Leadership Reflection: Personal Development and Styles

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TASK DESCRIPTION D: Reflection
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Introduction
This is the critical reflection in which I have focused on my own experience and learnings of
leadership in which I have mentioned about my own development areas. I have explained about
the different approaches of leadership, leadership concepts, and theory. Through this reflection
process, my strengths of leadership, as well as my needs of development, has been identified by
me. Reflection has also been made by me on my style and vision of management and further, I
identified the areas, the enhancement of which can be made which will develop a versatile leader
in me. Reflection is the thinking about the experiences that have been gained and knowledge
that has been learned during the process of life. Development of capabilities of leadership
involves exploration ability, the ability to evaluate and questions on the development and
performance. Leader’s role is very significant for the organization’s successful performance.
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Leadership refers to the individual’s or group’s ability to influencing and guiding the followers
or organization's other members. In leadership, the leader has to make sound decisions after
considering its impact on each individual member of his team. I learn that leadership includes the
establishment of clear vision, sharing it with others to be followed willingly fully, providing the
knowledge, methods, and information for realizing that vision, and then coordinating, and
balancing the interest’s conflicts of stakeholders and members. For being a good leader the
ability to taking visionary and strategic decisions should possess. For becoming a great leader I
have to develop the ability of decision-making and should possess the ability to make others
convinced for following the decisions. I will need to set direction and inspire others so as to
achieve the desired results (Flores.et.al, 2012).
The practices of leadership decide if the leader will get success in its objectives or not. It is
important for the leaders to manage themselves first, know their team well, therefore, I even try
to manage myself first and then understand my team and work then try to act, I always listen to
my team members carefully and observe them. Give empowerment culture to my team so that
they can actively participate in decision-making, regular communication is maintained with team
members through different channels of communication. The team members will listen to their
team lead only when they have complete trust on him so it is essential to develop trust among the
team members so that they give respect and delegation of responsibilities are done as per the
capabilities and attributes of the individual team member so that the proper work delegation can
be assured and no ambiguity is there and every individual among the team remains the well-
aware of to whom they are accountable (Furman, 2012).
The leadership skills are most important now a day not only in the organization but also in real
life situations. People should be able to lead in different situations. Leadership is that skill which
cannot be taught by anyone; although the enhancement and the learning of the same can be done
through mentoring or coaching. I found Bill gates as a very renowned personality who plays the
very awesome role of leader as he in the early stage of the Microsoft Company despite the
continuous failure through his innovation and passion drive the industry towards the success
(Nesbit, 2012). I think all can learn from him regarding the abilities of leadership. For becoming
successful leaders it is essential to do the assessing of self and understanding the self-knowledge.
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The realistic parameters can be set by identifying the strengths and the development areas and
capitalization can be made on the interests, capabilities, and strengths (Coleman, 2012).
Through the leadership alignment in the business strategy, high-level performance can be gained
in an organization. The leadership has numerous skills including integrity, objectivity, kindness,
initiative, and forgiveness. I have learned about many models of leadership in which the
autocratic leadership is that type of leadership which I find is easy to learn and no specialized
training is required for acquiring this. I find that after learning about this theory I can easily fight
with the situation of crisis and can manage the issues. Autocratic leaders’ expertise is as an asset
to the enterprise as in the case of shortfalls they immediately correct the problems in any
situation. Emergencies can be resolved effectively in comparison to other styles of leadership
(Tuleja, 2014). The pressure on employees can be removed because autocratic leaders are totally
responsible for making decisions. The information movements are also charged by the autocratic
leaders. But there are some of the disadvantages of this leadership theory such as the increased
burden of work due to the high responsibility of the leaders in team decisions and review of the
work of the team, and all this creates health problems for them and they can suffer from the
stress. The dependence of the team of autocratic is on their leaders and in their absence, no
guarantee can be assured if the members of the team will keep on working (Sotarauta.et.al,
2012).
The relationship of master-apprentice can be developed as the leaders can recognize their team
members possessing high-potential but are willingly customize the coaching. Great opportunities
can be provided by the great leaders and the assignment of personal growth is possible. The
leadership practice is a behavior of leadership that is chosen by the leaders for practicing every
day (Alvesson, and Spicer, 2012). The practicing behavior gives the reflection of the strength
which is significant due to the greatest strength that will help me in becoming more successful. I
have the strength of connecting with people and become friends with them in very less period of
time. This strength can be used by me as an effective leader as with this ability I will be better
able to interact with my team members and they will discuss all their issues and problems with
me freely. A good bonding will be established between me and my team members. They will
respect me and value me and my words (Frankel, and PGCMS, 2019). This will make the
smooth flowing of operations and different tasks on time without any delay. With this strength, I
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think I can attract my top authorities also and this will emerge as a great critical success factor in
my life and in today’s era having good relations either socially or officially is essential.
When I will be a leader then I will first know about the problems of my team members and will
try to solve those problems by taking effective actions this will definitely increase my
effectiveness (Denis.et.al, 2012). I have learned about prioritizing the matters and this practice
will help me in focusing. If there will be lacking in understanding the problem clearly then more
time will get wasted and a lot of energy and effort will be required for this. I will focus on the
outcome by which critical paths will be known and various short-cuts will be identified. I have
gained democratic leadership style knowledge and through this, I find that this style is most
effective in the organization and at the time when any new thing or innovation process is
introduced in the organization. Through this style, the employee's participation is allowed and no
resistance is imposed by employees in implementing the change and full support or cooperation
of employees are achieved through this. This leadership style can be applied in any type of
organization including government as well as a private association (Gooden.et.al, 2012).
I am greatly inspired by one of my teachers in my graduation level as he set a good example of a
leader and inspired me to become a good and successful leader in my academics as well as in my
near future carrier. My teacher does the delegation of the task as a way for managing the
responsibilities within the workplace. For updating the whole teams about the work meetings are
called by him so that every student or his team member can accomplish the work with full
efficiency and without any delay. He is having excellent skills in listening and due to this he
never misses any information which is related to him. He always follows the democratic style of
leadership by holding the final responsibility and while making the authority delegation to
others. With his leadership, there is two-way communication (Komives.et.al, 2016).
Transformational leadership style covers the charisma of the person in which in case of
organization the managers make his subordinates to feel passionate about the company’s success.
The transformational leaders by making use of his belief in the company’s vision inspire the staff
to work and be productive towards the goals of the company (Guthrie.et.al, 2012). The broad
visions will be developed in me if I learn about transformational leadership. The focus of the
inspirational manager is solely on staff motivation. Broad visions can be developed through good
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transformational leader for the future of the company and such visions can be instrumental in
planning for the company. The best ability of the team members can be reached out and best can
be brought out from them. The strong bond can be created among the team members and leader.
In an organization, it will establish good bonding of employees and managers which will help in
reducing the turnover rate of employees. There is constant involvement of transformational
leader in the company’s growth and employee’s ongoing development. The close contact is
maintained by him among the employees and company and growing progress can be made for
the veteran and new employees (Park.et.al, 2012).
Some of the leadership styles are also practiced by me due to which I can make a positive
influence on my team members and followers. I used to prefer to apply a democratic style of
leadership in which my each team members are allowed to make participation in making the
decisions and their inputs and suggestions are welcomed actively and openly. There is two-way
communication among me and my team members (Owen, 2012). I also prefer to use
transformational leadership style practice where I try to transform myself as per the requirements
of the situation and work for the change-management. I also focus on working with the actions
of the servant leadership style as I find that I am always ready to work for my team and followers
whenever it is needed. I used to guide them with the solutions and provided them the proper path
in case of any issues or if they have got stuck in their real-life situations or in the organization’s
workings. The team members are empowered for making changes in themselves and realizing
their potential at full. The good cultural bonding is established through this style, intellectual
stimulation, positive behavior’s modeling, support of individual, the building of vision, and
holding the high-performance expectations for them. The effectiveness of the team members is
increased by engaging in the learning of corporate or real-life situations (Breevaart.et.al, 2014).
Now after going through the different leadership style, I have learned which leadership style
should I apply in which situations. There is various leadership which includes Transactional,
affinitive, participative, transformational, and autocratic, leaders should not afraid of taking any
type of risks and should be prepared for the unforeseen circumstances (Yip, and Raelin, 2012).
At the time of going through the literature review of leadership, I read many journal articles in
which I studied about many leaders of different organizations. In them, Sir Terry who was the
CEO of Tesco understood that there was the diversification need of Tesco in its business
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operations. The whole business model of Tesco was turned into new and new petrol stations
were re-colonized, corner shops, high-scores, and new agents were also re-colonized. Soon
Tesco became the market leader and many of its competitors started to follow Tesco of which
Tesco gained a good competitive advantage. The recognition was made by CEO for Tesco’s
supermarket to be opened as a departmental store based on town and everything would get sold
directly from that market in East (Horlings, and Padt, 2013). The close relationship was
established between Tesco and its customers as at the time of online selling trends Tesco
continue with providing services to its customers through its local store. Earlier Tesco was the
grocery market which Terry soon transformed into a supermarket to the business of clothing, five
book retailers, toys, appliances. A new venture was being tried by Terry as he was always ready
to take different risks and made Tesco grow stronger.
It is very significant that there should be good interrelationship among various sectors and
departments of organization so that they can help in achieving the objectives of the organization
and for maintaining these interrelationships the role of leader is crucial and this will also make
employees of the organization to work in a coordinated manner and with full harmony and keep
their personal conflicts away from their work and work with good productivity level (Holt, and
Marques, 2012).
There are some of the people who believe that leaders are born and they are not made which I
find is a myth. It can be developed and learned through the leadership training were the
leadership skills, methods and its different styles are discussed and in which situation which style
of leadership should be applied can be learned by the people. For an effective team, it is essential
to have a strong and good leader. The goals can be achieved on time and projects can be
completed before the deadline if there is good leadership. A leader is responsible for maintaining
the two-way communication which is essential for the success or the failure of the tasks. While
reading about the situational leadership I find that there are four categories that are main
including delegating, coaching, directing and supporting. After going with all these categories I
got confused about the adoption or the section of the category that should be made by me. When
I lead my team there are some of the points that I keep in my mind so that there is proper
handling of projects which includes deciding for the place of meeting, meeting agenda, assigning
roles and responsibilities to each member of my team as per their skills and capabilities,
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motivating my team members so that they perform with full dedication. Face to face meetings
are good and I even allow my team members to take active participation in the decision-making
as I think this will make them more responsible and if they will be the part of change
implementation then it will become much easy for me and no resistance will be imposed by them
towards the change.
I also try to focus on my individual team members' need and if they are suffering from any type
of problem when I listen to them carefully and try to provide them with effective solutions and in
the case of any disputes I always make unbiased decision as I listen to both the parties of
conflicts and take an effective actions to resolve their conflicts so that the harmony is maintained
among my team and me. Belbin’s theory can be applied at the time of selecting for the
coordinator who will play the role of leader. Belbin’s theory provides with the team roles that
which person is capable of which role so that the tasks can be performed with full efficiency and
integrity. I am thinking to apply Belbin's theory in my future leadership roles (Zareen.et.al,
2015).
A good leader should prepare themselves first by living the behavior which they expect or want
others to adopt so they adopt it themselves. People will not believe in the words of the leaders
but they believe in the acts and the actions that are done or taken by the leaders. The desired
approach should be demonstrated by great leaders. I try to set an example for my team members
by behaving in front of them in ways consistent with the values and belief of the organization.
Plan for the small wins by which the progress can be promoted in team and individual and then
for maintaining the momentum these are built. I remember one of the leaders in the organization
where I worked earlier there I saw that he always unleash the enthusiasm, of his followers with
passion and stories of his own, there was even celebration of success, difficult projects were
tackled by the recognition of the contribution of others (Sadri, 2012)
Difficult situations make leaders learn more and they are the risk takers regarding the failure,
innovation is early adopted by them. a good leader seeks to challenge the opportunities to
growth, change, improvements, and innovation. Various experimentation is done by them, risks
are welcomed by them, they always learn from their past mistakes (Arnold.et.al, 2015).
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For enhancing my knowledge about the leadership style and their proper implementation I read
various books and journal articles of business tycoons by which I get motivated after reading
their success stories and their failure stories are also mentioned in them and what they did to
make improvements and their struggle and path to success give me a motivation to become a
successful leaders like them (Al-Asfour and Lettau, 2014). I also prefer to watch the business
news and youtube channels that are related to the business and the leadership styles which
inspire me lot to experiment and innovate the new working styles and fill my team members with
full enthusiasm and motivation so that as an overall team we can contribute to the tasks success
and timely completion (Hauserman, and Stick, 2013).
There were many great leaders in the history of the whole world among them George
Washington who is popularly known for USA’s father of foundation was the leader in the
revolution of America and was the United States, first president. His vision was endured for
more than two hundred years; the strategic planning, vision, foresight, and George's ability lead
him towards success. There are some other names also who became very popular which includes
Abraham Lincoln, Adolf Hitler, Mao Zedong, Julius Caesar, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi,
etc (Thomson.et.al, 2016).
All these leadership practices will help me in my future carrier even if go for the job in any
multinational company and perform a role of leader or even if I start my own business it will be
very essential for me to have the attributes and charisma of the great leaders so that I can get
success in my life (Denti, and Hemlin, 2012).
By gaining the knowledge and learning about the different leadership practices and different
leadership styles I get the support in my personal and professional growth. It also helps me in my
sustainable development by which my abilities of leadership get enhanced and now I know well
which leadership style I need to apply in which situation and how I can make the best use of my
team members ability so as to get best out of them. The most important thing that I learn after
reading the different articles and journals of the leadership is that a good leaders should possess
trustworthy and loyalty skills in him so that the people trust on him and respect him and provide
full support in the whole workings and operations as this ability attract the followers and the
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team members. There should also be two –way effective communication between team members
and the leader (Mumford, and Strange, 2013).
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Conclusion
Hence, it can be concluded that leadership is the ability or the attribute of an individual for
guiding as well as influencing the followers or the team members. Various practices of
leadership are the core which makes an individual a successful leader. It is an art by which the
motivation is given to the team members and by making effective use of the leadership practices
I try to firstly evaluate the abilities of my team members so that the roles and responsibilities can
be allotted to them as per their capacity. I adopt a democratic style of leadership,
transformational leadership style along with a servant leadership style. I allow my team members
to actively participate in the process of decision-making and ask for the suggestions from them
which make them feel associated. I am ready to serve my followers whenever they need and
provide them with solutions and help. With the different skills of leadership, management can
implement different ideas with respect to the wellness and employee’s engagement. It is very
significant for the leaders to adopt the leadership style as per the needs of different situations so
that the different situations can be handled carefully and benefits can be gained. The follower’s
needs should be analyzed by the leaders so that they keep on motivated and work with full
dedication and support the team lead and other team members by working with the high morale.
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