Personal Leadership History - Assignment Example

Personal Leadership History Leadership is a process of guiding a group of people towards an identified and desired end. Stephenson (2010) asserts that as a leader one is expected to make his/her group devoted to what is intended to be achieved. Consequently, the group has to have common objectives which are geared towards the attainment of that particular goal. Effective leaders are not forced to become leaders, but rather take up this responsibility voluntarily. Leaders have what is called visionary ability; the ability to foresee future actions, something which other group members are unable to do. Since the rest of the people are looking up to a leader for directions, he/she should employ the technique of visual language which is qualitative. Through this they will be able to create the desired picture in the minds of the people that they lead(Harkins& Phil,2006). Hence, leaders are able to achieve their goals through the creation of a collective mindset that motivate individuals towards the goal. Behar (2010) explains that the first step towards the development of executive leadership is to know oneself through a self-evaluation. Before taking up that responsibility of guidance, one should ask him/herself if she/he has all that it takes to do so. By so doing, you will be able to understand your strong points as well as your weak points. Moreover, self-evaluation will help one to come up with ways of maximizing their strengths, while at the same time trying all they can to overcome their weaknesses. Through this an individual will attain self-actualization, where she/he will decide on whether to pursue the leadership role or not(Stephenson, 2010). Many leaders fail because they overlook this step which is very essential in leadership. Having done an extensive self-evaluation, I as an individual boldly decided to undertake any leadership process that comes my way. I noticed that I had almost everything that leadership required, and all I needed is experience to improve on my skills. From my self-evaluation, I can agree with many that leaders are born although leadership skills can also be developed (Stephenson, 2010). I realized that I have been holding leadership positions ever since I was a child. To start with, being a first born in our family, I was expected to guide my siblings as we carried out our household chaos. In addition, during my lower primary, I was a class prefect where I was able to guide the rest of the class in almost everything that we ventured into. Furthermore, as I pursued my higher education, I became a student leader where I also performed all the duties assigned to me diligently. According to Avery and Bergsteiner (2011), that was my foundation of the leadership knowledge and skills that I possess today. On completion of my studies, I entered into my real career field where I discovered I had to cement my leadership skills in order to succeed. Experience being the best teacher, I did not have doubts within me that I will become an excellent leader. First a leader has to believe in him/herself in order for other people to believe in him. I also knew that leadership is expected in almost every field since decisions needs to be made everywhere. For instance, if you are a psychologist, you will be required to treat your patients effectively. Thus, for you to achieve this you have to make very critical decisions on how to go about with the process (Harkins& Phil, 2006). I have managed to come up with a few projects which have made me to assess my leadership success. While in college I initiated a campaign against unplanned pregnancies in which I lead a team of a few individuals towards achieving this objective. The project saw every hostel within college supplied with condoms in order to encourage protected sex. Moreover, during this time I was able to set up photocopying, printing and typing shop where students were able to get these essential services readily. The success of these two small projects boosted the confidence within me, making me to desire greater heights (Stephenson, 2010). Hence, I believe with a continued pursuit of leadership knowledge, I can become a successful leader. Assessing from my perspective, I can say that leadership knowledge is obtained from a variety of sources such as experience, observation and through reading (Avery & Bergsteiner, 2011). Experience is the best technique since it gives you results from which assessment can be made. Unfortunately, it can kill someone’s morale if that individual fails to perform. In such a case, leaders are advised to look at failures form a positive perspective since one is likely to learn something new after failing. Observation on the other hand, entails a close look and analysis of others’ actions. Through observation one is able to identify what others are doing well and embrace it or identify others’ wrong doings and avoid them. Lastly, reading leadership books enables one to widen his/her knowledge and skills in the field of leadership (Harkins& Phil, 2006). Through this one can acquire techniques required in leadership in order to succeed. It is equally important for one to identify the leadership style that she/he wants to employ for his/her intended action course. Behar (2010) asserts that there are three main leadership styles which direct leaders on the approach and manner through which they can best achieve their goals. The first style is authoritarian where leaders purely direct the actions of the group they are leading. Here, the advice of the rest of the group members is overlooked by the leader. It is best used when time is limited and the leader feels like he/she has the best solution to the problem at hand. The second style is participatory where group members are given an opportunity to present their views and suggestions. However, the leader makes the final decision after taking into consideration all the suggestions. Finally, there is the delegate form of leadership where leaders give the group members the power to decide on solutions to the problem (Harkins& Phil, 2006). Although in this case, the leader has to scrutinize the given solutions closely in order to identify any loopholes. Effective leaders tend to employ all these styles in their leadership process, since not one of them can be used throughout the process (Behar, 2010). This calls for a close study of the three styles, as well as the situation at hand, in order to identify the style that best suits the situation. Bad leaders usually tend to hold on to one of the styles even when the style is inappropriate, thus end up failing terribly. For instance, if you have a field research where you are required to come up with results on how people perceive contraceptives, all the three styles should be employed. As the project manager, one should also give people an opportunity to explore their own ideas; participatory leadership. On the other hand, delegation can be done in cases when the manager has other commitments (Avery & Bergsteiner, 2011). However, authoritative can be dominant throughout the process as the project manager will issue directions of each course of action. Through my experience, I have learnt to adopt all the styles because by doing so I have been able to succeed in many instances (Harkins& Phil, 2006). Looking at my experience in college as a student’s leader, there came a time when students felt unsatisfied with the administration processes in the school. Being one of the students, I was able to be empathetic with the students. Viewing things from that angle with the rest of my colleagues, we were able to address a crowd of students who were gathered ready for demonstrations. We calmed them down and then explained to them that we understood exactly how they felt. We also presented a chance to them to expresses publicly their feelings in order for them to feel part and parcel of the process. Finally, we promised to talk to the administration, something we later did and the college went back to its normal operations. Over the years I have also learnt to be independent since through this you are able to attain originality in your endeavors. Leaders should have innovative and creative minds so as to come up with reasonable and self-created decisions (Behar, 2010). This does not necessarily mean that you should always impose your decisions on others just because you are a leader. On the contrary, you should ensure that your decisions take into consideration the feelings of the rest of the group for them to be easily accepted. Dependency in leaders creates doubts in the rest of the people, making them to withdraw the confidence they had in you. Independence though allows leaders to take other people’s views through the participatory style of leadership (Stephenson, 2010). Leadership unlike management is a goal oriented process where a desired end (goal) is set, and all that is required is the identification of the most appropriate means of attaining the goal. My experience in leadership so far has taught me to be realistic in setting what the group intends to achieve. Avery & Bergsteiner (2011) concurs that realistic goals motivate individuals to take part in the process as they can see how easy the results can be achieved. Upon setting those goals, determination should be read all over the leader’s words. Through determination it will be easy to overcome challenges that come along the way. Even when the rest of the people seem to give up during the process, leaders are expected to re-candle their spirits and give them hope. In conclusion, leadership can be said to be an individualistic decision that starts with one person but later incorporates a larger category of people such as family as well as friends. It is a journey which is geared towards an already set goal, in which a leader is expected to come up with an appropriate course of action. People must share in your dream for them to take part in it, thus it is important to define clearly the leadership purpose(Behar, 2010). So as a leader whose aim is success, you will be required to develop a positive mind within yourself by looking at situations from a positive perspective. Finally, it is important for leaders to always learn from their mistakes since it is through this they can be able to improve their performance in the future. References Avery, G. & Bergsteiner, H. (2011). How BMW successfully practices sustainable leadership principles. Strategy & Leadership, 39(6) 11-18. Behar, H. (2010). Real-Life Leadership Principles. The Journal for Quality and Participation, 33(1) 18-21. Harkins, P. & Phil, S. (2006). Seven Leadership Principles. Leadership Excellence 23(5) 7-15. Stephenson, C. (2010). Principles to Advance a New Leadership Ethos. Ivey Business Journal Online. 21(5) 10-17. Read More