Leadership Management Profile Assignment
Trait Theory
Answer 1
Leadership traits refer to the list of potential qualities an individual has to possess in order to be an effective leader. There are various qualities that can be listed to differentiate a leader from non-leader. Some of them include intelligence, decisiveness, bravery, self-confidence etc.
The leadership trait which I possess is, Desire to lead and Drive. The leadership trait which I do not own is extroversion.
Desire to lead
An Individual who can take utmost responsibility to his or own actions can be a good leader. He/She will show eagerness to lead by influencing other people (Robbins, Decenzo, Coutler, Anderson, 2017). One of my real-life example that I want to cite is about my first job. After completing my bachelor’s in engineering, I was working as a process consultant which was nowhere related to what I studied nor what I wanted to become. My passion was more on the HR domain. I did not like my job, and that’s when I decided to quit. I made my decision by making myself responsible for my choice of action. I was sure of the career path I wanted to choose. The desire to lead is not just about taking charge it is also more on the sacrifices we need on the work towards what we are passionate about.
Drive
The drive is one of the leadership traits which provides specifics like the amount of effort we need to put in to achieve the prospective desire (Robbins, Decenzo, Coutler, Anderson, 2017). This is another trait of mine which I say that I possess. After quitting my first job as a process consultant, I had to put a lot of high-level effort to understand the necessary skills and knowledge of Human Resources. My desire to achieve was to get a job in Human Resources and perform activities like hiring, headhunting and so on. I took my decision quickly to on from being a process consultant and did not postpone my actions which shows my drive to be ambitious. I took the initiative and put in a lot of energy to get into my passionate job thereby achieving my desire.
Extroversion
The final trait that I would like to provide an example is that of which I don’t possess that is extroversion. Effective leaders are more energetic they love being social, talkative and they dominate with their opinion be speaking more in any kind discussions (Robbins, Decenzo, Coutler, Anderson, 2017). My personality is moreover of an introvert and reserved, unlike extrovert leaders. I am more of a private person and do not like to be in a group. I prefer to stick on with a smaller group or more of the one on one discussion and keep calm. An extrovert leader is the one who speaks up during the discussions. However, I tried to stay humble and stay calm and express my thoughts based on my reflection only. I try to engage myself by being an eager listener than trying to dominate myself in a conversation. This helps me to keep my focus calm.
Answer 2
As mentioned by the authors of the book Fundamentals of Management, eight traits have been discussed as leadership qualities. Patience is one of the traits that does not belong to this list. According to me, a highly effective leader should have good patience in order to lead. An extrovert leader usually has a vigorous discussion by talking more in a group and making decisions. Patience is a key skill that would be required where a leader could gather inputs from the group and make a decision in the right direction. Patience is not a skill instead it is self-thought and will be gained over the period of experience. Another example is pushing the team members to complete specific tasks hampers or impacts the productivity and in turn, puts pressure on the team members. Sometimes it is better to be patient and take things slow to get more efficient results. This particular trait is beneficial to gain respect from the team members.
Answer 3
The trait theory of leadership provides us with a few lists of qualities that are available with a leader. Based on this theory, I possess certain traits that an effective leader would have. My ability to take responsibility to work towards my passion and the desire to achieve qualifies to be under the desire to lead trait. My quick decision-making ability and not to postpone any kind of actions, high energy and high efforts, showing initiative, being ambitious and the desire for achievement qualifies towards the drive trait.
Even though, I don’t fall under extroversion trait like being social, talkative or dominant. My introvert nature to have small and meaningful discussions helps me to take a balanced decision which facilitates towards being a good leader.
All the above-listed qualities along with my patience should make me be an effective leader, helping me to lead a successful team.
Situational, Transformational, and Servant Leadership
Answer 1
Situational Leadership
Situational leadership is a contingency theory developed by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard. This theory focusses on followers’ characteristics in determining the effective leader’s behaviour.
Hersey and Blanchard have categorized leadership style based on task and relationship behaviour
Telling: This category of leaders has more directive behaviour and the leaders decides on all tasks, or the leader has complete control over the job. They also have very low supportive behaviour due to their directing nature which makes them to have followers who are neither competent nor confident.
Selling: This category leaders are highly directive and also have high supportive behaviour. The leader has control over the decision-making process, but he/she is open for discussions. This is more of a coaching role. The followers under this category have low commitment but possess low competent skills, and they are willing to their job.
Participating: In this, the leader provides low directions, but with supportive behaviour, the leader is more supporting and communicating. The followers will be moderately competent, but the commitment is variable towards the work.
Delegating: the leaders have a delegating role with a low directive and supportive role. However, the followers here will be highly competent and show highly commitment skill will be willing to take the task asked for them (Robbins, Decenzo, Coutler, Anderson, 2017).
Transformational Leadership
Transformational leadership is an approach where the leaders inspire a change in individuals based on situations (Robbins, Decenzo, Coutler, Anderson, 2017). It is a kind of leadership, which has an objective of converting the followers into leaders by creating positive and valuable change in followers. Transformational leaders ensure that the followers are motivated enough such that the end goals are achieved and are not impacted. Transformational leadership pay individual attention to each of the follower’s concern and needs and acts as a mentor in helping solve their problems. The transformational leader works towards follower’s developmental needs in which they try to nurture to develop people who can think and perform the task independently. There is strong evidence base don the studies that transformational leadership is evaluated more effective and productive with higher employee satisfaction (Robbins, Decenzo, Coutler, Anderson, 2017).
Servant Leadership
Sometimes the leaders think more on the task to perform rather than the people who are involved in the work. The leaders are more focussed on the results rather than the team. This kind of mentality affects team morale and leads to lower performance. However, if the leaders lead from the ground and by serving the team, he can have a set of very high performing team members (Kevin Kruse, 2018).
As described by Ken Blanchard leadership is an influential process, and effective leader should possess the quality more of the leader than the manager. They should think of serving first and leading. Secondly, they should work towards taking care of the employees and make them win (Bow valley college, 2018).
Answer 2
Situational, Transformational and Servant leadership provides three kinds of leaders. Of these, transformational and servant leadership approach both come hand in hand where the focus is on the employers. However transformational leadership approach has a focus on the organization objectives by keeping employees motivated and focussed. This leadership form looks more effective as both employers and organization are taken into account by the leader.
The leader inspiring the followers, nurturing the employees, paying individual consideration and focussing on the development needs of the followers all of which aligns with providing a higher employee satisfaction keeps organization goals as his objective. So this makes the most effective form of leadership.
Answer 3
Among the three-leadership approach that is situational, transformational and servant leadership, I have experienced a leader who showcased transformational leadership.
In my previous job as an HR Recruiter, my leader whom I was working under had a vision to take the company to the greater height. According to me, a leader who has clear goals can be highly effective. Not only she was focussed on getting more profiles and closing the employment positions for many of the clients, but she was also helping us in getting a candidate by providing proper guidance. She also ensured to provide individual attention to each of employee’s concerns and make sure every employee under her was happy performing the tasks. She also spent some free time of hers with me to discuss personal issues. She used to take care of each of the employees, nurture us and then ensured the task was performed n thereby attaining the organization’s objectives. I can now relate her leadership style aligning with transformational leadership.
From this approach, my personal opinion is that transformational leadership is an effective form of leadership where both organization and employee are taken into account such that neither employee nor organization is impacted.
Identify a Leader
Power and Influence in a harmful and positive way
Power and influence do not always contribute to positive results. Few of the leaders who are influential have seen failures due to their use of power and influence. Power is something which can initiate the change in followers and influence is an amount of change that has occurred as a result of power.
Jim Jones was a leader between ’50s and ’70s and his leadership qualities had his followers seeing him as a role model due to the increased following. Jones was developing referent power (Tmk5204, 2013). This referent power ideally develops out of admiration and desire to be like that person (Robbins, Decenzo, Coutler, Anderson, 2017). Due to his increased followers, he was getting selfish and assumed that he could exercise power over his followers as he wanted to please them. In one of the instances, his fellow congressman Leo Ryan went to visit some of the Jones followers. Few of them requested to take them out of the compound. Jones showed his power and influence and asked the security to open fire which killed Ryan and some of Jones’s followers (Tmk5204, 2013). This is an example of using referent power and influence in a harmful way. Jones actions were a result of his referent power which made him realize he could lose more of his followers if he doesn’t show his power of admiration.
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I would like to cite Mahatma Gandhi as a leader who positively used power and influence. Gandhi has been referred to as a Father of Nation in the world’s largest democracy that is India. His belief and the way it was implemented was fundamental in fighting towards India’s independence in 1947. He practiced what he preached at every level, and the greatest quality of his leadership was the way he treated others. He managed his power in a legitimate way, where he did not show any authority. He lived his life as a poorest Indian, and he treated everyone as equal (Karl Moore, 2011). His legitimate power where he did not show his authority made him to be simple and non-violent which was Gandhi’s success formula towards India’s independence.
Leadership scenarios
Scenario 1
In this scenario, the employee is unable to complete the task provided due to her inexperience or low competence. However, she has a commitment to learn about her job. As per the Hersey and Blanchard model, the leadership style falls under selling style where the leader has to show high directive and high supportive behaviour. In terms of readiness of the employee she falls under the R2 stage because of her low competence but showing the zeal to learn the job. This relationship of the leader-follower results in the leader being decider by providing high tasks and high relationship to fulfil the task (Robbins, Decenzo, Coutler, Anderson, 2017).
Scenario 2
In this scenario mentioned, the team is working on a very important project, and the staff is competent to perform the assigned job. The followers are discouraged in progress they are making which makes the situation that they lack job challenge. This situation calls for the leader who shows achievement oriented leadership approach where he can set high and challenging goals and also expect the followers to perform the task at the highest level the result of which will be improved satisfaction and performance among the followers (Robbins, Decenzo, Coutler, Anderson, 2017).
Scenario 3.
In the provided scenario, the employee is creative and competent, and she has the capability to judge her work in the right manner. The reason she declined on the new project is that she lacked self-confidence. According to path-goal theory, this situation calls for a leader who shows supportive leadership behaviour where he can show concern for the follower’s needs, the result of which increases the confidence and the follower to achieve the outcome (Robbins, Decenzo, Coutler, Anderson, 2017).
Scenario 4
In this scenario, the employee has one more year for his retirement, and he is not interested in performing any assigned task which shows his low competence. He is also influencing negativity among the staff which showcases low commitment. As per Hersey and Blanchard model the leadership style falls under the telling method where a leader is highly directive and with a low supportive behaviour. From the employee perspective, he falls under the R1 stage where he is not willing to take up any responsibility nor shows any kind of commitment. As a leader, he has to give specific directions, guide the employee and motivate him so that he could perform well until his retirement (Robbins, Decenzo, Coutler, Anderson, 2017).
Scenario 5
In this scenario, the team shows high competence and their motivation is high which corresponds to high commitment. The leadership style falls under the delegating style. Where a leader provides a little direction and low supportive behaviour. From the follower’s perspective, the team is competent and willing to perform the work they fall under the R4 stage. This combination of leadership follower readiness does not provide many actions for the leader. The leader can delegate the work, and the decision is controlled by the team (Robbins, Decenzo, Coutler, Anderson, 2017).
Personal Leadership / Management Profile
Leadership or management profile is a summary of one’s professional skills that are required for an organization. Few of my qualities include enthusiasm, self-confidence, integrity, communication, patience and so on. These are some of the qualities which a potential leader possesses and that is where I would want to lead my career path. I am more focused on being a leader than being a manager. I take complete responsibility for my decisions and have a clear directed goal to be achieved which also happens to my passion. This corresponds to one of the traits associated with leadership that is “desire to lead.”
I also put in a lot of effort to achieve my ambitions by taking self-initiative. I tend to make my decisions quickly and don’t postpone my actions. This relates to the “drive” trait of leadership which I possess.
Among the different leadership theories like situational leadership, transformational leadership and path-goal theory, I would like to inculcate transformational leadership theory into my own practice.
The primary reason that I choose transformational theory is that, as a leader, I would want to inspire the followers to change. As explained in this theory, even though my primary focus will be on the organization’s objectives, I must also ensure that the followers are influenced and motivated. According to me, the followers are the key for any success, and in my practice, I would want to nurture the employees and also provide enough individual attention such that the team’s goals are achieved and even the followers’ developmental needs are taken into account in the process.
Another primary reason why I choose this theory to be bound in my leadership style of practice is that the higher employee satisfaction, the easier it would be to achieve the organization goals and objectives.
The leadership assignment helped me to get more insights into the leadership and the management role. From identifying the difference between a manager and a leader until explaining on the leadership theories, the learnings were highly effective. Irrespective of me being a leader or a manager, some of the learnings which will help me in my future professional career would be the qualities and the focus the leader has to possess in order to be successful would significantly influence me.
The inspiration towards the followers, the consideration or attention provided to individuals, the focus on the employee satisfaction with an objective of clear goals-all of these learnings would help me to construct my profession in a positive way.
References
Bow valley college. (2018). Learning Activity 5: Ken Blanchard – “Servant Leadership” – MGMT1101: Introduction to Management – 19JANMNAT53. Retrieved February 9, 2019, from https://d2l.bowvalleycollege.ca/d2l/le/content/188559/viewContent/2776380/View
Karl Moore. (2011). Two Lessons From India’s Greatest Leader – Gandhi. Retrieved February 9, 2019, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/karlmoore/2011/08/22/2-lessons-from-indiasgreatest-leader-gandhi/#54269d0e55ec
Kevin Kruse. (2018). Servant Leadership Is Not What You Think: Ken Blanchard Explains. Retrieved February 9, 2019, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2018/04/09/servant-leadership-is-not-what-you-think-ken-blanchard-explains/#7d4e88576a5f
Stephen P. Robbins, David A. Decenzo, Mary Coutler, I. A. (2017). Fundamentals of Management.
Tmk5204. (2013). Power and Influence: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Retrieved February 9, 2019, from https://sites.psu.edu/leadership/2013/02/20/power-and-influence-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/
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