A Childs Upbringing Determines What He or She Becomes in the Future - Essay Example

What has shaped and influenced the way I lead and manage Task: Lecturer: presentation There is a popular Chinese saying stating that a child’s upbringing determines what he or she becomes in future. The saying relates aptly with my professional and personal life because of the immense influence that I got from my family members and colleagues at the various working places. Consequently, my leadership and management styles have many characteristics impacted on me by the most influential people in my childhood and professional life. In my family, I am the first-born daughter among three other children. Though my parents separated while I was still a young child, I continued getting a lot of support from my biological father and the subsequent family members when my mother re-married. The change in family structure provided me with the most influential aspects from both my father and mother’s sides. On my father’s side, I was his only child and for the first 18 years of my life, we were very close to one another. I was the centre of his universe and being the only child, he had big plans for my future. I really admire him not only because of his brilliance in business, but also on his strong character. As I grew up, I could not help but marvel at his business acuity and creativity that made him successful in every undertaking he ventured in. He is a very resolute, bold, and passionate man in whatever he believes in and nothing can stop him from achieving his goals. His admirable character and close interaction with him formed the basis of my personality. The great importance he attached to our friendship made me feel secure and appreciated. As a result, I developed a strong sense of self-belief and confidence that characterize my professional life to date. In addition, his determination to succeed against all odds formed the foundation of my strong self-motivation, unwavering focus, tenacity and courage to succeed in whatever I decide to do. My mother‘s side was equally influential in development of my leadership and management qualities. In contrast with my father’s side where I was his only child, my mother had three other children and living in such a large family exposed me on how to interact with people. My mother was open to us and she always emphasized on the importance of a united family. Wherever we had issues with one another, she encouraged us to speak out in order to solve the conflict amicably. I really admired this democratic leadership style especially when we used to hold family meetings to voice our concerns. In those family meetings, each one of us was given an uninterrupted opportunity to speak in a respectable manner without raising our voices. This made a great impression on me and it made me realize the responsibilities of a good leader. As the eldest child, I was involved actively in making decisions in such family issues and my final word was held with due respect by my younger siblings. My brothers and sisters looked upon me to make decisions for them and even today, I am the first person they call for advice when they have difficult issues to solve. This means that I have a sound judgment that enhances my credibility as a reliable leader. From this background, I learnt the importance of communication and involving other people in making decisions. Moreover, I know that the final decision rest on me, irrespective of the wishes and contribution of other people. Since my early inception to leadership in my family, I have realized that I possess a strong inclination to lead with my heart rather than analyzing an issue carefully with my head. Though there are many situations where the method has worked, I find it very limiting and emotionally draining. This makes me wonder whether it is an inborn trait or a skill that one acquires through life experiences. Since my childhood, I have observed my father keenly while he is working and realize that he has no emotional attachment on his projects. Once he completes a particular project, he moves on with ease to another. However, I presume that I developed emotional attachment and using my heart from the close relationship with my mother’s side. This convinces me that I can learn the skill of using my head just like my father does, but I find it quite challenging. My father’s influence on me has remained very strong and it was his wish that I join him in his company after completing my studies. I obeyed his wish, but after working briefly with him, I decided to pursue my interests and become my own person rather than living within his shadow. I eventually packed and left in pursuit of my dreams because I yearned for more outside experience, beyond the confines of the company. This decision was the turning point in my relationship with him. My father’s career was in performing arts and my close relationship with him exposed me to diverse fields of the art at a very tender age. When I was just three years old, I joined my first ballet and tap lesson. I quickly learnt ballet dancing that remains my passion and very important aspect of my life up to date. To me, ballet dance is an embodiment of life, the intricate and skillful movements that involves total concentration takes me in a world of my own. Though the strenuous physical drills were quite challenging at first, I soon realized how much I enjoyed the dance. The attractive costumes and skillful movements synchronized with different musical rhythms provide an ideal atmosphere to learn and engage my creativity. I never seem to tire while dancing ballet and whenever I am on stage, I always come up with different and innovative movements to suit any given music rhythm. Ballet dance has enhanced my focus and mental acuity and I never seem to get enough of it. It also highlighted my desire to succeed in something that I am passionate about, irrespective of how it seems insurmountable to other people. Later, I embarked on a completely different career when I was injured while practicing for a ballet competition. My first job was at Budweiser in London and this remains to be one of my most difficult but rewarding decision in my life. The job exposed me to the real corporate world that is extremely competitive and fast paced. Working in the company was very influential at enhancing my aggression in the work places especially in male dominated corporations. In addition, I realized the importance of knowledge and strategic thinking in marketing from my senior manager, qualities that I consistently emphasize in my team. By interacting with the manager, I worked smatter and tactically, resulting to four consecutive promotions in the company. I ended my employment at the company after four years for a better opportunity that had bigger challenges. I currently work for a creative marketing agency and I savor the numerous opportunities for creativity in the organization. Moreover, I have become better at strategic thinking skills and I make persistent efforts of enhancing them further. My job at the current company entails working with a team of designers and concept teams, clients in addition to suppliers. We work as a team, I am the overall leader, and our success has been remarkable. According to Shelaton (2007), the debate on whether good leaders are born or made is one of the most contentious issues in leadership and management studies. In my management and leadership responsibilities, I believe that I am born a leader and my experiences have enhanced my leadership qualities further. I apply different leadership styles depending on the type of people I am dealing with and the prevailing circumstances. Drawing from my experiences in my family, and the workplace, I have learnt that to be a successful manager and leader, I must be versatile to handle any situation that comes up in work place. In this respect, I use autocratic leadership style in situation where I know exactly what, and how some work is supposed to be done, especially in assignments with short deadlines. I owe this decisive trait to my father’s firm and self- confident character in his ability to solve anything he believed in. In addition, my working experience at Budweiser enabled me to appreciate the importance of acquiring knowledge in virtually all aspects of my work. Therefore, possessing relevant knowledge on a particular issue gives me the power and confidence to instruct my team members resulting to high efficiency and faster attainment of our objectives. In situations where I do not have complete information, I apply democratic style by consulting and brainstorming with my team members. This enables me to make better judgment on a given situation, bearing in mind that my team relies on me to make appropriate decision. This style is drawn from my earlier experiences at home with my mother and siblings where we consulted, but I was the final decision maker. In addition, democratic style has enhanced a better sense of teamwork by providing avenues for solving conflicts amicably. Finally, I use delegative style while allocating tasks to team members who are conversant with the required specifications. My management and leadership styles are derived from my tendency and experience of thinking creatively to make the most suitable decision. From my leadership responsibilities and experience at Budweiser, I learnt strategic thinking skills and they complement well with my creativity. However, I feel that further training in strategic skills would enhance my leadership and management abilities in my career. References Shelaton, K. (2007). A new paradigm of leadership. New York: McGraw-Hill. Read More