Develop leadership portfolio, use diagrams , charts and images etc.
As an individual, I believe in the power of good governance and leadership. Therefore, when given the opportunity to lead, I endeavor to perform the duty to the best of my ability. During my high school and campus times, I have had the opportunity to be in a leadership position. As a leader, I strive to offer the people I lead the best possible leadership by creating a conducive and enabling environment for them to grow as individuals. Personally, I believe in the importance and value of honesty, integrity, patience, fairness, inclusivity and credibility in leadership. These qualities foster and cultivate trust among members of the team and therefore increase the level of group togetherness. Above all, I value most the concept of motivation, negotiation and teamwork as the most important qualities in leadership. As a leader, it is important to listen to the views of others and also learn from experience. Therefore, I endeavor to learn from the people around me. I also allow my views and opinions to be shaped and influenced by the leadership styles and philosophies of other leaders. This way, I am able to expand my skills by learning from the experiences of others.
Having reflected on my activities and accomplishments in leadership, my definition of leadership is the ability to create the best environment for the people around me to perform their duties and roles in the most comfortable and efficient manner. My personal philosophy in leadership is that my title makes me a manager, but only the people I lead can decide whether or not I am good leader. As an individual, I have come to acknowledge the fact that leadership is not the job of forcing greatness upon people but instead it is the recognition that greatness already exists. Therefore, the role of the leader is to offer the grand opportunity, create an enabling environment and nurture the individual to inspire to achieve the best of their abilities.
As a leader, there are various attributes that I have always aspired to mentor and model among my team. Largely, I am a principle-based leader and therefore aspire to inculcate the virtue of integrity among the people I lead. As a result, I ensure that my words and actions are in line, and I mean what I say. In this regard, I strive to ensure that my words and actions are synonymous. I also believe in the importance of humility in leadership. Humans have been blessed differently and therefore, I purpose to learn from others. I also treat every success and failure as an opportunity to learn and improve. Humility has taught me to endeavor to be a better version of myself from one day to another. Most importantly, I strive to inspire the spirit of teamwork among members of my team. From my point of view, a member that makes the team greater is far much valuable than one who is a great player.
Over the time that I have been in the position of a leader, I have had the opportunity of evolving my leadership philosophy and as a result it has changed over time. As such, I have come to learn that great leadership calls for patience, honesty, credibility, communication and competency. So far, I have learnt that honesty is not a judgment call or policy, rather is about being truthful. Therefore, a leader has to be honest in everything he or she does. In the same way is an important element in leadership and it cannot be obtained without properly earning it. I have discovered that this value is earned by delivering on the promises one makes, achieving the goals and objectives made without making excuses for failure. Therefore, a leader must be transparent in his or dealings in order to earn the trust of the people that look up to them for leadership. Most importantly, I have come to value the importance of exceeding the expectations of my team in terms of delivering quality and timely results for any tasks that we engage in at the workstation. Another important philosophy I have come to develop is the skill of listening carefully and actively to what is being shared by my superiors and juniors. This quality not only facilitates great communication but also enhances relationships between the leadership and the team.
Today, I admire and identify with various great leaders. Some of these leaders’ leadership has helped shaped my mode of thinking and views on headship. One such leader is Oprah Winfrey, the founder of the Oprah Winfrey Network. Her personal leadership statement is to aspire to be a teacher who is recognized for inspiring the people she leads to be achieving more than they thought they could achieve before (Vozza, 2014). It is imperative to note that her philosophy inspires me to be a great teacher to my team by helping them develop a sense of belief in their personal abilities and to accomplish the very best in everything they set their mind to achieve.
Another influential leader that has shaped my perspective on leadership is Amanda Steinberg. Steinberg is the founder of Dailyworth.com. Her personal motto is to use her intelligence, self-optimism and charisma to cultivate the self-worth and net-worth of the people she encounters, especially women. By and large, every time I remember her philosophy I am challenged to inculcate a suitable environment to help elevate the self-worth of the people I work with. I am also challenged to develop a charismatic attitude at the workplace to create a conducive and optimistic environment for my juniors to be comfortable to achieve their potential within the culture.
Also, I am fascinated by the leadership techniques and philosophy of Warren Buffet, a famous investor. By and large, Buffett leads with the philosophy that patience pays. As a result, e makes his investment decisions based on the people running an organization (Vozza, 2014). Largely, I identify with his methods because I believe in the importance of exercising patience in everything. I believe that it is crucial for one to remain calm and wait for the right opportunities in order to achieve the best outcomes when guiding a team of individuals towards achieving a given goal or objective.
As an individual there are various qualities that I believe a good leader should possess. Firstly, the leader must be very organized and a clear perspective of the goals and objectives of the group. The leader should stay on top of the matter at all times and have the details about the progress of the group towards the achievement of these goals. Secondly, the leader should be able to inculcate an inclusive culture and be able to involve everyone in the group in the activities of the team. He or she should also be able to help the members of the team to feel ownership of the goals. Notably, this helps the members to reinforce their effort towards the achievement of the specified goals. An excellent leadership should also strive to be positive, charismatic, and encouraging to create enthusiasm among members of the team.
My leadership style is fairly simple. I always strive to lead through vision and work with the members of the team towards the achievement of the vision of the group. As such, I purpose to set objectives and goals together with the members of the team and develop a strategy that can help in achieving the goals effectively. In addition, I endeavor to motivate the members of my team and encourage them to increase their efficiency and enhance their level of productivity. Additionally, I ensure to include everyone in group atmosphere so that those who would like to contribute have the chance to make a meaningful contribution to the group. This way, the team is able to feel that their opinions count. In turn, this comes in handy as the group members can contribute to proposed changes and accepts them more easily than when the changes are communicated without soliciting the views and opinions of the team. In my leadership, I always ensure to communicate effectively with the members of the team in order to meet the goals of the team more effectively. Therefore, having taken into consideration the characteristics of my leadership style, I am inclined to believe that I exercise transformational leadership (Maurer, n.d.).
It is imperative to point out the fact that I value the quality of motivation in my leadership. Basically, motivation is what drives individuals to work towards the achievement of specified goals. Personally, I believe that it is my duty as a team leader to motivate the members of my team to work towards the achievement of the goals and objectives of the team. Although very challenging, leaders should be held accountable to encourage their team. In the time that I have been a leader, I have come to recognize that many times leaders focus on the extrinsic motivation. As a result, the members of the team also on the external incentives associated with motivation. Consequently, this makes such motivation techniques to be short-lived as the members of the team are not interested in the task unless the extrinsic motivation. Thus, over time, I have learnt that when motivating individuals, it is better to use techniques that will contribute to intrinsic motivation. In this case, people become motivated to work towards a certain goal because they believe that it is personally rewarding (Why Employee Motivation, n.d.). As a result, people engage in the activity for its own sake and not for the external rewards that they may obtain as a result. Therefore, I strive to create a mind shift among the members of my team by creating an environment that is both intrinsically and extrinsically motivating in order to achieve long term motivation among members of the team.
In addition, motivation is also important in my leadership because it allows the team and I to meet and exceed the organizational goals. In my experience I have recognized the fact that a team that lacks adequate motivation gives rise to poor and unproductive results for the organization (Craig, 2018). An individual who is not motivated to work is most likely to waste a lot of time and resources. On the other hand, there are numerous advantages associated with having a highly motivated team. As such, a team made up of motivated individuals can result in an increase in productivity and allow the institution affiliated to it to achieve higher level of output.
From experience, I have ascertained that a highly motivated team is able to increase its level of commitment. Particularly, when members are motivated to work, they are generally enticed to out their best effort in the tasks that they have been assigned (Craig, 2017). Additionally, their level of satisfaction is enhanced and therefore can work towards the achievement of the goals of the team. What is more, a highly motivated workforce can helped the level of development as members are encouraged to work hard and attain their personal goals (Margol, 2015). Once a member of the team accomplishes some of their initial goals, they realize that there is a positive relationship between the effort put into work and the results obtained. IN turn, this further encourages them to continue working harder.
Therefore, taking the factors into consideration, motivation of team members is a very critical part of leadership. Overall, a leader can increase the level of motivation among members of the team through effective communication and valuing individual contributions. Additionally, fostering collaboration among the team can go a long way in enhancing the degree of motivation of the team. As a leader, therefore, I have come to appreciate the importance of motivation in the team as it improves the overall experience of working with a group of people. It is therefore, better for one to invest in boosting the morale and motivation of the team and achieve great results than ignore its importance and bring about a decrease in the level of team productivity.
In the period that I have been a team leader, I have developed a numerous number of competencies. Firstly, leadership has allowed me to develop great interpersonal skills such as active listening, speaking skills and networking (Leadership Competencies, 2018). In addition, I am also able to solve problems and make informed decisions as regards to important matters affecting the team. In addition, am capable of managing the team politics and influence members to work towards a specified goal of the business (Riggio, 2014). Additionally, I have developed the skill to take risks and innovate things while setting achievable visions and strategies for the team. Also, I have the skill of negotiating.
As noted earlier, team leadership has significantly enhanced my leadership competencies. Today, one of the most valued competencies I possess is the skill of negotiation. This competency comes in handy especially during time of crisis or conflicts in the team in order to come to a peaceful agreement (Jensen, 2012). Furthermore, the art of negotiation plays an important role in creating good relationships and building the reputation of a leader as a reasonable individual who can make calm and informed decisions even when there are various viewpoints that differ from their own (Pace, 2010). What is more, the great negotiation skills come in handy when introducing new policies and changes to the team as I am able to convince them on the advantages of the proposed changes and their importance to the organization as a whole.
It is worth noting that I have gathered some degree of leadership experiences over the past few years. My leadership experiences are as explained below.
Date: (Insert appropriate date).
Description: During group projects, I lead my team through the assignment by assuming the role of the person in charge and ensuring the tasks of the assignment are done promptly. Acting as the person in charge of group work offered me the opportunity to help everyone become confident and thorough in their ideas. I was able to foster the spirit of teamwork by ensuring that every member has an equal chance to contribute to matters pertaining to group assignments.
Date: (Insert suitable date)
Description: I have also played the role of a team captain in multiple sports that I have taken part in. I have been a team leader in a volleyball, basketball and broomball. During these assignments I was able to lead by example. I always ensured to include everyone in the teams to play. Therefore, this offered me an opportunity to enhance teamwork competencies as well as the skill of decision making.
As noted earlier, I have had n opportunity to work with a number of people in terms of class group work and even a sport team. As a leader, working in a team allows one to interact with different types of people from different backgrounds. As a result, one is bale to learn from the members of the tea. Also, teams are great for collaborating and combining effort to achieve the specific goals of the team.
As a leader, I recognize the importance of building the spirit of teamwork. It is worth pointing out the fact that people can be members to a team, but lack the aspect of teamwork. Teamwork refers to the sense of unity, togetherness and enthusiasm for achieving common goals or objectives. Thus as a leader, I have come to value the spirit of teamwork among members of my team as it creates synergy, and members are able to combine their efforts to achieve the specified goals of the group. Additionally, the spirit of teamwork supports a more empowered way of working and removes the constraints that may prevent a member of the team from performing their task well. Most importantly, it fosters flexibility and responsiveness. This is especially so as it helps the team to respond to changes more positively, unlike in cases where there is lack of teamwork. I have also come to realize that when a team is managed well, teamwork becomes a great and a fun way for people to combine their efforts and work together as one.
Leadership development is important as it helps a leader to improve his or her skills and competencies. For this reason, I intend to ensure the development of my skills through both formal and informal learning. Firstly, I intend to enroll in a mentorship program whereby I can work with leaders and learn from them directly through observation and practice. I also plan to take up a leadership course that will help me gain a better understanding of the concept of leadership and how to be a good leader. By doing so, I will be able to sharpen my leadership skills, develop and grow as a leader.
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Self assessment statements |
Rating (1, 2, 3) |
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In a discussion, I can see areas of agreement among differing opinions |
3 |
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Lead by example, not just by words. |
3 |
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Notice good work and I give staff positive feedback. |
|
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I am comfortable telling others when I don’t know the answer to a particular question. |
2 |
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I make sure people know that it is safe to share their opinions and to say what they really think and feel. |
3 |
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I solicit feedback from members about my own performance. |
2 |
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I encourage people to let me know what they need in order to work well and, whenever possible, ensure that they get it. |
2 |
From the responses of the evaluation tool, it is apparent that I am comfortable with working with people, and enjoy expanding my knowledge by learning from members of the team.
All in all, all factors taken into consideration, I have tried my best to become an influential leader in every team I lead. My leadership philosophy is that one may be a manager of a team, but only the people I lead can decide whether or not I am a good leader. For this reason, I strive to offer the best form of leadership in manner that portends integrity, honesty and fairness in everything that I do. Additionally, I purpose to create a conducive environment for the members of my team to feel included and comfortable while working as a team. Over the years, I have also recognized the importance of motivation, negotiation and teamwork as one of the important elements of great leadership and teamwork. Having come so far, I believe I have great potential as a leader, and I even have greater prospects for becoming an influential and transformational leader in the near future.
References
Craig, W. (2015). The Why and What of Motivation. Forbes. Retrieved 19 May 2018, https://trainingindustry.com/articles/leadership/the-why-and-what-of-motivation/
Jensen, K. (2012). Flourish As An Influential Leader – Think Like A Negotiator. Forbes. Retrieved 19 May 2018, https://www.forbes.com/sites/keldjensen/2012/12/11/flourish-as-an-influential-leader-think-like-a-negotiator/#5ae4483e7565
Leadership Competencies. (2008). Society for Human Resource Management. Retrieved 19 May 2018, https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/behavioral-competencies/leadership-and-navigation/pages/leadershipcompetencies.aspx
Margol, E. (2015). The Why and What of Motivation. Training Industry. Retrieved 19 May 2018, https://trainingindustry.com/articles/leadership/the-why-and-what-of-motivation/
Maurer, T. (2013). 5 Leadership Styles for Effective Management . The University of Vermont. Retrieved 19 May 2018, https://learn.uvm.edu/blog-business/5-leadership-styles-what-styles-do-you-use
Pace, R. D. (2010). forb Why leaders must have the ability to effectively negotiate?. Everything PR. Retrieved 19 May 2018, https://everything-pr.com/effective-negotiation/52351/
Pace, R. D. (2010). forb Why leaders must have the ability to effectively negotiate?. Everything PR. Retrieved 19 May 2018, https://everything-pr.com/effective-negotiation/52351/
Riggio, E. R. (2014). The Top 10 Leadership Competencies. Psychology Today. Retrieved 19 May 2018, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/201404/the-top-10-leadership-competencies
Vozza, S. (2014). Personal Mission Statements Of 5 Famous CEOs (And Why You Should Write One Too). Fast Company. Retrieved 19 May 2018, from https://www.fastcompany.com/3026791/personal-mission-statements-of-5-famous-ceos-and-why-you-should-write-one-too
Why Employee Motivation Is Important (& How to Improve It). Inside. Retrieved 19 May 2018, https://inside.6q.io/employee-motivation-important/
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