Personal Leadership Portrait - Essay Example

Personal Leadership Portrait Personal Leadership Portrait There are several leadership theories that de on the way people need to be governed especially in different areas. Some argues that leaders are born to lead while others argue that leaders are made. In light of this, it is correct to argue that as long as education and learning continues to exist, it is critical to focus on what a leader can be in regard to their area of specialisation. Therefore, behavioral theories can be argued to be the best theories that explain what leadership is all about. Being a human resource manager, it is critical to recognise the importance of what leadership is all about. Many followers look up to such leaders in many ways. The top facets of my leadership style are being focused and leading by example. These are essential in that the followers imitate what is set as an example. However, it would not be possible to be a leader in other areas unless I undergo other training and courses on the other areas of leadership. This means that behavioral theories have a limitation of leaders not being compatible with every other area of management (Northouse, 2010). I would also like to be communicative to my followers. However, sometimes I feel I need to keep things to myself as a way of drawing the boundaries on what I can share with my followers. I would also like to be flexible in the way I approach to things. Sometimes I feel it is the responsibility of my followers to work out things especially when overwhelmed by situations. Being flexible makes leaders to develop skills of articulating on issues. This means that the leaders do not have to rely on his followers to get things done the right way. In additional, the leader is able to focus on new innovative ideas that can be used to find solutions. This encourages his followers in that they are able to emulate him. Conversely, communicative trait is critical in that it helps leaders in conveying their messages to the followers effectively (Allio, 2007). It is apparent that leaders that fail to communicate effectively have problems in coordinating things effectively with the followers. Academic experiences Academic experiences will highly contribute positively towards being an effective leader in that I will develop different leadership styles in different fields of study. Northouse, (2010) argued that education broadens one’s mind in regard to the field of study that one is involved in. Since academics is not all about the knowledge in the field of study, research indicate that there are several other advantages such as developing leadership qualities exhibited in different fields of study. For instance, research is one of the areas that almost every student must engage in. In research, ethical conduct is critical. This ranges from the academic honesty to ethical consideration of people involved in the actual or primary research. Specifically, when conducting research, the researcher is supposed to observe ethical issues such as confidentiality of information obtained from the respondent or participant, avoiding the use of threatening language to the respondents, and according the respondents the right to withdraw from the research any time they wish without any intimidation. With these facets in place, it emerges that such a student will have developed these skills and is expected that this is carried on as they venture into the job market. Community Having the right leadership traits enables the leader to extend the leadership traits to the community. This argument could be argued to be true because an effective leader should be in a position to realise the importance of corporate social responsibility in an organisation. Community appraisal programs are critical in giving back to the community as one of the strategies by organisation. Therefore, an effective leader would utelise these traits in helping the community. Ethical behaviors A public servant is mandated to serve all people without any form of discrimination. Therefore, it would be unfortunate for a public servant to engage in acts of discrimination. Additionally, the issue of corruption in public service is critical. Any public service leader that engages in any corruption deals does not possess the right leadership traits. In this regard, several tenets of ethical behavior of a public service leader include being compassion, fairness, courage in opposing injustice, honesty, integrity and many others. These tenets are indispensable when it comes to serving people especially for leaders that aspire to lead from the front (Carmichael, 2011). Importance of diversity Diversity and inclusion is essential in the field of public service. With the increase in population and diversity, public service has to ensure that there is equality in the provision of services. For instance, the increase in the number of people of color and underrepresentation in the public service sector denotes of the importance to have better and balanced representation of this population. Therefore, there is a need to include people from all walks of life in the public service leadership. This ensures balanced provision of services in a fair manner. Applying these tenets for personal leadership style is critical in that one can effectively succeed in producing top results in different areas of leadership where one serves diversified group or community (Wibbeke, 2012). Academic experience and development of an effective leader Academic experiences expose students to different areas of study that fosters their leadership traits. For instance, a scholar practitioner is engaged in original research. This means that the scholars have to acquire or gather primary data that they use in analyzing situations. They also revisit works of other scholars to compare the results and make some deductions out of that. In this regard, the scholar is able to have a broader spectrum of what is expected of an effective leader. Conversely, academic prosperity requires a level of discipline as it involves processes that must be followed to attain the desired goals. This is similar to what an effective leader needs to do to achieve his leadership goals. With these deliberations, academic experience can be argued to play a great part in determining the right leadership style one has to adapt (Kouzes & Posner, 2010). References: Kouzes, J.M. & Posner, B.Z. (2010). The Leadership Challenge, ed 4. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Wibbeke, E. (2012). Global Business Leadership. Chicago, Routledge. Carmichael, J. (2011). Leadership and management development. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Northouse, P.G. (2010). Leadership: theory and practice. NY: Sage. Allio, R. J. (2007). Bad Leaders; How They Get That Way and What to Do About Them, Strategy and Leadership 35(3), 12–17. Read More