Distinctive Leadership II Discussion Board 1

[pastorhelen]

An exceptional leader is accountable.
In what ways can a leader be accountable while having authority? While using your notes as a guideline think out of your notes and don’t copy from them.
Use real-life scenarios to thoroughly discuss the balance between accountability and authority.

Paste the same submission from the previous step here by clicking on the REPLY link just above. Your submission should be made by Wednesday the 2nd of October 2024

Then scroll down to see your peer submission and click reply to comment on their submissions. You MUST comment on at least one post with a minimum of 200 words by 11:59 p.m. (WAT) on Friday the 4th of October 2024. Your comments will also be graded.

[saysay]

NAME: Sarah Ajakaiye
COURSE: Distinctive Leadership II> An Exceptional Leader is Accountable
COURSE CODE: DL – 305 – L
WHAT IS AUTHORITY?
Authority has been defined as a delegated power, or right to function in an organization or structure. For authority to be vested, there is a cell, segment, unit, and department which are mostly structured hierarchically, to achieve some set goals. Authority cannot be a one-off thing because nobody can exercise authority over himself or herself.
A leader in authority has the right to allocate or delegate a part of his job to someone deemed fit or trusted. The person or subordinate is responsible and accountable to the one in authority or who allocated the job to him. It is expected, that the job description is well communicated, and it is the responsibility of the subordinate to deliver accordingly and at the specified time. However, the result or expected result or outcome rests on the shoulder of the one in authority, whether successful or not. He is to account for the job given to him.
WHAT IS ACCOUNTABILITY?
Accountability means being answerable to the one above you, your subordinate, your peers, your clients, potential clients, others within and without the organization, and your family. Most of all to your conscience.
HERE ARE SOME SCENARIOS TO DRIVE THE MESSAGE HOME.
SCENARIO 1: THE CARPENTER’S TEEN CHURCH (TCTC)
Every year, The Carpenter’s church camps The Carpenter’s Teen Church (TCTC), a home from. For some reason, we resorted to day camp. The activities are structured so that everybody has a role to play, with the assistant Pastors, and the main supervisors (in the camp), equally headed by the associate Pastor and the presiding Pastor. The leaders were to take instructions from the assistant Pastor while the teen workers were from the leaders.
I was attached to the pastor in charge of food, and “bole”, [roasted plantain, potatoes. Yam, fish, chicken, and beef (suya)], are part of the meals. We were to source materials required by the vendor. I was to purchase the materials (as a first-timer in this field). I made all the inquiries and booked for the plantain. Unfortunately, the plantain supplier’s mum passed, and the time frame for a new negotiation was not there (the supplier was to buy from the farmers and cover for them). I had to flag it with my supervisor for a plan B price increase, the sizes were not the same as the ones we bargained for initially. To add salt to injury, I did not buy the right charcoal (I never knew charcoal had species. We delivered quite well but did not meet with the quality and timing.
The bottom line is that in all of these, my supervisor did not point an accusing finger at me especially when I bought the wrong coal, she did not push me to go and explain myself when the camp boss came to find the reason for the delay. She proposed an alternative buying, after making inquiries. And was encouraging me during the stretch moment. When the camp boss came to the scene to find out why the serving paused at some point, she quickly stepped in and explained the cause. I see the characteristics of an exceptional leader displayed in all of these.
SCENERIO 2. THE SCARLET THREAD HOME – THE CARPENTER’S MINISTRY
The Carpenter’s Church runs its financial year from July to June. During my first two years in office, my supervisor prepared the budget and forwarded it to me after approval. She told me to keep track of the expenses and study the budget and that I would start preparing for the home when her table was full. When I prepared the first one, I did not meet the specifications (I was supposed to write statements in the remark section), she corrected as much as she could, and when the deadline was reached, she submitted it anyway. Since the budget was not explanatory to her superior, she was invited to defend it. I who prepared the budget was never in the picture. She took whatever consequences vented on her without pointing an accusing finger at me. How did I know about this? I gave my colleague who is my subordinate something to do, and when it did not go well, I asked my colleague to go and explain herself to my supervisor. When my supervisor saw my actions, she was furious and gave me a good measure, pressed down, and shook together scolding. She sat me down and told me about my budget blunder and what she received in my place. I apologized to my colleague as well as my supervisor. I didn’t have in-depth knowledge like I do now that accountability is never transferrable.
As gleaned from the note, authority is delegated, responsibility is created, and accountability is imposed. That means, you who were delegated authority, must be accountable, and you who were delegated a task, must take responsibility, even if accountability solely rests on the shoulder of the one with the delegated authority.

[Amotsuka Caleb]

Being accountable means being answerable to the people you serve, both those above and those following you. This involves being transparent, open, and sometimes vulnerable to those we serve. This doesn’t mean the leader now takes orders from the followers or doesn’t take the initiative to solve problems for his superiors, rather it means serving in a way that shows the leader is true to the vision and is living by the same example and principles that are expected of others.
A leader can be accountable while having authority by:
1. Keeping to their words and commitments. A leader must do what he says he will do otherwise people will stop to trust him.
2. Live by the example that he teaches. A leader must be able to confidently tell his subordinates to do what he does and not just what he says. The leader must walk the walk and not just talk the talk.
3. Not making excuses for themselves. The leader must hold himself up to the same standard that others are held up to. In fact, a leader should hold himself up to a higher standard.

To maintain the balance between accountability and authority, a leader should do the following.
1. While exerting authority, one must remain accountable for the outcomes of those decisions.
It is sometimes easy to give commands and instructions to people and most people want to be in charge because this position looks attractive. A leader must however realize that while he has the authority to make decisions, he must also remain accountable for the outcome of those decisions and not blame others if things don’t turn out the way he desires. This is why a good leader collaborates widely with the team before making decisions to ensure he gets a wide perspective on the issue and gets the buy-in of those he is working with.

2. Even when we have authority over people, we must remain accountable to them in order not to slide into tyranny or dictatorship.
A good leader must also realize that power is good but as it is often said, absolute power corrupts. When a leader is not accountable to anyone, the leader is on a very slippery slope and can easily slide into tyranny because no one can question them.

3. While maintaining accountability, a leader must realize that popular opinion may not always be the right way to go and must be ready to exert their authority based on good principles and convictions.

[saysay]

MY REPLY TO CALEB AMOTSUKA.
You have explained the characteristics and principles of leadership regarding authority and accountability well. You said that accountability and authority work hand in hand, which I buy into. But I feel you did not hit the nail on the head. This is very much unlike you. It’s like you didn’t have time to attend to this question.
The question is “In what ways can a leader be accountable while having authority, which you touched on in a way. However, what was required of us was a real-life situation, to balance accountability and authority.
The lecturer gave us a series of examples. He used the church organogram and family group unit to explain this. Let me use the church office setting as an example. The man at the apex is Pastor Nkecki Ene (Mrs.). She cannot do all the work alone hence there is a delegation, which is to the person of Pastor Sola, who in turn delegates part of his tasks to others (the assistant Pastors/supervisors), and on-and-on to the least staff in the Ministry. The subordinates are responsible to their immediate leader.
Whatever task Pastor Sola has delegated to his subordinate(s), he is solely accountable. Whether it was properly done or not, delayed (did not meet the deadline), he cannot go and tell Pastor Kech that he is sorry that Sister Felicia for instance did not deliver as expected. He will maintain his authority, yet be accountable for the authority delegated to him.
Accountability rests on the one with the delegated authority and is mostly channeled to the one at the apex.

[Author]

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