Self Reflection on Leadership Quality

This paper discusses the importance of leadership in project management and evaluates personal attributes through personality tests and SWOT analysis. It also includes a personal action plan for improvement.

Running head: SELF REFLECTION ON LEADERSHIP QUALITY
SELF REFLECTION ON LEADERSHIP QUALITY
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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SELF REFLECTION ON LEADERSHIP QUALITY
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Discussion........................................................................................................................................2
Leadership in context of the project management and the professional practice:.......................2
Future professional practices in the project management:..........................................................3
Result from the big five personality:...........................................................................................3
SWOT analysis:...........................................................................................................................5
Analysis of the strength and the weakness in the context of the project management
leadership:....................................................................................................................................6
Development of the areas to improve the personality in context of the leadership quality:........8
Personal action plan for the improvement:..................................................................................8
Overall self-reflection on leadership quality:............................................................................10
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
Bibliography..................................................................................................................................11
Appendix........................................................................................................................................14

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SELF REFLECTION ON LEADERSHIP QUALITY
Introduction
The leadership is an important quality in the context of the project management. Every
project has some objectives to achieve. The main aim of the leader is to motivate the employees
or the other team members to work together to achieve the project and the organizational goals.
There are various kind of leadership. However, the adopting of the type of the leadership is
dependent on the type of the team the leader is leading, nature of the project and the personality
of the leader. However, it can be said in general the leader should have the quality to influence
the people to work together. Apart from that the function of the leader is to give the direction of
the fellow employees regarding the progress of the work. In order to evaluate the necessary
attributes of a good leader the requirements of the team members from the team leader is needed
to be evaluated. The main objective of this paper is to understand the attributes of a good
leadership and evaluate the personal attributes on the basis of different personality tests. Apart
from that SWOT analysis on the basis of the personality attributes has been done so that the
weakness and the strength of the personality can be identified.
Discussion
Leadership in context of the project management and the professional practice:
In order to deliver the project in right order to development of the project is needed to be
done in certain way. It is the responsibility of the project leader to lead the project in such a way
that it can fulfill all the requirements of the clients. Apart from that the collaboration between the
team leader and the project manager is important. The main objective of the project leader in the
context of the project management is to lead the team in the predefined direction and guide the
team members in case any changes happen in the context of the development. In this case the
team leader need to have the good communication skill and he or she is needed to be aware about

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the ability of the individuals in the team. During the decision making process the team leader
plays an important role. The leader can consider the opinion of the other team members during
the decision making process. This will help the team members to think that they are also
included in the decision making process. On the other way the team leader is also responsible for
resolving any conflict happened in the development team along with that also concerned with the
sharing of the knowledge between the members of the team.
Future professional practices in the project management:
In order to evaluate the future professional practices in the project management some of
the attributes are needed to be considered. My leadership qualities can be evaluated through the
test results of the different personality test. Apart from that my strength and the weakness can
also be evaluated through the SWOT analysis.
Result from the big five personality:
The big five personality test is consists of the evaluation of the five important human
factor. The big five personality test is considered by the organization to place the employees in
the right position. Big five personality test is also considered as OCEAN model. This is used as
the personality survey. The five factors are openness to the experience, conscientiousness,
extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. The five factors of the big five personality test will
indicate the quality as the leader in the project team.
There are five factors in the test. The first factor determines the attribute extroversion.
This indicates the capacity of the individuals to adopt the attribute of being social. My score in
this section is 50 which indicates that I have medium social adoptability.

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The second factor is emotional stability or neuroticism. This indicates the negative
emotions like anger, anxiety. The higher score in this factor indicates that the person is reactive
to the stress and negative emotions. It is favorable for the leaders to maintain the lower score in
this factor as the leader has to handle the stress for most of the time. If the leader in the project is
vulnerable to the stress the he or she may not take the right decision regarding the development
of the project. My score in the emotional stability is 95 which means I am prone to become
stressed in critical situation.
The third factor is concerned about agreeableness. This factors indicates the friendly or
the optimistic attribute of the individual. The higher score in this field will indicate that the
person is optimistic and friendly. In the big five factor test my score is 45 which indicates that I
have a friendly approach however sometimes I become critical and aggressive.
The fourth factor is concerned about the conscientiousness. The high score in this factor
indicates that the individual is concerned about the surroundings and the careful regarding the
decision making. The low score in this sector indicates that the person is impulsive and
disorganized. My score in this factor is 96 which indicates that I am concerned about the
surroundings and careful about the decision making and the consequences about the decisions
taken.
The fifth factor in the big five personality test is concerned about the intellect or the
imagination. This factor is also known as the openness to the experience. The people with the
high score in this field is ready to experiment during the process. While the low score indicates
that the personal or the individuals are prone to the traditional approach and conventional in
taking the decisions. My score in this factor is 40 which indicates that I am prone to take the

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traditional and tested approach rather than doing experiment during the development of the
project.
From the analysis of the result of the big five personality test given by me it can be said
that I like the traditional approach in the development of the project. I can become social when it
is necessary, however I like to stay introvert in most of the cases. I consider decision making is
an important part in the development of the project and I am become careful while making the
decisions. However, there are certain factors which have to be mitigated such as I am prone to
the stress and agreeableness is needed to be increased.
SWOT analysis:
The SWOT analysis will help to identify the strength and the weakness. Along with that
it will also help to identify the factors those can be regarded as the threats and the opportunities
for the development of my leadership quality. The SWOT analysis can be done on the basis of
the result from the big five personality test.
Strength: The main strength of my personality is that I become careful while making the
decisions. The careful nature will help me to become concern about every particular details. This
attitude for the decision making process will also help to reduce the chances of errors in the
development of the project. The careful nature can be considered as a positive attribute in the
decision making process.
Weakness: The main weakness of mine is that I am prone to be stressed in the critical
situation. In the leadership process, it is expected from me that I have to handle stressful
situation. In this context the presence of the negative emotions like the stress and anxiety will
become problematic in the analysis of the situation and deal with the situation in a correct way.

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In this context I can take wrong decision or the fail to understand the situation. Moreover the
stress can leave bad impact on the quality of the work. Apart from that another shortcoming in
my leadership quality is the lack of agreeableness. I can become aggressive in case if the
situation is out of control which is not a desirable attribute for a good leader.
Opportunities: There are lots of opportunities for my improvement in the leadership
quality. One of the area where I can improve is being the socially oriented. The score in the big
five personality shows that I can become social if I want to. Being more social will help me to
improve my network which will eventually helpful for my work. Apart from that being social
will help me to improve my way of communication. This will help me to communicate with my
team members and discuss problems and issues with them in a proper way.
Threats: The main threats re the some of the weakness in my leadership characteristics.
Some of these are prone to get stresses easily and not agreeing with others in some situation.
These factors can mislead the direction of the leadership and failure of the right decision making
system. These factors can be regarded as the shortcomings in my personality.
Analysis of the strength and the weakness in the context of the project management
leadership:
There are various kinds of leadership in the management of the project. Different
leadership styles has different consequences. However, the general attribute of a good leadership
contains good communication with the fellow team members and inspire the team members to
achieve the organizational goals. In this context the strength and the areas for the development
for being a good leader can be explored. In this case application of Johari windows can be
applied.

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In the analysis using the concept of the Johari windows there are four areas needed to be
explored-open area, hidden area, blind area and unknown area.
Open area-The score of mu cultural intelligence self-assessment shows that I have high
CQ score. Which means I can adopt the new situation and is comfortable to work with the new
people. This is a positive attribute in my leadership quality as I am able to manage the diverse
team. Apart from that the opinion about myself from my classmates indicates that my honesty
and eager to work better will have the positive affect on my leadership quality.
Hidden area: I like to show my stronger character in front of other people. However,
many of people do not know that I get easily stresses in the critical situation. Apart from that my
sensitive nature often caused the biased decision making which is not desirable in the leadership.
Blind area: while working in the group assessment one of my classmate said that I do
not like simple solution of any problem. I like to think complex and try to solve any problem
through a complex approach. I was not aware of this attribute of my nature and it surprised me. I
was unaware about the fact and told my classmate to indicate me where I have used the complex
approach instead of using the simple one. She indicated some of the areas. I have found out that I
am keen to apply all the theories and the leaning outcome in one problem solving which makes it
complex. However, I will try to solve the problems in a simple and proper approach.
Unknown area: this area consists of the factors which I along with my peers and friends
are not aware of.

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Development of the areas to improve the personality in context of the leadership quality:
There are certain areas which can be modify for the improvisation of the personality
suitable for the leadership quality. The two identified areas in my case is- taking stress in
complex situation, and the lack of agreeableness.
Taking stress in complex situation: This can be regarded one of the major weakness of
my personality. As a leader in the project management context I have to handle many complex
situation during the development of the project and managing the team members. In this case the
decision making to lead the project in the right direction in critical situation is expected from me.
In case, if I get stresses in this situation there is a chance that the direction of the project can
suffer from wrong decisions which is not expected. In this case, the level of the stress needs to be
mitigated.
Lack of agreeableness: Good communication and rational relation among the project
leader and the team members is the key success factor of a good leadership. In this case the lack
of the agreeableness can become as problem. The flow of the communication can be interrupted
in this process which is not desirable. I have to increase the level of the agreeable ness and try to
make the rational solutions through the discussion with the team members
Personal action plan for the improvement:
Mitigation of stress:
Areas for
improvement
Proof Activities for the
improvisation
Help time
Mitigation of the
stress in complex
The way of
handling complex
I can take
counseling to
May be my
classmates and my
For 6 months

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SELF REFLECTION ON LEADERSHIP QUALITY
situation situation will
improve.
identify the factors
that worry me and
lead me to the
stress.
professors can help
me to identify the
factors.
Mitigation of the
stress in complex
situation
My problem
solving ability in
case of critical
problem will
improve.
I can try to apply
specific learning
outcome for
solving a particular
problem.
My classmates can
help me in this
case.
For 6 months.
Mitigate the lack of agreeableness:
Areas for
improvement
Proof Activities for
improvisation
Help Time
Mitigate the lack
of agreeableness
while working in a
team.
I can manage to
have better flow of
communication
with the team
members.
I can find out
points where I do
not agree with
others and can
work on them.
My classmates can
help me in this
case.
For 1 year
Mitigate the lack
of agreeableness
while working in a
team.
My aggression
will be reduced in
case if I do not
agree with other
people.
I can go for
counseling to
mitigate the
aggression when I
do not agree with
others.
Counselor can help
me in this case.
For 1 Year

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SELF REFLECTION ON LEADERSHIP QUALITY
Overall self-reflection on leadership quality:
Considering all the attributes of my personality it can be said I an rather suitable to post
of “follower”. There are certain positive and negative attributes present in my character. The
carefulness and the high cultural intelligence are the positive attribute for the leadership quality
while my lack of agreeableness and the prone to get stressed can become constraint for becoming
a good leader. In this case, if I can manage to resolve these negative attribute and become more
social with the people, there is a chance that I can become a good leader. Apart frim that there
are various leadership qualities for the management of the project. Different leadership quality
poses different personality attribute of the leader. I have to identify my style of the leadership
and needed to be work according to it.
Conclusion
To become a good leader certain attributes are needed to be present in the personality.
However, the application of these attributes are equally important for the good leadership
quality. It can be said that anybody can become a good leader if he or she can acquire these
attributes through self-reflection and practice. Through the self-reflection I have identified my
strength and weakness of the personality and I will try to overcome the negativity of my
personality and try to acquire good leadership qualities.

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Appendix

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