Controlling Recruiting, Leadership and Management for Dental Clinics

 

Danny Danahus : Synergy in Team Leadership

Dan and I currently head up AKPsi professional business fraternity as Executive VP and President, respectively.  The year before, as Pledge Educators, we brought in two successful pledge classes together for the fraternity.  Members of the business fraternity often comment on the positive leadership balance Dan and I create for fraternity.  This paper will aim to explain the synergy between us through a comparison of Dan’s leadership style, behavior and traits with my own.  The hope is, that identifying the roots of our synergy will increase my skill of effectively identifying individuals in the future who I will also be able to create a synergy with.

Mike McGavick and Bill Ayer both emphasized the importance, as a leader, of surrounding yourself with individuals who excel in areas where you are relatively weak and unknowledgeable.  This creates a leadership balance.  According to the same logic, Dan and I make a good team because we cover each other’s weaknesses.  Identifying Dan’s strengths and weaknesses in comparison with myself will shed more light on the validity of the balance theory.

Areas where Dan may be  Stronger than Myself		Areas where Dan may be Weaker than Myself
Dependability/Reliable/Consistent		Emotional intelligence
Humility		Empowerment
Stability		Public speaking
Conviction in ideas		Fairness and equity
Works well under pressure		Charisma/Enthusiasm
Knows how to say “No”		Seeing the Big Picture

Dan embodies many leadership strengths that cover my leadership weaknesses.  First off, people can depend on Dan.  Dan will get the job done. If he is having difficulty finishing a task on his own, he will seek out help to make sure that the task gets done.  One can rely on Dan to not only complete his own responsibilities, but also to help out when one of Executive Board members needs assistance.  The Board and I have complete confidence in Dan to fulfill his promises. He is a man of his word. 

Dan exhibits stability and as well by achieving a work/life balance that keeps him going strong throughout the year.  Dan maintains this balance through the ability to say “No” to opportunities when he has a full schedule.  Due to this balanced stability, people know Dan will be there for them and the organization.  Personally, when I am stressed out or overworked, Dan remains levelheaded and supportive.  He works well under pressure, takes up the slack when I am too busy and in over my head in responsibilities.

 

A personal desire for recognition and approval can often detract from a leader’s ability to empower their followers.  Dan has little or no desire for public recognition or approval.  This strength allows him to empower others by giving all the recognition to them.  Mike McGavick mentioned the need for approval as a weakness for many politicians who attach their self-esteem to the voters’ opinions.  Since Dan does not associate his self-esteem with his followers’ opinions of himself, he is free to make the decisions that are best for the organization, instead of decisions that make the followers happy.

In addition to Dan’s strengths covering my weaknesses, his weaknesses tend to pop up in areas where I am more potent as a leader.  For instance, Dan does not feel comfortable talking in front of groups of people.  When he does speak, he often lacks enthusiasm and the ability to connect with the audience.  From audience’s point of view, Dan obviously does not want to be speaking in front of them.

Sometimes, Dan forgets the importance of getting the organization to buy-in to his transformational or change leadership ideas.  Since telling people to move in a certain direction is often faster and more direct than trying to inspire people to move in a certain direction, Dan occasionally ops for the former.  This task-motivated leadership can produce hostility and the minimal amount of compliance out followers. 

Dan can also be short of empathy in understanding the point of view each person in the organization.  Since he may not see each point of view, Dan may not facilitate solutions that create the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of members.

Lastly, the ability to see the big picture is key for a leader.  This vision allows a leader to guide their organization through changing social, political and legal environments.  Dan develops many value-adding ideas and can solve problems as well.  Yet, his leadership would improve if this ideas and solutions feed into an overarching scheme or direction for the organization.

Dan and I each have very different individual strengths and weaknesses.  From reading Nahavndi and listening to the different speakers talk about leadership in class this quarter, I would most likely attribute the synergy between Dan and I to the overlapping weave of our strengths and weaknesses.  Dan and I become better leaders through a balance of these strengths and weaknesses, allowing success to ensue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Areas where Dan’s stronger than myself
Dependable, man of his word
Humility- does not seek attention
Steady and stable interest.

Original
Make decisions
Initiative
Persistent
Self-Confident
Sociable
Interested in follower
Honesty
Strong relationships

Weaknesses
Emotional Intelligence
            Empathy for others
Lack of creativity
Doesn’t big picture as much
Abrasive, tendency to tell others what to do as apposed to including them in decision-making