Reflective Essay on Leadership Theory

This reflective essay explores the concept of leadership theory and its importance in motivating and inspiring a team towards common goals. It discusses the idea of leading by example, the development and growth of people, and the art of saying 'no' as a leader. The essay also highlights the relevance of readings on reality construction rules and storytelling in leadership. The author reflects on personal insights and development needs, and how the learnings from the course have been applied to initiate and sustain changes in their leadership style.

Running head: REFLECTIVE ESSAY 1
Reflective Essay
Institution
Student
Date
Word count: 1947 words

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Reflective Essay
1. Leadership theory
Everybody believes that he/she has a good idea concerning what it implies to be an effective
leader, but when it comes to defining the conception, the picture is not clear. For some of us,
leadership is motivation whilst for others; it represents inspiration and equals results. However,
in simple terms leadership can be defined as the art of motivating a team of people alias subjects,
to act towards attaining common goals. In a business organization setting, this can imply
directing employees with a strategy to meet the company’s needs and wants (Zhang, & Bartol,
2010). This particular definition captures the fundamentals of being able to motivate or inspire
people and being ready to do that. Efficient leadership is based upon ideologies (which can either
be borrowed or original or both), but cannot happen unless these ideas or ideologies are
communicated to others in a manner that involves them enough to act as the leader(s) intends
them to act.
My experience as a leader has made me understand leadership ideas and actions differently. I
therefore have gained a diverse comprehension of what it entails to be a successful leader. Good
leaders lead by example and they walk their talk. People normally want to follow an individual
whom they see is working with them towards a mutually established and understood goal.
Subjects prefer to be led by a leader who they can trust and Caza, Zhang, Wang, & Bai, (2015)
says, they tend to trust somebody who leads by example. Leading by example, therefore builds
credibility and trust, both of which are very essential fundamentals for the prosperity and success
of any leader. Besides, I have understood that the development and growth of people is the
highest calling of leadership. This implies that the most outstanding leaders are able to attract the

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best candidates, engage their people properly, drive their productivity upwards, and assist them
develop and grow all the while. An exceptional leader optimizes their subjects’ day to day
contributions and maintains an open line of communication for both negative and positive
feedback, preparing the subjects to develop into leaders of tomorrow. Another leadership idea
was relayed by Tony Blair in his quote “The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is
very easy to say yes (Menke, 2012).” As a leader I developed this attribute learnt how to say
‘No’. As a leader I was always bombarded with a mountain of requests and petitions that
required my attention. I was barraged with requests for opinions, time, and deadline extensions
among others. Inasmuch as leaders want to ensure that their followers are pleased with them,
they should not always say ‘yes’ to all their requests since some are based on unjustifiable
reasons or selfish interests.
The above threshold concepts (TCs) completely changed my attitude and behaviour towards
leadership. They made me comprehend the significance of leading by example. When a leader
says one thing, but does another, they grind down credibility and trust, which are vital elements
of effective leadership. There are different ways through which leaders can lead by example.
These include taking responsibility, being truthful, being courageous, acknowledging failure,
being persistent, and creating solutions. What is more, as a leader now I acknowledge the
importance of developing my followers not just to attain the organizational objectives but also to
prepare them to become leaders. I constantly provide them with feedback (both positive and
negative) so that they can figure out their strengths and weaknesses. My attitude towards creating
a friendly atmosphere of likability was also altered. It is splendid as a leader to ensure your
followers like you but that does not guarantee a leader to always say ‘yes’ to their requests. I
learnt how to say ‘no.’

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Relevance of readings/lectures
Fairhurst, (2011) in his book The Power of Framing: Creating the language of leadership
discusses various leadership ideas. All the ideas the author discusses in this book are very critical
but most importantly I would like to single out just a few. Fairhurst explains the concept of
reality construction rules such as controlling a context, defining a situation, applying ethics,
designing response in leadership. Even though a leader has no control over events or
occurrences, he/she can control the context under which the occurrences are seen. Besides, they
have the ability to frame a reality that is; define “the situation here and now” in a manner that
connects with others. Leaders can shape the meaning of a subject or the issue at hand. Framing a
given subject or situation is an action of persuasion by leaders, one permeated with ethical
options. This is often the case because most of the common issues they come across are wicked,
overwhelmingly complicated and broad in scope and usually with no one right answer.
According to Fairhurst, leadership is a design problem and leaders are supposed to figure out
what leadership in the setting of what they do, and through their actions and framing, convince
themselves and others that they are actually doing it.
Fog, Budtz, Yakaboylu, (2005) in their work “Storytelling: branding in practice” discusses the
importance of storytelling in the contemporary organizational setting. When leaders
communicate messages through stories, the help their colleagues and workers find their way in
today’s world. They directly address their emotions and provide them with the means to express
their values. The story progressively emerges synonymous with the way people define
themselves as individuals thus enabling them to communicate clearly who they are. Stories are
memorable; they travel further and inspire action. According to Fog, Budtz, and Yakaboylu,

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storytelling plays a key role in leadership since it enables leaders to manage conflicts, and
interpret the past and shape the future. Storytelling assumes a pertinent role in influencing people
since it gives more depth to reason.
The key ideas discussed in the two readings, have given me an auxiliary insight/knowledge on
what it entails for somebody to be a successful leader. Managers and leaders in a workplace
setting are faced with diverse problems or events which are normally broad in scope and very
complex. In order to handle these frequent occurrences, Fairhurst suggests that they should first
shape their meaning in order to respond successfully in a manner that is satisfactory to all parties
involved. As a leader, I take this as a new insight and so, in all my leadership roles I will always
put this idea into practice. Besides, the idea of storytelling is also very applicable in my
leadership roles and other organizational settings such as in sports team. The coach, for instance,
should use stories to train the players and same case applies to me as a leader: use of stories to
communicate to my subjects will be an effective way of motivating and inspiring them.
Personal insights and development needs
In reference to the EQ self-assessment, and the Communication Styles Inventory from Fairhurst,
I have noted that I have various leadership strengths which are worth highlighting. As a leader, I
am able to practice dominant communication style through physical manifestations. In line with
the teachings of Communication Styles Inventory from Fairhurst, I am able to portray this
communication style through psychological and nonverbal clues such as vocal modulation, vocal
loudness, harmonized body language, and eye contact. Besides, I am also a dramatic
communicator with the ability to manipulate stories, fantasies, voice, rhythm, and metaphors
(Liron, Raindel, & Alon, 2018). This style is the most visible one and serves a deeper,

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intentional, and complex function of calling to attention to the message in a very extraordinary
manner. It gives me a way to relay my true feelings and sentiments. In my EQ self-assessment, I
scored 57 and this score revealed a few things regarding my potential as a leader. It made me
realize that I am an emotionally intelligent person with the capacity to monitor not just my own
emotions but also those of other people. As a leader, I able to demonstrate empathy, benefit from
criticism, strive to control my thoughts, give helpful feedback, and show authenticity. I have
great relationships and I mostly find that people always approach me for advice.
After reviewing my emotional intelligence using the EQ self-assessment test and perusing
Communication Styles Inventory from Fairhurst, I noted that I also have some leadership
weaknesses which I am working on to improve. According to Fairhurst, a leader is supposed to
be attentive to details and be a good listener. These are fundamental elements of interpersonal
communication but unfortunately, I have received several criticisms regarding them. I am not
able to listen keenly to details and I always find myself in difficult situations instigated by this
weakness. In addition, some people disapprove my friendliness and though they approach me for
advises, they sometimes find it hard especially when they have an alternative. These are my main
weaknesses as a leader but I am working towards improving on them and I believe that I will
finally turn them into strengths.
Last month, I was invited as a guest speaker to address a group of workers who had gone on a
strike complaining of various issues at their workplace. These ranged from poor remunerations to
long time working hours without any compensation. We held a two hour session and before we
culminated our meeting, they all appreciated me for the great advises I gave them. Throughout
my speech, I demonstrated empathy. I was able to think about their feelings, pause, and get their

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feedback on various issues I raised. This incident enabled me to recognize my empathy ability
as a communicator. In another incident which took place in my workplace, I was able to identify
my weakness of poor listening skills. Two of my team members approached me to help them
solve a conflict issue but as they expressed their sides of story, I obstructed self severally with
phone calls, engaging other parties in conversations, and cutting them short as they spoke. At the
end of the day, the two complained that I did not give them time to express their problem which
ended up unresolved.
Initiating and sustaining changes
Generally, I have applied the learnings in this course in trying to become a better leader,
primarily by turning my weaknesses into strengths. The learnings in this module have enabled
me to figure out some of my leadership weaknesses and strengths which I was not aware
beforehand. In this essay I have just highlighted a few of these weaknesses and strengths but they
are many. Leadership is not easy and not everyone is built to be a manager. To be a good one, I
have learnt that I need to perfect on my skills, conduct constant self-evaluation and reflection to
make sure that I am serving my team successfully. From the incident where I figured out my
poor listening weakness, I have committed self to adhere to various teachings on listening and
how a leader can enhance his/her abilities. In short, I am applying the learning to enhance my
leadership potential and become a better one in future.
I once conducted an experiment of going for 14 days without uttering non-constructive criticism
or complaining. If I could find myself doing it, I had to start again at day zero. It took me 48 days
to get 14 complaint-free days in a row. But I did it. This experiment was not primarily meant to
teach me not to complain but I wanted to create some sort of inner change. My negative thought

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remained unaffected and I got more tolerant and polite before my team members. I learnt that as
a leader it is better to never complain rather than complaining freely.

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References
Caza, A., Zhang, G., Wang, L., & Bai, Y. (2015). How do you really feel? Effect of leaders'
perceived emotional sincerity on followers' trust. The Leadership Quarterly, 26(4), 518-
531.
Fairhurst, G. (2011). The Power of Framing: Creating the language of leadership. San Francisco
: Jossey-Bass publishers.
Fog, Budtz, Yakaboylu, (2005) in their work “Storytelling: branding in practice Berlin ; New
York : Springer.
Liron, Y., Raindel, N., & Alon, U. (2018). Dramatic action: A theater-based paradigm for
analyzing human interactions. PloS one, 13(3), e0193404.
Menke, B.,A. (2012). Don Laws the life of an Olympic figure skating coach. Lanham, Md. [u.a.]
Scarecrow
Zhang, X., & Bartol, K. M. (2010). Linking empowering leadership and employee creativity:
The influence of psychological empowerment, intrinsic motivation, and creative process
engagement. Academy of management journal, 53(1), 107-128.