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By Yukari Birkett 14
Editor's Notes
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://stuffkit.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Amazing-photography-of-a-bubble-bursting.jpg&imgrefurl=http://stuffkit.com/60-amazing-hd-pictures-from-around-the-world.htm&h=840&w=1024&sz=135&tbnid=afcsUofEF9LUsM:&tbnh=94&tbnw=115&zoom=1&usg=__1vmydZLW3UH1hiFVhFUPaNLELx8=&docid=U-1dLIqkm5Me9M&sa=X&ei=JPUTUpXeJ4zyigLe4YGIAw&ved=0CEkQ9QEwCQ&dur=2148Joel was not like the other leaders that Hillel had in thepast. He was reluctant at first. Joel not only had an impact on Hillel as an innovative, visionary, and decisive leader but also he received an impact on himself by working there. His character developed and his leadership styles changed over the years. The early and expansion stages, he served as a humble listener, networking person, mentor, implementer, goal-setter, and inspirational leader. However, during the accreditation phase, he became more persuasive, sometimes more top-down; He became more focused on the fundamental structural change in Hillel, because he understood that without accreditation, an organization would not be able to be well-established(36-37). His sophisticated step-by-step accreditation had to be communicated well within the organization, so Hillel would be recognized as a reputable organization that would last even if leaders change. He took another step further and made Hillel become a legally independent organization, which caused a negative ripple effect; yet he knew that it was financially necessary. His decisiveness and sense of direction grew as he understood that the role of manager was consistently and assertively communicating their mission.
To recognize changes around you, you would need to develop different perspectives. To bring changes, you also need to effectively communicate various perspectives within an organization. To have a positive ripple effect, you need to connect the dots. Joel was a bridge to two opposite ends.Because Joel had an unconventional family background (ex. he worked as a DA assistant in the Bronx; he went to both Jewish and non-Jewish schools, etc.) and was not a rabbi, he did not have to be entangled with the inner culture of Hillel (p.9). In addition, because he came from outside, he was able to ask questions more freely than people who were inside (p.9 & 30). Moreover, he knew how Hillel had been perceived by students and in Jewish communities because he was an outsider (p.10) He was able to bridge the gap between the internal and external perceptions and knowledge. As a result, he was able to grasp a big picture from the very beginning and understood exactly how to change the direction of Hillel (p.36)
Transformative leaders understood that changes would need to come from the bottom up first by modeling, serving, mentoring, and empowering people (Wolfgang et all, 2008). Lord (2006) noted the importance of understanding the difference in motivation among different age groups. Joel had likable personality. In addition, he understood the dynamics of age differences among leaders and asked seniors (Bittker and Rudolph) to mentor him (30). He succeeded in creating give-and-take relationships between experienced older leaders and himself.He understood that the main problem of Hillel was the organization had forgotten whom they were serving. Most Jewish students lacked interest in Jewish culture (17). In addition, Hillel and other Jewish organization lacked consistency in terms of mission, goals, and services. During 80’s Hillel faced financial decline due to loss of memberships and lack of reputation (pp.8-9). He helped Hillel realize that the focus should be students, not staff (p.10) He changed their inward focus to outward one, so that they could serve both local and national Jewish college students.
Joel was good at seeing things from both sides, because he was a bridge. For example, he was not a rabbi (unconventional) or went to only Jewish schools. However he was very knowledgeable of Judaism because of his mother’s teaching him from an early age (p.9) He could foresee both short-and-long term goals and how to implement those goals. He understood that Hillel would need to be recognized both locally and nationally (p.9) His ability to go back and forth between the opposite ends helped different Jewish communities/organizations and people come together.
Kotter (1995) noted the importance of not skipping each step and following through. Joel had the ability to stay focused, consistent, and persuasive as he started implementing specific goals, which at times, was challenging with negative reactions. He took time and did not skip any stage, especially during accreditation (pp.36-37). Although he was likable, he was very persistent about how to implement goals and ideas in a professional and disciplined matter(p.9, 36, & 37). For example, self-study during accreditation not only help people become aware of strengths and weaknesses of their organization but also united them with the shared goal and direction. He took risk even when people opposed or did not believe that things would work out (pp.36-37). Beside accreditation, he had non-rabbis teach courses. He pursued a legal independence from Hillel B’nai B’rith and created access to philanthropists (p.47). These were some examples of his bold, unconventional , but necessary moves. To adapt to changes, you need to go beyond the current situation and foresee what an organization will need in the future., even if there is a strong resistance to change. He did follow through until the end with firmness, so that Hillel would become more resilient to the world that was evolving fast.
http://www.google.com/search?q=images+of+animal+hugs&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=5lwUUrW6DPGgyAGa-IGYDg&ved=0CCoQsAQ&biw=1525&bih=741#fp=230239c1c72a5389&q=amazing+images+of+animals&tbm=isch&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=juow-V1Wp91FmM%3A%3BgkrpG6B-6o4goM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Frlv.zcache.com%252F2013_amazing_animals_wild_animal_12_month_calendar-p158651101339915127b73yq_400.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.zazzle.com%252F2013_amazing_animals_wild_animal_12_month_calendar-158651101339915127%3B400%3B400As we have seen in Alinghi, empowering people was the key to inspire. Unlike Alinghi team, Joel had more. He took time listening, understanding, mentoring, and observing. In addition,Joel was an active and shrewd networker. He got along with everyone, but made sure to connect with influential people who could spread the word about Hillel and who could contribute financially(p.9). He used what was already there among the Jewish communities. He revived them by connecting, inspiring, and empowering. He took time to cultivate relationships (p.9). He especially charmed superiors and experienced leaders in the communities, because he asked them to mentor him.
As we have seen in Alinghi and Katzenback(2005) article, a shared goal bind people together. This binding took series of discipline and time, which Joel implemented.Joel understood that the shared mission and goal was lacking in Hillel, so different Jewish organizations lacked continuity and communication among themselves. As a result, college students would not take them seriously. He got everyone involved in the process of implementation and decision making. As a result, they felt empowered, which enhanced enthusiasm and loyalty to the shared goal of preserving Jewish culture and serving Jewish college students locally and internationally (p.9, 36, & 37)
http://www.google.com/search?q=images+of+students+on+campus&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=GGUUUu-cNrC4yAHPsoDIDQ&ved=0CCoQsAQ&biw=1525&bih=741As we have seen in Alinghi (2008)and Katzenback (2005), a shared goal alone is not enough unless a leader would help people stay focused on the core values. To enhance those value, he helped people to play their role, so that both individually and collectively they could contribute to a greater cause.I have mentioned before, he understood that the focus should be students; their mission should be Jewish advocacy. In addition, to survive and thrive, he understood that quality would matter the most, because it would lead to timeless reputation (pp 36-37).
As Kotter (1995) noted, an organization and leadership would need to adapt, evolve, and grow. Joel had a lot of advantages to spot both internal and external strengths and weaknesses with his relational skills he cultivated as a youth leader and DA assistant. He was also intelligent and multi-task oriented. He did not wait for changes to come, but he rode on them like a good surfer as he implemented goals.While some Jewish organizations did not get along with one another or lacked continuity, he noticed the decreased interest in Jewish culture among young Jewish college students (p.9-p.10) He also acknowledged that interracial marriages had increased very rapidly (p.9)
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://rusbase.com/media/blogs/baby-steps.jpg&imgrefurl=http://rusbase.com/news/author/williamlearn2ru/learn2-baby-steps/&h=360&w=590&sz=48&tbnid=rrdEDGFGqhYg6M:&tbnh=89&tbnw=146&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dimages%2Bof%2Bbaby%2Bsteps%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=images+of+baby+steps&usg=__OEuKFncGX1rpy3hjvT9u0eWJ32M=&docid=qfsgK6j_Kq0KgM&sa=X&ei=tjUcUtLeHIj-igLPoYCgCw&ved=0CDQQ9QEwAw&dur=927A good leader can switch his leadership style from situation to situation and from person to person. He was both radical and consistent about implementing step-by-step small changes. Most importantly, he knew exactly when to have radical steps and when to maintain small steps. Often, he used them simultaneously, especially during accreditation.
He recognized that the world had become more globalized and complex. Because of globalization, he found it important to preserve Jewish culture more seriously while reaching out to Jewish young people locally and internationally (p.9 & 36)
FromAlinghi and other articles, we learned the importance of diversity. Joel had a very conservative view toward women (p.20); he also wanted to reduce the rate of intermarriages by increasing the exposure of traditional Jewish culture for young people (p.20). Women are 60% of the workforce and play a great role in leadership. This is part of evolving culture and environment in industrialized nations. How could his view affect women in his organization? How about mixed couples or multicultural Jews? Toward the end of accreditation, he seemed more obsessed with the preservation of Jewish culture and forgot that the focus should be students. If students are changing, so should the organization? How could his organization become mover diverse without losing their cultural identity? It is hard to strike a balance between preservation and adaptation. The other issue is that he selected philanthropists (p.47). If he screened people with his criteria, wouldn’t that cause more bias? If so, would not it be a regression for Hillel? Finally, people were drawn to his personality; this worked well for the early and expansion stage. However, toward the end, his charisma became a little too strong. To have a healthy and growing organization, one person should not keep getting a spotlight. There is always danger for going backwards when that happens.
In terms of change, there are three kinds of changes: 1) internal changes, 2) external changes, and 3) personal changes. I learned that an organization had to examine internal factors that they had more control of, external factors that they had less or no control of, and personal strengths and challenges. Then, they could see a whole picture of where they stand, where they want to go, and where they are going. By analyzing Joel’s leadership style, I realized that it was important for a leader to be able to switch his/her leadership styles according to different situations and phases of a business cycle. In other words, it is not only an organization that needs to adapt to changes around them, but also they have to allow different individuals take leadership roles instead of one person; it is also important for a leader to be able to change his/her leadership style. Diverse leadership opportunities enrich an organization. In addition, as I have mentioned in my posts, it is essential to encourage mentoring in various settings, so that an organization can pass expertise to future leaders. Overall, Joel was a very versatile, people-oriented, and flexible leader.
