The Leadership Style That Describes Me as a Leader - Assignment Example

My leadership philosophy My leadership philosophy Introduction Leadership is the process whereby an individual influences his or her followers to achieve a certain common goal (Northouse, 2010). Corporations across the world have realized that leadership ability is a special ability that facilitates the attainment of competitive edge in the market. Institutions of higher learning have responded to the demand for leadership skills through offering leadership programs (Lussier & Achua, 2010). Leaders play a critical role in articulating the organizational vision and influencing the efforts of their subordinates towards the attainment of the shared overall organizational mission. Leaders solve problems and encourage creativity thus driving competitiveness in the organization (Martin, 2006). Effective leadership approach should foster the formation of meaningful relationships and enhance harmony in teams in order to facilitate job coordination and collaboration across the organization (Northouse, 2010). Accordingly, leaders should use their interpersonal skills to persuade their followers to dedicate their efforts and abilities towards the attainment of the outlined common goals. This essay will describe my leadership in terms of skills approach and present a plan of action to improve my leadership and motivation skills. The leadership style that describes me as a leader The leadership approach that best describes me as a leader is the skills approach. This is a leader-centered perspective of leadership and I have certain knowledge and skills that are essential for effective leadership (Martin, 2006). According to Kaz field research, leaders demonstrate effective administration through use of knowledge and competencies to accomplish certain objectives (Northouse, 2010). I have technical skills and analytical skills in language and computer that will be essential in my future career. Accordingly, I have human skills that are essential in working with subordinates, peers and superiors. I am capable of creating an environment of trust since I am sensitive to the concerns of others and thus I will cater the ideas of others in my decision-making (Northouse, 2010). I believe I have well developed conceptual skills that are key to outlining the organizational vision and communicating new ideas to peers and subordinates. I am able to express the company goals with hypothetical notions in order to persuade the followers to accept my vision for the organization (Lussier & Achua, 2010). According to the skills model, I have skills and capabilities that are essential for high job performance that I have developed from my education and prior experience (Alizor, 2013). My problem-solving competencies allow me to gather information and facts in order to gain new perspectives of problems in order to apply new solutions to unique problems that may be facing an organization (Northouse, 2010). I take suggestions and concerns of others and I can understand the unique needs and goals of others within an organization. I am self-motivated and my personal drive to lead others allows me to exert influence. I am self-confident, adaptable and open to new situations such as changing external business environment (Lussier & Achua, 2010). I believe my current leadership approach reflects certain leadership qualities that are required for strategic business management and my personal attributes such as personality and emotional intelligence are essential in effective leadership outcomes in modern world (Lussier & Achua, 2010). My most distinguishing leadership traits From my self-assessment, there are certain innate qualities and characteristics such as my charisma that enables me to gain the trust of others (Martin, 2006). I have a sense of personal identity due to self-awareness and high esteem and thus I can drive initiative in team situation. I am self-confident and consistent in pursuing my goals and I take personal responsibility for the successful completion of any undertaking. I am able to deal with stressing situations and accept negative outcomes of my decisions (Northouse, 2010). My charisma is essential in influencing the behavior and perspectives of my followers. The leadership approach that I prefer as a follower As a follower, I prefer the leader-member exchange theory approach since it is based on the interactions between the leader and the followers. I prefer being in a dyadic relationship whereby I am able to have individual relationship and exchanges with the leader. I value the quality of interaction and relationship that I have with the leader since this enables me voice my concerns and ideas regarding my work (Northouse, 2010). Each individual followers has unique needs and thus leader-member exchange theory is my ideal approach as a follower since the leader will be capable of understanding my unique needs such as need for job rotation or expansion of the job description. The theory is my ideal as a follower since it will enable me attain high job satisfaction, better career advancement opportunities and better attitudes (Lussier & Achua, 2010). I have well developed interpersonal skills that will enable me initiate and sustain relationship with my leader. I am self-confident and agreeable thus I will participate effectively in interacting with my leader and sharing work-related information. This approach is my best since it entails mutual trust, respect and obligations to each other that is essential for increased job performance and access to performance feedback. Accordingly, I take personal responsibility for the outcome of my tasks and thus I will be willing to accept more responsibilities and exert more efforts in my roles. The approach caters for the importance of trust, communication, motivation, commitment and respect in organization thus it is ideal for teamwork in attainment of the shared vision (Northouse, 2010). I prefer this approach since the goals of the organization, the leader and my personal goals as a follower are all advanced using this approach. The approach prohibits any form of biasness towards certain subordinates since the non-performing subordinates are treated with respect and according to the existing social contract. The leadership style that describes how best I influence others Leaders are expected to influence the efforts and attitudes of their followers towards attainment of shared goals. The leadership style that best describes how I influence others is the transformational leadership style since I focus on follower empowerment and intrinsic motivation (Northouse, 2010). I influence others by changing their emotions, ethics, values and attitudes and in this case I consider my followers’ needs and treat them with respect. I am visionary person with a ability to attract a following in order to fulfill a pre-assigned task. According to my personality assessment, I am able to act as a role model and show competence while articulating the shared goals and communicating expectations. I am strong moral values that are critical in arousing followers’ interest and gaining the emotional involvement of others in working towards attainment of shared goals (Northouse, 2010). I concentrate on the intrinsic rewards of the outcomes of the tasks rather than external rewards in order to get the followers to focus on the entire team interests rather than own interests (Lussier & Achua, 2010). For instance, I offer verbal recommendations and motivational talks for exemplary performance of the followers. I do concentrate on the need for harmony in teams and cooperation of work in order to improve performance. Accordingly, I use my interpersonal relationships with others and persuasion in order to build and sustain trust among followers. Goals and plan of improving my leadership and motivation Although I have developed essential leadership skills, attributes and competencies, there are certain issues of leadership and motivation that I require to improve on in order to become a successful leader. Based on the current assessment my leadership and motivational skills and knowledge gained from the study of the course materials, I believe I should improve on my emotional intelligence, intrinsic motivation and idealized influence in order to become a successful leader in the future (Northouse, 2010). My first goal is to study the core concepts of emotional intelligence and charisma. I am aware that effective leadership depends on the intelligence, charisma and personality of the leader since these critical aspects of leadership are essential in gaining respect and trust of the followers. In this case, emotional intelligence will enable me monitor and control others’ emotions. I should be able to identify my own emotions and use them in problem-solving through cheering up and calming down other people in order to attain team harmony. Emotional intelligence will enable me understand power dynamics in groups and maintain good relationships (Lussier & Achua, 2010). Accordingly, I will be capable of using humor in order to persuade others and reduce stress in different settings. The second goal is to improve my conflict-resolution skills since I believe that interpersonal conflicts are inherent in all teams and groups. In this case, I want to learn how to identify the sources of conflicts, how to understand different perspectives of the conflicting parties and how to energize the conflicting parties to cooperate in ending the conflict through an amicable solution (Northouse, 2010). The third goal is to understand methods of developing intrinsic motivation. In this case, I will utilize path-goal theory (Chopra, 2002). I want to learn how to set employee goals that are meaningful and important to them in order to facilitate their intrinsic motivation. In this case, I want to ensure that my followers’ goals are realistic, challenging, time-bound and attainable (Chopra, 2002). I need to learn how to understand the subordinates’ expectations about their work, motivational needs and obstacles that may hinder attainment of their work goals (Northouse, 2010). In this case, I will be able to use supportive, participative and achievement-oriented leadership behaviors that aim at enabling subordinates attain challenging goals. I will ensure that subordinates have a sense of affiliation, sense of control over their tasks and have positive perceptions regarding their abilities to execute the tasks (Harrell, 2008). The leadership model that I intend to implement in order to achieve my goals is transformational leadership style since it is more ideal in influencing the efforts of the followers. The reason why I have selected this leadership style is because it entails use of idealized influence that is essential in articulating the vision (Harrell, 2008). The leader should demonstrate high moral standards and ethical conduct in order to gain trust and respect from the followers. Accordingly, the leadership style entails inspirational motivation of followers and in this case I will learn how to inspire and motivate my followers using the path-goal theory (Northouse, 2010). I will be capable of using emotional appeals in order to enhance team spirit. The style entails use of intellectual stimulation through challenging the followers’ beliefs and values in order to foster creativity (Lussier & Achua, 2010). An understanding and improvement of emotional intelligence will enable me understand my followers’ attitudes, opinions, values and beliefs in order to facilitate problem-solving. The style also entails individual consideration of each follower in order to mutual trust and create a sense of belonging among the followers. Individualized consideration will be essential in building supportive climate that allows for work delegation (Lussier & Achua, 2010). Timeline for completion of self-improvement Time period Goal Activities Outcomes 3 months Emotional intelligence Gain self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management I will be capable of understanding my followers emotions, opinions and attitudes, ability to use humor and deal with stress Next 3 months Conflict resolution skills Learn different sources of conflicts, understand conflict dynamics and resolution methods I will be able to use cooperation in conflict resolution in order to foster team harmony Next three months Intrinsic motivation Learn how to set meaning and challenging goals, understand employee needs, learn supportive and achievement oriented leader behaviors I will be capable of inspiring and motivating subordinates to remain committed to attainment of the shared goals Conclusion The leadership involves influencing the efforts of followers in order to attain shared goals. Some of the effective leadership skills include self-confidence, openness to new challenges, problem-solving and conceptual skills. From my self-assessment, the style that describes my leadership approach is the skills approach while the style that I prefer as a follower is the leader-member exchange theory. However, I use transformational style in influencing others and I would like to learn emotional intelligence skills, conflict resolution skills and intrinsic motivation of followers. I will prefer using the transformational leadership style in attaining my learning goals. References: Alizor, J.O. (2013). Leadership: understanding theory, style, and practice: things you need to know about leading an organization. Bloomington: WestBow Press. Chopra, S. (2002). Motivation in Management. New Delhi: Sarup & Sons. Harrell, M.M. (2008). The relationships between leader behavior, follower motivation, and performance. New York: ProQuest. Lussier, R.N & Achua, C.F. (2010). Leadership: theory, application, skill development. Sydney: SouthWestern Cengage Learning. Martin, B. (2006). Outdoor Leadership: theory and practice. New York: Human Kinetics. Northouse, P.G. (2010). Leadership: theory and practice. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Read More