The Leadership Experience - Example

Leadership Development Name Institution Date Leadership Development Introduction Leadership is involves provision of direction to a group of individuals and application of skills and professionalism is appropriate. Self-assessment by mangers of leaders at any level of the organization develops self-awareness and helps leaders to identify points of weakness and strength. This enables the leaders to maximize on their strengths and implement corrective measures on the weaker points. Part 2: Awareness and Assessment: Using Leader Self-Insights Table for leaders self-insight results Number and title of leader self-insight Numerical scores and/or other outcome measures (either qualitative or quantitative as required) 1.1 Learning styles using multiple intelligence: Interpersonal intelligence Logical mathematical= 8 Verbal linguistic = 10 Interpersonal = 13 Musical = 3 1.2 Leadership potential : have qualified qualities of a potential leader Mostly True (even-numbered questions) = 2 Mostly True (odd-numbered questions) = 5 Rate Self-Confidence- High confidence Total score = 10.0 Count of mostly true: People’s skills 1,7,9,10 = Count of mostly false: 2,3,4,5,6,8 = 10.3 How do I handle team conflict: Compromising? Efficient team management Total score = Mostly true: compromising = Items 4, 7, 11) = Score for Competing (Items 2, 4, 15) = Score for Avoiding (Items 1, 5, 9) = Score for Compromising (Items 4, 7, 11) = Score for Accommodating (Items 8, 12, 13) = 7.1 The Power of Followership: Middle engagement and independent thinking. Independent Thinking: High, Middling, or Low? Active Engagement: High, Middling, or Low?  Followership Style = Score for Independent Thinking (Count of Mostly True, items 1, 4, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16) = Score for Active Engagement (Count of Mostly True items 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 13) = 1.1 Using multiple intelligence The first stage of the leadership self-insight is the multiple intelligence quality. From the results, am averagely good at solving problems which are logical mathematical (observing rationality and logical), as they are very complex and it takes more time for me to solve those complex problems, I am excellent at verbal/linguistic (words and language) since i am really good in English Language and don’t find any difficulty in reading and writing it in a proper sentence and also I use the proper grammar and sentence structure,. However listening to musical (sounds, tonal patterns, and rhythms) not something I like since whenever I hear the whole music, identify the sounds, tone, patterns, and rhythms properly and sing the song that I just heard appropriately becomes hard. 1.2 Leadership Potential As the chief executive officer of the corporation and leadership potential I have qualified qualities of a potential leader. I have got management qualities because as an executive and leader, efficiency and productivity through coordination of various departments is my main policy and I can operate myself as an effectively as a leader and influence the leadership quality to perform well by leading my followers. 2.1 Rate of self-confidence As a leader, I have a rating of high self-confidence since after working as head of two departments before my current post. The experience and skills through training assure me of a good leadership personality and effective application of skills. 10.3 How do I handle tea conflict? I choose compromising technique in resolving issues that arise within the team since as a leader I have come to understand that conflicts vary in nature and a team is made up of different people who possess different personalities that need to be accepted and adjusted to suit team interests. I have acquired skills on conflict resolution and team management for the same purpose of understanding the needs of organizational teams. 7.1 The Power of Followership As a leader, I am Middle or average independent thinker and rating for engagement is middle score. Experience as a leader has given me an understanding of the importance of balanced thinking between independent and dependent thinking. Engagement is also a leadership skill I have acquired through training. I prefer middle engagement to low or high engagement. Part 3: Integration and Extension: Personalized Leadership Approach & Development Plan Personal model Being a leader calls for developing one’s own model for improving skills so as to attain effectiveness in leadership (McHugh, 2009). My personal model as a leader is “motivation plus fourteen P’s” (personality, persuasive, persistence, patience, probity, praise giving, positive orientation, people based, possible, practical, progressive, and power building) Motivation of followers is a major trait I am developing so as to get people to work under less supervision and work effectively. According to McHugh (2009), this includes putting in place motivating aspects of the employees such as incentives, good working conditions and invention of new and better qualities. Subordinates are also motivated when communication within the organization is effective. Efforts to enhance both vertical and horizontal communication on formal and informal bases are on-going. All the elements of my personal model aim at motivating followers and enhancing the communication element of the organization. They entail the fourteen P’s, together with motivation and communication point to effective leadership which the main goal. 14 P’s Personality is the first P in the model. An outgoing ability is a developing personality that allows me to enjoy working with a crowd and will instill confidence among subordinates through interactive bases. There is also charisma, sense of humor and warmth towards other leaders and subordinates which ensure effective leadership. My vision is to become an effective personality leader on formal and informal basis through implementation of coaching and mentoring characteristics. According to Klein (2006), free interaction between managers/leaders and their subordinates/followers encourage involvement which promotes effective leadership. Persuasiveness involves employing effective communication skills to the public and mastering writing skills which are also good. Mastering the communication style of the organization is of importance for clear and simple terms of communication, and if technical terms are used, then should be understood. Although this quality does not currently exist, Persistence is the principle of “keep trying”. Changes at organizational level and personal level including values and beliefs should be slow for surety. Subordinates are able to differentiate right and wrong, know what is good and most appropriate for themselves and the organization. Majorly includes perseverance and leader’s stamina. Patience involves self-discipline of allowing things to happen with time. Impulse acting is a major influence of wrong decisions and failure in leadership. Persistence and patience marry each other. All qualities of effective leadership and leadership activities embrace patience and persistence for sound decisions and organization continuity. It is one of the things that are currently being done as well as things that are continuing to develop toward an ideal future. Perceptive quality is leader’s sensitivity to the needs and expectations of people including changes associated to them. It also includes the ability of a leader to maintain contacts with supporters, promoters and general organization stakeholders Probity refers to trustworthiness of the leader. Trustworthiness and honesty is not developed ones but continuously into the future. Followers will be more effective in their following role only if they trust the leader. I have acquired skills on how to instill trustworthiness and practice honesty as a leader through the vLeadership program. This makes implementation easier and faster thus saving the time factor of the organization. This is one of the things that are currently being done as well as continuing to develop toward an ideal future. Another P is praise giving. According to Hackman and Wageman (2005), people like to be praised and complemented. Appreciation for work well done by followers increase effectiveness through motivation. Although this quality exists, it should always be developed. Public recognition also motivates those who have not been appreciated. It is a main determinant of follower’s motivation and aspect of communication. It instills trust among followers and improves their confidence. Praise giving is currently implemented through compensations, incentives and promotions; however, continuous development of the trait towards the ideal future is also appropriate for continuity and effective future leadership. Positive orientation involves optimistic thoughts by the leader which is transferred to followers. Where a culture of optimism for the next day, time or opportunity is developed, the attitudes of subordinates towards work is also influenced and thus effectiveness. Positive orientation has been implemented through adaptability and practical decision making (Del Rio, 2009). People based leadership is leadership that is meant for, of and by people. Followers’ and other stakeholder’s interests are considered as a priority. Self-serving and self-interests of leaders should not come within organization leadership. People based leadership incorporates perspective quality of leadership. Designing leadership to be for the people will involve understanding their needs and taking into consideration their interests. It is one of the things that are under development towards the ideal future of the company. Practical leadership involves understanding how to balance decisions based on majority cases since all people’s interests cannot be fulfilled at ones. Validity of decisions should be considered with majority opinions. Progressive quality is the ability of leaders to lead the team and organization forward. This includes implementation of communication and leadership strategies. However, improving current strategies is also serves progressive leadership right. Implementation of the strategies must be planned for, which is the preparedness trait of leadership. Strategies and implementation process must be organized and practical. This is one of the things that are currently being done as well as things that are continuing to develop toward an ideal future. Prepared leadership requires adequate skill and knowledge on the leader’s and organizational goals. This includes how to attain the goals, needs to be met and parties involved. Effective leadership calls for organization. Preparation incorporates patience and practical leadership where the majority opinion is fulfilled through planning and implementation. Power building involves ability of leaders to bring together their followers to work towards attaining a common goal and not working alone. It is the networking ability of leaders. Delegation of work by leaders cannot be avoided and ensures involvement which leads to effectiveness. My mission in this aspect of leadership is the creation of synergies within and outside the organization so as followers can work together among themselves and together with the management of the organization. Team building will require positive orientation and probity among members and with the leader together with the right personality. Progressiveness will also be required in team building to ensure business continuity and continuous achievement of team goals. Personal theories of leadership These include both theories in use and those that are advocated. The leader-member exchange theory (LMX) is a theory in use where as a leader, I interact with my followers as a mentor, a coach and a manager. This is done through giving followers guidance on tasks, support and rewards while followers corporate and display commitment, respect and good performance. There is also existence of in-group with whom we exchange at a very high quality level since they have more experience and are always ready to take up responsibilities. Out-group members are less experienced and with whom we exchange at lower qualities within a short duration (Howell, 2012). Functional theory aims at group interests and effectiveness of the team. Morgeson (2005) argues that, functional theory involves the impact of a leader’s behaviors on the group and the effectiveness of the behavior on the organization or unit. Other than the leadership of a team, this has been applied in the general organization in terms of setting standards of performance for the organization, clarifying the roles of each individual and making sub-ordinate accountable to set standards. As a leader, I show concern of sub-ordinates by communicating to them and supporting them in their ideas. Neo-emergent theory is not yet in use in the organization but only advocated. This theory suggests that emergence of information creates leadership which is supported through experience. Information from stakeholders and the leader can create leadership through perceptions of the majority. Gaps between espoused theory and theory-in-use The leadership theories leave out roles of juniors and subordinates including temporary staff like volunteers and interns. Functional theory considers the effect s of behaviors of leaders on the organization and the followers but does not consider how followers or the organization can also affect a leader. They fail to consider juniors and volunteers are future leaders and how they can be trained to be upcoming leaders. LMX theory considers how managers interact with subordinates but fail to illustrate how the subordinates can be molded into leaders of the organization in future. Personal leadership plan Leadership plan for volunteers Goal Leadership development Timeline Some volunteers should learn skills in giving speeches about the company’s activities Training given by John Williams: Coordinator, outside trainings This month All volunteers will learn how to recruit other volunteers Training given by Jenny Brims: Volunteer coordinator Next month Increase ability to work as a leadership team Schedule volunteer group planning meetings The whole of this year The personal leadership plan will include a leadership plan for volunteers and for all staff and volunteers. Leadership plan for volunteers and volunteers and staff is to develop a team of leaders from them. this aims to fill gaps in the leadership theories. Goal net Leadership development activities Timeline support staff will learn basic email and skills on inter Training by Jerry Tamps: operations manager This month Mobilizers will learn how to lead effective meetings Training by Harley Peters: programs director Next month Increase ability among all staff members to work as a team Have group rotate leadership in community development projects. The executive programs developer will train staff on support leadership The whole of this year Increase diversity awareness among all program leaders and staff Ongoing diversity awareness program. A professional facilitator will hired Monthly meetings all through the year Conclusion Leadership development involves more of the leader being aware of, abilities, skills and knowledge that they possess. A leader self-insight table helps the leaders to assess themselves of the capabilities and performances I relation to the organization and the people they lead. It indicates to what extent the leader is able to influence and ensure effectiveness. Leaders are also able to develop their own personal model for effective leadership. This improves their performance as leaders and managers. Understanding the theories of leadership helps leaders to identify any gaps that are unfilled and device ways of filling such gaps. A personal leadership plan illustrates how the leaders plan to fill gaps and ensure that they instill effectiveness in their leadership. Bibliography Nowack, K 2010, Leveraging Multirater Feedback to Facilitate Successful Behavioral Change. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research Hogan, R. & Kaiser, R 2005, What we know about leadership. Review of General Psychology. Brackett, M., Rivers, S., Shiffman, S., Lerner, N & Salovey, P 2006, Relating emotional abilities to social functioning: A comparison of self-report and performance measures of emotional intelligence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Daft, R. L., & Lane, P. G 2008, The leadership experience, Mason, OH, Thomson/South-Western. McHugh, J. W 2009, Leadership defined in the context of context, In CICS world weblogs. Retrieved from Del Rio, A 2009, Leadership takes a back seat to academics. In CICS world weblogs. Retrieved from Morgeson, F. P 2005, The External Leadership of Self-Managing Teams: Intervening in the Context of Novel and Disruptive Events, Journal of Applied Psychology. Howell, Jon P 2012, Snapshots of Great Leadership. London, GBR: Taylor and Francis. p. 17. Klein, K. J., Ziegert, J. C., Knight, A. P., & Xiao, Y 2006, Dynamic delegation: Shared, hierarchical, and de-individualized leadership in extreme action teams. Administrative Science Quarterly. Hackman, J. R., & Wageman, R 2005, Theory of Team Coaching. Academy of Management Review. Read More