The "bigger" picture of the Process Theory

Hello everyone,

This week we ‘tune’ in on what the Process Theory entails and different models along the way. So what is this so-called ‘Process Theory’? Basically what it is can be known as the reciprocal theory in which leadership is more conclusive to the followers and the leader as a whole. A model known as the Relational Model is composed of five different segments including purpose, inclusive, empowering, ethical, and process. Here is a simple breakdown of each:
1. Purpose- the shared value or vision of the group as a whole
2. Inclusive- a sense of ‘we’ different people and different points of view
3. Empowering- through others generate a sense of empowerment to essentially ‘motivate’ each other
4. Ethical- basically means making moral decisions
5. Process- the way the group goes about to achieve goal(s), how they communicate, and plan and steps in doing so

So the way this concept works is by following through with each of the above terms. As you can see, process, encompasses the whole imaginatively by keeping track of the ‘teams’ progression. It is also important to note that there is no ‘end goal’ in this model, but perhaps each individual has a personal goal they may want to get out of the whole thing. Essentially, the means do not justify the end in this rare case scenario. For example, this relates to my life in the exact way how my program Blue Chip is doing. All of the above terms correlate with how the program is run in being that everyone works together, in class, in projects, and in the community, but each one may want to get something different out of it than others. Perhaps one may do service to get a letter of recommendation, or one may want the satisfaction of helping people in general. I feel this purpose of me being a part of this program is to get a better understanding of leadership, help my community, and generate a strong portfolio for future job positions.
The other model described was the “Social Change” Model in which it is inclusive, views leadership as a process rather than a position, promotes the values of equity, social justice, self-knowledge, personal empowerment, citizenship and service. In other words, the term can encompass concepts as broad as revolution and paradigm shift, to narrow changes such as a particular cause within small town government. One of the areas this concept can derive from is in political science. An easy example of how this relates to my life and our generation is the election of President Barack Obama as the nation’s first black president. This marked a ‘huge’ point in history and some even say he is the ‘renewing’ of the Civil Rights movement as it continues throughout this day in society. This makes sense right? This effects me as I m able to witness this social change in time and due to unfortunate events in Tucson, Arizona I was able to see and hear him talk to the public about the tragedy earlier this year. The question of the day is what social change can apply to you?