REFLECTIVE MANAGER

Reflective Manager

Reflective Manager

Introduction

Theorists, authors, and practitioners alike have sought to find links between leadership and other dimensions of organizations. Leadership is often confused with management in this regard. Some authors choose to emphasize similarities between leadership and management, others emphasize differences, while still others remain oblivious to these issues. Leadership and management are both processes and necessary elements of organizations. In the humanistic frame of reference, the behavior of the leader or manager also becomes a point of relevance. As processes and behaviors that have been discussed over time, however, neither is clearly understood. Mintzberg lamented that he and his counterparts have yet to understand leadership thoroughly or to define it adequately. Similarly, most authors and theorists have not been able to state leader or manager definitions succinctly. As we continue to attempt to define leadership in this human context, we will undoubtedly continue to find leaders who are “all of the above.” In this regard, Rost's (1991) definition seems highly appropriate. “Leadership is an influence relationship among leaders and followers who intend real changes that reflect their mutual purposes” (p. 98). But as we look to larger issues in an organization, leadership takes on a greater focus. This paper critically evaluates the application of reflection and reflective practice within contemporary organisations, and considers its potential for enhancing organisational activities and performance.

Discussion

To begin any paper with the question 'What is Reflexivity?' can lead the author and reader along a rocky road with many converging and diverging paths. It's a question many researchers have been grappling with for a number of years, and one that involves delving into sociological, philosophical (existentialism, phenomenology, poststructuralism, etc.), anthropological, and other fields. It highlights not only a wideranging debate across the natural and social sciences on the meaning of reflexivity, but also differing interpretations and claims about its value and its problematic nature. Most of this debate has been an intellectual one, centered around various conceptualizations of reflexivity, its epistemological consequences, and its methodological possibilities. The critics of reflexivity claim it to be abstract, obscure, irrelevant, and encompassing overly self-indulgent introspection - a political and linguistic game played by academics with nothing better to do. But it is thought that these criticisms miss the point. (Weinberg 2007 22 )

It is true that reflexivity can be obscure if viewed in a particular way, but over the last ten years or so, people often find themselves drawn more and more into believing there's a need for  reflexivity in all aspects of our lives, and this plays through this research, teaching, and personal life. Now we have moved toward the belief that whatever else we may teach, reflexivity is fundamental to management learning because it is about who we are, how we relate to others, and what we do - and this is why reflexivity is a cornerstone for ethical and responsive management. We have also come to the realization that it's far easier to talk about reflexivity and to debate its merits, than ...