Leadership Foundations in Research

I think it’s safe to say that I’ve always been a fairly critical thinker. Never the type to take things at face value, the way my critical thinking has manifested itself over the years has evolved — loudly opinionated in high school, more self-reflective in college, etc. — but the instinct has always been there. Since I’ve gotten on the path toward my Master of Business Administration in Aviation (MBAA), though, I’ve noticed another shift, and it has gone hand-in-hand with my ambition. Maybe it’s a natural part of the development process that people tend to think more about the future and what they hope to accomplish in their lives once they reach their thirties, but that has absolutely become a huge part of my focus the past year. I’ve noticed the change, but instead of it being purely theoretical, centered on grand ideas or introspection, it’s become more directly connected to action. What do I want? Why do I want that? How do I get it? That’s a pretty major shift for m...

I can’t remember where I heard it first, but there’s a saying that has stuck with me through the years that always seems to pop up in my head when things get overthought, over-“strategized,” or overly politicized at work: “A camel is a horse designed by committee.” I love that saying, not only because it’s funny but because it communicates so much truth about efficiency, productivity and the value/purity of a good idea in the workplace. I’m sure there are a lot of other clichés that communicate the same idea — “Too many cooks in the kitchen” comes to mind — but the sentiment remains the same: At a certain point, the more people contributing to the decision-making process, the worse the decision will become. Now, look, a camel’s fine. They do well in rough climates. They’ve advertised cigarettes and made a fortune. They have a hump — which is practical but, you know, still a  hump . A camel gets the job done, but it’s just not a horse, which is streamlined and simple. Th...

Organizational leadership, as it pertains to a leader's unique position in a unique company, is primarily comprised of information — how the company functions, what it seeks to accomplish, who its employees are, etc. — and choices — how that information drives the leader’s actions. To squeeze the entire discipline within that ideological box, however, would be to confuse a complex philosophy, a way of thinking about a task, with the much simpler task itself: to confuse the discipline of organizational leadership with the job of being a leader, with management. Organizational leadership as a system of thinking, though, is grander and more idealistic. To smoke it down to just its tasks — hire someone, fire someone, raise morale, order staples — misses the point that, in order to be a good leader, a leader must constantly question his/her own decisions and challenge him/herself to be better. This form of leadership isn’t about numbers on a spreadsheet. It’s about goals: “What ty...

Comparing the lists of critical- and non-critical thinking standards  (Nosich, 2012, p. 153) , I realize that I not only fall firmly on the critical-thinking side, in terms of what values guide my life in certain respects, but I actually have a gut-level aversion to the non-critical thinking standards. Standards like "chic," "popular," "attention-getting" and "feels good" serve as a sort of Bizarro World refection of how I see the world and what I value in myself and other people. It couldn't be further from my truth. As I reflect on those non-critical thinking values, though --"fun, exciting, spontaneous" -- it isn't lost on me how those qualities are often the ones most people value in their friends and families. Who wants a friend who's hyper-organized and logical? People don't put "I'm looking for a guy who's 'testable'" on their online dating profiles.  But, obviously, these lists...

As a rule, people generally don't like to be confused. They don't see a value in it. They see it as a hassle or personal shortcoming, rather than as a road toward deeper understanding. When you're taking a full slate of graduate-level classes after being out of school for nearly a decade, though, as I am -- and you're fitting in assignments in between a full-time job, a family, and a never-seems-to-tire-herself-out puppy -- occasional confusion is unavoidable. And that's a good thing. According to the Foundation for Critical Thinking, a key facet of intellectual perseverance is "a sense of the need to struggle" (Valuable, 2014) with complex ideas that don't "click" right away. I'm not sure any student could be truly successful in an accelerated degree program without knowing that feeling well. It's the feeling that drives me to work late at night even though I got sick of staring at the computer screen hours ago. It's the thing...