accessible. Regardless of what your job title is, an employer needs a well-rounded individual with the desire to help the organization succeed by any means possible. Maintaining a certain level of adaptability can help create a successful working environment. Most job descriptions often include a phrase or two regarding the right of management to add or rearrange responsibilities at their discretion. For many years, it has always been the employee remaining flexible for the employer. The new trend in employment is slowly shifting in flexibility. Not only are employees expected to be flexible, but the employers

Change management is vital in a work environment that is constantly evolving. It involves the application of the appropriate planning, skills, and procedures to effectively implement change and achieve its successful adoption. Every manager should have such skills to understand how to manage change, solve employee resistance to change, and how to ensure ownership of company’s goals by the employees (Kotter, 1995).