The Concepts of Leadership - Essay Example

Strategic Leadership Self Reflection Strategic Leadership Self Reflection From the learning processes of the past few weeks, I have attained a lot of information on leadership, including leadership theories, styles, approaches, traits and skills which define effective leaders. Within the course materials leadership is defined in different dimensions. However, the concepts of leadership that are presented within course materials imply the same ideas and viewpoints on leadership roles and responsibilities. In my own understanding and interpretation, leadership is the process of understanding oneself and working towards a specified vision through colleagues and subordinates, within an environment of trust and respect. Leaders must implement the most effective actions, through which they can realize their dreams and utilize their leadership potential in bringing change within organizations and the society in general. More importantly, I consider the ability of a leader in influencing other people towards achieving common objectives or goals as the most important aspect of leadership roles. On the basis of my strategic ambitions of becoming an influential and highly effective leader, I analyze my strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in my current and future leadership roles. I base the self reflection on the learning which I have acquired in the past few weeks on the leadership units Early theories on leadership, such as the Great Man Theories, postulated that leaders are exceptional individuals, who are born with unique innate qualities and abilities, which make them effective in leadership roles than other people. With the lessons I have learned during the course work activities, I now believe that leaders can also be made through training, experience, education and self determination and motivation towards a specific vision (Hill & Jones, 2012). Nonetheless, I still believe that most of my leadership abilities and skills are innate. These skills comprise my main strengths in my current and future leadership roles. I however recognize that there are some aspects that I need to improve, so that I will overcome all weaknesses in knowledge, abilities, vision and motivation in executing leadership roles. It is therefore evident that I belief that even though leaders are born with unique innate attributes of effective leadership, continuous improvement is inevitable, as a way of overcoming individual and professional weaknesses. It is in line with this that I consider learning processes as inevitable lifelong mandate. I am highly adaptable to various situations. I believe that this is a strength which makes me suited for future leadership roles within the dynamic organizational and societal environments. I am also sociable and therefore alert to changes within the social surrounding. This illustrates that I am able to recognize the needs, fears, concerns and opinions of other people. This attribute is important for effective leaders because contemporary organizations and societies are characterized by diverse individuals, who hold different values and opinions (Boseman, 2010). The influence of people on others is the reason why the social environment keeps on changing. By being sociable, I am convinced that I will be able to adapt to changes in the views of people as they interact within social and professional settings. On this basis, I am prepared for the unpredictable nature of human beings and therefore suited to meet the changing needs of subordinates in an organization within which I would be exercising my leadership roles and responsibilities. My friends always point out to me that I am overly ambitious. Even though I have been taught in the course activities to be realistic in setting dreams, I am confident that my ambitious nature is an important attribute, which enables me to be goal oriented. Effective leaders are often focused at achieving specific goals and objectives through their subordinates (Yukl, 2012). I also consider myself to be decisive. In line with the important roles of leaders in decision making and taking responsibility for their choices, I consider my decisive nature, as a personal strength, which would make me an effective strategic leader. Leaders should make decisions through intuitive evaluation or assessment of options and situations. It is through this that effective decisions are made. My energetic nature is another strength and attribute, which I value every day. This is because I believe that effective leaders should be motivated and self driven, so that they can be able to overcome challenges, such as resistance in implementing change. It is through my energetic nature that I am sure that I will become persistent in executing various projects and programs through my subordinates. I understand strategic leadership as the ability of a leader to employ his or her skills and knowledge effectively with a view of driving an organization towards the achievement of its strategic or long term objectives and goals. I embrace my creativity, intellect, fluency, persuasive nature and persuasiveness, as the skills that will allow me to become an effective strategic leader. This is due to the reality that creativity allows a leader to influence subordinates to employ innovative approaches in executing tasks and therefore becoming highly productive (Hill & Jones, 2012). All organizations have a specified vision, which they aim at attaining in the future. I will be able to communicate this vision and strategic objectives through my fluency, eloquence and persuasive nature. Nonetheless, I must be tactful and diplomatic in my leadership roles, because these are the vital skills which define a strategic leader. Regardless of the personal strengths I have described in the above sections, I am aware of my weaknesses and the areas where I need to improve, so that I can become more effective in my current and strategic leadership roles. The Functional Theories of leadership, as postulated by John Adair in his writings on Action Centered Leadership, impacted on me the most during the course. This is due to the fact that it is the Functional Theories which allowed me to realize my weaknesses and therefore designing ways through which I could overcome them. Through the course readings I realized that an effective leader must demonstrate concern on three interactive areas. These are task, team and individual. The task involves setting goals, implementing effective processes and methods. The team entails effective communication, interaction, group morale and clarifying roles. On the other hand, the individual aspect includes the feelings of people, attention behavior and coaching or mentorship (Cunyat & Melguizo, 2013). I now realize that I am not able to strike a balance among these three areas in my leadership roles. I need to improve my mentorship skills and the ability of understanding the feelings of others. Furthermore, I require improving my skills in using teams to execute project activities. The complex nature of diverse teams mandates leaders to employ effective leadership skills to motivate communication, coordination and interaction among team mates. The diverse beliefs and values of a diverse team makes leadership roles in team led project activities challenging. It is in this regard that I a plan to enroll in a training program on project management and leading change through teams. Through this training I will be able to overcome my weaknesses in assigning roles to team members that are aligned with their feelings, skills, values and abilities. Additionally, the training will enable me to set realistic goals for team members and motivate their participation in project activities. This is because I belief that teams are more innovative, creative and productive as compared to projects that are executed by individuals. This is due to the role of diverse group in sharing diverse ideas, experiences and abilities while working towards common goals and objectives, as set by the leadership and management of an organization. During class discussions, we discussed leadership actions and behaviors as postulated by the behaviorist theories. On the basis of the class discussions, I am now focused more on my actions and behavior as a leader rather than my skills and traits. My focus on skills made me less effective as a people oriented leader. Lack of effective people and production orientation defines some of my weaknesses, which I need to improve. Readings and discussions on leadership behaviors impacted me more significantly. This is because I now practice specific leadership styles, which can make me effective in my current and strategic leadership roles. I specifically value transformational leadership style as the most effective leadership style that can make me a good and influential leader. I appreciate the contingency or situational theories of leadership, which we discussed in class. I however consider the new theories in leadership, such as transformational leadership, as more appropriate in the globalized and diverse society and work environments. My coursework has broadened my view of leadership because I have recognized opportunities that will make me more effective in my current and strategic leadership responsibilities. For instance, I recognize the important role of training in personal growth and continuous improvement of my leadership skills. For instance, I now realize that the leadership roles are being enhanced by modern technologies, such as decision support systems, which promote the decision making roles of leaders. I therefore embrace opportunities in management technology and information systems, as an approach through which I can become effective in supervising, controlling and coordinating employees. I have identified specific opportunities and strategies through which I can overcome my weaknesses in leading change through teams. For instance, I will employ communication technologies to motivate and influence effective team dynamics within project teams and therefore enable them to become more innovative, communicative and productive in project activities. Through class discussions and readings on how to improve leadership abilities and skills, I was able to identify opportunities that would make me more effective in executing my leadership roles. I now plan to approach my leadership experience differently. I will achieve this by utilizing leadership opportunities, such as volunteering in social activities and programs. Through these activities, I will be able to practice the lessons and theoretical frameworks I acquired in the coursework activities and as a result become more effective. I will also utilize opportunities of self and professional improvement my joining various societies and clubs within which I will participate actively as a leader. I also plan to reflect upon my performance as a leader, so that I can do things differently, each time I engage in leadership activities. I am also aware that mentorship is one of the most appropriate opportunities, through which young leaders can improve their leadership abilities, skill and experience. It is as a result of this that I plan to select and engage with an effective leader within a large and diverse organization, so that I can learn more and improve my leadership abilities, styles and approaches. My thought processes have been broadened significantly by the course work activities, such as readings and class discussions. For instance, I have been able to identify and assess the threats, which are likely to challenge my leadership ambitions. Readings and discussions on ethical leadership made me to consider how I can drive an organization towards its vision and mission, while it adheres to its corporate social responsibility mandate. Dedicated focus on goals, objectives, mission and vision is a threat in leadership, which may cause an organization to be considered environmentally unsustainable. Even though organizations have corporate social responsibility objectives, ambition of leaders is a threat, which may cause them to focus more on attaining financial objectives rather than ethical leadership. I consider my ambitious nature to be one of the essential and important leadership strengths, but the course activities made me realize that it can be a threat towards the achievement of ethical leadership. Through the class activities, I am aware and ready to embrace the four Ps of ethical leadership. This means that in my strategic leadership I will ensure that I strike a balance of important factors of ethical leadership, such as Profit, People, Planet and Purpose. In line with the above reflection, I am confident that if I utilize the opportunities within the realm of leadership, I will be able to overcome my shortcoming and threats, and therefore become one of the most influential leaders of the world someday. References Boseman, G. (2010). Effective Leadership in a Changing World. Journal of Financial Service Professionals, 62(3), 36-38. Cunyat, A., & Melguizo, C. (2013). Effective Leadership in Teams: A Simple Model. Applied Economics Letters, 20(16), 1459-1461 Hill, C. W. L., & Jones, G. R. (2012). Essentials of Strategic Management. Australia: South-Western Cengage Learning. Yukl, G. (2012). Effective Leadership Behavior: What We Know And What Questions Need More Attention. Academy Of Management Perspectives, 26(4), 66-85. Read More