IMPACTFUL LEADER
There are different types of leaders. There those leaders who positively impact their customers, people they lead, their communities, and their organizations and those who do not. Impactful leaders lead to impactful leadership. Under impactful leadership, the role of leaders is to make long-lasting, meaningful, and positive contributions to their communities, organizations, and lives of the people. Impactful leaders are not defined by the cars they drive, the clothes they wear, or the way they speak (Skinner, 2014). But instead, impactful leaders combine their heart and mind to lead their group toward achieving sustainable goals through influences other people to believe, join, and trust their visions. Most impactful leaders are aspirational and role models to people around them. They are defined by their skills and achievements they have accrued in the course of their leadership period.
When talking of impactful leaders, B.F Skinner has always been my ideal leader for his achievements that are associated with him. Skinner is recognized for his contribution to the field of psychology and famously known for his influence in the development of behaviourism theory. As an impactful leader, his behavioural theory has been essential in enhancing impactful leadership. He argued that leadership is a learned behaviour that is influenced by genes other than spirits in the body (Skinner, 2014). He contended that reinforcing leadership behaviours or non-reinforcement of such behaviours are the determinants of who becomes a leader.. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
His work has a huge impact on me on my desire to become a leader. In my interactions with friends, most of them are inspired by his arguments and contribution in the field of psychology and leadership. B.F skinner’s concept of operant conditioning had a huge influence on followers and other leaders and me in particular. Under this concept, individual behaviour can be influenced positively or negatively. In this concept, positive or negative reinforcement can be used to influence positive behaviour to individuals (Cherry, 2019). For the impactful leader, they need to use any method to impact their followers. For instance, Skinner demonstrated how positive reinforcement could be used to positively impact children through giving them rewards for completing an assignment. Through this, a child will continue to complete an assignment to receive rewards. Similarly, negative reinforcement can be used in that; a child is punished anytime he/she doesn’t complete assignment. Therefore, he/she will complete assignment to avoid punishment.
In most of his work, Skinner stood as a leader among those he worked and interacted with. As a leader, he believed in trying until you are successful, and failure is not a mistake. In one of his quotes, Skinner said that “A failure is not always a mistake, it may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying’’ (Skinner, 2014). As an impactful leader, this is one of the best slogans that can one have to move forward despite failures. This is a slogan that he continued to hold onto during his period as a chair of the department of psychology at Indiana University. Skinner has influenced a lot of people due to his research and as a leader. He is known for influencing the work of Maxie Clarence Maultsby Jr- a renounced psychiatrist who developed Rational Behavior Therapy by basing it on the behaviourism theory by Skinner.
Famous leaders have become impactful through making decisions in relation to situations they find themselves in. In the workplace, impactful leaders influence their followers through positive reinforcement. Skinner was determined to change the behaviour of the people he led through positive or negative reinforcement. Impactful leaders will influence workers by leading rather than demanding for things to be done (Prestia, 2018). For skinner, impactful leaders make decisions in relation to the situation they are in to impact their followers. For instance, an impactful leader may want to increase the productivity of his/her workers. In such a situation, he needs to make a decision that will align with his/her desires. It is in this situation that influences Skinner to develop the operant conditioning concept. For this concept, Skinner made a decision to give rewards like promotion to excellent workers.
In general, impactful leaders leave a mark in the field of leadership due to their contribution. Impactful leaders influence other leaders as well as those they lead or their followers. In most cases, impactful leaders try to influence their followers toward achieving their goals without coercion. One of the leaders is B.F Skinner. To demonstrate his leadership style, he focused on behaviourism theory. To have an impact, Skinner argued that operant conditioning concept. Under this concept, impactful leaders will influence their followers or other leaders through positive reinforcement. Therefore, Skinner is my ideal impactful leader whose work has inspired me in my field of study.
References
Cherry, K. (2019, November 7). What Is Operant Conditioning and How Does It Work? Verywell Mind; Verywellmind. https://www.verywellmind.com/operant-conditioning-a2-2794863
Prestia, A. S. (2018). A Fresh Approach to Impactful Messaging. Nurse Leader, 16(3), 170–172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mnl.2018.03.004
Skinner, B. . (2014). B.F. Skinner Quotes (Author of Walden Two). Goodreads.Com. https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/31631.B_F_Skinner