Manning and Curtis (2015) describe various and distinct leadership styles including directive, participative, free-reign, servant, ethical, authentic, and transformative. Regardless of the specific style of leadership an individual is developing, four components are consistently involved in the development process. Self-awareness, including strengths, weaknesses, values, and beliefs; sharing information and transparency of emotions; objectivity of information and viewpoints; and inserting a moral perspective and values in decision-making (Baron, 2016). Simply stated, “Leadership development is self-development” (Kouzes and Posner, 2016, p. 55). Experimentation, consistent practice, and even failure are key elements to learning
Leadership
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401). Individuals must determine the appropriate course of action related to their personal learning and development. To maximize their learning potential, circumstances must be conducive to grow including a need for new skills, encouragement from others, specific goals, high self-esteem, and commitment (Manning and Curtis, 2015). The organizational environment and behavioral norms around learning also influence an individual’s development and progress. “Your success as a leader is inextricably linked to how successful you can make others” (Kouzes and Posner, 2016, p.65).
Although individuals might find the internal drive to seek and achieve personal development, more often they look to their workplace for development opportunities. Manning and Curtis (2015) refer to Peter Senge’s book The Fifth Discipline to help frame the fundamental pieces that foster others to “discover, create, and transfer knowledge and skills” (Manning and Curtis, 2015, p. 402). Belief and respect, high self-esteem, learning style, coaching, timing, purpose, and repeated practice are intrinsic factors in successful learning (Manning and Curtis,
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If they are inclined toward coaching, encouraging them to find a leadership role model they want to emulate is one possible strategy. It takes considerable courage for individuals to engage in the learning process, particularly leadership development. Accepting a challenging or “stretch assignment involves taking risks and reaching beyond one’s comfort zone” (Manning and Curtis, 2015, p. 410). As a leader, champion the excitement of discovery and growth in knowledge in every employee through the most appropriate course of learning for each
The topic of leadership has been explored and written about by thousands of authors who are considerably more qualified than I am to write about the subject. However, I’ve always maintained that developing, evolving and articulating one’s own leadership philosophy is an essential part of a professional’s growth. Through academics and experience, I’ve concluded that leadership is a “soft” skill, more art than science, and that leadership principles can be universally applied. As a topic of discussion, leadership can be ambiguous and seldom does everyone agree on a single definition. Organizations and the people they consist of crave leadership, even if not overtly. Undeniably, strong leadership is essential to achieving
Hughes, R. L., Ginnett, R. C., & Curphy, G. J. (2012). Leadership: Enhancing the lessons of experience. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin
contrast, the approach in this text suggests that leadership is a process that can be learned, and
Hughes, R. L., Ginnett, R. C., & Curphy, G. J. (2015). Leadership: Enhancing the lessons of experience (8th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink is a proverb I have heard since I was young. Leadership is the skill of influencing people to accomplish goals (Huber, 2014). In today’s world with policy and technological changes the leaders must use their leadership skills to not only get the horse to the water, have him drink, but also do it with a smile an invite others to join him. Leaders use a variety of styles to accomplish their goals. I will discuss the leadership style that I utilize most often, how my style relates to leadership theories and the work type environment it is most useful in.
It takes a long time to become an effective and respected leader but can evaporate very quickly with one misstep. It needs to be nurtured and cultivated every day. My personal leadership style is to observe and correct. As a junior member, one of my Chief told me, “I don’t care how long it takes you to do a job as long as you do it right the first time because if it is wrong you will be the one fixing it.” That resonated with me because it allowed me to take risks and learn from my mistakes making me a better technician. I firmly believe one of the best learning tools is failure. His statement let me know it was all right to fail but if you do you will be learning from it. Identifying weaknesses within my leadership abilities and striving to correct them will result in being consistently looked upon a leader within our
Leadership styles reflect a manner and approach of providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating people. Traditionally, effective leadership styles were thought of a one size fits all, leaders picked one approach and used it all situations. In today’s world, successful leaders recognize the style of leadership is relative to given situation, based on analyzing the employees and the organization. Leadership styles are most effective when the actions of a leader reflect what is best for individuals and the organization, simultaneously. Leadership styles ultimately affect human behavior, and according to James G. Clawson, change occurs at three levels: Level one leadership is focused on visible behavior patterns.
After completing the “Leadership Style Questionnaire” and analyzing my results, I have learned what my preferred leadership style is and how that influences how I lead and may be perceived from members of the group. From the results attained from the questionnaire, my preferred style of leadership is directing. This type of leadership style is best for individuals who have a low competency and high commitment level. These types of leaders are highly focused on tasks and less focused on relationships. They make decisions without consulting with the group and communicate without regarding the group’s concerns or suggestions. This type of leader also supervises the followers intently. They are very successful in creating objectives for each follower and the group as a whole to guide the group in reaching a certain goal.
Leadership at times can be a complex topic to delve into and may appear to be a simple and graspable concept for a certain few. Leadership skills are not simply acquired through position, seniority, pay scale, or the amount of titles an individual holds but is a characteristic acquired or is an innate trait for the fortunate few who possess it. Leadership can be misconstrued with management; a manager “manages” the daily operations of a company’s work while a leader envisions, influences, and empowers the individuals around them.
Hall, Peter, & Norris, Peter. (1993). Learning for leadership. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 14(7), 35. Retrieved August 25, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 81758).
The leadership is a result of a combination of traits, with special emphasis on the personal qualities of the leader, which he should possess certain personality traits that would be special facilitators in leadership performance. This theory shows that leaders are born as such, there is no likelihood of 'making' them later with personal development techniques.
To diagnose my learning needs I must be honest and realistic about myself. The strengths I have as a leader consists of personal mastery and building a shared vision. Personal mastery is the discipline of continually clarifying and deepening our personal vision, of focusing our energies, of developing patience, and of seeing reality objectively (Senge, 2006). I have always strived to improve myself so that I can excel in every task that I set out to do. There ...
To become a truly effective leader, one must encapsulate the various behaviors related to the aforementioned course learnings in his/her persona and demonstrate such behaviors daily. This course has allowed me to identify four behaviors that all leaders must portray to be effective. The first of which is that a leader must be inspirational. To do so, a leader must set the appropriate vision and direction for the organization and provide a path to achieving defined goals. Additionally, a leader must induce the proper levels of motivation so that each employee has sufficient incentive to work towards the organization’s goals. As discussed in the class, motivation can be accomplished by factors such as rewarding hard work and providing the correct opportunities to employees. While these are motivating in that employees desire to be fairly compensated and to be doing work they deem valuable, inspiration comes more from organizational culture. A leader will be inspirational by setting a tone that appreciates each employee’s contribution, no matter how small in scale it is. Further, employees are inspired when they work collaboratively in a group setting and can capitalize on individual strengths to drive organizational goals.
Hughes, Ginnett, & Curphy (2009). Leadership: Enhancing the Lessons of Experience (6th Ed). New York, NY McGraw-Hill Irwin
Northouse, P. (2010). Leadership: Theory and practice (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.