Prior to entering the field of education, I had been the manager of a telecommunications company. As the manager, I was responsible for the work flow and quality of the work performed by the technicians. Even though I was required to demonstrate leadership qualities on a daily basis, there was one episode in my managerial career that sorely tested my leadership skills.
Several years ago, in a bid to reduce the costs of operations, the higher management of my company made the decision to outsource some of the technical operations to another company. This decision would essentially lead to the loss of the jobs of some technicians under my supervision. Realizing the possible dire consequences of this decision, I spoke up on behalf of the technicians by suggesting that the higher management open the decision-making process to the technical staff. Instead of simply imposing the managerial decision outsourcing the operations to another company, the management should invite the technical staff to brainstorm for alternative solutions that could lead to the reduction in costs of production, without the loss of jobs.
Because the higher management had never previously provided lower level employees with the opportunity to participate in the decision-making process, I took on the primary role for implementing the process. I presented the situation to the technicians and the implications of the decisions in an effort to rally them to take part in the decision-making process, since some of their jobs were on the line. Moreover, I instituted various ways of communication so that the technicians could communicate their ideas and suggestions to me.
After a pre-designated period of time, the technicians and I brainstormed together at a meeting to narrow down the number of potential solutions to two or three. Then under my supervision, the technicians collaborated with one another in producing clear-cut presentations to demonstrate w...