krcoburn

In the information and communication industry, things are changing every second of every day. Technology is rapidly changing and advancing. Within seconds organizations can be developed with developments in e-commerce and just as fast they can go out of business due to lack of research and preparation. As a leader, I think it is important to pay attention to your surroundings and understand your own leadership style to stay ahead in this century. I believe that with the use of competitive intelligence programs and knowledge management, a leader can surpass their competitors.
The topic of leadership is an extremely complex subject. Scholars for centuries have tried to define the term leadership but there is no correct answer. Ronald Reagan said, “Leadership is to grasp and hold a vision, that is the very essence of successful leadership”(Oxford University Press). Typically leadership has been defined by attributes or characteristics that or normally seen in specific examples of leaders. For example, charismatic, outgoing, and confident. As time has passed, the study of leadership has evolved to include the study of the followers and their relationship with the leaders. An example of this is Hollander’s notion of “idiosyncrasy credits” (Wren & Swatez, 1995, 246). Hollander viewed leadership as the followers viewing the leader’s actions in a way that fit their personal needs and expectations (New York Academy of Sciences, 2008).
Through my research I have come to believe that environment, the individuals surroundings, has an outstanding affect on leadership. I believe culture is an important factor in what makes an individual who they are. Culture influences communication, perspective, beliefs, work ethic and priorities. Miscommunication can cause confusion and mayhem in an intense environment (Coburn, 2008). Amanda Haskett, a graduate candidate for the Center for Information and Communication Sciences, states, "When working with a group, an effective leader takes into account the various cultures within the group, and inspires followers to look beyond cultural separations." (Haskett, 2008). It is the duty of the leader to create a solution that works best for his team with diverse backgrounds. Schein states, “If the group’s survival is threatened because elements of its culture have been maladapted, it is ultimately the function of leadership to recognize and do something about the situation” (Schein, 1995, 273).
A tool that I believe is essential for a good leader to understand is knowledge management. Knowledge management can be defined as the transferring of ideas, information and concepts. “Knowledge management and information networking can serve as effective tools to help us find valuable knowledge in a sea of information”, states Amanda Haskett (Haskett, 2008). So in short, knowledge management is directly related to the transferring of information. According to Jay Edwin Gillette, the word information can be defined as “a component of knowledge. It occupies a central position in a scale of knowledge phenomena to wisdom” (Gillette, 2000, Table 2). To delve into the subject a little further I believe since knowledge management relies on information, we must first learn to think clear thoughts. By thinking clear thoughts, to clarify we must be able to think clearly on our own. I believe that critical thinking is essential to knowledge management. It plays an important role in how we obtain our information, create opinions, establish perspectives, and create a base on how we know what we know as leaders and individuals (Coburn, 2008). In The Leader’s Companion, Wren states, “being critical thinkers entails a continual questioning of assumptions. People can never be in a state of complete critical development”(Wren, 1995, 381). As leaders we need to be able to distinguish our own individual beliefs from others, or knowing what we know and how we know it. “Leadership is heading into the wind with such knowledge of oneself and collaborative energy as to move others to follow”(Peters, 1987, 141). Without critical thinking we never learn to challenge others way of thinking, therefore never establishing our own unique personality. This type of individuality sets the leader apart from the crowd (Coburn, 2008). This similar concept can be found in Dr. Gillette’s dissertation on knowledge management, although he calls this concept “wisdom” rather than critical thinking. According to Dr. Gillette, “Wisdom is the ability to discern, to make judgments” (Gillette, 2000, 8).
Competitive Intelligence is an extremely broad field and the wisest of leaders understand that information is power. With globalization and the swift advancing of technology it is becoming more important than ever to take advantage of competitive intelligence methods. A competitive intelligence program can be explained as,
“A CI program can make a valuable contribution to decisions regarding strategic planning, mergers, and acquisitions, regulatory requirement for exporting to new markets, international market penetration, product launching, pricing, recruiting, in new countries, cultural settings, strategic alliances for distribution channels, research and development (R&D) activities, and much more” (Blenkhorn & Fleisher, 2005,18).
With the duties of the competitive intelligence program being so broad it is important to narrow a focus based on the individual organizations’ needs. In order to accomplish this, there needs to be involvement from upper-level management, or leaders, with the CI producers. It has been found that the involvement of leadership is important to the success of the CI program and the organization (Prescott & Miller, 2001, 3). Deepak Sivakumar, a Graduate candidate for the Center of Information and Communication Sciences, states, “A leader should not only be reactive but must be proactive” (Sivakumar, 2008). In other words a leader must not only be fast to make decisions but work steadily in the best interest of the company.
Through my research I have grown to understand that a good leader understands the value and utilizes knowledge management and competitive intelligence. I believe that leaders do not rise alone. Followers, culture and environment have a hand in creating that leader. I would have to agree with Hollander, I believe the leader gives its followers a voice and in turn the follower is searching for that individual that fulfills their expectations.

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