Personal experience of leadership - Article Example

Normally, many are the times that individuals do not differentiate the major differences between leaders and managers. However, in the real sense they are totally different individuals who need different capabilities. In fact, managers always incorporate leadership skills in their daily functions and activities. In this essay, I will discuss three leaders who are very inspiring and very supportive. They were able to drive their companies and organization through difficulties and hardships to reach their prosperity.

Clare Bingham is a well-known Yoga coach in United Kingdom. A yoga coach goal is truly achieved when he imparts the knowledge and skills to manage health and body strengths appropriately. I was moved by his ability to manage his students, clients and coaches when I was training as a yoga coach in London. When I met him in 2010, I could not imagine he was a leader and a manager of ‘Yoga Teachers Training School. His effort could not be underestimated; he was not only able to get many medical specialists to train as yoga coaches but also, he had many clients who depended on him on their health and body fitness.

Of all the yoga coaches, I interacted with; Clare Bingham was the best. Another leader who truly acts as my mentor is known as Danielle John, who operates his hotel and restaurant in the outskirts of New York. He has applied his skills to introduce the idea of delivering food and lunch to various institutions’ instead of customers going to the hotel themselves. His details and information about this great leader is available on the internet sources. Lastly, is another inspiring leader Margaret O Leary, who is a manager for women’s boutique store in San Francisco(Cribbin, 72).

Margaret O Leary manages the store with more than 20 outlets in Unites states. She has been in a position in more than 15 years with 14 of the outlets opened during her tenure. In fact, she has an interest in model and fashion especially relating to women. Moreover, she can be described to be very friendly, intelligent and excellent in her work. Margaret O’Leary was my manager when I was working as a sales assistant in Women’s Boutique. Margaret O Leary, Danielle John and Clare Bingham share common personalities, traits and competencies that enabled them to become effective leaders in their institutions and organizations.

They were all competent and effective in their work. To begin with, for an individual to perform effectively in his duties, he must possess appropriate skills required to perform the task allocated. Clare Bingham did not only need the skills learnt in class but also other skills learnt through personal efforts (Cribbin, 72). Indeed, he possessed the real educational qualifications of a Yoga trainer. Similarly, Margaret O’Leary possessed a post graduate in management. The academic qualifications enabled them to be steer leadership positions in different fields.

Secondly, a leader must be dedicated to the goals of the organization. Although Clare Bingham exercised her true skills in training her students, he needed other skills too to manage the entire institution. This is because yoga training does not attract interests from many individuals. In fact, he had to be a friend of everyone and to be effective in marketing to get more students to train and clients who would need his services. As mentioned earlier, he actually took this challenge and made this school be the best.

Similarly, Danielle John revealed her competence in his restaurant by innovating a new way of serving his customers. Also, Margaret O’ Leary never failed to show knowledge and skill in management by enabling Women’s Boutique to open more shop outlets. This portrays them as individuals dedicated to achieving the goals of the organization despite the emergence of challenges. Thirdly, the ability to communicate and solve problems is another characteristic that is supposed to be displayed by effective leaders.

They can only be depicted by ensuring a leader is socially competent and can also control his emotions effectively. A socially competent leader can establish relevant and beneficial relationships with fellow employees and the clients of the business. For instance, Clare Bingham motivated and inspired his fellow yoga coaches in Yoga Alliance by creating a positive environment in which he could communicate easily with everyone. Through this approach, problems could be identified, communicated and solved easily.

Danielle John also needed to ensure clear communication between the business and the customers. For him to meet the needs of customers, he had to understand the order specifications before food could be dispatched to various customers. When leaders become aware of their strengths and weaknesses, they can manage their emotions and solve management problems that may emerge. Margaret O’ Leary managed the views and different decisions of her 20 managers in the boutique shop outlets. To achieve my vision in leadership, I have to develop a personal leadership plan and strategies to achieve it.

Firstly, I would like to be competent and skilled in managing multi-national businesses. This would prompt me to take an additional course in management and leadership training. This would enable me to portray relevant leadership skills in management of businesses. Secondly, I would like be a person who can communicate and solve problems effectively. The communication skills facilitate effective communication with customers and my fellow workmates. This would be effectively achieved enrolling in a college that provides classes on communication.

Being involved in solving problems in actual or a simulated environment would make me a great problem solver. Thirdly, I want to be ethically upright when performing my responsibilities especially in business. Personal efforts and adhering to professional ethics standard would help to manage my ethics. This would create a good and lasting relationship within and outside the business I will be managing. Also, Self-awareness and team building will also build my personal leadership capabilities.

A person can easily learn his strengths and weaknesses from workmates. This would be done by responding effectively to critics and appreciation from junior or senior employees. Team building will be learnt by participating in group works assigned within the organization. I will also strive to help the group achieve the standards of that organization efficiently. Lastly, I want to be a person who can inspire and motivate individuals towards the goals of the organization. Individuals who can inspire easily set achievable targets and appreciate the efforts of other employees.

Work Cited Cribbin, James J., Effective managerial leadership. New York: American Management Association, 1972. Print.