Applied Business Management: Leadership Strengths and Development Plan

This report, submitted by Abilal Amruthalal, analyzes leadership strengths and weaknesses, including optimism, agreeableness, extroversion, and emotional stability. It explores the impact of culture on leadership styles, using examples like WorldCom and The Body Shop. The report includes a detailed leadership development plan with personal values, a SWOT analysis, and an examination of participative and servant leadership styles. It also incorporates a self-assessment of character and confidence, along with SMART goals for improving communication, self-confidence, and embracing diversity. The document emphasizes the importance of emotional intelligence, ethical leadership, and continuous personal development to become an effective, collaborative, and ethical leader.

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BACHELOR OF APPLIED BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
Graduate Diploma in Applied Business Management
Assessment No. 3
Date of Submission: 13/06/2021
Submitted By: Abilal Amruthalal
Student ID Number: 2193019
Submitted to Dr. Lily Wisker
Student Name: Abilal Amruthalal Student ID Number: 2193019
I verify that this is my own work and that I have not allowed, and in the future will
not allow, other student or individuals to copy it.
Student Signature: Abi Date: 13/06/2021

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Table of Contents
Particulars Page No.
Strengths and Weakness
- Optimism and Agreeableness
- Consideration and Initiating Structure
- Extroversion and open to new experience
- Low Emotional Stability
- Emotional Intelligence
- Fear of Failure
3
Culture and its effect on Leadership style 3-4
Leadership Development Plan
- Personal Values
- SWOT analysis
- Leadership Styles
- Self-Assessment
- Personal Development Goals
4-5
References 6

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1. The strengths and weakness are as below:
Optimism and Agreeableness :I am moderately optimist which is a good thing and a leadership trait
because with it people always tend to be solution focused even in the difficult times, they will definitely
bounce back in times of setbacks and are never afraid of failure. Being optimist creates positive energy
and it helps me communicate nicely and easily with others and it instills the feeling of collaboration in me.
I always think big and portray my future in a positive way as I am always motivated. Being too much optimist
diverts you from reality and you are no more practical (Jackson et al., 2002). I am empathetic which is
must for any leader as I feel others pain, I never insult anyone and always have a good word for everyone.
Consideration and Initiating Structure: I am highly considerate, and my leadership is highly people
oriented. I maintain good interpersonal relationships and trust with people around me and I am greatly
concerned about their welfare, treat everyone equally and maintain good friendship. At the same time, I
am task oriented as I am capable of assigning people specific tasks, I know how to fix problem and can
efficiently meet deadlines. Being considerate and initiating structure are qualities of good leaders (Bass &
B.M ,1998)
Extroversion and open to new experience: I are highly an extrovert which is a great leadership strength
as I am always positive which keeps me motivated, helps me to come up with stress and adverse
experiences. I can maintain good interpersonal and emotional relationships with others as I tend to enjoy
company of people, make friends easily, always open for new experiences and highly adaptable to any
new situation or surrounding. It is said that if you can deal with people easily you can perform well in any
job then (Farrel, 2017).
Low Emotional Stability: I have very low emotional stability and I am very sensitive. I easily get affected
by what people say and think about me. I am very critical about myself with low self-esteem and at times I
am very temperamental. This is not a good trait of a good leader. A leader should be emotionally stable,
should be confident even in vulnerability, they should be calm and behave predictably (Katz, R. L.,1955)
Emotional Intelligence: I have a good emotional intelligence and can manage my emotions and of the
people around me. I am very aware about my feelings and highly self-regulated as I don’t rush into hasty
decisions and never compromise on my values. I am highly motivated and continuously work towards
achieving my goals without any compromise on quality. A good leader needs to have a good emotional
intelligence and should be people oriented.
Fear of Failure: Courage is needed to become a great leader. I have a great fear to fail due to my insecurities,
low self-esteem and doubts which makes the challenges extremely difficult to overcome. Anxiety and stress
play a major role even though how much confident I appear. A leader must be fearless otherwise he will
compromise on the decisions, the productivity, the strategic thinking and the management of employees. It
can be overcome by control, mindfulness and by sense of competence (Goleman, D.,1995).
2. The effect of culture on my leadership styles is as below:
If there is a negative culture it sometimes may undermine my leadership skills as there are many employees
who have a stake in the old culture and are not willing to accept the modern place. There will be complacency
and lot of manipulation which will create significant challenges. The other side is that my positive leadership
may overcome the challenges of a negative culture as with few new experiences and encouraging results
the tides of time can change and we can go ahead a very long way. Sometimes the culture may be positive,
but the leadership style may be negative which may cause a huge setback to the organisation. For e.g. we
take the case of WorldCom which was once a leading welcome service provider with a very innovative culture.
When Bernie Ebbers joined as the new leader his approach was to put pressure on employees, making them
work harder with less resources and looting the company. He squeezed every cent, the sales went down,
and the company went bankrupt.
The companies reflect the ethics of their leaders. Ethics is an integral part of the organisational culture. A
leader irrespective of the cultural background should take a firm stand on the social issues, the gaps in pay,
harassments, racism, political violence and should ensure the common good of all the employees. Bob Page

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the founder of Replacement Ltd, considered himself as an outsider in his previous company and he hid his
sexual orientation. Later in his company he made diversity acceptable and invested greatly in community
building. The Body shop is highly committed towards environment, their leader Anita Roddick has built a
corporation which is environment friendly. General Electric leader Jack Welch has created the best
environment for excellence, and he is highly committed towards the same. The leader’s ethics in each case
are the heat of the culture in the organisation.
3. Leadership Development Plan
This plan is developed so that I can enhance my skills to be an effective, collaborative and an ethical leader,
respected by all the peers and working towards enhancing the potential and future growth of people working
with me to achieve the goals of the organisation.
My personal values: In order to lead efficiently and effectively there are certain traits which make
me a great leader and they are character, confidence, optimism, wisdom, vision, respect, patience and
integrity.
SWOT Analysis of my qualities:
Strengths
Optimistic
Empathy
People and Task Oriented
Good character
Time Management
Accreditations and Qualifications
Weakness
Low Emotional Stability
Sometimes not taking things seriously.
Fear of failure
Listening skills
Threats
Financial condition
Challenging Expectations
People with same degree and skills
Distraction
Opportunities
Technology development and innovation
Organizing and participating in training
program
Networking
Innovation Community
Leadership Styles:
Participative: It is the leadership style in which the leader makes the final decision by taking into
consideration the opinion and ideas of the employees. This helps in building trust and loyalty as
employees feel a sense of belongingness, love and care (Russel N. Cassel, 2008).
Servant: It is a leadership style in which the main purpose of the leader is to serve. The leader believes in
sharing the power, the employee’s welfare is utmost priority and focus is their potential and talent
development. The leader takes into consideration all the opinions and ideas of others and is willing to learn
from them (Lloyd, B.,1996).
Self-Assessment: This will help me to identify my personal and professional strengths and I will know my
weaknesses and the gaps in knowledge. It will help me in identifying the opportunities where there is room
for development.
Personal Value Assessment Questions
Character Are you grateful for opportunities given?
Do you treat the opportunity to collaborate and achieve the goals of the
work?

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Confidence Are you willing to reach a stranger?
Do you feel good when you are invited for a new task?
Comfortable to lead a group
Optimism You believe in the saying that there will be a brighter day
See positive side of things
Wisdom You think of experience while making present decisions
You gain knowledge of a topic before engaging in discussion
Vision You think about future by setting some time aside
Are you a forward thinker?
You can think with clarity
Respect Consider others in decision making
Congratulating the peers on good work
Integrity You are willing to call a person out if they go against, the ethical
codes and values
You make. Comment if something goes against your personal
values
Patience Can you work overtime to complete a job?
You are a good listener
Personal Development Goals: The goals must be S.M.A.R.T (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant
and time bound) (Cornerstone, 2008)
Goals Activities Time Frame
To build trust Frequent outdoor activities both at professional and
personal front.
Eat lunch with peers rather than eating alone
Listening to opinions and taking insights in decision making
process
Being consistent
Be accountable for your actions
ASAP
Improving
Communicati
on skills
Do research before any discussion
Read as much as possible to enhance knowledge
Take time to reflect
Be a good listener
Investing in emotional intelligence
Attention to nonverbal communication
ASAP
Increase self
Confidence
Learn and bounce back from mistakes
Be with people who believe in you
Be proud of yourself
Identify your hidden talents
ASAP
Embrace
diversity
Have people from all walks of lives irrespective of
age, gender, religion, ethnicity in your group and
friend circle.
Be empathetic to different cultures
ASAP
Following this development plan can help me become an efficient leader in near future.

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References
Jackson. T., Weiss. K. E., Lundquist. J. J and Soderlind. A (2002), “Perceptions of Goal- Directed Activities
of Optimists and Pessimists: A Personal Project Analysis”, The Journal of Psychology, Vol. 135, Issue 5,
Pg 521-532. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12431036/
Bass, B.M. 1998. Transformational Leadership: Industry, Military, and Educational Impact. 72-80. Retrieved
from https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1997-36282-000
Maggie Farrell, 2017. Leadership Reflections: Extrovert and Introvert Leaders. Journal of Library
Administration 57(4):436-443. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
316972571_Leadership_Reflections_Extrovert_and_Introvert_Leaders
Katz, R. L. 1955. “Skills of an Effective Administrator.” Harvard Business Review 33 (1): 33–42. Retrieved
from https://hbr.org/1974/09/skills-of-an-effective-administrator
Cornerstone.,(2018), SMART GOAL SETTING WORKSHEET With Guidance Notes. Retrieved from
h t t p s : / / w w w . n d i . o r g / s i t e s / d e f a u l t / f i l e s / H a n d o u t % 2 0 3 %
%20SMART%20Goal%20Setting%20Worksheet.pdf
Russel N. Cassel (2008). Democratic Leadership. Retrieved from
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00131725309341684?journalCode=utef20
Lloyd, B. (1996). A new approach to leadership. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 17(7), 29-
32. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/241708439_A_new_approach_to_leadership
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence. Bantam, New York. Retrieved from
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1995-98387-000