Personal Leadership Behavior in Determining Leadership Needs - Assignment Example

?Exploring Personal Leadership Behavior and Determining Leadership needs I. Introduction My personality and leadership style preferences are shaped by the culture and traditions of my people. Being an Iranian, I am used to a more reserved environment and unlike the western people who are more outgoing and expressive about their ideas and aspirations, my people do not really speak-out what is in their mind and prefer to stay silent on certain issues. Out our use of language is full of nuances and we not directly set out stand on certain issues but rather let the listener “feel” rather than “hear” what we want them to know. As someone who has been told from an early age to be very careful with what I say or do, I am more inclined to be thorough in my decision-making, thus, I prefer to use vision leadership style. My MBA classes serve as my first real exposure to leadership styles and interaction with people of different cultures. At first, things feel awkward but as I learned more about the principles of leadership and human interaction, I begin to feel more at ease with the group. Given my experience, the three leadership skills that brings a lot of meaning to my life at this point are the skills in active listening, communicate assertively and influencing. Active listening is a very important skill that every leader should learn in order to understand their subordinates better and address their issues and concerns in the most appropriate manner. As for assertive communication, I believe that this still is very important because we all need to deal with certain issues that need to be addressed in certain manners. Influencing others on the other hand is a crucial skill that leaders need to master in order inspire others to follow us. In evaluating my leadership skills using the PDJ and feedback from my ground and some classmates, I realized that I need to develop the skills in asserting myself and influencing others. II. Evaluation of Leadership Behavior According to Kotter (1990), leadership involve several factors including setting direction, aligning people, motivating people and creating a culture of leadership. Koontz and O’Donnell (1959) describe leadership as “influencing people to follow in the achievement of a common goal” while Tannenbaum, R. , Weschler, I.R., and Massarik, F. (1959) define leadership as “interpersonal influence exercised in a situation and directed, through the communication process, toward the attainment of a specialised goal or goals.” Based on the definitions given, it can be surmised that leadership involves a complex and comprehensive approach to a given situation in order to achieve the desired goals. Based on my experience, leading a group is a complex process and there are a lot of things that one needs to consider in order to inspire people and achieve good results. Leadership styles vary from one person to another and for a leader to be effective; he or she needs to adopt a leadership approach that he or she is comfortable with. In my case, I have a clear vision of the future and understand the importance of clearly defining my development path in order to achieve my goals. By creating a sort of mind map and putting into context the kind plans that I have in order to reach my goal, I am better able to charter my courses of action. For instance, in an activity where my team had to work over the holiday season, I was able to visualize what my team needs to do over the holidays in order to achieve our goals. By visualizing the future tasks of the group and communicating my vision through text messages and emails to the members of my group, I was able to convey the right message to my team mates. Yes, some of my team mates feel that there are things that I need to improve in terms of planning and communication (see Appendix 9) but I believe that given the time constraints that we had, I was able to carry-on the task at based on my vision. In evaluating my leadership behaviour using my Personal Development Journal (PDJ) and the feedback from my peers, I learned that active listening is my strong point while assertiveness and the ability to influence people are by weaknesses. The results of my Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) also shows that I am more of the ISTJ type of person which defines me a introvert, sensing, thinking and judging person. By combining the perceptions of others, the results of my MBTI and my perceptions of my leadership behaviour, I am better able to determine what kind of leader I am and how effect I will be if asked to lead a group to accomplish certain tasks. To present a clearer picture of my leadership behaviour, let us look into my leadership skills. a. Active Listening Active listening involves keeping eye contact with the person whom you are talking to and keep a sharp eye on the non-verbal messages given by the speaker (Avolio, et. al. 2003). Asking relevant questions at the right time without interrupting the trend of thoughts of the speaker is very important for active listeners (Avolio, et. al. 2003). This is way, the listener and the speaker reaches a certain level of communication when they both understand the needs and desires of the other. As mentioned earlier, active listening is one of my strong points and this is recognized by my peers during group activities (see Appendices 2, 8 and 9). Under my MBTI type description which is ISTJ, I am described as someone who is “likely to absorb, remember and use facts carefully and accurately.” There are a number of personal reasons why I am more of an introvert and active listener. First, I feel like I am deficient in terms of knowledge so I prefer to keep silent most of the time during discussions and try to absorb the new knowledge presented before me. As noted in my PDJ, my anxiety grow when I am pressed for time and when I feel stressed out, I usually do not communicate well so I prefer to be at the receiving end of the discussion (sees Appendix 3 and 4). By listening to the discussions, asking questions and sharing my ideas with the group, I am better able to understand the tasks at hand and do my work efficiently (see Appendix 1). As stated in my PDJ, I am very much concerned about the quality of my work so understanding how the tasks at hand should be performed to achieve the desired results in very important for me (see Appendices 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5). This trait of wanting to have a full grasp of the process is well-recognized in my MBTI. According to my MBTI, I am likely to value procedure, structure and schedules and that I am most comfortable when my roles and responsibilities are clearly defined. Some of my team mates also recognize the fact that I am more comfortable when I follow procedures. Knowing what is expected of me is very important for me to be able to determine the best courses of action that I need to take in order to achieve my goals and the goals of my team. During the activity where we tackled “the marketing leadership challenge”, I was tasked to serve as the group observer and this is where my listening skills were tested. During this activity, I had to listen to what the members of the group have to say about the fire case and summarized their ideas to make sure that I understood everything (see Appendix 3). Listening was very important in this case as it empowers me to understand the situation and feel more confident in making decisions. Another time when my listening skills proved to be valuable was when I was chosen as the leader of the OPM leadership assignment where we were required to write a report (see Appendix 4). Before my team was able to write its report, we need to go through a number of meetings where we shared our ideas. The biggest challenge of this activity was that we had to work over the Christmas break and some of the members were unreachable during this time. Knowing that we need to finish the assignment by the first week of January, I was anxious and apprehensive that the work may not be finished on time considering the fact that the members of the team are on holiday (see Appendix 4). To make sure that every work on certain areas of the assignment, we have to allocate the workload. In order to allocate the workload properly, I had to listen carefully to the ideas of my members and try to work out a schedule that will be most acceptable to everyone. By actively listening to the members of my team and asking pertinent questions to clarify matters, I was able to find a solution to our problems (see Appendix 4). Active listening is a very important skill that leaders must develop in order to understand the task as hand and most of the members of my team showed their appreciation on the way I handled the meetings .However, I understand that despite my active listening skills some of my classmates noted in their feedbacks about me that I need to work on my communication skills (see Appendices 6,7 and 9). One of my classmates wrote in his/her feedback sheet that although I listen well, I am not very good at making decisions and I tend to leave the decision-making process mostly to the group. b. Assertive Communication According to Gillen (1998), failing to asserting ones ideas, feelings, needs and beliefs is one of the biggest problems in leadership. When a person does not communicate his or her ideas, feelings and beliefs well to the group, that person may not be able to influence others. In my case, there are instances when I feel that I am not able to communicate assertively to the members of my team. As stated in my PDJ, I feel anxious most of the time because I feel inadequate and not knowledgeable enough to do the tasks at hand (see Appendix 1). Also, my lack of experience in the field of leadership makes me anxious as to whether or not I am doing the right thing so to cover the negative feelings that I have, I often use the word “maybe” when it comes to making suggestions to the team. By using the word “maybe” I feel that I am being more open to suggestions while masking my true feelings of anxiety and inadequacy. The fact that I try to hide my anxiety from my teammates make it even more difficult for me to communicate openly with them and assert my ideas (see Appendix 1). As you may notice in my PDJ, I often describe my feelings of anxiety and inadequacy during activities. Most of the time, I feel that other students are more knowledgeable of the tasks at hand so instead of trying to assert myself in the discussions, I prefer to keep silent, ask questions whenever possible and indicate to my fellow members that I understand the discussion. Time limitations also affect the way I interact with my peers during group activities. By trying to hide my anxiety and feeling of inadequacy from my teammates, I often appear to be a permission seeker and indecisive to my teammates. This trait is clearly shown by the way some of the teammates comment in my evaluation sheet. Some of my teammates noted that I often do not assert myself especially when it comes to making decisions for the team (see Appendix 3). Another classmate observed that I am hesitant to take the lead in the activities of the group. Both of these observations are well-taken and I admit that I do not feel very confident when it comes to making decisions for the group because I am anxious and I lack the confidence to assert my ideas knowing that I am not very familiar with the tasks at hand. Also, the fact that most of my classmates appear to be more knowledgeable about the task make me feel apprehensive and anxious about taking the lead in the activities. Often times, I have to consult everyone as to what we should do instead of taking the lead and making decisions for the team (see Appendices 6, 7 and 9). Although consulting others is a good trait associated with participatory leadership style, I feel that my act of consulting my team members regarding how to proceed with the work is only a means to mask my anxiety. Since my motivation in consulting my teammates is more on assuring myself that I am doing the right thing instead of genuinely asking my teammates to contribute to a democratic decision-making process, I feel that I am not actually asserting myself on the process. This feeling is echoed by some of my teammates who feel that I should make more decisions for the group instead of relying on other members to make decisions. Some of my teammates feel that I am not making myself clear enough for everyone. According to Gillen (1998), in order for a leader to assertively communicate his or her ideas, he or she needs to distinguish facts from opinions and in my case, I feel that I am not making a clear distinction between the two which make be feel more anxious. c. Influencing People Influencing people is one of the most important skills that leaders should learn. When leading the team on an activity, I feel that I need to assert myself more without being disagreeable. For me, being agreeable and likable is important and most of my teammates seem to agree with that. Based in the feedbacks that I received from my classmates, most of them say that I am likable which is makes it easier for me to get along with them ( see Appendices 6, 7 and 9). However, being agreeable is not the only thing that one needs in order to gain influence over the members of the group. According to Fowler (1998), there are a number of influencing styles and these styles yield different results. In my case, as the leader of the team, I try to solicit the ideas of my members and listen to their ideas and suggestions (see Appendix 4). I also tried to allocate the tasks to each member of the group before we break for the holidays (see Appendix 4). Note that we had to do out work over the Christmas holidays so it is very important to get the commitment of the different members of the team in order to give out assignments and get confirmation from the persons assigned to certain tasks that they are doing their share even while spending the holidays with their family members and friends. I use friendly persuasion to ensure that my team members understand what we need to do (see Appendix 4). Note that before the members of the team went on holiday, we only had limited opportunities to meet. During our first meeting, we had some sharing of ideas with the group and I tried to ask questions to make sure that the members of the team were able to understand what we need to do (see Appendix 6, 7, 8 and 9). I tried to create an atmosphere of trust and confident in the group by asking for suggestions from the members of the team and giving everyone a chance to present their ideas (see Appendix 4). However, not all members of the team were impressed with what I did and according to the evaluation of one of the members of my team although they think that it was a good idea to ask the members as to what needs to be done, they feel that I should have been more assertive and I should have been more decisive (see Appendices 8 and 9). As a result, despite our discussions, some of my team members were not able to start working on the project right away and I have to send text messages and emails to everyone during the holidays to make sure that everyone works on their assigned task (see Appendix 4). Judging by the way my teammates evaluated by leadership behavior, I believe that using friendly persuasion made them feel that I was not decisive enough and that I have failed to influence them in such as way that they will feel more compelled to devote more time on our project. I believe that at this point, my skills in influencing people still need some development. III. Key Leadership Development Needs Since I do not have extensive leadership experience, I feel that there are a number of areas that I need to develop in order to become a good leader as I intend to be part of a big organization and be a leader in my chosen field. To be an effective visionary leader, I need to improve my communication skills to be able to give a good “vision speech” to my members and inspire them to work harder to achieve our vision. According to Tannenbaum et. al. (1959) and to Avolio et. al. (2003), a good vision speech must contain a clear presentation of strategies and objectives. It must also give a clear picture of the threats and opportunities that the team will face along the way. Painting a nice picture of the future will not work unless such nice picture holds a certain appeal to the listener. According to Kotter (1990) and to Yukl (2006), a vision can only be interesting if such vision has relevance to the audience. Drawing from my experience as leader of the group, I believe that it would be best to build a vision that is clearly understandable to the audience. Also, it is very important that when I present my vision, I project an air of confidence that the vision can be achieved. According to Hale and Whitlam (1995), the level of confidence of the leader in turning his or her vision into reality determines the kind of support that he or she gets from his or her subordinates. Note that people are more inclined to follow someone who has a clear directly so it is very important to let the members from the very start that I know what I am doing and that I am confident that my vision is achievable. When it comes to by leaderships skills, I need to improve my active listening skills further by learning to ask more questions in a confident way. According to Hale and Whitlam (1995), when subordinates see that their leader is hesitant about something, they are less likely to be willing to give their full support to the leader. Also, aside from listening to others and absorbing their ideas, I also need to learn how to communicate my feelings to others. As mentioned earlier in this essay, I do not feel confident with most of the tasks that we have and despite the fact that some of my classmates see me as someone who is calm and collected, I do feel anxious deep inside. Because I hide my anxiety from my peers, my peers really do not know what I feel inside so they assume that I know what I am doing and that I am in full control of the situation. Given this scenario, I feel compelled to meet their expectations and push myself harder to achieve my goals and the goals of my group. Although it is good to achieve 100% of my goals and that of my group, the pressure of trying to prove myself to everyone can be tremendous. As for communicating assertively and influencing people, I feel that I have a long way to go in this area. Being a non-native English speaker, language is a communication barrier for me. Although I am good a grasping ideas and I am very careful when it comes to following instructions, I still need to improve the way I convey my messages to the people around me. I need to master the skills of making brief, clear and to the point statements when giving instructions to my subordinates or my peers in order for them to fully understand what I want them to do. Instead of saying “maybe”, I need to be more assertive and use the words “I would like” “I need you” and the like when giving instructions. The use of more definitive words is very important if I want my teammates to feel that I am in control of the situation. Also, I need to learn how to make constructive criticisms without blaming anybody. According to Whetten (2007), a leader must know how to nurture people and help them grow instead of blaming them and or putting them down. As for influencing people, I need to be more persuasive in my approach to visionary leadership. IV. Addressing the Leadership Needs There are a number of things that I need to go through in order to address my leadership needs. First, I need to improve my listening and communication skills especially when dealing with a group. In order to improve my active listening skills, I need to practice asking questions that are relevant to the topic and staying focus on the issue at hand. Also, there is a need for me to be more observant and alert on the overt non-verbal messages that a person may send during conversations. This means that I should be more aware of the gestures and body languages of the speaker such as looking at the clock, tapping the feet or fidgeting which can be signs that he or she is in a hurry and no longer want to prolong the conversation. Active listening is a skill that can be honed during my day to day interactions with my family, friends and colleagues so each day, I will strive to practice this skill until it become part of my nature. When it comes to the area of assertive communication and influencing people, I need to learn how to manage my anxiety by learning about the nature of the task at hand first before trying to communicate my ideas to others. My studying the possible ways of accomplishing certain tasks, formulating visions and strategies to achieve the task before I try to communicate with my subordinates, I will be able to feel more confident in dealing with questions from my subordinates. Building my confidence is very important in order for me to be able to feel more in control of the situation and be able to assert myself. As for influencing people, I need to develop the skills of visioning and clearly communicating my vision to my subordinates in order to influence them to work towards our goal. I believe that it will be easier for me to influence other people if I have a clear grasps of the situation and come up with clear strategies in order to turn the vision into reality. It would also help a lot if I can find a role model and a mentor who can help me improve myself by providing constructive criticism. Having someone to guide me and give me feedback is very important to help me recognize my strengths and weaknesses from the point of view of another person. V. Conclusion My goal is to become a good visionary leader and lead my subordinates to become more productive. In order to achieve my goal, I need to hone my active listening skills and improve my assertive communication skills and influencing skills. The best way to improve myself is to practice what I have learned in school at home and at work. Through constant practice, I will be able to hone my skills and improve my leadership style. Appendices Appendix 1 – Personal Development Journal 1 Appendix 2 – Personal Development Journal 2 Appendix 3 – Personal Development Journal 3 Appendix 4 – Personal Development Journal 4 Appendix 5 – Personal Development Journal 5 Appendix 6 – OPM Group Feedback 1 Appendix 7 – OPM Group Feedback 2 Appendix 8 – OPM Group Feedback 3 Appendix 9 – OPM Group Feedback 4 References 1. Kotter, J (1990) A Force for Change: How Leadership Differs from Management. New York: Free Press 2. Koontz, H. and O’ Donnell, C (1959) Principles of Management (2nd ed.) New York: McGraw Hill 3. Tannenbaum, R. , Weschler, I.R., and Massarik, F. 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Improve your powers of influence. London: : Institute of Personal Development 17. Hale, R. and Whitlam, P. (1995). The Power of Personal Influence. Maidenhead: McGraw Hill Read More