Reflection on Personal Leadership Characteristics - Essay Example

Author Note

The leadership traits among the persons not only affects their ability to interact with their surrounding but also has a significant impact upon the individual’s ability to manage change and encounter uncertainty. Over the years, there has been dramatic changes in the leadership theories which is highlighted in the fact that authoritarian and personality based leadership views have paved the way for more participative and democratic forms of leadership styles. One of the researched contemporary theory pertaining to leadership is the relational leadership theories. Balkundi and Harrison (2006), in their research has mentioned that working in teams have become instrumental for the overall performance of a company. This notion makes relational leadership theories all the more important since the relationship between the leaders and his subordinates is the building block of relational leadership style (Men, 2014). The researchers have identified distinguishable components of relational leadership style which comprises purpose, ethical considerations, empowerment, inclusion in the process of implementing a change allowing participation of the stakeholders in the decision-making (Apollonia & Ihagh, 2016).

My personal leadership style is influenced by both traditional and modern approaches while meeting with responsibilities. I have been more endogenic rather than exogenic in my approach while making decisions. My decision-making is more aligned to my perceptions and intuitions and external instructions have limited influence in my decision-making. According to relational theory of leadership emphasizes on collective responsibility where leadership accommodates participation of the team members in the decision-making. However, I believe that there are instances when followers look up to their superiors for guidance specifically when the team members might not be able to come up with a consensus. Against this backdrop, the leaders are required to use their intuition and experience to reach the desired outcome. Therefore, against relational leadership theories, my approach might seem more endogenic rather than exogenic.

Point of Excellence and Struggles

The leadership-as-practice model which has been developed on the principles of leadership of a team rather than authority of an individual has helped in evaluating my personal leadership traits. On the other hand, reviewing on certain incidences during my tenure within the organization has highlighted how the lack of exogenic approach in my leadership style can create diseconomies for the team as well as for the organization. My intelligence, passion, energetic approach, sense of responsibility and accountability have contributed towards my success. The use of questionnaire has depicted my strengths in social interactions. However, I have not implemented them in increasing the efficiency of the teams. For instance, I did not pay heed while organizing training session for learning excel. I found that something very simple as excel can be learned through watching videos. However, I failed to take into account that excel might not be very simple for those who does not have much technical background. This incident explained the importance of deliberation and keeping an open mind to accept other’s viewpoints. The training in any new field provides an advantage in learning ways of improving their performance which directly contributes towards the overall productivity of the organization. This also depicted another side of my personality which constitutes my introvert and aggressive nature where I pay less attention to the needs of the team and take decisions in haste without considering that such actions might have negative impact on others.

I am still struggling towards incorporation of others opinion in the decision-making as I feel it is time consuming and often involves lengthy negotiation to arrive at a conclusion which further highlights the need for self-evaluation. Therefore, I have used a 10-point scale for understanding the scope of improvement in my leadership style. The scale that I used for evaluation consisted parameters ranging from 1 to 10, where 1 denoted “Never Endogenic” to 10 that represented “Always Exogenic”. Using this scale, I can see myself somewhere around 5 because I still have certain steps to move towards more exogenic leadership style. Although I have understood my flaws and the significance of inclusion in the decision-making process. This leads to an important question that states whether an individual can transform his leadership style form endogenic to exogenic. I believe any individual passionate about his or her career possesses certain degree of flexibility and an open mind to adapt to the changes can help in shifting their leadership approach.

Actions to Shift from Endogenic to Exogenic Leadership

In order to change from endogenic leadership to exogenic leadership, one of the most important factor is effective communication as dialogues among people provides a gateway for thought sharing while promoting interaction illustrating different dimension of a particular idea, thought or vision. Moreover, I feel that if I am open to negotiate and listen to others it will help in adopting more participative approach towards decision-making. The relational model explain that leader is not only accountable for his responsibilities but also the efficient working of the team which requires interactive relation between the leaders and his subordinates. The adoption of evolutionary leadership model helps in devising a better approach towards incorporation of the perspective of the stakeholders in the decision-making process (Cunliffe & Eriksen, 2011). The stakeholders’ theory of corporate governance has demonstrated the importance of all the stakeholders’ involvement in the decision-making process (Ackermann & Eden, 2011). Therefore, the third most crucial way of transformation is the development of approachable interpersonal relationships. When the subordinates are able to reach to their leaders, they not only find themselves valuable to the company but also it increases their sense of accountability. This, in turn, has a positive implication over the working environment as the people are able to reach out for assistance and it also paves the way for open communications.

Researchers have sighted that a working place with interactive environment is able to minimize conflicts and are motivated to take up responsibilities. This describes the empowering aspect of the relational leadership theory whereas, effective communication between the leader and the subordinates strengthens the interpersonal relationships and positively affects inclusiveness. On the other hand, consideration of the stakeholders by adopting the principles of evolutionary leadership model to incorporate the consideration of each of the stakeholders will allow my leadership style to adapt the ideologies of relational leadership theories. In this regard, I will also seek the help of different examples of inclusive leadership models adopted by successful organizations. I have studied the organizational structure of Nike; the company emphasizes on fulfilling the expectations of all the stakeholders so that the decision-making process is transparent. Coca-Cola, a pioneer in the beverage industry has also developed its organizational structure while considering its stakeholders, such as, customers, communities, government, shareholders, suppliers, etc. (The Coca-Cola Company, 2017). In case of employee management, I have observed that the company undertakes, engagement surveys, town hall meetings to ensure employee communication. On the other hand, the senior management of Coca-Cola organizes individual employee development plans, health and safety communication programs and well-being projects directed towards employees (The Coca-Cola Company, 2017).

The observation of the successful organizations following democratic leadership styles contributes learning towards the factors that are important for establishing more interactive work environment. I will also try to involve my subordinates in the discussions so that they can freely voice their opinions and ideas. The tolerance towards understanding perspective of the followers will help in strengthening inter-personal relations, thus, enhancing communication among the team members and the leaders.

The relational leadership approach explains the need for understanding the requirements of the team members while exercising collective responsibility. This indirectly affects the perception of the leaders as the interaction between him and his followers no longer remains unilateral but involves bilateral aspects. I will use my intelligence and social interactional skills in breaking the ice with my team members and instead of imposing my decisions, I will keep an open mind towards determining on a particular solution. I will try to reduce my aggression and increase communication with the team members. Furthermore, adaption of a particular style of leadership involves change in the robust network of the organization which might lead to conflicts and confusion. Thus, I will try to ensure that the change in the workplace environment does not create misunderstanding among the team members. I will communicate the imminent changes in the management to the team members making the transition as painless as possible.