[University] Leadership and Management Reflective Essay - [Module]

This reflective essay examines the student's journey in a leadership and management course, highlighting the importance of leadership in organizations and everyday life. The essay explores various leadership styles, including transformational leadership, and discusses the impact of the course on the student's understanding of their own leadership abilities. The student reflects on self-awareness, the VABE concept, and the need for continuous improvement in areas such as emotional intelligence and conflict management. The essay details how the student plans to apply new knowledge and insights to future career goals, particularly in event management, emphasizing the importance of subject knowledge, team motivation, and transparent communication. The essay also covers plans for future leadership development and emphasizes the importance of building trust and continuously improving leadership skills through reading, workshops, and learning from others. The references include various leadership theories and related studies.

Running head: Management and leadership
Management and Leadership
Reflective essay

Management and Leadership 1
Executive Summary
Leadership is a very important aspect for any organization. A good leader can practically make
or break an organization (Northouse, 2015). This course throws light on various kinds and styles
of leadership that exist today. No organization can survive without an effective leader. Even
employee satisfaction and their work life balance depends largely on the leader they report to.
This course has helped us understand that leadership is also important in everyday life. The
qualities of a leader help in developing an individual into a better performer, communicator and
manager (Nahavandi, 2015). Leaders focus on the learning of their followers and through this
course I have learnt a lot about my personal abilities as a leader.
1 (A) What is the value of the subject experience for developing my leadership ability
This is the first time that I have studied the subject of leadership and this subject has really
widened my horizon on the same topic. I have come to realize the importance of leadership in an
organization and has also helped me gain a deeper insight on my leadership abilities. The
assessment activities done in classes were great fun and also came with a new lesson every time.
I have come to understand my leadership abilities and I plan on improving the same. I have
gained an understanding of the concept of VABE which helped me realize that every person has
his or her own VABE (Values, assumptions, beliefs and expectations) (Goleman, 2013). This
VABE can change over a period of time and with increasing experience. My score on readiness
of leadership turned out to be 75 on 100 which is moderate. Therefore, i realized that there are
certain qualities of a good leader that I need to improve upon. For example, I have a tendency to
be extremely emotional whereas a leader should be understanding of people’s emotions but must
be able to take practical decisions (Fairhurst, 2014).
It is vital for a leader to be aware of his interests, abilities and qualities. Earlier I did not pay
much thought on my future plans but after taking several self-awareness tests online and in class,
I have come to realize that my real interest lies in event management and I will work towards
building a career in that field. The book clearly emphasized on having a purpose in life and
therefore I have started working towards achieving my long term goals (Antonakis, 2017). The

Management and Leadership 2
leader must continue to build a comforting and motivated environment around him. This is why I
have started working on building positive relationships with people.
1 (B). What is my opinion about the subject experience for developing my leadership capacity?
My opinion about leadership has been greatly impacted by the learning of this subject. In fact
this subject has helped me improve my leadership skills. I have been working as a team leader.
My organization is very new and hence the culture is very flat and unprofessional. I learnt about
transformational leadership in my subject and realized the exact leadership needs of my
organization (Daft, 2014). I understood the importance of working with different people who are
all young and enthusiastic. I have learnt to manage people of different age groups as they have a
different thought process and behavior. As a leader, now I try to put myself in their shoes and try
to see from their lens before making any decision (Avolio, 2013).
“How has this experience changed my thinking about my leadership capacity?”
My personal leadership capacity and those of my colleagues has been put in better light during
the course of this subject learning. I have understood that leaders should be able to motivate
employees to work hard and achieve organizational goals (Pernecky, 2015). I observed that most
seniors in my workplace do not encourage employees to work. Their performance is not
appreciated. Because it is a new organization, performance management policies of the firm are
not yet in place and hence it is increasingly difficult for performing employees to remain
motivated. After this course, I personally make it a point that the people around me remain
inspired and there is a positive environment in the workplace (Jones, 2014). I have put in efforts
to appreciate the performance of employees.
Also, initially I believed that having a strong subject knowledge would be sufficient to be a good
leader and this is why I always thought that I will be great at event management as a leader. But I
have realized that the even management industry requires immense hard work, quick decision
making and efficient planning in case of a crisis (Johnston, 2014). I will need to ensure that my
team is motivated and there is perfect coordination within them for the success of an event. So I
need to improve upon my abilities to manage conflict in a team.
1 (C) why do I think this?

Management and Leadership 3
I think so because I have learnt the importance of having a leader who can take care of the team
and resolve inter-team conflicts. The true test of a leader is the performance and coordination of
his team therefore I have decided to ensure that my team will be coordinated. Also, I need to be
an expert of my field because a team looks up to leaders who have better knowledge and are
more competent than them (Graham, 2015). Therefore If I wish to have genuine followers, then
it is imperative that I put in efforts to improvise my leadership skills.
2 (A) How will I transfer or apply my new knowledge and insights into the future?
This subject has taught my various things and completely changed my perspective of leadership.
I have gained a deeper insight about the responsibilities of a leader. I have also come to
understand the relationship of a leader and a follower in a better manner. I have mentioned a few
points that I will be following in the future as a leader and as a follower.
I have plans to work in the event management industry and I intend to be a good leader in the
same field. Firstly, I will make it a point that my subject knowledge is very strong and no one
can question that. Secondly, I will ensure that my team remains motivated. To accomplish this, I
will encourage team building activities to maintain coordination. Thirdly, I will promote
effective and transparent communication within the team (Miner, 2015). I will try my best to be
available to my team members as and when they require me. And lastly, I will build an effective
performance management plan for my team so that it will make performing employees feel
rewarded and non-performing employees to feel motivated to work harder.
Leadership is a very wide subject. Before becoming a good leader, I will also be working under
eminent leaders in the span of my career. From this course I have studied that there are various
responsibilities of a team member as well. As a member of the team firstly I will make sure that I
respect and value my leader and obey the commands given by them. Secondly, I will ensure that
I maintain complete transparency to my leader and make sure that I share every knowledge with
him without any biasness. Thirdly, I will make it a point, that if I make a mistake, I will take the
feedback of the leader seriously and work upon my shortcomings and lastly, I will try my best to
coordinate effectively with my other team members as well.
.3(A) What are my plans for future leadership learning and development?

Management and Leadership 4
I had a great time learning about this subject and all its aspects. Throughout the course we
performed a lot of self-reflection exercises where I managed to know myself better. As a person,
I have realized I will be a democratic leader as that suits my personality the most. I have realized
that the subject’s learning would continue to remain with me in the entire span of my career. As
a leader, my approach would be to establish efficient communication and motivating my team
members to accomplish goals. I will not be too authoritative because this is a part of my
personality.
3(B) Explain your approach to leadership as a result of completing this subject
I have also understood that a leader must be energetic and positive despite issues in personal life.
I will work on being more emotionally strong and keep my team together in one knot.
Leadership as a concept as developed majorly over a period of time and people are now
understanding the importance of leadership in an organization. I will surely work on my people
management skills, get to know my team better and try to relate with them on a personal level.
This will ensure trust within the team and that is a very important attribute of a good leader. I
will continue to read more books, attend workshops and be open to learning as I have come to
know that a leader’s strongest suit is competent subject knowledge and I will always try to build
myself in that aspect.

Management and Leadership 5
References
Antonakis, J. 2017. The nature of leadership. Sage publications.
Avolio, B. J., & Yammarino, F. J. (Eds.). 2013. Introduction to, and overview of,
transformational and charismatic leadership. In Transformational and Charismatic
Leadership: The Road Ahead 10th Anniversary Edition (pp. xxvii-xxxiii). Emerald Group
Publishing Limited.
Daft, R. L. 2014. The leadership experience. Cengage Learning.
Fairhurst, G. T., & Connaughton, S. L. 2014. Leadership: A communicative
perspective. Leadership, 10(1), 7-35.
Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R. E., & McKee, A. 2013. Primal leadership: Unleashing the power of
emotional intelligence. Harvard Business Press.
Graham, L., Routledge, G., Barton, M., Cheer, J., Redman, T., Plater, M., & Zheng, Y. 2015.
Ethical leadership, motivation and outcomes in policing.
Johnston, M. W., & Marshall, G. W. 2016. Sales force management: Leadership, innovation,
technology. Routledge.
Jones, M. 2014. Sustainable event management: A practical guide. Routledge.
Miner, J. B. 2015. Organizational behaviour 1: Essential theories of motivation and leadership.
Routledge.
Nahavandi, A. 2016. The Art and Science of Leadership -Global Edition. Pearson.
Northouse, P. G. 2015. Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.
Pernecky, T. 2015. Sustainable Leadership in Event Management. Event Management, 19(1),
109-121.