Individual Leadership Growth Reflection - Research Paper Example

 Individual Leadership Growth Reflection This paper is a comprehensive reflection of my leadership development in this course; in the summative reflection, I have integrated and applied leadership concepts, techniques, strategies, and perspectives presented in this course on leadership. The reflection on my leadership development is based on my preferred leadership theory, i.e. authentic leadership. In the paper, therefore, I have explained why I closely relate with the authentic leadership theory, and how the authentic leadership theory impacts my development as a leader. In this course, I have learnt a lot about leadership. One of the important things that I have learnt in this course is on the meaning of leadership. Among the various definitions of leaderships offered by various scholars, I find the definition of leadership given by Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard to be the best definition of leadership. According to Hersey and Blanchard, leadership is the process of facilitating the goal achievement of an individual or a group in a particular situation (Hersey & Blanchard, 1972). I find this definition of leadership to be the best definition of leadership because the main aim of leadership, in my view, is to achieve a set goal. Given the fact that human beings are social animals and they live in organized communities in pursuance of a given goal, leadership, therefore, becomes quite important for such communities to facilitate the achievement of such set goals. I have, therefore, learnt in this course that an effective leader should be a good facilitator in the achievement of the individual or community goals. The other important point on leadership that I have learnt in this course is on the importance of leadership in facilitating individuals or groups of people in achieving their set goals. The main importance of leadership in helping people to achieve their set goals in life lies in the fact that leadership is meant to motivate a group of people towards a common goal. This fact, therefore, shows that leadership is quite important in any organized group of people. This view is perfectly in line with Robert Schuler’s views on leadership. Schuler says the following on leadership in his book Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do, “Leadership is the force that selects your dreams and sets your goals; it is the force that propels your endeavors to success” (p.91). This view by Schuler emphasizes the view that leadership is quite important in the achievement of community’s or organization’s goals. In my reflection on leadership, I have realized that the purpose of leadership is in line with what Aristotle called Telos or the goal/end. For Aristotle, the telos of all human actions is happiness (Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics Bk.1.v, 1095 a7-28). In this view, the main aim of leadership is to help human beings to achieve their set goals, so as to enable them to be happy. For this reason, therefore, the main aim of a leader is to guide and to lead people into achieving their goals in life so as to be happy. Development of Leaders Another important point that I have learned in this course is on how leaders come into being or how leaders are developed. I have learnt in this course that there are three ways in which leaders come into being. According to Bernard Bass’ theory of leadership, there are three basic ways to explain how leaders come into being (1989). These theories are. i. Trait Theory: this theory holds that some people are born with some leadership qualities or leadership personality; the leadership personality traits may lead people naturally into leadership roles. The natural leadership qualities include courage, and natural physique. ii. Great Events Theory: this theory holds that some people become leaders because of some great events or some crisis in people’s lives. the understanding here is that a crisis or an important event may cause a person to rise to the occasion, which brings out extraordinary leadership qualities in an ordinary person iii. Transformational Leadership Theory: this is the theory which holds that people can choose to become leaders, that is they can learn leadership skills. Authentic Leadership as my Preferred Theory of Leadership The main reason why I identify with this theory of leadership is that, authentic leadership emphasis on holistic development of human person. This is because authentic leadership encourages people to have self-knowledge and to behave in a morally upright way through being genuine and authentic to themselves and to other people. For that reason, I find authentic leadership theory to be my ideal theory of leadership. This theory of leadership, therefore, impacts my individual development as a leader in a big way. This is because I base my development strategy as a leader on authentic leadership. Other than authentic leadership theory, I have learned different other perspectives or different styles or theories of leadership. For that reason, therefore, I will explain authentic leadership as my preferred leadership theory; in the explanation of authentic leadership, I will relate the authentic leadership theory with some other main theories of leadership. First of all, let me begin by explaining the concept authenticity. Among the various definitions of the concept authenticity given by various scholars on leadership, I find the definition of authenticity given by Terry as the definition that captures the meaning of authenticity in a very apt way. In his attempt to define and clarify what authenticity means, Terry asserted that, “authenticity is ubiquitous, calling us to be true to ourselves and true to the world, real in ourselves and real in the world, when authenticity is acknowledged, we admit our foibles, mistakes and protected secrets, the parts of ourselves and society that are fearful and hidden in the shadows of existence”(Terry, 1993,p.139). This fact shows that authentic leaders must be honest and true to themselves and to other people. The essential qualities of authenticity, therefore, are knowing oneself and being oneself (may et al., 2003). Authentic leaders, therefore, are the leaders who know themselves well. As Avolio et all note, authentic leaders as are those individuals who are deeply aware of how they think and behave and are perceived by others as being aware of their own and others’ values/moral perspective, knowledge, and strengths; aware of the context in which they operate; and who are confident, hopeful, optimistic, resilient, and high on moral character (Avolio et al, 2004). From the definition of authenticity and the definition of authentic leadership that we have looked above, it is evident that the theory of authentic leadership is characterized by high moral standards. This is because being true and honest to oneself and to other people requires that one should be a morally upright person. This fact shows that authentic leadership is deeply rooted in moral uprightness and genuinity of leaders. For this reason, Avolio and Gardner (2005) argue that authentic leadership is the root of all new positive forms of leadership, including transformational, charismatic, servant, and spiritual leadership (Avolio & Gardner (2005). This because all these forms of leadership emphasize on moral uprightness and honesty of individual leaders. Differences between Authentic Leadership and Other Forms of Leadership In my reflections on authentic leadership, I have realized that the main difference between authentic leadership and other forms of leadership lies in the fact that authentic leadership is a holistic form of leadership. This is because authentic leadership focuses on the overall good of both the leader and the subjects of the leader. Reflecting on this view, Avolio et al argued that that main distinguishing element that differentiates authentic leadership from related forms of leadership is that it is at the very core of what constitutes profoundly positive leadership in whatever form it exists (2004). The other main distinguishing characteristic of authentic leadership lies in the fact that the authentic leader aims to influence his/her subjects to support his/her cause and views through being a role model to them. On this point, Avolio and Gardner pointed out, authentic leaders unlike transformational leaders, may or may not be actively or proactively focused on developing followers into leaders, even though they have a positive impact on them via role modeling (2005). Apart from these distinguishing characteristics of authentic leadership, the following are the other main characteristics of authentic leadership that set authentic leadership apart from other forms of leadership. Self-Identity Self-identity refers to one’s ability to know his/her potentials and weaknesses well, without either overestimating them or diminishing them. Schuler defines self-identification as the process of, “fixing and expressing one’s own identity, privately through reflection about oneself and publicly through self-disclosure, self-presentations, and other activities that serve to project one’s identity to audiences”( Schuler, 1984, p.68). This fact, therefore, shows that authentic leaders should be people who know their potentials and their weaknesses in life well. Avolio and Gardner also support the view that self-identity is one of the defining characteristics of authentic leadership; the two scholars posited that one of the key distinguishing characteristics of authentic leaders is that they are anchored by their own deep sense of self (2005). From this point, it is clear that, an authentic leader should possess the ability to project his or her identity to audiences, and to have self-knowledge. Moral uprightness Authentic leaders are supposed to act as role models for the people they lead through being honest and genuine in all their activities and in their dealings with other people. For this reason, the essence of an authentic leader lies in the capability to correct and guide his or her subjects. For this to happen, however, an authentic leader should possess high moral standards. In their reflections on this point, Avolio et al argued out that in authentic leadership, the focus is on transparency, positivity, and high moral standards is critical (Avolio et al, 2004). This fact indicates that an authentic leader ought to have high moral standards. Education There are certain theories that explain how leaders come into being. As Bass (1998) observes, authentic leadership is a learned leadership technique just as the transformational leadership theory. This view therefore is a clear indication that an authentic leader ought to be well educated. This fact, therefore, shows that, although authentic leaders may be born with innate qualities of being successful leaders, authentic leaders, however, need some specialized training in leadership so as to be competent leaders. Similarities between Authentic Leadership and other forms of Leadership Theories Despite the above differences between authentic leadership and the other forms of leadership, there are, however, some similarities between authentic leadership and other forms of leadership. A critical look at authentic leadership shows that there are some similarities between authentic leadership theory with other theories of leadership such as transformational, charismatic, servant, and spiritual leadership. For instance, according to Bass, transformational leaders just like authentic leaders have been described as being, optimistic, hopeful, developmentally oriented, and of high moral character (1998). Also, Bass and Steidlmeier noted that, like authentic leadership, both servant and spiritual leadership include either explicit or implicit recognition of leader self-awareness or the focus on integrity, trust, courage, and hope. For this reason, therefore, Avolio and Gardner argued that, authentic leadership can incorporate transformational, charismatic, servant, spiritual, or other forms of positive leadership (2005). This fact, therefore, shows that authentic leadership is closely related with many other theories of leadership. My Three Leadership Development Strategies The first leadership development strategy that I will adopt is learning on leadership. In order to be a competent leader, I will undergo a specialized training on leadership so as to gain insights and knowledge on leadership. The second strategy that I will adopt in developing as a leader is to become an apprentice with a respected leader. Through becoming an apprentice with a skilled and an experienced and respected leader, I will be able to learn many secrets about successful leadership. The third leadership development strategy that I will adopt in developing as a leader is to become an intern leader. Through internship, I will be able to bet hands-on experience on leadership, thus honing my skills in leadership and gaining experience on leadership. References Aristotle. (2005). Nicomachean Ethics; Aristole; Ethics. Bk.1. ( Robert Crisp, trans). Google books.R etrieved on. 09/04/2015. From. http://www.archive.org/details/ The Nicomachean Ethics. Avolio, B. (2005). Leadership development in balance. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Avolio, B., & Gardner, L. (2005). “Authentic Leadership development: Getting to the Root of Positive Forms of Leadership”. The Leadership Quarterly. Avolio, B., Gardner, W., Walumbwa, F., & May, D. (2004). “Unlocking the mask: A look at the Process by which authentic leaders impact follower attitudes and behaviors”. Leadership Quarterly, 15(6), 801-823. Bass, B., & Steidlmeier, P. (1999). “Ethics, character, and transformational leadership Behavior”. Leadership Quarterly, 10(2), 81-217. Carey, M. (1992). “Transformational leadership and the fundamental option for self- Transcendence”. Leadership Quarterly, 3(2),217-236. Gardner, W., & Avolio, B. (Eds.) (2005). “Authentic leadership theory and practice: Origins, effects and development”. Monographs in leadership and management.Vol.3. New York: Elsevier Science Publishers. Schuler, R. Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do!. NewYork: Bentam Books,1984),91 Terry, R. (1993). Authentic leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Read More