RUNNING HEAD: WEEK 4 REFLECTIVE ESSAY

Week 4 Reflective Essay

Terresa Roulhac
LED604 Leading Change and Adaptation

WEEK 4 REFLECTIVE ESSAY

Week 4 Reflective Essay

Politics and religion are two areas that leaders must understand in order to make the right
decisions and correctly implement change. There have been many intense conversations in the
workplace concerning both subjects. Understanding that people naturally will have different
views and have strong opinions is important for a leader to carefully implement change. Close
examination on the relationships of each subject can help a leader successfully lead the change
without much resistance.
When a leader incorporates religion into his or her leadership style, he or she is seeking
out to understand who they are and promote a sense of importance and meaning to those who are
employed underneath them. Applying principles and spiritual values are the elements that
spiritual leaders add to the workplace. Finding meaning in work for employees is a huge part of
leaders who incorporate spirituality. A number of questions are proposed in an attempt to find
those meanings. For example, Who are we as a work team, department, or organization
(Reference for Business, n.d.)? Bolman and Deal states spiritual leaders off the gift of
significance, rooted in confidence that the work is precious, that devotion and loyalty to be a
beloved institution can offer hard-to-emulate intangible rewards (Bolman & Deal, 2013, p.404).
How worthy is the work and what is the greater purpose of that work are other questions
that spiritual leaders pose to implement change. Having a workplace with people who share not
only traditions but also beliefs and values are the goals of a spiritual leader (Reference for
Business, n.d.). Having shared beliefs and values will help a leader understand what will help
employees accept change more easily. Leaders that include spirituality have the obligation of
maintaining and encouraging faith in themselves and in reminding others to have faith when they
have strayed away from it (Bolman & Deal, 2013, p. 406). When a leader uses religion, he or she

WEEK 4 REFLECTIVE ESSAY

is concerned more about the person instead of the formal position; more on diversity and
transformation instead of conforming everyone; and more on collaborations, inspiration, and on
partnerships instead of how to control employees. Religion in leadership is centered on the
development of the entire person and spiritual leaders show more compassion to others within
the organization (Reference for Business, n.d.).
Religion is just one thing that leaders are faced with when implementing change; often
time office politics can be a challenge. Politics in the workplace is unavoidable for a number of
reasons. For example, everyone in the workplace will have different jobs and are at different
levels in the organizations hierarchy. Also, people within the organization have different values;
for some promotion is their end goals, for others it is being involved in decisions that affect how
the goals are aligned with the vision and mission. Resources are limited and people within an
organization are often competing; which leads to conflicts where teams are more focused with
personal objectives instead of the greater good of the organization. Leaders must understand how
to make politics work for him or her by developing strategies to handle the various political
behaviors of his or her employees. Observations are one way that leaders can determine the
behaviors of those around them. Other ways a leader can use politics to his or her advantage is
too re-map the organization chart, understand the informal network, build relationships, listen
carefully, make the most of your network, and govern self-behavior (Dealing with Office
Politics: Navigating the Minefield, n.d.).
Once a leader has understood the politics within his or her organization there are a
number of habits a leader can successfully use to implement change. The first habit is that a
leader needs to understand is that he or she has a choice. Understanding how to react to different
situations that arise is essential for a leader to make informative decisions concerning change.

WEEK 4 REFLECTIVE ESSAY

Once the realization is made concerning the choice, the next habit that a leader can adapt is to
determine what the ultimate achievement is for the change. Leaders are faced with different type
of influences. Employees will want to rally for their particular interest and leaders must
understand who and where his or her influences are coming from. A leader must stay as neutral
as possible and avoid taking sides. Politics often become personal and leaders must try to keep it
as professional as feasible. Professionalism will help a leader to understand what is going on
with employees. Leaders must also seek to understand what issues employees might have with
the change (Cheok, n.d.).
Politics and religion are two subjects that a leader must understand when implementing
change. Spirituality and religion are centered on the employees self worth and a leader must
understand how important values and beliefs are to a person in order to successfully implement
change. On the other hand, office politics are unavoidable in the workplace. Leaders must
recognize and learn the behaviors of his or her employees in order to be instrumental in leading
change without disrupting the workflow. Change is inevitable and leaders must align employees
with the vision and mission of the organization. Frances Hesselbein was quoted as saying,
Culture does not change because we desire to change it. Culture changes when the organization
is transformed: the culture reflects the realities of people working together everyday (Hesselbein,
1999)

WEEK 4 REFLECTIVE ESSAY

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References

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2013). Integrating Frames for Effective Practice. Reframing Ethics
and Spirit (5th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Cheok, L. (n.d.). 7 Habits To Win In Office Politics. Retrieved March 28, 2015, from
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/work/7-habits-to-win-in-office-politics.html
Dealing with Office Politics: Navigating the Minefield. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2015, from
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCDV_85.htm
Hesselbein, F. (1999). Quotes on Change. Retrieved from:
http://www.leadershipnow.com/changequotes.html
Reference for Business. (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2015, from
http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Sc-Str/Spirituality-in-Leadership.html