User:Angelina3000/Four-Faceted Model of Accelerating Leadership Identity

Introduction
Leadership can be defined as the office or position of a leader, capacity to lead, or the act or an instance of leading. The Four Faceted Model of Accelerated Leader Identity focuses on one's leadership style by encompassing authentic leadership, relational dialects, and organizational diversity. One's leadership identity becomes culminated through different experiences and is constantly formed. One must know that they will never stop learning and growing as a leader. With a world that is rapidly evolving and seemingly unpredictable... the need for effective leaders has become more crucial than ever. In almost all situations, leaders are needed in order to provide stability and guidance to the others who follow. The efficiency of leadership is completely dependent on the style of leadership one portrays. Leadership identity carries across from personal to workplace relations. The four facets that are included in this theory are:


 * 1) A Spirited Sense of Self
 * 2) An In Process Oriented Life
 * 3) A No Gritch Mentality
 * 4) A Work Infused Journey.

These four facets are crucial in the overall goal of what The Four Faceted Model of Accelerated Leadership Identity tries to accomplish within leaders around the world. One will also learn about the history, strengths/ weaknesses, and past/ future applications associated with this theory within this wikipedia article.

Background and History
With the Four Faceted Model of Accelerating Leader Identity this theory stems from a sociocultural theoretical lens. Or in other words the Sociocultural Theory. This theory is one that explains how an individual's mental functioning is related to cultural, institutional, and a historical context. When people participate in social interactions it can either hinder or develop their psychological development. Along with the Sociocultural Theory the Four Faceted Model of Accelerating Leader Identity also is derived from three bodies of literature, those being Authentic leadership, Rational Dialects, and Organizational Diversity.

When looking at authentic leadership and how this aspect is involved in the process of accelerating leader identity, it is important to consider the fact that when developing a leadership mentality, a person has to start with themself. Authentic leaders are "those who are deeply aware of how they think and behave and are perceived by others as being aware of their own and others' values/moral perspectives, knowledge, and strengths; aware of the context in which they operate; and who are confident, hopeful, optimistic, resilient, and of high moral character”. When being Authentic it not only means that you are genuine in your actions it also means that you are self-aware of your actions as well as your thoughts. Leaders also are ones who look inside and examine their self as the foundation to their behaviors and how they identify in leadership roles.

Relational dialects are based through dialogue. How a person is able to develop leader identity through how they are influenced by themself and through others through speech. When understanding a person, the need for understanding their experiences often then to come from dialect and how specific words and phrases are said to one another. When that understanding is made a leader can then negotiate a series of either internal or external struggles between themselves or with other people to form a connection, which then can further the development process. Leadership identity is one that is also constructed communicatively in forming connections with others. Either it be expressed through verbal or nonverbal ques which makes this form or leadership relational.

Organizational Diversity is the last body of literature that the Four Faceted Model of Acceleration leader Identity stems from. This form is expressed through the different identities and experiences that are involved in these interactions. The identities range from various aspects whether it be age, gender, race, ethnicity, physical ability, sexual orientation, or religion. Developed identities also can stem from various causes such as the environment that they either grew up in or are a part of now, or the social groups that they interact with on a daily basis. When the theory was first developed it was based off of the array of racially diverse leader experiences, mainly being the experiences of the "cultural exclusion of women in tribal leadership, the importance of community and cultural paternal groups, and reconciliation of religious beliefs amid radical inequities". All of these different yet specific experiences that have been made are ones that have shaped the Four Faceted Model of Accelerating Leader Identity.

Strengths and Weaknesses
The Four Faceted Model of Accelerated Leader Identity is used to highlight the effectiveness of one's leadership style and how others react towards it in any situation. It has also been proven to be an exceptionally useful theory in workplaces where group work is highly encouraged. The theory promotes the use of a genuine leadership style in order to make the entirety of the group successful. Like all theories, they come with their own set of strengths and weaknesses. Depending on the theory, they can either make it one of the strongest standing theories or make it one of the weakest. The strengths of this theory in particular have been extremely impactful. In workplaces, this theory provides an authentic leader who puts the needs of the team as the top priority. Authentic leadership can be described as a style of leadership that dials in on transparency and ethical leader behavior. This type of leadership encourages open sharing of information needed to make decisions that heavily considers followers' suggestions. This in turn creates a serene work environment where most blossom. Organizational diversity is another benefit from this theory. This is almost a necessity to track because of the internal effect it has on the businesses. An organization will only become more resilient and innovative the more open-minded they are to perspectives from people of different experiences, and this is exactly what organizational diversity does for the workplace. The Four Faceted Model of Accelerated Leader Identity continues to be a dominant theory within group work and workplaces. It is needed to allow these groups to function successfully and progress as a group. The theory will always have a place in any situation in need of a leader in any shape or form.

Although the strengths of the theory have proven to be tough, like all things, weaknesses are still present. The Four Faceted Model of Accelerated Leader Identity demands strong leadership roles from anyone who chooses to follow it. However, because the theory implies we need these effective qualities, many will learn that they simply may not have them. Above all things else, leadership and its variety of styles is a mindset. Without the confidence to lead, people can fall short of what they aspire to be. This can be a big hit on one's belief in themselves and on their mental state as a whole. Also, this can create a fixation on having something they were just not meant to have. Not everyone is made to be a leader, but this is what the theory asks of us. Additionally, we must also address the difference between cultures in leadership. The difference between Western and Eastern styles of leadership needs to be acknowledged when discussing the Four Faceted Model of Accelerated Leader Identity theory. The balance between individualism and collectivism is considered one of the most discussed differences between Western and Eastern leadership. The Eastern leaders saw the importance of the collective. This would encourage higher levels of commitment to their respected organization and leader. The West, however, emphasized more about the empowerment of the individual, therefore, traditional Eastern leadership was almost seen as hierarchical and considered less flexible. This difference in cultures capitalizes on the fact that leadership is normalized in different ways. therefore, creating a misconception when looking into the lens of a different perspective. Leadership cannot be defined by a single method and, because of this, creates the notion that leadership is too subjective to apply to research. This leads us into our final point; possibly the biggest weakness of this theory is how unquantifiable the data is. Leadership is a subjective matter, meaning there is no sure-fire method to being a leader. Many people are faced with a plethora of leadership styles and they themselves will decide which works best for them. It is hard to research the theory and say there is a concrete way to lead because it is so opinion based. Any theory presented comes with its own strengths and weaknesses. The Four Faceted Model of Accelerated Leader Identity is no exception. Although it continues to stand strong in the workplace, the weaknesses of the theory must also be acknowledged.

The Facets
The purpose of this theory is to explore the characteristics that make an authentic leader that is present across all racial and ethnic groups. The four characteristics that were exposed were A Spirited Sense of Self, An In-Process Oriented Life, A No-Gritch Mentality, and A Work-Infused Journey

A Spirited Sense of Self

A leader is fully aware of who they are and what they are capable of. As a result, they felt no shame about who they are and are open about themselves. This results in them not being afraid of going against the grain, even if their stance is not popular. This is something that was not made overnight, but developed over time through their experiences. Leaders may change from time to time, but the core of who they are stays the same.

An In-Process Oriented Life

Leaders are constantly trying to find ways to improve and grow in their field of work and in their personal life. While leaders are improving, they recognize that there are times in life where they will fail. The idea of failing does not discourage leaders, however, because they are able to improve. They also believe that they have not achieved perfection and must continue to strive towards perfection. By continuing to learn, they are able to learn the pros and cons of different groups and strategies.

A No Gritch Mentality

When a leader is faced with adversity or suffering, they do not complain. Instead, they recognize that they can overcome whatever they face. This empowers them to take on more challenges and opportunities, no matter if they succeed or fail. There are some adversities, however, that are not worth facing. Leaders are able to recognize this and avoid it at all cost.

A Work-Infused Journey

Leaders have to make necessary sacrifices for the sake of their work. Some of the sacrifices they have to make include time with family, community, and personal leisure time. Leaders do this because they are passionate about their career. The source of their passion is not only from love of work, but also from family and community members that inspired leaders to invest themselves in their career.

Past and Future Applications
The examples demonstrate how the model enables inclusive and racially diverse leaders to forge their own identities. Individuals are not required to align their leader identity with a set of external personality traits or characteristics. The four aspects of the leader's identity—a spirited sense of self, an in-process-oriented life, a no-grit mentality, and a work-infused journey—can be used to confirm the leader's identity. Significant racial, ethnic, and cultural experiences can be brought to light rather than hidden or marginalized by the model. The leader is the catalyst for important aspects of their identity to come to light. The four-facet model of accelerating leader identity was the theory we discussed. Organizational diversity, relational dialects, and authentic leadership are the three interdisciplinary bodies of literature. Semi-structured interviews with mentors and coworkers of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds led to the development of this theory. When considering leadership from the perspective of racial and ethnic leaders, the four facets acknowledge complexity and depth. By starting at the ground level, this theory sped up progress.