Harriet Jacobs as a Servant Leader

Harriet Jacobs is most well known as the author of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. This autobiography details her life as she realized that she was a slave at the age of six, was given to a three year old at age eleven, and attempted to avoid the sexual advances of her owner’s father. To escape these advances, she started a relationship with a white lawyer by whom she had two children. Jacobs then ran away from her owner, hiding in her grandmother’s attic for seven years before using a boat to escape to the North (Jacobs, 1861). 

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Upon her freedom, Jacobs wrote her autobiography, broaching the topic of female slaves’ sexual abuse. Her story had a difficult time getting published, but once it did, it was soon overclouded by the Civil War and was never reprinted during her lifetime. It was rediscovered and reprinted during the Civil and Women’s Rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s. In addition to being an author, she worked in Rochester, NY for the Anti-Slavery Office and Reading Room and participated in other relief efforts for blacks before dying in 1897.

Jacobs was a true servant leader. Northouse (2016) listed several characteristics of servant leaders: putting the good of followers before their own self-interests, emphasizing follower development, strong moral behavior, and a possessing a social responsibility to be concerned about the “have-nots”. Jacobs rose to meet these descriptors.  Despite having to keep own self-interests in mind (she was a fugitive for many years), she put her fears aside to help others of her race, even returning south to Georgia to help in relief efforts. The link above also lists how she empowered others as she founded a school with her daughter that lasted from 1863 to 1865. Perhaps most importantly, Jacobs possessed a strong moral code and though she began an illicit relationship, she did so in an effort to save herself from the sexual advances of her master, for which she apologizes in her book.  

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When trying to decipher today’s relevance of Jacobs’ life over 100 years ago, it is easy to connect to modern movements, especially the role of black women in the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Though much focus has been on males who die at the hands of police, the leaders of the African American Policy Forum have created a new hashtag: #SayHerName, shifting focus to the black cis and trans women who have died because of police behavior.  The number of minority women who have encountered brutality at the hands of someone more powerful than they (first slaveowners, now police) is a painful reminder that women are not to be ignored in the fight for freedom. The connection between Jacobs and #SayHerName is best articulated by this quote from Documenting the American South from UNC: “At the same time, however, Jacobs articulates a bolder truth—that the morality of free white women has little ethical relevance or authority when applied to the situation of enslaved black women in the South”.  Jacobs’ work should be used to consider how black women finally deserve a place at the table.

Stokely Carmichael, SNCC, and Eco-Leadership

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Stokely Carmichael in 1966. Source

In this week’s readings, we discussed the concept of team leadership and how effective they can be when done correctly. In our group discussions, I spoke about the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and their take on leadership. Before globalization and networking were the buzzwords that they are today, the group utilized them in the manner that Western defines eco-leadership. According to Western (2013), eco-leadership focuses on a network of leaders as opposed to one centralized figure. The group functioned differently from some organizations and instead of utilizing top down methods, utilized a committee to achieve their goals. From their initial committee of protest group representatives, they formed an Executive Committee to help move the group forward. One member of this group was Stokely Carmichael. 

Carmichael was a master networker. In the hyperlink above, NPR refers to him as having “his hand in every major demonstration and event that occurs between 1960-1965” (Para. 2). In a time where social media is nonexistent, to be among those who cast long shadows, especially at his age, is impressive. He is well known for being a charismatic and transformational leader. In fact, in an obituary penned by the New York Times, one man was quoted as saying that “watching him made him believe that the young man could ‘stroll through Dixie in broad daylight using the Confederate flag for a handkerchief.’” So how does Carmichael relate to the idea of team leadership? 

Carmichael at the University of California in 1966. Source

Ideally, Northouse (2016) states that “for teams to be successful, the organizational culture needs to support member involvement” (p. 364). SNCC most certainly made efforts to include and educate members of the public, epitomized in the figure of the young Carmichael. Northouse (2016) further states that taking on shared leadership does have its risks, especially for the member who provides leadership outside of the team. Carmichael became the chairman of SNCC in 1966, but soon irritated his cohort as he achieved celebrity status, earning him the nickname “Stokely Starmichael”. Eventually, because his ideas became too radical for his team members (he popularized the slogan “Black Power” and became more revolutionary), he was expelled from SNCC. 

In his reflections, Carmichael thought that his expulsion “revealed SNCC’s ‘struggle between reformers and revolutionaries.’” According to Western (2013), eco-leadership is often divided between the two: reformers are typically politicians and organizational leaders who “advocate responsible or caring capitalism” while radicals are activists who believe “that reform merely prolongs a dying system” (p. 266). Carmichael died of cancer in 1998 and, despite his fractured connection with SNCC, their relationship frames eco-leadership, both strengths and weaknesses, almost perfectly.

Rosetta Stone and LMX Theory

According to Northouse (2016), Leader-Member Exchange Theory focuses on the relationship between leaders and members. Those who go above and beyond the scope of their job duties become members of the leader's in-group and are more likely to get their additional support. Those who stay strictly within their job duties are members of the out-group and only get the support required by the job. 

My partner, Alfonso, works for Rosetta Stone in their Global Order Processing division. During the third quarter of the 2016 fiscal year, the company laid off a large number of employees in their international and Arlington offices and reorganized some divisions. In the final quarter of FY2016, his division had a meeting about their ordering processing errors. During the company reorganization, leadership decided to put more focus on quality control. As such, during the meeting, the three team leads discussed the division’s error rate and the leadership’s desire for an overall error rate of 5%. At the time, the division’s rate was 16%, while Alfonso’s was 11%.

When an employee finishes an order, a copy is sent to the team leads. Part of their duty is to review them and catch any errors. To meet the division goal, each quarter, team leads now meet with each employee to discuss their errors for improvement in the next quarter. Though Alfonso knew that his error rate was now down to 8%, he recognized that he still had improvements to make. Before his meeting, he took two hours out of his day to review every case, take notes, and make a list of questions. When he entered the meeting, his supervisors were pleasantly surprised by the amount of preparation put in. They complimented his work and suggested that the other employees do the same.

Because of cases like this, Alfonso has become one of the in-group members for the team leads, while conversely, some of the other employees are members of the out-group. 

By understanding LMX Theory, we can better understand the dynamic s between leaders and followers. For leaders, this can be a revelation of how they subconsciously group their followers and can help them to counteract that. For followers, this can help them understand how to improve their standing with the leaders of their organizations.

Fred Hampton as a Transformational Leader

"You can kill a revolutionary, but you can never kill the revolution."~ Fred Hampton

Fred Hampton began life as a leader among his peers. A leader of several school groups, Hampton transferred this leadership to his time at Crane Junior College where he became the president of the NAACP Youth Branch in his hometown of Maywood, Illinois in the late 1960s. During his time there, Hampton began making the connections that would lead him to prominence in the Civil Rights Movement including Rev. Jesse Jackson, Stokeley Carmichael (Kwame Toure), and Dick Gregory. In 1968, along with Bobby Rush, Hampton founded the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party. The Panthers spent much of their time educating future members about the politics behind their actions as well as providing free meals for local youth. As a result of his activism, Hampton became a target for the FBI’s COINTELPRO and was murdered in his home at the age of 21. 

Despite his youth, Hampton was a transformational leader. Northouse (2016) defines transformational leadership as “the process whereby a person engages with others and creates a connection that raises the level of motivation and morality in both the leader and the follower” (p. 162). Hampton has been described as being charismatic and, continuing with other Northouse leadership descriptors, he was able to be an inspirational motivator. As aforementioned, the Panthers spent six weeks educating potential members before allowing them to join, setting high expectations for members. Hampton also provided intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration to his chapter members as he led them through several successful local protests.

Despite being a controversial figure, Hampton’s transformational leadership style is an example of how age does not determine leadership. An article that I read earlier this week, Keeping Leadership White by Frank Lowe (2013), talks about the leader prototype and how it is commonly that of a white male. As a young black man, Hampton rose to his leadership role despite this prototype as a part of the counterculture. He engaged the youth around him to raise awareness about racial injustice and to support his community. As we study leaders and work to improve our own communities, it’s important that we remember that traditional leadership doesn’t have to look the same; black youth can be just as powerful as white men.

Donald Trump = Charismatic Leader?

It is undeniable that Donald Trump has come a lot farther in his run for the presidency than most would have predicted. He is frequently considered to make incendiary remarks that increasingly rile his supporters to violence. His comments about women, Megyn Kelly comes to mind, have been disparaging and his plan to make Mexico build a wall has caused outrage on both sides of the border. Moreover, the never-before-seen violence at his rallies has put his supporters and protestors on edge. The question remains: how has remained a serious contender?

Photo courtesy of CNN

Franz (2012) states that perceived power plays a large role in influencing others. Of concern here is that people can sway a group despite not having the most information or being the best decision makers. Trump has retained large support despite continuously providing misinformation to the American public. This is in part to Trump's ability to move between transformational and transactional leadership.

According to Franz (2012, p 239), transformational leadership relies on "charisma, being inspiring, being intellectually stimulating, and the ability to work with individuals." While some may scoff at Trump having these characteristics, it's safe to say that he does--at least with certain demographics. His business successes are certainly inspirational to some and he can be a charismatic speaker. As far as intellectually stimulating? His supporters have been identified as those who primarily didn't go to college, feel politically voiceless, want to keep outsiders out, and live in areas with racial resentment. For those in this demographic, his rallies can be seen as stimulating.

Franz (2012) says that transactional leadership is related to rewards, management, and performing action. McGregor (2002) goes a step farther and says that transactional leaders are "Theory X" managers who assume that workers are lazy and require a reward/punishment system to achieve. As an example, Trump's immigration policy would paint him as a transactional leader. According to him, most Mexican immigrants are criminals and not only do they need to be deported, Mexico should build a wall. This form of transaction punishes those who come into the country illegally under current laws as opposed to working for a solution to ease current restraints. Conversely, this could be a reward for those who vote for him. If folks in his demographic already live in areas with racial tension, this could be the answer for which they are looking.

Despite the numerous concerns that Trump's politics bring up, the most concerning would that Franz (2012) states that charismatic leaders can come with drawbacks. Franz (2012, p 240) quotes Conger and Kanungo as saying that charismatic leaders "may be authoritarian and narcissistic, have a high need for power, disregard legitimate authority, and seek unquestioning obedience." If current trends continue and Trump is elected president, we may have more to worry about than his racist and sexist remarks.

KAI and Mary Kay

Recently, I started my own business as a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant and have immediately been pushed right out of my comfort zone. It's not that I am not comfortable with direct sales; for the past three years, I have worked part time in a retail organization that relied on amount of sales to determine employee schedules. However, with this particular group, I have realized that I am an adaptive person swimming in a sea of innovators.

Kirton's Adaption-Innovation Theory was developed in 1976 as a way "to help organizations understand problem-solving and cognitive style" while stressing that "one style is not better than the other and both are needed in organizations" (Stum, 2009, p. 75). Everyone has a problem-solving style that lands on a continuum between being more adaptive and more innovative and this particular preference doesn't change over the years. After taking the KAI inventory, I have identified as being more adaptive, which considering my near-gold score on the TrueColors test, makes sense. 

Aritzeta, Senior, and Swailes (2005) state that adaptors are more stable and keep the system running efficiently by working inside the existing paradigm. Throughout my life, being adaptive has been successful in business, academia, and my personal life. However, in my new role with this company, being innovative is valued.

In my previous retail position, I sold well because the customers came to me. Once I had someone in the store, then a sale was almost a certainty. But with Mary Kay, you have to find the customers and you have to be innovative and finding ways to attract customers can become difficult. Aritzeta et al. (2014) add that innovators are needed "in times of rapid change and unstructured situations." Conference calls with directors and other consultants indicate focused innovation; that is to say rapid-fire ideas and suggestions on how to increase sales and recruit team members. Admittedly, I have felt a little lost in my attempts to keep up, but thanks to this week's readings, I know that I need to search out ways to accommodate my preferences in order to feel comfortable and to be successful.

Fortunately, the company has kept up with several of the interventions that Franz (2012) lists. For instance, the entire sales team is diversified, so we are not getting the same ideas. There is organizational memory with a log of video tutorials, online modules, and books at consultant disposal. We brainstorm electronically via apps, conference calls, and email. Finally, the company sets high goals for consultants (where else could you win a free pink Cadillac?). Franz (2012) also states that in order to improve creativity, there first needs to be an environment that allows freedom and openness, then working with people to express their creativity, and finishing with providing a variety of procedures they could use to improve creativity. I know my problem solving preferences and because of my ability to improve upon existing ideas (Stum, 2009), I am ready to adapt the innovators' ideas in the toolbox provided. 

#BlackLivesMatter: Using Social Capital to Affect Change

In the post-Ferguson era, a modern take on the Black community's attempt to achieve racial equality, the #BlackLivesMatter movement has effectively surpassed the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as the authority on knowing how to recruit and retain young adult interest in politics. 

 According to their website, the organization formed after George Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin's murderer, was acquitted for his crime. The movement has garnered increasing support and more national recognition for its work following the murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO and taking . This increased support led to the decision to make the movement chapter-based, which allows for the increase in local events in addition to national ones. By forming teams around the U.S., the organization has made it possible to affect change through leading teams of people who have bought-in to the same ideals to political action as opposed to leaving the social media hashtag to linger on Black Twitter. But what is the draw?

The leaders of #BlackLivesMatter, Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi, and Patrisse Cullors, appear to have a high Emotional Intelligence (EI). According to Chang, Sy, and Choi (2011, p 76), EI is "a set of competencies for identifying, processing, and managing emotions." Without a doubt, there is a veritable flood of emotions tied to race relations in our nation, and these women have been able to successfully navigate the varying dimensions that the authors identified: mood regulation, emotion appraisal, social skills, and emotion utilization. Garza, Tometi, and Cullors seemingly do this with a certain finesse, "appropriately responding to the emotions of their followers" (Chang et al., 2011, p. 80). Rallies, art shows, twitter chats, town halls, and more allow members a safe space to express their emotions and create plans of work to move the cause forward.

But more than allowing space to express these emotions, leaders created a space for other marginalized groups. They have effectively partnered with the LGBTQ community, brought a spotlight to those with disabilities, and given women a leading seat at the table. By tapping into the use of social media and providing opportunity for other minorities, they've increased their voices as a collective, creating a work team, or people who consider themselves to be part of a social entity (Henttonen, 2010).

Chua, Lim, Soh, and Sia (2012, p. 578) would add that #BlackLivesMatter leaders have developed a clan culture, which they say utilizes clan member communications "to direct, influence, or regulate others to achieve project goals." And it's easy to see why clan culture can take root here. Franz (2012, p.180) states that "when group rewards are large, there is more cohesion." This type of grass-roots movement and member-led direction accelerates group trust and cohesion and as trusts grow, so do synergies (Zornoza, Orengo, & Penarroja, 2009).

So where do we go from here?  Well, for the movement at large, the 2016 presidential race has been a primary concern. Other organizations, such as We The Protesters, an off-shoot of #BlackLivesMatter, have joined in the call to bring race relations to the front of the debate, meeting with Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sec. Hillary Clinton. Their efforts are causing people to think and have important conversations about how they see race and the systemic injustices that occur, which is an important first step.

What can I learn from them? Having to navigate a particularly sticky work situation where I must play mediator between two groups, their success shows me that I need to establish a group identity and to employ the right emotions to garner buy-in. #BlackLivesMatter uses a mix of fear, anger, frustration, and even hope to rally supporters. In my work, appropriate emotions may simply be the need for adults to put differences aside to focus on the kids who need us. Just as they've provided space for marginalized groups to collaborate, I need to allow everyone a seat at the table while being emotionally intelligent and aware of how to manage those differences. They've created group trust through calls to action and actually doing something compared to just talking about it. I can help our team to form synergy by enhancing group trust, showing how meaningful their work is, and empowering members.

While my work situation is nowhere similar to the fight in which #BlackLivesMattter activists are engaging, their successful use of social capital to affect change is a lesson for us all.

References

Chang, J.W., Sy, T., & Choi, J.N. (2011).Team emotional intelligence and performance: Interactive dynamics between leaders and members. Small Group Research, 43(1), 75-104. doi: 10.1177/1046496411415692

Chua, C.E.H., Lim, W.-K., Soh, C., & Sia, S.K. (2012). Enacting clan control in complex IT projects: A social capital perspective. MIS Quarterly, 36(2), 577-600.

Franz, T. (2012). Group dynamics and team interventions: Understanding and improving team performance. West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.

Henttonen, K. (2010). Exploring social networks on the team level-A review of the empirical literature. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, 27, 74-109.

Zornoza, A., Orengo, V., & Penarroja, V. (2009). Relational capital in virtual teams: the role played by trust. Social Sciences Information, 48(2), 257-281. doi:10.1177/0539018409102414