Shamans as Cultural Leaders in the Hmong American Communities: Maxwell Five Laws of Leadership
- CHAPTER ONE
ABSTRACT
The leadership in the world today is under crisis due to leaders who lack the leadership qualities among the leaders we have today, this might be because the choice of leadership due to competency is a challenge to many organizations today. Due to this fact, many organizations choose leaders based on academic performance and put less emphasis on the personal traits of an individual. Most failures in organizations are attributed to weak leadership skills and inappropriate personnel, which lack the basic leadership skills to run such organizations (Helsel, Thao & Whitney, 2020). The dissertation aims at investigating the problem of leadership through the study of Hmong American leadership through a qualitative survey method. The research was conducted using the oral questionnaire amongst the Hmong American members to get precise results for the study. A face to face questionnaire was conducted to the existing Shamans within the Hmong community who gave hints in the leadership of the group.
The number of people engaged in the questionnaire was 50, and the data obtained were analyzed. It was finally found that the Hmong community had shamans, who led the community through religious matters (Moua, 2019). He was highly respected, and the group has clans amongst themselves. According to the results, it was also not allowed for the people from the same clan to intermarry, and every clan had its shamans who contacted the religious leadership affairs of the group. Shamans were great healers who have a long history of performing successful healing processes among the community. According to the results obtained, the Hmong members have caught themselves in a dilemma due to the influence of western medication. There is a need for leaders today to focus on constant changes in the environment and obtain the best while addressing the people on the way forward for such emerging issues.
1.1 Introduction
The United States of America is becoming multi-linguistic due to immigrants and refugees from other countries that have settled in the place. The mono culturist is coming to an end due to the people’s different ethnic groups who settled in America as refugees or immigrants. Several reasons which have led to the new visitors in the United States of America are searching for education, economic advancement, and war, among many other reasons (Lor, 2018). The Hmong, which is the subgroup of Laos, landed the country in the 1970s and settled in large populations at states such as California, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin (Helsel, Thao & Whitney, 2020). Their culture and leadership have greatly influenced Americans.
The aboriginal population of the Hmong who settled in the United States of America, where over 100,000 people who came from China due to the Vietnam war. (Vang, 2016). The community has grown over time, and the group is eminent as an ethnic group in America. Due to the maintenance of their language and culture, the unique need for intercultural communication has risen among the Americans and the group (Moua, 2019). In California, the cities that are highly populated by the Hmong include Merced, Fresno, and Sacramento area. The group has significant influence in the towns and practices their culture in the cities led by the Shamans.
The culture of the Hmong under the leadership of Shamans is exciting and has a lot of knowledge to the world. The administration of the group was highly respected, and many of the Hmong people believe in the healing processes by their leaders. Shamans are the leaders among the Hmong group who heal the people by use of spirits (Lor, 2018). Many of the Hmong people go for treatment from the Shamans as opposed to the western biomedicine. The Hmong are divided into clans, and each group has its Shamans who are consulted fro medication by the people (Helsel, Thao & Whitney, 2020). The challenges they have been facing are the feeling of guilt and inferiority over the other people in the United States due to their cultural practices. Shamans through the use of spirits and traditional herbs treat most of the diseases, and they have been successful as many of the patients get back to their health.
Hmongs have a great history since 1975 to the current and has remained popular due to their spiritual leaders who are shamans and their influence on American health care. The leadership of the Shamans is unique, and the experience of the guidance is of great importance to the designing of the administration today (Lor, 2018). Based on Borja (2017), reflecting on the leaders who led the community of the Hmong successfully is of great importance to today’s leadership. The group faces several challenges in their culture due to the interaction with the Americans since the 1970s. The creation of new administration has a lot to focus on other leaderships of different communities that have been successful in its activities. Maxwell’s levels of leadership and its characteristics are also helpful in the study of the leadership principles and upbringing of a leader towards his or her future roles as a leader. The reflection on leadership based on the Shamans and the thoughts of John Maxwell on the administration are all critical on focusing issues of leadership today.
The cultural and the social, political life of the shamans were studied, and the values in the leadership which will be portrayed by the leaders will be studied. The values which attribute from the study are the one on the study and will help in the analysis of the required leadership skills and qualities (Borja, 2017). The qualities in the leadership of the shamans have no great difference with the Maxwell leadership qualities and since all good qualities are portrayed in the leading cases. The case from the Shaman in the leadership of the Hmong portrays most of the characters of good leadership which are discussed by John Maxwell. According to the study, The Shamans do the religious and the social duties in the within the members of the Hmong community (Helsel, Thao & Whitney, 2020). All these need leadership qualities as they are viewed as leaders in society. The shamans over the years have shown quality leadership through settling conflicts and offering the cultural service to the members.
1.2 Introduction to the problem
The dissertation gives light to the difficulties of leadership being experienced today by different organizations and countries through analyzing the administration of Shamans and reflecting on the thoughts of John Maxwell about leadership (Lor, 2018). The study of the history of past leadership styles is the key to focusing on better leadership in the future. In the dissertation, the history of the Shamans who were the leaders of the Hmong inhabitants in the United States of America and their experience due to the interaction with the Americans is the main focus which will give the strengths and the failures in the leadership (Helsel, Thao & Whitney, 2020). The problems which arise in direction today among the different organizations have been numerous.
Different countries conflict due to the leadership crisis within them whereby the leaders are not in good terms with others. The conflicts in leadership have led to many problems among the citizens of different countries such as some leaving their countries to save their dear lives thus ending up to refugees in other countries (Vang, 2016). The failures learned in the leadership in the Shamans give light to the problems which might arise in the leadership today thus allowing leaders to avoid repeating such mistakes (Xiong, Vang, & Vang, 2018). The dissertation also focuses on highlighting the role played by the Shaman leaders in curing the diseases amongst the people they lead which has impacts on the lives of the leaders today in giving service to their subjects.
1.3 Statement to the problem
The dissertation aims at solving the problem of leadership by reflecting on the leadership of the Shamans (Moua, 2019). The story of the Hmong and their life in the United States of America is focused and analyzed through research. The main aim of studying the group is to understand their cultural leadership which they have maintained all through the time they have stayed in the United States of America. According to Xiong, Vang, & Vang, (2018), the problems which relate to leadership experienced today are numerous and need to be solved out. There are many instances in which people within the world lack leadership qualities and have quarrels with each other. Leadership is very important within society today and is responsible for ensuring order. The problem which dissertation tries to solve is poor leadership among the people and tries to solve it through research on existing cultural leadership of the Shamans and thorough analysis of the John Maxwell leadership championship on leadership.
The community we live in today needs to practice the best leadership qualities that can lead to prosperity and unity among the people of the community. The ideal leadership which is best and unified to all the people of the society is eyed but the challenges which inter its practice are numerous (Vang, 2016). The resistance to the rule of law is a major problem for the people today as some of the laws do not favor them. Unity among the people of the society can be harmonized through effective leadership which is determined to save its people from dangers (Helsel, Thao & Whitney, 2020). Leadership is very critical respect and should be respected, though effective leadership will be guided by various factors and virtues which leaders must-have. The dissertation addresses the problem of poor leadership selection amongst the people of the world today.
1.4 Purpose of the study
The study focuses on studying the Hmong cultural leadership as well as Maxwell’s perception of the leadership issues. Through the study of the Hmong ethnic group in the United States of America, a lot of information is learned which can shape the leadership today (Moua, 2019). Culture is the way of life of the people and includes aspects such as leadership strategies applied, economic life and the social life of the people which focuses on their religion and beliefs. The religious beliefs of the Hmong group within the United States of America are analyzed and cultural leadership is also studied (Vang, 2016). The study of the people’s way of life is aimed at finding the best aspects of leadership which has helped the group to remain intact despite interaction with other communities in the United States of America.
Maxwell’s perception of leadership through his five levels of suggestions of leadership and characteristics of leadership is also focused on. Maxwell proposes that there are five levels of leadership and also there are five main laws that should govern leadership among the leaders of the society today. Through the study of the laws which should control leaders, a lot of information is reflected on the way effective and successful leadership should look like. Based on (Xiong, Vang, & Vang, (2018), the main aim of the study is to bring into light the leadership qualities which are essential for effective leadership practices today. The study aims at ways through which new leaders can be created for enhancing the leadership requirements of the society today. The shamans leaders in the Hmong Americans are well analyzed through a study and all the facts about leadership identified in the reflection.
1.5 Significance of the study
There are numerous advantages of researching the Hmong group which has migrated to the United States of America due to their unique character of maintaining their language and culture despite interactions with Americans for over three decades. The factors which have held the community together for the period can help in advising on the leadership qualities that are to be emulated amongst the society today (Vang, 2016). The leadership of the Hmong seems to be very strict and adhered to the latter thus they have maintained their cultural activities for many years (Xiong, Vang, & Vang, 2018). The study of the group of people’s culture will help in analyzing the leadership practices which should be emulated depending on the success of the community under study and the qualities which should be discouraged according to the failures of the community under study.
The purpose of the study is to identify the best leadership qualities within the society today which need to be emulated by the leaders and help in creating new leaders with efficient qualities. An according to Moua, (2019), the analysis of Maxwell’s five main laws of leadership and the different levels of leadership he proposes will assist in creating new leaders which will have the desired qualities in the organizations and the leadership the country (Vang, 2016). The study will also assist in ensuring the roles of leaders in the society thus enable the people of the society to respect leadership in their respective societies.
Through analysis of the Hmong group, a lot of information about their culture and way of life is illustrated. Such information comes with the successes and the failures of the cultural perspectives for Hmong Americans in the United States of America. The failures in the cultural activities of the community are very educative on the recent cultural activities which can lead to failure in the future thus enabling people to avoid it if possible (Borja, 2017). The good cultural activities of the Hmong community can be kept and done with an expectation of great success since they have been approved as good by the community. History of the Hmong specifically the study of the Shaman leaders is very educative in the field of research in the herbs which they successfully used to cure diseases.
The study will figure out the leadership qualities of the Shamans among the Hmong Americans which attributed to its success and also some factors which led to its failures. The leadership qualities which are good based on the performance of the leadership of the shamans can be emulated by the leaders today in their activities (Xiong, Vang, & Vang, 2018). The quality traits of leaders which led to failure can be discerned among the members of the society today. The study of the leadership of Shamans tells a lot about the mythical believes which were used to cure illnesses and lives a gap of research on such believes and if truly the cure was successful.
2.0 CHAPTER 2
2.1 Hmong –American history 1975 to current
After the war ended, many of the Hmong refugees obtained the opportunity to resettle in the United States. Borja, (2017) stated that the first group of the Hmong arrived in the United States of America in December 1975 as refugees. They had come from the refugee camp from Thailand due to the Vietnam War which made them restless in their former land. Hmong traveled to the United States of America according to the Indochina migration and refugees act of 1975 but only around 3500 people were allowed and given asylum. More Hmong; 11000 people, were allowed in the United States of America in 1976 (Xiong, 2017). By 1978 the number of the Hmong group in the United States of America had reached 30,000. The factor which led to the first immigration was the men who were associated with Pang Pao’s army.
The refugee’s act 1980 influenced more settlement to the United States of America thus the second factor which influenced immigration to the United States of America. Hmong settled in all the states but the Majority in Minnesota, California, and Merced were they are allowed to intervene to the patients of one of the hospitals according to Borja, (2017). The population of the Hmong in California is 91,224 while Minnesota had 66,181. Wisconsin had 49,240 Hmong people and the total population had increased to 186, 310 in 2000. The majority of the Hmong population is young children who are below the age of 10 years (Xiong, 2017). The Hmong lived as communities in different parts they settled and the largest community was St. Paul which had 29,662 people. Other communities include Minneapolis 7,512 people, Milwaukee-10,245 people, Sacramento-16,676 people and Fresno which had 24,328 people. Recently the Hmong has increased in number and has become one of the recognized ethnic groups living in the United States of America.
Since the immigration to United States of America the leadership of the Hmong community has been confused due to the much differences in the American way of life and introduction to a completely different land. The struggle for the maintenance of their leadership has also persistent were the existence of Shamans who act as the religious leaders among the group exist (Xiong, 2017). A lot of changes in the leadership have however changed on the immigration to United States of America such as selection of some of their people in different posts in the government and in different organizations in the country. Since 1975, the culture of the Hmong group has greatly been influenced by the nomination of some individuals into the modern governance.
Several instances of the leaders in the government include Choua Lee who was the first one to own public office in as the member of the school board in S.t Paul in 1995. Lormong Lor was chosen as the councilman of Eau Claire city in Wisconsin in 1996. In 2002, Mee Moua together with Cy Tha became members of the senate in the Minnesota city. Kazoua Kong-Thao became the member of the board of a school in 2003 and all these leaders contributed to the influence of the Hmong community in the states of America. There were many other people of the tribe who were also selected for certain posts within the government. Up to the recent the number of the Hmong community holding public offices in the United States of America is uncountable. The instance has influenced the people who has hardly accepted the western medication due to their believe to start using the medication and cooperating with the government. Education in the recent has been increasing among the Hmong group in the recent years and this shows great influence to their culture and religion.
The leadership provided by Vang Pao was enjoyed by all the people in Hmong community until he was challenged as the federal court in the United States of America ordered for his arrest on june 4, 2007. The duo was accused of planning to overthrow the Laos communist and planning to illegally purchase firearms. Later on 2009 all the changes on Vang pao were dismissed and he was set free (Xiong, 2017). Vang Pao influenced many Hmong in the United States of America and the abroad and led to the reconciliation of the Lao PDR with the United States of America. Later on 2009, vang pao announced his willingness to return back to Lao where he insisted urgent need for reconciliation with the Lao PDR. He also advocated for unification of the Hmong community and was he said that love, peace and unity among all the members of the United States is essential and there is no need for discrimination.
2.2 Shaman/spiritual leaders in society
Shamans are the religious leaders among the Hmong ethnic group which resettled In the united states of America after the end of the Vietnam war. The shamans were responsible for bringing the cure to the people by the use of spiritual means (Moua, 2019). Their role as spiritual leaders was performing soul calling rituals which aimed at restoring the cure to the sick person. The tradition of the Hmong relies on belief on spirits and their leader Shaman was the master of the spirits who could communicate and connect the living to the spirit world. The Hmong believed that human beings host many souls and if one of the souls separates from the body, the result was an illness or death as described by Borja, (2017). Shamans’ role in the curing of the diseases was by restoring the separated soul thus the rituals were referred to as soul calling. The shamanism was a very straight forward way of restoring order in the body through calling back the separated soul. Western medicine however superior could not understand the techniques which shamans use to cure illnesses successfully.
Another ritual used by the Shamans to restore life is by use of a string that is tied on a part of the body which will act as a protective shield to evil spirits. It is believed that the person with such a string will not be attacked by the evil spirits which are responsible for causing sicknesses. According to Xiong, (2017) strings signified that the souls in one’s body are held intact and cannot separate from the body. Another ritual done by the shamans is the trance in which they go to another world through a wooden bench acting as transportation media (Moua, 2019). The buffalo horns are dropped to the ground to determine the direction in which the soul had followed. While performing the ritual a shaman wears a cloth mask that blocks real-life and prevents him from the evil spirits.
The ritual of offering animal sacrifices to the spirits was done by the shamans through either prepared meals or other sacrifices such as Chicken, pig, cow among many other animals as explained by Patel, (2016). According to the culture of Hmong, the lives of these animals have connections to the human souls so a Shaman protects the human soul by replacing it with the animal soul. The capping of the ritual is done whereby a communion meal whereby the attendants of the occasion take part in the animals who are prepared for a meal (Xiong, 2017). The ritual ends my life sharing for the animal which has been sacrificed which is done through a communion for amendment of the lost soul. A funeral ritual was also conducted by the Shaman whereby the soul of the dead person has to be travelled back to the place where it lived which is finally its placenta.
The body of the dead is usually washed and dressed properly to send it back reuniting it with the ancestors. According to Hmong’s, lack of proper rites of the funeral led to the naked, lost and wandering soul. According to Lee, (2016), it was important to lament the dead by use of musical instruments and honour him with animal sacrifices while guiding the soul verbally the place where its placenta had been placed. The special clothes had to be put on the dead body to ensure that its soul will be well dressed while guiding the soul back to the place of its origin ensured that the soul will not be wandering around as explained by Patel, (2016). Reincarnation of the soul into a baby was ensured through guiding the soul to the burial of the placenta.
2.3Shaman in American Health Care/Generation Trend
The Hmong people where culturally sensitive people and most of the cases seek help from shamans whenever they were sick. However, the kind of illness determined the choice they would make on either to visit a shaman or to go for the western medication (Lor, Moua, & Ip, 2016). Some diseases were attributed to spirits while others were not thus each disease among the Hmong had to be decided on who could treat it. According to Lee, (2016), diseases like paleness or loss of energy were attributed to spirits where they went to the shaman for medication. In such instances, it was perceived that one’s soul had moved out of him or her due to frightening events, or had been taken away by the angry ancestral spirits or evil spirits as described by Fang, & Stewart, (2018). The treatment was sought through visiting a shaman was a ritual to return the soul was done and one returned to full health.
Due to cultural interaction between the Hmong people and the Americans who had a different language and culture, the experience of the Hmong people in the resettlement places was challenged as they had adopted agricultural life in mountainous regions while in china. Hmong has attested that shamanism was respected and had been in use for centuries for the healing of diseases among the patients as stated by Fang, & Stewart, (2018). Since a long time ago, some of the diseases among the Shamans were not due to spiritual causes and they used herbs for treatment. While in the United States of America, when such diseases occur they prefer to go for western medication as opposed to Shamanism. However, the Hmong people have maintained their culture for a long time despite the challenge of interaction with other races.
Shamans preferred the use of biomedicine as the last option for their health due to cultural sensitivity. Most of the diseases among the Hmong community included loss of appetite, body aches, anxiety, bad dreams, weakness, and frequent tiredness. According to Fang, & Stewart, (2018), for somatic injuries such as accidents, gunshots, and broken part, Shamans could perform some magic to heal the injury. The majority of the diseases among the Hmong community were attributed to wandering soul, evil soul, sad soul or expiry of the soul which in such a case needed to be extended as described by Lee, (2016). The causes of illnesses among the Hmong people where displeasure of ancestors, change of religion from cultural believes to Christianity, failure to offer sacrifice s which could lead to fainting and headaches, and upcoming Shamanism in the early ages of one’s life.
Many Hmong people know specific herbs for curing some illnesses in society and most relied on the herbs in the case where the disease was not associated with the spirits. For the decades the Hmong people have been in the United States of America, the transition from their cultural norms has been slow due to language barriers that have existed between then and the American community based on Fang, & Stewart, (2018). However, recently, some Hmong have obtained western education and some have become physicians. Education and interaction between the Hmong and the Americans have led to the disruption of their culture and they have started attending both western and traditional methods of treatment as stated by Lee, (2016). Nowadays the Hmong people can seek medical attendance to the Shamans, Hmong physicians and in the American hospitals.
Some of the cultural norms have remained among the Hmong community while some such as health care has been altered due to acculturation. The Hmong individualistic behavior and competitive aspect have remained among the group as discussed by Her-Xiong, & Schroepfer, (2018). The Hmong faces a lot of challenges due to their feeling of maintaining their culture despite the foreign culture in the United States of America. The need among the Hmong to visit a shaman to restore their illnesses is more compared to the need for western medication (Lor, Moua, & Ip, 2016). Shaman is the sense of unity among the group and connects them to their culture thus they find it difficult to adopt fully the western culture. Hmongs in the United States of America have found it hard to adjust to western culture due since they trust their culture especially in health care where the Shamans have served them successfully for many years.
The several challenges which the group has faced over the years when it comes to accessing the western medical assistance include cultural and linguistic problems. They have maintained their language for decades and have not learned any other language over the years. They have a poor conceptualization of the English language which is fully used in the health centres thus find language as a barrier to accessing health care (Xiong, & Barry, 2018). The trained medical interpreters are limited among the Hmong thus they have relied on their traditional healers for healing. The lack of terminologies used in western culture is also a great barrier that has interred the group from accessing health care (Her-Xiong, & Schroepfer, 2018). The exposure of western medicine among the Hmong has been minimal thus they have not been able to fully interact with western medical services. Traditional healing has been the most dependable means of health care in California were Pao Lee’s health care is common among the Hmongs.
Some efforts have been made to ensure Hmongs within the country receive proper health care. Because many of the Hmong family members have died due to a lack of proper health, the training of the Hmongs on the western medication has been put in place. Traditional healers have been certified for healing the people without any fear and to ensure people feel secure when going for health care from them (Lor, Moua, & Ip, 2016). However, the Shamans have to be trained on western medication before being certified to heal the people in the society. Interpreters who assist in creating the medium between the Hmong and the physicians have also been trained on western medication (Xiong, & Barry, 2018). Health education among the ethnic groups in the United States has been seeking to ensure safe health care services within the nation. Nowadays the Hmong group chooses the type of health service to get help from among the certified personnel which include Shamans.
2.4 Reflection of Hmong American Shaman Leaders
2.4.1 Leadership experience
The Hmong leadership through vang pao in the United States of America was very influential even to the policies made by the Lao communities and it positively and negatively affected them. The experience of the leadership of vang pao was great among the Hmong Americans as he was a sence of unity among the group and led with great courage (Xiong, (2017). Despite the challenges in the leadership due to entry to a new land, Vang pao gave people hope for prosperity and sustenance of their dreams. He used to oppose the violations of the human rights through the use of diplomatic measures against the government of Lao on the Hmong people in 2003. The experience of the leadership of the Hmong through the leadership of Vang Pao can be viewed as civilized and the leader realized his potential in provoking the bad in the society. Reflecting on his leadership, his bravery and focus on ensuring prosperity of the Hmong people was recommendable.
Shaman leadership in the Hmong ethnic group has been very unique among American society and has a lot of good that can be incorporated into the leadership today. The leaders were a sense of hope for the Hmong people who teach on how leaders should be in giving hope to the workers in the case of organizations in the time of difficulties (Xiong, & Barry, 2018). Just as Shamans inspired people to look at the positivity of life, the leaders need to focus on inspiring the subjects when there is a need. They made sense to the people through their connection of the illnesses and the cause and this is important to the leaders today. The leaders must be wise enough and have a wide variety of knowledge to intervene on the times of need within the organization as explained by Nissinen, (2020). Shamans used relations to the illnesses and gave a solution to the problem which is a lesson to the leaders who need to be good analysts of the problems affecting the organization to offer a solution.
Shamans encouraged the people to heal themselves through believe thus the leaders today need to be encouraging to the subjects to partake in the work of the organization. Just like the Shamans deed, the leaders should have the courage to face their fears by addressing them and giving solutions to their problems. Leaders should be encouraging and by reframing to the knowledge of the world and help people to discover their talents (Nissinen, 2020). The leaders need to be able to help the people to discover their insights and what they can do best. Just like the shamans’ deed, leaders must lead ethically and must be aware of their roles as leaders and live according to the expectations of the people. Leadership is very critical in society and needs to have leadership qualities if the organization has to achieve its objectives.
Leaders need to be experienced in the field in which they lead just as the Shamans had wide experience through staying with another Shaman to gain experience. Leaders need to have the self-awareness to the problems affecting the organization and fix them wisely (Lor, Moua, & Ip, 2016). Focus is also important in the leadership and they need to have goals to achieve just as the Shamans have been doing to the Hmongs through delivering effective and accurate health services for many years (Xiong, & Barry, 2018). They must have a clear understanding of the system they lead and the possible challenges which may occur just as the Shamans had the analysis of every illness that the people encountered. Leadership needs to be treated with dignity and leaders must be persistent in what they do just like in the case of the Shamans.
The leadership in the Hmong Americans influence can be traced back by the death of Vang Pao in 2011 which led to many dialogues arising among the people about the events which may occur later on to succeed him. The death of the Hmong leader led to many sensitive conversations in the whole world raising concerns over his death and the way forward for the community. His death has paved way for leadership transition in the community and many challenges has undergone through the leadership of the community to the current. Towards the 21st century, the community needs to be advised on the leadership which they should entail themselves in to ensure they move according to the changes in the world today (Xiong, & Barry, 2018). The aim is not to discourage the traditional leadership but to ensure integration of the changes in the world has been incorporated into their leadership. The leadership of the Shamans in the community has portrait important leadership traits which should be emulated in the leadership today.
The organization of the Hmong community in America traces back the historic leadership which they have pertained for long period while in china and Thailand. Such organizations traces the uniting of the Hmong group on arrival to the United states which transformed into the consideration of their earlier leadership they had in the countries of origin thus forming clans each led by its Shamans (Lor, Moua, & Ip, 2016). The construction of the Hmong community on arrival to the United States of America is very critical to the leadership today as it portrays great determination for leadership among the people (Xiong, & Barry, 2018). The leadership among the Hmong group has a lot of lessons to the recent leadership as it was characterized by the determined leaders who could unite the people even after coming to the United States as refugees and starting clanship led by Shamans.
The effectiveness of the leadership among the Hmong community was very advantageous to the people of the community as it could solve the societal and the family problems arising within the community. The leadership of the Shamans in the older leadership system of the Hmong community while in Thailand and in china could solve the political crisis amongst different clans and could settle disputes in the inter clan and intra clan wrangles (Lor, Moua, & Ip, 2016). Cultural issues among the community were effectively handled by the leadership through the Shamans who were healers and performers of religious rituals. The cultural conflicts which could emerge among the members including divorce, property disagreements and funerals were solved according to the rule and culture for the group. The effectiveness in performing all these aspects shows how organized the leadership was.
The research shows that the leadership of the Hmong group started long time immemorial and has gone through different shifts out to the recent. Before the resettlement of the Hmong American community emerged there are several shifts in the leadership which had take place due to the influence of the colonialism in their original country which led to splits in the leadership of the Hmong community (Xiong, & Barry, 2018). Later on, the Hmong community dispersed to different countries as refugees specifically in the United States of America and they rebuilt their leadership with the Shamans as their leaders in the different clans which they created.
Reflecting on the leadership of the Hmong group it is also evident that forgiveness is essential for leadership just as it is seen in the Vang pao who requests for forgiveness among the nations. He insists that it is important for the nations to beg forgiveness and maintain peace between them whenever they misunderstand each other due to factors like war and politics among others. The Hmong leadership clans also were based on forgiving each other whenever one wronged the other. It is evident that the role of the Shamans in the community was to cool down two conflicting bodies in the society based on the rules of their culture (Lor, Moua, & Ip, 2016). Forgiveness is a very important aspect which requires to be emulated by leaders whenever there is quarrels among them. Through forgiveness a lot can be achieved in the organizations we have today (Xiong, & Barry, 2018). One of the major factor which brings down the success of an organization is lack of forgiveness for the workers and their leaders. The quarrels between the two duos in an institution can lead to failure of the achievement of the goals and the objectives of the organization.
The leadership of the shamans in the Hmong Americans can be viewed as of great impact to the community and the reason as to why for a long time the Hmong Americans has grown need to preserve it (Khan, & Ramzan, 2018). The shaman’s leadership in the Hmong led to peace within the people since they settled disputes among the members of the community thus ensuring peaceful existence among the Hmong (Xiong, & Barry, 2018). The impacts of peace among the Hmongs are essential for their mutual coexistence and unity which they were attributed with. The unity among the group can be seen in the way they kept intact with each other even after they landed on the United States of America.
The leadership among the Hmong Americans can be viewed as one which observed the changes in the society and moved with it. This can be observed in an instance when they could visit hospitals to seek the western medication after evaluating the capability of their Shamans and the urgency of medication (Xiong, & Barry, 2018). The leadership of the shamans was the unifying factor among the members of the Hmong Americans and thus they tried as much as possible to maintain it. The division of the community in to clans which had rules that the intermarriage for the people of the of the same clan was forbidden also existed within the community. The members were held by the rules and could not break them since they respected their leaders.
The leadership went hand in hand with the actions just as seen in the leadership of the Vang Pao who was very brave in the implementation of the rules of the nation and fought for the rights of their people (Khan, & Ramzan, (2019). The experience of the Hmong Americans under the leadership of vang pao was really exiting and motivating as the people were motivated to move on with life despite the challenges which they had encountered. The leadership aspect for the leaders in the Hmong Americans especially the shamans also encouraged people in many perspectives and vowed to protect the truth. Integrity was highly valued and anyone who could promise a sacrifice and fail to deliver it could be attacked by illnesses (Khan, & Ramzan, 2019). The leadership of the shamans among the Hmong Americans was integrative as the people as some people who obtained jobs from the government and organizations were also viewed as leaders amongst the other people of Hmong Americans.
The motivation of people through imagination of the Shamans was also experienced among the people who went to seek help from them. This is a very important aspect in leadership and which can lead to success of an organization through giving people hopes to move on with life. The shamans could heal diseases without and physical cure and could translate the cause for certain disease as being attributed to e certain phenomenon (Olaniyan, 2017). Many people could get healed through believing and the Hmong had experienced cure without taking any drugs. The imaginative power of the shamans could heal diseases affecting the Hmong Americans which is very important aspect of leadership today. The leaders of organizations today must be able to imagine on the growth of the organization and work towards its implementation. One must imagine the plans of the organization which can lead to achieving of its goals as a leader. As seen in the Shamans the upcoming shaman could be identified by an experienced shaman thus the leaders of organizations need to be able to configure different people who are fit for leadership and help them come up as effective leaders.
2.4.2 Cultural challenges
The culture of the Hmong Americans was challenged due to immigration to the United States of America. Due to the change of the environment from a mountainous place to the cities in the United States, their life as farmers ceased and ha to adapt to the way of life for the Americans (Khan, & Ramzan, 2019). Reflecting on these challenges, different people face challenges when they enter a new place and should learn ways to adapt to the changing environment. The environs keep on changing now and then due to the changes in temperature and human beings must be prepared to face the challenges to come as described by (Lor, Moua, & Ip, 2016). Education should be sought as it is necessary especially learning the national language of a country one is associated with. According to Fang, 2016), this helps in communicating with the others fostering harmony among the citizens of the same country. The challenges which Hmong Americans faced since they could not communicate with the Americans were numerous and have many lessons on the importance of learning the national language.
The government needs to allow people to perform their cultural norms without any interference. However, the norms should be making sense to the lives of the people performing it and should be received positively by society (Khan, & Ramzan, 2018). The healing rituals among the Hmong Americans were received negatively by the local citizens of the United States of America. This should be discouraged as they should understand and appreciate other people’s way of life. Discrimination of people based on religion or culture is very dangerous and has to be prevented by all means. Hmong Americans were depressed and so they considered themselves inferior over the original American culture as explained by Khan, & Ramzan, (2019). It is of great importance to ensure that the culture of every community is respected by all the other citizens of the people and none should be ignored.
The culture of the Hmong Americans in the recent is embedded and the people of the community are able to recognize the important of traditional governance and the national governance. The Hmong Americans has now learned the various values, which are important in their tradition and the nuisances which have been there (Fang, 2016). Many of the Hmong Americans in the recent days have a mixed king of culture whereby the both traditional values are followed as well as the traditional ones. In some years to come, it is expected that the Hmong Americans will still follow and respect the both traditional and the modern values.
2.4.3 Disciples and creating new leaders
New leaders need to be guided all through to gain the required experience which is necessary for taking the lead roles. According to Khan, & Ramzan, (2018), Shamans were good trainers of the future Shamans whereby they were identified and lived with more experienced Shamans to gain the required knowledge and skills. In organizations today, leaders should receive training from the existing leaders before they leave the tasks for them as described by Fang, 2016). Medical trainees in recent days should go for an internship to learn the guidelines and get the practicable skills required for the job. Religious leaders also need to get training from the experienced leaders before they can have capabilities to perform the tasks they are required to undertake.
They should be the followers of the experienced leaders to get inspirational words from them and skills. According to Khan & Ramzan, (2018), leaders must be ready to intervene and have capabilities of choosing new leaders based on their characteristics. As seen in the Shamanic leadership, the leaders could identify the new shaman leaders if one suffered has stayed sick for a long period. Shamanic behavior of detecting the leader through a long time of sickness was not the best ideal for choosing new leaders as discussed by Fang, 2016). Leaders can be identified in the organizations based on their capabilities and the leadership virtues they possess. Obedience, humbleness, and ability to coordinate and motivate others are ideal for the best leadership in an organization and should be considered together with many others such as trustworthiness, patience, and kindness.
Leaders should create new future successors through selecting and motivating young people with leadership qualities to be courageous and ready for leadership. Leaders should enlighten the visionary young men and tell them what they are expected to do while they join the profession (Robinson, Nhat & VanderPal, 2017). They should live like the role models who can be followed by the young generation with the right virtues required for the leadership roles. Just as the Shamans do, leaders should encourage discipleship of the incoming leaders to learn from them the leadership roles which are essential before taking a certain leadership position. Nowadays one should go for more education to gain more knowledge on the position of leadership (Khan, & Ramzan, 2019). The method used by the Shamans to choose leaders was not making sense as one could get illnesses for a long time which can be normal and fail to meet the beliefs of the shaman. Leaders today need to be focused on the choosing of the leadership based on one’s successes and observable qualifications.
The leadership laws of the shamans are different from the roles of the leaders in the different organizations which aim at making a profit and achieving its goals. According to real-world leadership, the roles of leaders are numerous and cannot just be one as in the case of the Shamans (Olaniyan, 2017). The leaders need to be able to understand the whole and the general activities which take place in the organization to carry out his or her roles effectively (Robinson, Nhat & VanderPal, 2017). The organizations of today aim at making more and more and maximizing utilization of the resources while giving more products at a faster rate. This is different from the goals of the Shaman leaders within the Hmong society as explained by Fang, 2016). Thus the leadership qualities for the upcoming leaders cannot in large quantities depend on the shamanic leadership which relied mostly on belief.
2.4.4 Maxwell’s 5 Levels of Leadership
Level one: Position
The first level of leadership according to John Maxwell is the position which is argued as the lowest in leadership. Position can be given to anybody since it does not need efforts to be achieved and the person appointed to a position does not have team members (Robinson, Nhat & VanderPal, 2017). They only have subordinates who are required to obey his or her leadership and rely on policies rules and regulations to control the organization (Stearns, 2016). There are boundaries of relationships between the position owners and the subordinates should reach so not every subordinate can reach the position owner.
Level two: Permission
Permission is the first step to joining leadership and at this level, people only comply with the orders given. When a leader at this level starts to create a relationship with the people and starts to follow some orders and has great influence over the people (Brown, 2016). If the leader at this stage can care, like, include and value the people under him, the leader relies upon changes the environment of the organization to the best situation where it can achieve its goals and objectives (Stearns, 2016). This is due to the tendency of the people to corporate under the leadership of the person they feel best to work within an organization.
Level three: Production
The third level of leadership is making things to go as expected successfully and leading the organization to realize its goals and objectives through efficient production. Leaders at this level are expected to give results to the organization on the task they were to handle (Richardson, 2018). The leaders at this level must have capabilities to produce and lead other people in the organization to production. In the level, the results of the work done is evident thus cannot be faked since either production has happened or not occurred (Brown, 2016). Some leaders stick to permission level since they are not capable of leading to an effective product which is the expected results of the organization. Leaders in this level must possess qualities such as work ethic, organization, and self-discipline among other qualities that enable them to be productive. One cannot move to another level of leadership if he cannot produce thus there is a need to try as much as possible to give positive results if they aspire to move to higher levels of leadership.
Level four: People development
At this level, the leader invests most in developing other peoples as leaders to give rise to a high productivity team. The people in an organization are the best asset in it thus there is a need for the leaders at this level to work towards developing the producers into new leaders (Maxwell, 2019). Leaders of this stage are productive to a point of 20% while the focus on improving others as future leaders is 80% (Stearns, 2016). The level is not as easy as the people who have been used to working hard in the production but has to be done as it can lead the revolution of the whole organization.
Level five: The pinnacle
The leaders of this level should develop the people developers which are the leaders in level four. The leaders who can reach this stage are very rare and once they work in an organization, the probability that it will highly improve is very high (Maxwell, 2016). They make the greatest impact on the lives of the people and likely transfer success wherever the places they go to work. The leadership of this level leads to the success of every worker in the organization thus leading to its success (Richardson, 2018). The level should not allow leaders to rest to watch what they have done in the past but should lift as many leaders as they can while tackling many problems as they can and leave a great positive difference in their organizations.
5.0 Maxwell and Leadership characteristics
According to Maxwell, knowing how to lead is different from leading itself as he ascertains that the difference between the two is the character. One’s qualities of his character motivate him to take the leadership roles as opposed to only knowing how to lead. Being a good leader following John Maxwell one must possess attributes such as Charisma, courage, teachability, and problem solving (Maxwell, 2018). These attributes among others are the main in the leadership and any person who wishes to be a good leader must emulate them. Leaders must also possess a vision attribute as they can only achieve what they perceive as their vision (Burkhart, McGrath-Horn, & Unterstell, 2017). Leaders should not let any problem go unsolved in their leadership and must keep increasing knowledge so that they can adapt to the change in the environment affecting the organization. One cannot be a good leader if he or she lacks the best leadership qualities in which a leader must have this aspiration to be a leader must be accompanied by the qualities which are required for all leaders.
5.1 Five levels of leadership
The characteristics of the five leadership levels according to John Maxwell include the following.
- Position
Characteristics of the position include competence demonstration by the leader, leaders do not apply force when controlling people and the leader should demonstrate growth in relational, spiritual and physical (Stearns, 2016). The people have no other option rather than following the leader in position level and the leaders at this level are restricted to requirements.
- Permission
In this level, people decide on either to follow the leader or not to follow based on their relationship with the leader (Maxwell, 2019). The influence of the leaders of this level is high and people trust the leader as a competent person.
- Production
In this level, one is respected on the bases of his actions in the organization and the leaders influence things to be done in the organization (Maxwell, 2018). The results for the actions of the leader must be evident and the leader has a great influence on the change in the organization.
- People development
The leader is respected for actions done to the people in the organization since the leader acts as a mentor to others (Montejo, 2018). The leader in the level uses most of the time on addressing change and encouraging people to become leaders.
- Personhood
In this stage, the influence a person has extends beyond a lifetime and the leader in this level gains respect due to consistency for a long period (Maxwell, 2019).
5.2 Definition of leadership
Leadership refers to the act of the executive giving guidance, directing and influencing the behavior of workers to accomplish a certain goal of the organization. Leadership can also be defined as t he ability to influence other people in an organization towards completing a task (Olaniyan, 2017). Persuading other people in an organization to meet the objectives of the organization enthusiastically is also referred to as a leadership (Maxwell, 2019). Several characteristics help in defining leadership and are associated with leadership. Leadership requires qualities such as intelligence and high maturity behavior and it is an interpersonal process that occurs between the leader and the workers through the provision of guidance to them while in an attempt of accomplishing set goals. Leadership must involve two or more people for it to take place and there is no best leadership method thus leadership has situational bounds.
5.3 Other levels of leadership
The other levels of leadership include self, team, organization and society leadership which majorly focuses on the behavior of an organization. On the self-perspective, self-management and awareness is the main concern and the leader at this level need to be able to manage own activities (Brown, 2016). Team as a leadership level refers to a leader managing a certain department in an organization. Organization as a leadership level as leaders who manage the whole organization accelerating its change. Society as a leadership level refers to the leaders who rule the whole society with all the organizations within it (Maxwell, 2019). It is the highest level based on the leadership levels identified and it can refer to the leadership in a particular country. Leadership is very basic in the life of human beings as it is the main reason as to why we have order in the society.
Leadership is associated with several qualities which lead to the best leader as expressed by John Maxwell. A leader must be able to perceive things differently by being optimistic to discover the reality. The leaders must be hopeful for the best despite the challenges in the organization which they lead (Burkhart, McGrath-Horn, & Unterstell, 2017). To be a leader in an organization is the most challenging responsibility as one has to be determined to ensure that everything happens as planned. A leader is responsible for any mess in an organization and should be very careful while handling the role. In the times of hardships, leaders need not to give up in the work but should hope that it will be well in the future.
The leaders should be able to value ideas of others and if possible evaluate them to see if they have any positive impact on the organization. Leaders must be able to listen to others as they speak and take note from them and not despising some workers who may seem to be in the lowest rank (Maxwell, 2019). Leaders must be good motivators who can bring impact on the working perspectives of the workers thus enabling them to achieve the goals of an organization. Motivation is the key aspect for the organization as the workers feel part of the organization and that encourages them to work hard and do their duties as required. The final product of motivation in an organization is ultimate success of the company though it may be viewed by a minor factor in an organization.
Leaders must have a vision and guide others to achieve the vision through persistence and hard work in the organization affairs. Leaders must set their own goals and ensure that they are achieved in good time (Stearns, 2016). The aspect of having a vision for the company leads to competence in the organization and unbeatable in the competitive edge by the other organizations venturing similar services or products (Maxwell, 2019). The leaders are responsible for the overall activities in the organization and are questionable for the failure of the company thus they must be vicious and focused on the achievement of the goals and objectives of the organization.
Leaders need to be able to learn from the best thus aspects such as bench marking in the similar organizations which are better in terms of performance and have more experienced should be sought. They must be able to integrate the other best activities done by others in their organizations in the business and ensure it grows (Brown, 2016). Taking the less travelled roads is also another aspect which is essential for the organization which means that the leaders must formulate their own unique ways to do things in the organization (Maxwell, 2019). The strategies by the organization towards achievement of its goals need to be unique in some ways and should not be too general ways. The leader must be able to differentiate the organization form the similar others through different ways in strategies followed to achieve the common goals.
Conclusion
The purpose of leadership is to bring about success and give hope from the afflicted people. Leadership should be handled with great courage and wisdom as it is depended by many people. Many workers of the organization focus on their leaders and wait directions from them. Failure to give clear directions for the workers can lead to a mess within the organization and the leaders are held responsible (Brown, 2016). Throughout the paper the leadership qualities which should govern the leadership of today has been discussed and the leaders need to emulate the qualities which should lead to the success of the organization (Olaniyan, 2017). The roles of different leaders such as the shamans are very critical as they used to heal many diseases among the Hmong Americans. Their role in the society was very vital as they were depended for settling disputes among the members of the society. Reflecting on the shamans and the leaders we have today, it can be concluded that the leaders need to have skills of solving problems of different kinds when need arises.
The ideas of John Maxwell on the leadership issues are very critical and reflects on the characters of the leaders needed today. The leaders need to emulate the leadership characters which have been verified as very critical for the leaders in an organization (Olaniyan, 2017). According to Maxwell, the levels of leadership teach on the different roles the leaders in the different ranks will possess (Maxwell, 2019). It is important for the leaders who would like to move from different rank to a hire rank to show determination in their work and create good relationship with members of the organization. The leadership qualities learnt from the different perspectives cumulatively try to solve and identify the qualities and characters in leadership which can be emulated for success of organizational affairs.
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