Reflective Paper: My Suitability for CEO Role at Downer Rails

This reflective paper assesses the author's qualifications and suitability for a CEO position at Downer Rails, a company undergoing significant changes. The author highlights their humble background, strong work ethic, and personal experiences, including overcoming health challenges, as key factors shaping their leadership approach. Educational achievements, such as an MBA, and practical experience gained at Edi Downer Rail are presented as evidence of developed management, analytical, and commercial thinking skills. The paper also addresses personal traits like self-confidence and past achievements as a Business Development Manager. The author concludes by outlining their potential actions as CEO, emphasizing a commitment to hard work, long-term sustainability, and addressing the strategic issues facing Downer Rails. The document is available on Desklib, a platform offering study tools and solved assignments for students.

Running head: REFLECTIVE PAPER
REFLECTIVE PAPER
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1REFLECTIVE PAPER
CEO Leadership Paper
Introduction
The given paper is a reflective based on the suitability of my profile as a CEO for the
company named Downer Rails. The company Downer Rails is going through certain changes
and is being compelled by the market trends to undergo certain changes in the business
environment. For this reason, the organization is required to undergo certain changes. These
changes will not be possible to make and undertake if the company does not have a proper leader
and an Organizational head which would guide the company and assist the firm to achieve its
visions as well as missions. The reflective paper will be presenting my capabilities and
qualifications and examine them further in order to prove that I am suitable for the opportunity of
acting as a Chief Executive Officer for the company.
Analysis
Background
I belong to an extremely humble background and for this reason I have always believed
that hard work is the step towards success and it is only hard work than can take a company
forward in the long run of the business enterprise. I have a wife and two children who stay
overseas. Furthermore, I have an old mother to look after. This tends to further increase my
responsibilities and thus I have always worked diligently which then leads to positive outcomes.
Recently, my son has joined me in Australia to work as a Business development Manager
in order to ensure that we can work hard for the family and gain success together.

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I have had certain negative experiences in mind which has then bought me extreme
concern. In the year 2014, I was diagnosed with minor prostate cancer which was diagnosed by
my family doctor. The news shattered me and my family was also deeply affected by it. I went
through a surgery for this and got cured successfully. I took a rest for four months and got back
to track. Earlier, I was involved in heavy duty work but not for this reason, I have just taken up
light duty jobs. It was during this time that I was extremely worried about my prospects in the
future and hence, for this reason I decided to plan accordingly in future so that I can do well for
my family and I am not faced by this kind of a problem in the long run. I learnt a great deal from
this and therefore for this reason I believe that sometimes negative incidents are crucial in life as
they teach is important lessons (Daft 2014). In this manner I can assist the organization and help
them to perform better.
Educational background
I have completed the prestigious degree of Masters in Business Administration. I decided
to join the given coursework back in 2014 after receiving encouragement from a leader in the
Downer Edi rail, Mr. Tom Nicklodis. He went a long way in hearing my life story and
identification of my characteristics as a successful leader in the long run. He believed in me and
it is because of his encouragement that I was able to do well in the MBA Course as well. I
underwent this course through Adelaide Australian institute of Management in Sydney and often
had to fly to and fro in order to be able to attend live classes for the same.
This characteristic reflects the hardworking quality in me. It is due to the given quality
that I was successfully able to complete my MBA Program despite the of shift hours and my
work pressure. Thus, the MBA Coursework is a very prestigious course which tends to increase
the capabilities as an individual and goes a long way in assisting the person to take on effective

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leadership programs (Hargreaves and Fink 2012). It increases ones outlook towards like and
assist them to attain adequate takes on life. During the coursework we were taught several
subjects ranging from General Management to Strategic Management (Hargreaves and Fink
2012). It helped me a long way to increase my concept basis and knowledge. As I was working
side by side, I could apply the subjects practically as well.
Past experience
I started working at the Edi Downer Rail Company from the year 2011, as a skilled
technician and was provided with various opportunities to learn and grow as a person. Even
though I was working in a rather low post, I got the opportunity to explore my skills and
knowledge with regard to different factors which are crucial to a given business and thus due to
this, I was able to learn a lot in the given domain and able to strategically analyze the different
factors which take place in the business environment (Mitchell 2013). Hence, my past
experiences of working at the base of the company have accompanied me and have gone a long
way in assisting me to develop various skills which are necessary in being able to lead an
organization.
Personal traits and capabilities
Given below are some of the personal traits and capabilities that I believe are quite
important in order to lead an organization and I have also described the manner in which I have
been able to develop these skills for my personal benefit.
Management skills- Over the years, through the course and the work experience I have been able
to gain the knowledge and skill of how to manage different people in the workplace (Antonakis
and Day 2017). I believe that it is very important to inculcate trust between the different people

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in an organization which then assists free flow of conversation and satisfaction among the
different organizational members.
Writing and Analytical skills- I was previously not good in using correct grammar during my
writing and drafting skills. The writing and drafting skills form a crucial part of any organization
and therefore, it becomes extremely important for the organization to prepare presentations and
present their case in front of the external environment ion the long run.
Commercial thinking- These skills refer to the business minded and related acumen skills which
are important to be present in an individual. I have gone through various studies and case study
analysis alongside by work which have then allowed me to have a commercial mind which will
be beneficial for the company in the long run (Spillane 2012).
Information Technology Skills- With the advent of technology, it becomes extremely important
for any business enterprise to be able to see to it that they have the latest technology in place so
that the business can improve. I have learnt various IT Skills in the past, which have enabled me
to understand the technological aspects of business and be able to understand the required
changes that need to exist in a business domain to make the given business a success in the long
run.
Self-confidence- As I have not worked in such a high position earlier, for this reason, I have not
been able to successfully apply my skills in the given domain (Northouse 2015). However in the
past I have developed certain self-confidence skills which will be able to further assist me in the
given domain and help me to take up my responsibilities as an efficient manager and provide me
with adequate respect for the post.
Achievements

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I have been appointed as the Business Development Manager in the past at the Indian
branch whereby I will be giving advises and suggest ways in which a particular business might
be improved in the long run. This will then assist the firm in gaining more customers and thereby
increasing the revenue structure and the base if the organization.
Actions as a CEO
If I am appointed as the CEO of the organizations Downer Rails, I will be able to
successfully apply my past experiences and the different skills that I have gained in this time and
successfully apply the given knowledge in achieving long term success for the organization. As
the Downer Rail Company has been going through a different range of problems, I will be able
to successfully identify these problems and use them effectively for my long term success in the
firm as a CEO and be able to help the company to overcome the strategic issues which are being
faced by the given organization (Nahavandi 2016). The organization needs a successful CEO
who believes in hard work and long term sustainability for its endurance and because of this, I
believe that I am the appropriate person for the given task.
Conclusion
Therefore, from the given analysis, it can be stated that the leadership skills which are
generally present in the given organization go a long way in assisting the firm to achieve success
in the long run and assist the organization to be able to achieve sustainable growth. In the given
paper, I have laid down my skills as an effective person suitable for the job of a CEO for Downer
Rails. I have presented my suitability with reasons and have laid down the different skills which
I possess which further strengthen my argument in being a successful CEO for Downer Rails.

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References
Antonakis, J. and Day, D.V. eds., 2017. The nature of leadership. Sage publications.
Chaudhry, A.Q. and Javed, H., 2012. Impact of transactional and laissez faire leadership style on
motivation. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(7).
Daft, R.L., 2014. The leadership experience. Cengage Learning.
Hargreaves, A. and Fink, D., 2012. Sustainable leadership (Vol. 6). John Wiley & Sons.
Mitchell, G., 2013. Selecting the best theory to implement planned change. Nursing
Management-UK, 20(1).
Nahavandi, A., 2016. The Art and Science of Leadership -Global Edition. Pearson.
Northouse, P.G., 2015. Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.
Spillane, J.P., 2012. Distributed leadership (Vol. 4). John Wiley & Sons.