Leadership Limits And Context Possibilities

Understanding Leadership Skills

Discuss about the Leadership Limits and Context Possibilities.

The subject experience has been an invaluable resource for me as far as the development of my leadership skills is concerned. Although just like any other person, I have always had the wish to become a leader, I was barely aware of the skills and competencies that help one to fulfil his dream of becoming a leader. I have always believed that anybody can be leader, provided he has the ability to boss over and dominate people, and yet the self-assessment activities have altered my perception of a leader. By undertaking the tests, I have realized that the honesty, integrity, confidence, communication skills as well as reflective skills are integral features characterizing a leader. The self-assessment tests have been very effective as these tests have enlightened me how I can be an effective leader, given my effective communication skill, positive attitude, high score of emotional intelligence and a positive attitude towards the problem. On the other hand, this has also made me aware that my listening skills and perseverance are not high, and require improvement, if I wish to be a leader. So, the subject experience has also been a very enlightening experience for me. This subject experience has especially been an important experience for me, as it helped me gain insight into the skills of leadership that I possess, and also the skills that I currently do not possess, and should work on, if I wish to be a leader in future. I have usually been content with my communication skills, and have never realized that my patience, listening skills as well as analytical skills have to be strong, if I wish to be a leader. This experience has provided me an insight into the skills and basic competencies that I need to develop if I really wish to realize my potential of becoming a leader to the fullest. This is why I consider this experience to be highly educative and informative, that has enlightened me on my weak areas, while also encouraging me to enhance and groom my professional skills, to prosper in future.

I believe that I have always been a leader, and most of the leadership skills were innate in me. However, I required someone to motivate and encourage me to pursue my dream of becoming a leader in future. As per my opinion, the breadth of knowledge about the leadership traits and basic competencies, that I got exposed to, during the course has enriched my knowledge and has stimulated me to pursue my dream of becoming a leader in future. The greatest benefit of this experience has been that it has helped in changing my mindset about and my attitude towards the concept of leadership. I have always had a one-dimensional knowledge about the concept of a ‘leader’. However, this course has helped me consider the concept of leadership from various perspectives, such as for the first time, I became aware of the cross-cultural communication skills expected of an effective leader. I realized that a leader should not only be assertive and vocal with his subordinates, but also be patient enough to deal with diverse group of employees. This is exactly the reason why I would claim that my experience in the leadership course has been paramount to my ability to redefine the concept of leadership in a new light. I would like to state here that prior to undertaking the discussion sessions on the leadership classes, I was always inclined to think that a leader is needed to be bossy and his forthcoming attitude coupled with his commanding attitude will suffice to make him an effective leader. However, the discussion sessions have rectified my misconception, as I learnt that many budding leaders fail to realize their dreams, simply because they fail to be self-motivated and self-aware, accounting for their risk-averse nature that ultimately leads to their failure. After the completion of my discussion, I became aware that it is not sufficient to dominate others, but I must myself also be confident, driven and passionate, that will motivate my subordinates to work harder.

Knowledge Sharing and Organizational Success

I would like to mention that I did not have any prior experience of assuming a leadership role, nor have I ever encountered any person who has assumed leadership responsibility in life. Quite naturally, I was ignorant of the nature of an ideal leader. However, the subject learning, for the first time, has provided me with sufficient knowledge that has developed and improved my understanding of what a leader should be, and what should be his ideal skills. I have realized the importance of additional skills such as effective communication, collaboration, creativity as well as motivating and persuasive skills that are to be inculcated, if one wishes to become a leader.

In future, the knowledge gained through this activity, will be of invaluable help in embracing leadership role. Since I have become aware of my strengths as well as my areas of development, I would be able to brush up and enhance my skills accordingly. I will be able to enrol myself in respective training courses and seminars that can help me become a confident, productive and efficient leader in future. However, an individual often has the hidden potential to become a leader, and yet he remains aware of his opportunities or desires to translate his dream into reality. The min mapping sessions in class have largely helped me what I want, as well as identify my strength and areas of weakness that I can work on. The learning sessions have also provided a highly enlightening experience to me as they offered specific and practical strategies that can help me influence my subordinates and get my job done, in future as a manager.

I wish to become a Bank Manager in future, and would require to apply the leadership skills in future. I would require applying the knowledge I learned here to exercise my authority at the workplace, and to ensure that the financial objectives are accomplished in the year end. Before undertaking this subject learning session, I was a believer in Authoritarian leadership style. However, this session has helped me become more aware of the importance of the Transformational style of leadership. I have decided that I will apply my knowledge in order to become a transformational leader who will uphold the Participative leadership style at workplace. I will not merely boss over my subordinates, but will rather encourage my subordinates to participate in the meetings, communicate any issue to me, or voice any opinion or suggestion, if they wish to voice. In most of the banking sectors, the Autocratic style of leadership is being followed which is often the reason behind lack of employee engagement and high employee turnover rates. Hence, I wish to apply my knowledge regarding the benefits of Transformational leadership in my organization, so that it can be used for motivating employees as well as increasing their engagement level within the organization. I believe that it is not sufficient to acquire knowledge, but it is equally important to share the same so that the employees can share and exchange tacit and explicit knowledge in order to work more effectively in future. Since knowledge sharing is a critical team process, and leads to organizational success, I wish to share the acquired knowledge regarding basic leadership tactics and traits with my team mates and subordinates.

Leadership Style – Autocratic vs Transformational

I wish to become a Bank Manager in future, and consequently I will require assuming leadership role that in itself will provide me adequate learning opportunities in life. While the application of my learnt time-tested knowledge about leadership traits and strategies will mostly prove to be effective, there will still be areas where I will be challenged, and will get to explore new aspects of an ideal leader.  Our Guest Spwaker during Week 12, Mr. Bryne had emphasized the importance of continually grooming and developing one’s professional skills so as to stay relevant in the job market. Although this subject learning module has already helped me develop my leadership skills, I wish to enhance my interpersonal communication and listening skills, by enrolling myself in a training course for a month. Since I found my reflective skills to be lacking as well, I have decided to attend a couple of conferences and seminars in this regard as well. I believe it is not sufficient to train and professionally develop my leadership skills, but it is equally important to ensure that I am able to evaluate the effectiveness of such development programs on me. Hence, after attending the seminars, I will again take up leadership personality tests so as to understand if my skills have improved at all or not, and so that I can devote some time to introspectively think about the flaws and areas of concern.

After the successful completion of this subject, my approach to leadership has complete changed. I have realized that I have always believed that leadership is all about a trait or the personality of a person. However, this subject has taught me leadership is not just a trait, it is an attitude towards work and co-workers, and life at large. Leadership is not defined by what kind of a person an individual is, or how authoritarian he is, but how he possesses and believes in larger than life visions, and how he learns to persevere to accomplish that vision in life. Earlier I believed in a more autocratic leadership style, and my approach towards an ideal leader was rather one-dimensional. However, after the completion of this subject, I have realized that transformational or participative style of leadership is far more effective as it helps in getting the work done, without the loss of staff morale. I have also learnt that a leader is not one who tries t dominate and control others, but rather who establishes his superiority through his dedication to the task at hand, ability to influence and motivate his staffs and faith in the realization of his vision.

Reference List:

Clawson, J.G. (2012). The REB model. In level three Leadership: Getting below the surface. (5^th edition). Upper Saddle river, NJ: Pearson education, Inc.

Custom Publication (2016) BX3174 Leadership and Management Readings. Brisbane: Pearson.

Endrissat, N., & Von Arx, W. (2013). Leadership practices and context: two sides of same coin. 9(2), 278-304). Retrieved from https://lea.sagepub.com.elibrary.jcu.edu.au/content/9/2/278

Grint, K. (2005). Leadership limits and possibilities. New York: Palgrave Macmillan

https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp? course_id=_76983_1&content_id=_2363215_1

Murray, P. (2016). BX3174: Management and leadership. (Power point slides). Week 1 to 13. Retrieved from:

 Raelin, J. (2011). From leadership as practice to leaderful practice. 7(2), 195-251. Retrieved from:https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-2363287-dt-content-rid-4074510_1/courses/16-BX3174-TSV-INT-SP2/From%20leadership-as-practice.pdf