Leadership: Theories, Challenges, Application and Reflection

This assignment discusses the theories of leadership, challenges faced by a leader, application of theories and reflection on the experience. The leadership theories discussed are trait theory, transactional theory and transformational theory. The challenges faced by the leader while leading a diverse group of people are also discussed. The application of situational leadership is suggested to mitigate the challenges. The reflection section discusses the strategies applied by the leader to overcome the challenges.

Running head: LEADERSHIP
Leadership
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

1
LEADERSHIP
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Leadership theories....................................................................................................................2
Challenges in leadership faced...................................................................................................3
Application of theories...............................................................................................................3
Reflection...................................................................................................................................3
Reference....................................................................................................................................4

2
LEADERSHIP
Introduction
Leadership is important in order to encourage and motivate a group of people into
working as a team (Bolman and Deal 2017). It can be in the form of leading a team in
organisations or in a different sphere of life. In my case, I had been involved in leading a
team of diverse people to complete an international project in my organisation successfully.
The situation that I faced was that I needed to ensure that I understand the strengths and
weakness of the people and at the same time get the people to interact with one another. The
application of leadership theories and the challenges faced by me are described in the
assignment along with a reflection of the manner in which I can do things differently.
Leadership theories
As stated by Fairhurst and Connaughton (2014) leadership theories depend upon the
type of personality that a person possess. Based on the personality trait leaders are born along
with the required encouragement for success. Some of common leadership theories are
provided below with description about the characteristic features that define the style
Theories Description
Trait theory People are born with leadership characteristic
Transactional theory People are motivated by rewards and
punishment (Antonakis and Day 2017)
Transformational theory People tend to follow an inspirational person
(Heifetz and Linsky 2017)
Table: Leadership theories
(Source: Created by author)

3
LEADERSHIP
Challenges in leadership faced
While leading a diverse group of men into creating a successful project for the
organisation I had faced certain challenges. One such challenge was to ensure that the people
trusted one another and worked in a united manner. The reason behind this being a huge
challenge for me is that I was unaware of the people that existed and the manner in which I
can mix the cultures of the people. At the same time, providing proper guidance was also
challenging, as I had to ensure that I gain enough knowledge so that I can provide tasks that
are suitable for the need of the team members. The challenges that I faced hindered my
progress and I had to apply the theories learned so that I can mitigate the challenges.
Application of theories
Based on the challenges faced and the theories that exist, I believe that I need to apply
situational leadership in order to help my team to prosper. My personality suggests that I am
more of a transformational leader but in this case, the application of situational leadership can
help me in my quest. This is mainly because I need to take decisions that are more
spontaneous and at the same time reflect my current situation.
Reflection
Therefore, I can say that given the situation that I was in I had reflected upon the
actions taken by my seniors. I needed to find closure about the manner in which he would
have dealt with the situation and provided the team members with sufficient guidance. At the
same time I had applied strategies of my own such as conducting an ice-breaker session and
an interaction session so that the people can get to know one another.

4
LEADERSHIP
Reference
Antonakis, J. and Day, D.V. eds., 2017. The nature of leadership. Sage publications.
Bolman, L.G. and Deal, T.E., 2017. Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and
leadership. John Wiley & Sons.
Fairhurst, G.T. and Connaughton, S.L., 2014. Leadership: A communicative
perspective. Leadership, 10(1), pp.7-35.
Heifetz, R. and Linsky, M., 2017. Leadership on the Line, With a New Preface: Staying Alive
Through the Dangers of Change. Harvard Business Press.