Individual Leadership Growth Reflection - Essay Example

Individual Leadership Growth Reflection At the beginning of this I set myself a goal. I wanted to be more organized, develop my communication skills, engage with others in a productive way and foster my professional growth as I help others with a similar goal. This goal was born out of my desire to lead a better life, constructively engage with other people and also seek to inspire and integrate with people who have a similar goal. Looking through my life, I realized a pitfall, I have been plagued by laziness and this has hindered my ability to promptly deliver. I reckon that no one would envy that aspect of me. Driven by the need to nurture my abilities and address my weaknesses I have focused on the resources addressed throughout this semester. Throughout the course, I have realized that I have what it takes to be a leader. This has been informed by various leadership tests I have taken and the reasonably high scores I have registered. However, lack of a guide and a model through which I can nurture the requisite skills has been a major challenge. All the same, I can now recognize a leadership theory that provides a rationale on what I need to work on to be a respectable and inspiring leader. This theory has also been critical in providing a means through which I can construct certain strategies that would provide a means of developing the attributes associated with the type of leader I envision. Authentic leadership theory Authentic leadership theory is a contemporary leadership theory. It emerged in the late 1990s from a broad field of scientific inquiry that highlights positive organizational phenomena leading to enhanced human well-being (Marquis & Huston, 2009). The theory enforces that for one to be considered a leader he must be true to himself and his values and act accordingly. This explains why some scholars also refer to it as congruent theory this is because the leader must match his activities, deeds and actions with his values, beliefs and principles. There are five characteristics which differentiate an authentic leader with the other leaders. The first characteristic is purpose. An authentic leader understands clearly both his purpose and passion. This understanding is nurtured by an ongoing process of self reflection and self awareness. The second characteristic is values, an authentic leader has a clear link between purpose and passion as this is informed and sustained by a clear match with his beliefs and actions (Nichols, 2008). The other characteristic is heart an authentic leader looks after his own affairs and has a genuine concern for the people he leads. He demonstrates genuine compassion for his followers. The other characteristic is relationships, an authentic leader values relationships, he is intent in developing connections with other people. This is not done to receive awards but is a means of fostering human connections. The last characteristic is self discipline, authentic leaders are self-disciplined they establish a perfect balance between their personal and professional lives (Marquis & Huston, 2009). This theory encourages firmness in one’s beliefs and values. Through this stance, the followers are able to consider leaders as ethical because they cut an image of balanced people who consider ethicalness as a part and parcel of their lives. In summary, an authentic leader is able to intellectually stimulate, inspirationally motivate, individually consider, and ideally influence their followers in an ethical manner (Nichols, 2008). The characteristics enforced by the authentic leadership theory represent those I envision to develop. However, looking at my position both in terms of strengths and weaknesses I recognize a need to develop a set of strategies which would ultimately help in achieving these characteristics and in ensuring I become an authentic leader. These strategies are integrating self knowledge, developing accountability and transparency in my leadership and establishing a good relationship with other people. Integrating self knowledge, being in my mid-twenties (can be changed) I have had time to learn and appreciate diverse cultures. This has also ensured that I have learnt of divergent beliefs and morals. However, I have not always had time to reflect on my life and determine whether my actions are congruent with the beliefs and morals I consider ideal. I am at a stage where I need to adapt my behavior and actions to those beliefs, values, and morals that I consider ideal. These have to inform my ethical approaches. This urgency has arisen from my desire to become an authentic leader and achieve the goals set at the beginning of this semester which very much lie within the scope of authentic leadership. The other strategy is developing accountability and transparency. Accountability and transparency in this regard points to the fact that being a leader means a responsibility towards other people. These people who constitute the followers must be kept abreast with issues that concern them and the leader must endeavor to explain his actions in order to ensure that there is understanding at all times. This should not be enforced but should be a voluntary engagement. However, to ensure that it becomes part and parcel of one’s leadership traits it must be practiced from the onset. This need underlines why I focus on developing it as a means of achieving the characteristics addressed under authentic leadership. The last strategy is establishing a good relationship with people. This strategy is informed by the fact that it is by learning how to cordially relate with people that one develops his ability to establish relationships and look after the people’s diverse needs. The ability to establish connections is a major characteristic of authentic leaders. Thus it is my desire that by learning to properly relate with people and appreciating the value of good relationships I will be developing my ability to foster relationships and steer collaborations that address people’s needs and concerns. In conclusion, the self reflections and the course materials employed in this semester have helped me in understating crucial leadership theories. Most importantly, they have helped illuminate personal qualities that would help me in becoming a great leader. Critically, the study, direction and inspiration emanating from the authentic leadership theory have been valuable in designing strategies which I intend to employ to develop my leadership in a bid to emulate individuals who are considered authentic leaders. References Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C. J. (2009). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing: Theory and application. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Nichols, T. W. (2008). Authentic Transformational Leadership and Implicit Leadership Theories. New York: ProQuest. Read More