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upon the members but should be discussed openly, for often times “brilliant ideas” have weak spots that the person who conceived the idea doesn’t see. And it is at this point that the effective leader shows what mettle she is made of. By listening to constructive criticism objec tively, and not seeing this criticism as an attack upon her, and by being willing to discard the idea or change it accordingly if members’ criticisms prove to be valid and the leader is aware of the validity, the leader proves her unity with the members, that they are working for the welfare of the organization, that she is interested in the members and how they view matters and that the leader ship position is not simply an ego trip for her. There is nothing wrong in making a mistake or a bad judgment. It’s human and to admit it will make the leader more en dearing to the members. The problem arises when there is an unwillingness to admit to making a mistake and per sisting in the mistaken idea in spite of adverse criticism. It is necessary to be flexible and to have faith and trust in the judgment of members. The leader should actually become involved in the task or project being accomplished and should do more than her share — not less, though her work may be in motivating people to perform their functions rather than assuming someone’s function and role and depriving that person of a sense of fulfillment. The most unpopular leaders are those that believe they should not do some of the menial tasks that others do. There is nothing wrong in rolling up one’s sleeves and helping to peel potatoes or onions for pyrohi. I’m sure no member will feel that she is being deprived of anything of value if the leader peels some potatoes or onions, and yet a sense of camaraderie is built up between leader and members. The leader must be someone who likes this feeling of completing the tasks as a member of the group. So the effective leader should develop group cohe siveness — a sense of belonging among all members; enable them to fulfill individual needs through their work; expect participation of members in decision making; and, in part, set goals. When all members have a strong belief in the group goals, maximum motivation and cooperation is achieved. Goals that are chosen should represent the real desires of the members; they should be understood and agreed to by most members. People feel more obligated to carry out goals that they helped establish than carry out goals forced upon them; goals should be realistic and reach able. If the costs of reaching a goal are greater than the benefits, members will not be motivated to work. If the members see benefits are greater than the costs, they will be willing to support the goal. If feasible, assign res ponsibility of achieving a goal or task to one person. If this isn’t done, then everyone will wait for someone else to take action and nothing will be accomplished. Person with the assignment, hopefully, will feel morally respon sible for doing her duty, especially if other members are aware of her commitment. In this way, confusion about who is supposed to be doing what will be avoided. Although up to this point I have suggested that there should be an equal partnership between leader and members, and that the leader should involve members in decision making and work with members rather than set herself above them, there are times when the leader has to take a firm stand and take control of situation. This is especially true when certain problems occur during meetings. The first problem is when everyone goes off in dif ferent directions at the same time, and no one discussing the point on the agenda that is supposed to be discussed. If there are 20 people, then there are 20 dif ferent subjects. To do everyone a favor, the leader will have to step in and restore order. This is not to say that everyone can’t bring up a topic of discussion, but it is the leader’s duty to everyone to insure that topics are ap proached in a mannerly way so that everyone knows clearly what is being discussed. Second problem, data overload, is related to the first in that the members try to cope with too many ideas at one time. One subject 20 opinions, all at the same time of course. Leader should impose order and discuss one idea at a time or else nothing will be accomplished. On the other hand, your meeting doesn’t need repetition and wheelspinning in which one goes over and over the same ideas. The group has to be gently shoved out of its com fortable rut. Basically it is the responsibility of the effective leader to insure that each member 1) realizes that the meeting or project belongs to her and its success rests partly with her; 2) enters into discussion enthusiastically but avoids monopolizing it; 3) confines discussion to problem but says freely what she thinks of the problem. Finally, I’d like to end on this note. The effective leader must have three strong bones: a backbone to stand for principles and policies. She can’t bend with every breeze that comes along; a wishbone so that she can dream of things as they might be, and share that dream with members, and a funnybone, to see the humor in life. The article was submitted as part of a panel discussion on Ukrainian leadership by Oksana Zurowskyj who is currently president of Branch 7 in Akron, Ohio. The panel discussion was held concurrently with the Regional Council Elections of Ohio on May 15, 1983. Please make sure that all materials submitted for publication in "Our Life” are typewritten, or printed clearly. Check the spelling of all names and make sure they are written clearly. Sloppy manuscripts delay the printing of these materials and cause extra work for the editor. Thank you for carefully prepar ing all materials submitted! The Editor and Administration of “Our Life” 26 ’’НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЛИПЕНЬ-СЕРПЕНЬ 1983 Видання C оюзу Українок A мерики - перевидано в електронному форматі в 2012 році . A рхів C У A - Ню Йорк , Н . Й . C Ш A.
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