Ideal Leadership Skills - Personal Statement Example

ID: Assignment Introduction This assignment is centered towards analyzing leadership concepts. Leadership is all about managing a group of people in order to achieve common goals and objectives. There are different theoretical frameworks that help to understand leadership and management approach. In this study strategic frameworks shall be applied on leadership skills so as to determine its major strengths and loopholes. These weaknesses will then be addressed through designing a set of objectives which can be accomplished by a leader in long run. A time plan is also included in this study for reflecting upon these SMART objectives. In overall context, these objectives will be well aligned with areas for further improvement. Definition of ideal leader An ideal leader is one who possesses capabilities to lead a team towards a common goal. Leader need to constantly motivate team members so as to ensure that they perform well. They are solely responsible for framing strategies that would benefit team members as a whole. On the other hand, ideal leader is not only concerned about performance improvement of team members but also conducts self-assessment to identify their performance standard. Benchmarking is an important phenomenon which is focused on by all ideal leaders. An ideal manager or leader also needs to be an effective communicator. This enables communicating right message to team members and eventually buying-in their will. Leader is one who has skills to understand well group dynamics since it facilitates effective team work. Leaders or managers are supposed to plan, control, organize and lead business activities in order to reach set targets. SWOT analysis of managerial and leadership skills This part of the paper will discuss the pros and cons of my leadership skills. As far as my leadership skills are concerned I am a good listener and have the capability to bind everyone in the group together. This can be treated as my strengths. However my capabilities are not free from weakness. The main weakness which I posses is lack of communication skills. In spite of being a good listener I sometimes fail to communicate effectively which may incorporate some kind of confusion in the team working process. I have the opportunity to sharpen my skills by being in close coordination with many renowned leaders. I would like to have the opportunity to communicate with them and know their experiences. This experience will help me to handle situations much more effectively and handsomely. One of the biggest threats of my leadership skills is inexperience. Since I do not much experience in handling a team or group I will have to deal with many different kinds of situations in due course of time. I need to have a cool shoulder in those situations and act accordingly so that I can keep my team immune from such situations. Some of the below mentioned models will further conceptualize the leadership skills. There are some specific roles to be performed by managers or leaders. It can be explained on basis of Mintzberg’s Managerial roles. There are three sub-categories of these managerial roles like interpersonal roles, decisional roles and informational roles. It has been highlighted in figure1. Figure 1: Mintzbergs Managerial Roles Figure1 clearly states that there are different managerial roles and it need to be exhibited by an individual. These roles can be accomplished only when an individual possesses certain skills such as technical, conceptual and human skills. Technical skills are related to having wide base of knowledge in context of utilizing field specific tools, techniques, etc. Conceptual skills are closely knitted with analyzing environmental conditions and long term or short term implications. Human skills are enhanced through working in collaboration with all team members. Leadership behavior can be analyzed with the support of two theories – contingency and path goal theory. Fiedler’s contingency model states that a leader can be either relationship oriented or task oriented. Leadership styles are witnessed to change across multiple dimensions as shown in figure 2. Figure 2: Fiedlers Contingency Model On the contrary, path goal theory indicates that leadership behaviors are highly dependent on path goal situations. It has been further elaborated in figure 3. Figure 3: Path Goal Theory These frameworks help in conducting a SWOT analysis on current managerial and leadership skills. Possessed skill set is inclined towards being a supportive leader, effective communicator, high expertise in human skills and high relationship oriented behavior. The major strength of these skills are it increases group performance, enhances motivational level, guides team members towards common goal, sharing of common interests and formation of strong bonds with team members. Weaknesses of these skills are lack of task oriented work culture, more dependency on team leader or manager, lack of self confidence amongst team members and inability of manager in terms of being a negotiator (Leopold, Harris and Watson 112). There are various opportunities linked with this concept like building a productive team, achieving higher targets or goals, initiating entrepreneurial activities and opting for higher levels of management. Probable threats are inefficient team members, extended time period for obtaining outcomes, rapid changes in external environment cannot be adopted due to lack of technical expertise and competitive rivalry. These skills are strengths of a leader but consist of certain loopholes which need to be eradicated efficiently. Areas of improvement and SMART(ER) goals Communication forms one of the most important factors which is an area of improvement for me. It is not just about leading a team but to communicate appropriate message to my team members. Communication is dynamic and complex and there are many external factors which affects its overall effectiveness. There are many elements encompassed within communication process as highlighted in figure 4. Figure 4: Communication Process As per figure 4, there are two vital aspects in this process – encoding and decoding. These two factors are dependent on skills possessed by me. This area needs improvement since team conflict at times results due to inefficient communication. I will take up the task of supervisory that team members are aligned with organizational goals. I will alter these trends since more focus should be on participatory approach. Management by objectives is a mechanism which I will adopt and it will fall second in priority listing. In this mechanism individualized plans are framed for regulating activities of team members. The cycle given in figure 5 outlines this concept well- Figure 5: MBO Cycle Being a leader is important to encourage collaborative workplace atmosphere. This factor can be incorporated when team members are influenced to contribute their innovative ideas or opinions. According to figure 5, I need to set targets or goals jointly. There is another skill that needs improvement –technical skills. It is an important skill set amongst all managerial skills. Technical skill development will provide sufficient knowledge in context of strategic techniques or advanced technology used in an organization. Apart from this skill, I need to have a clear understanding regarding ethical responsibility. Social responsibility should also be incorporated within team members by me. All these areas if improved would enable me to opt for high managerial positions in an organization. SMARTER goals mainly stand for specific, measurable, achievable, results-oriented, timeline, ethical and rewarding. This goal shall be to establish a position in the top management of an organization. Competencies and skills are required to lead a team and this would set a higher rank in a company. Being a part of top management supports a leader to explore wide range of market opportunities and prove oneself as an entrepreneur. The goal is specific and measurable in terms of achievement and performance level. On the other hand, goal is achievable since managers or leaders in middle management are promoted to top management level on basis of their performance. This in turn states the mentioned goal to be result-oriented. Timeline for this goal would be approximately 8 to 10 years. It is ethical since it is related to achieving higher rank totally based on performance. The rewarding component would be accomplished through getting acknowledgement and growth once the goal is reached. Time plan The time plan is an essential element as it helps to decide on the factors which need improvement to achieve set goal. It can be stated that as a leader or manager, there is always a desire to be appraised. A leader is not only responsible for individual performance but also focuses on group performance. These factors should be taken into consideration while designing performance appraisal system for managers or leaders. There are group of activities which needs to be undertaken during goal achievement. At first all those loopholes need to be eliminated which has been identified. Leader should always be task oriented along with being relationship oriented. This helps to develop a workplace atmosphere where team members are well aligned with organizational goals. The time period for goal achievement will be a span of 8 years. In the initial two years, all technical expertise needs to be gathered which is essential during opting for top management position. This skill development would be self evaluated so as to understand the achievement or growth level. The following three to four years shall be spent on acquiring new projects and developing a productive workforce. This activity would attract attention of top management in context of leader or manager bringing in high revenue margins. New project management will also facilitate development of a team who would be in favor of the leader. On the other hand, it shall also be a moral support for the leader or manager. Strategic management is an important approach in managerial field and it can be incorporated only through proper guidance. The last two years of the time period would be utilized in gaining skills of strategic management from members of top management. This will help to understand prevalent loopholes and eliminate it completely. Strategic management needs to be understood from various perspectives in order to ensure long term sustainability of an organization. Conclusion As per this study, leadership skills are directly associated with development of a productive workforce. These skills are about leading a team towards common goal or objectives. Every team member possesses specific competency, so it is responsibility of team leader to incorporate necessary skills within team members. In today’s competitive world, leaders should not act as a guide but needs to encourage collaborative workplace atmosphere. This can only be achieved through following participative leadership style. Work Cited Leopold, John, Harris, Lynette and Tony, Watson. The strategic managing of human resources. Harlow: Prentice-Hall. 2005. Print. Read More