Personal Leadership Profile - Essay Example

?[Your full full December 08, Personal Leadership Profile and Reflective Essay Before identifying and discussing the elements, ideas, skills, and/or abilities that are essential for successful leadership, let us get a better understanding of what leadership actually is. Leadership refers to the management, control, s well as guidance of people. It is the ability of an individual to stimulate a large group of people towards achievement of some particular objective. According to Rampur, “In the corporate world, leadership is undoubtedly the most important action that has to be considered if you want to get the work done collectively” (1). The reason is that leaders motivate people, inject in the minds of the followers the need to accomplish goals, and guide them to do their best for the accomplishment of goals. Leaders have several distinguishing qualities. Some of the main qualities of a successful and effective leader include assertiveness, creativity, integrity, commitment with the goal, dedication, sincerity, good brainpower, visionary outlook, and effective communication skills. Along with these qualities, there are some core aspects that make leaders the role models of people. Some of those aspects include giving priority to the benefits of followers, taking care of followers’ concerns, thinking from the followers’ perspective, and showing interest in the achievement of goals. A visionary leader is a source of inspiration for followers to whom they look for guidance. Leaders develop effective and result-oriented strategies and motivate their followers to follow those strategies in order to achieve desired goals. Leaders not only take bold steps on their own but also want their followers to be progressive and spiritually and mentally strong enough to face all kinds of challenges that may come in the way of bringing required changes in social, political, and organizational environments. Leaders work on the principle of bringing positive changes and because of this reasons they prioritize continuous progress over stability (Myler). One of the main qualities of leaders is that although they work to bring changes in the policies and organizational structures, but they never develop such strategies that can destroy the foundations of the system. In organizations, leaders not only work to increase the productivity and efficiency levels of employees but also work for increasing the efficiency of the whole organization. To do this, they work for creating such environment in the organization for employees where employee benefits should be given priority and where they (employees) can raise their opinion in any critical situation. Organizational leaders are also mediators. They are able to manage organizational and workplace conflicts successfully. Leaders can achieve their goals successfully because they have a complete understanding of organizational behavior and posses all qualities and traits that can lead them to success. Some of the main skills/abilities of organizational leaders include ability to create and sell vision, high level of confidence, ability to transform organizational structure, ability to motivate employees, ability to raise the need for change, and ability to renovate the organizational culture. Organizational leaders are highly talented and goal-oriented individuals who work with full dedication and commitment to serve their organization, as well as employees of the organization. In order to bring positive changes, I will take the position of a transformational leader because a transformational leader is a person who knows when and where a change needs to be made at any organizational level. I think this position will best serve others and me in showing excellence in leading change. The reason is that a transformational leader has the ability to convince others to follow him/her in the struggle to bring any particular change. Transformational leaders have their fingers on the nerves of the followers. They know what should be done for people to bring positive changes in their lives. They inject the need of change in the minds of people and communicate them the benefits of that change in their lives. In leading any kind of change, the role of a transformational leader is critical. He/she is the person who can motivate the followers by making them aware of the deficiencies associated with existing policies, as well as the benefits associated with the new policies. Transformational leaders are very good at convincing people and they make use of this ability to persuade their followers. They work on those factors that can excite people. They know what can be done to make people satisfied with their jobs or statuses. A transformational leader communicates a well-developed plan/strategy to the followers with the focus on targeted goals and deals with external changes professionally to balance the internal ones. Therefore, I would like to be at the position of a transformational leader to prove excellence in leading change. To enhance my personal leadership development and professional career, I would act on the following suggestions: I would adopt a suitable leadership style, which should make me able to deal with all kinds of challenges that may come in my way of achieving personal and professional goals. I would try to focus on the needs of others before focusing my own goals because for a leader, goals of followers come first than personal goals. I would learn the way to handle pressures and stressful situations because such situations occur often in the life of leader. I would learn the way to communicate effectively with others because effective communication is one of the main essentials to become a successful leader. I would learn the way to motivate other people because leaders are skilled at stimulating people towards continuous struggle. I would learn the way to develop effective and result-oriented strategies because it will help me in accomplishing my goals as a leader, as well as in getting professional success. I would also learn to be patient because patience is the key towards success in any kind of struggle, as well as towards accomplishment of professional goals. I would also learn to do logical decision-making because leaders often have to undergo such situations in which they not only have to take critical decisions in a short span of time but also have to convince their followers by presenting them the logic behind the decisions. Works Cited Myler, Torri. “Are You a Transactional or Transformational Leader?.” Ezinearticles.com, 21 Sept. 2010. Web. 08 Dec. 2012. Rampur, Stephen. “Types of Leadership Styles.” Buzzle.com, 23 Sept. 2011. Web. 08 Dec. 2012. Read More