BUMGT5970 Leadership: Self-Reflection and Personal Growth Report

This report is a self-reflection on leadership, exploring the student's initial perceptions of leadership before taking a course and how these perceptions evolved throughout the course. The student initially viewed leadership as dictatorial, focused on control and achieving goals through power. Th...Read More

Running head: SELF-REFLECTION
SELF-REFLECTION
Name of Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................2
Reflection on Leadership.....................................................................................................2
Conclusion.........................................................................................................................10
References..........................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
Self-reflection refers to the ability of an individual to make application of their past
learning into real practice. Therefore self-reflection includes the process of practical application
of experience in order to gain understanding. Self-reflection helps in converting experiences into
learning. Self-reflection helps in improving the problems solving skills and also the thinking
skills of an individual (Knapp, Gottlieb & Handelsman, 2017). Self-reflection helps an individual
to challenges their basic assumptions and therefore helps an individual to look at problems from
a different perspective by developing a number of alternatives and also by developing new ideas.
Moreover self-reflection can help in self-improvement of an individual by identification of
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. And it helps in linking the theory and practice.
Self-reflection helps an individual in thinking about their past experiences, analyse their feelings
and thoughts at that time, carry out an overall analysis and evaluation if the past events in order
to develop a better understanding about the same. The main aim of the paper is to carry out self-
reflection about the concept of leadership before undertaking the course and to notice if any
changes have been noticed in the same after completion of the course. The paper will therefore
include a reflection about the way the different class activities helped me in changing my
perception about the concept of leadership. Moreover a discussion will be provided on all those
experiences that changes my thoughts, ideas and views of leading and leadership.
Reflection on Leadership
Leadership according to me at the beginning of the course included a person who knows
how to get his work done and therefore he is the one who dictates all policies and procedures. I
thought that leaders are the ones who control the activities of his followers to ensure that they are

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working towards the achievement of the objectives (Chukwusa, 2018). This theory according to
me before undergoing the course was a good theory because such a leader is able to achieve the
organizational objectives and goals on time as compared to other leaders who spend time in
maintaining good relationship with his followers (Harms et al., 2018). Moreover I did not
understand why a leader should spend time in building good relationship with his employees
when he can simply use his power and position for influencing the activities of his followers.
Such a leaders can simply get his work done within the set deadline through the use of his power.
I also used to think that leaders are the ones who do not listen to others and they take their
decision based on their own judgements and ideas. Moreover I was also of the opinion that the
objectives of the employees or the followers was set by the leaders and they try to achieve the
same. However I did not believe in the existence of any other type of leadership especially in a
corporate world. This is so because in the corporate world there are people from different
backgrounds and not everyone is dedicated to their work in such situation leaders have to use
their power and position to get their work done from the employees.
The concept of leadership is one of the most discussed topics of all times and this is so
because there are different theories defining the role and traits of leadership (Northouse, 2019).
Some of these includes- the behavioural leadership theories, the contingency theories and also
the concept of transactional and transformational leaders. These theories and concepts aim at
defining who a leader is and how should the leader act in order to get the best out of the
employees while also being able to maintain good relationships with them such that the
employees feel motivated to work and feel that they are an important part of the organization.
Moreover according to other theories a leader needs to behave differently in different situations
and therefore they cannot have some fixed set of qualities (Van Vugt et al., 2004). However

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according to the concept of transactional leaders, a leader is one who is basically concerned with
achieving the organizational objectives while also motivating the employees and therefore such a
leader uses the carrot and stick approach that is they reward their followers in front of everyone
in order to motivate them to achieve the objectives (Hughes, Ginnett & Curphy, 1998).
Moreover from the class activities I have understood that not everyone can become a
good leader some become good managers. Therefore I have understood the differences between
a leader and a manager. A leader is someone who leads his followers towards achievement of
some common goals and shares his vision with them. On the other hand, a manager sets some
goals for his employees and determines his own vision. It is basically the inspiration and
influence that separates a leader from the managers and not his power and position. A leader has
got good foresight, has integrity, courage and humility (Engelbrecht, Heine & Mahembe, 2017).
A manager is basically concerned with the motivation of his employees and ensures that they
feel supported by the management. Moreover a manager has short sighted. Therefore I will try to
become a leader and not a manager such that I can lead a group of people through identification
of some common goals. Moreover since I have understood the concept of both managers and
leaders therefore I can apply my managerial skills and leadership skills according to different
situations.
Further from my course I have understood that leaders need to be an ethical one for
becoming sustainable. There have been many leaders who had tried to become successful using
unethical activities and therefore they were unable to maintain their position in the market for
long. They may have been successful for some period of time but could not be able to remain in
their positions for long (Kuenzi, Mayer & Greenbaum, 2019). Ethical leaders are the ones who
believe in ethical beliefs and values. And therefore they respect and trust others and moreover

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they demonstrate some common characteristics of honesty, integrity, Charisma, fairness and
trust. It is important for leaders to become ethical such that they can set certain standards of
honesty and integrity for their employees through leading by example. This can further help in
improving the overall performance of the employees through motivation. Ethical leadership can
help in creating a culture that is healthier, it can help in creation of a work culture that is
inclusive, it also creates a culture of accountability. Moreover ethical leaders can ensure that
their organization complies with necessary standards. Therefore I will also try to become ethical
leaders such that I can lead by followers by setting an example of honesty and integrity in front
of them. Moreover by becoming an ethical leader I will be able to ensure that my organization
becomes sustainable as customers these days demand for transparency in operations and they
will support such an organization where honest and transparent operations are carried out.
Moreover I will try to ensure that there is open communication within us such that the
followers can discuss about the problems that is being faced by them and this will also help me
in maintaining good relationships with my employees. I will try to be fair with all my decisions
such that employees can see the same and follow it as well. I will try to carry out my activities in
a way that leads to greater good of others and try to fulfil my responsibility not only towards my
organization but also the environment. I will try to be oriented towards my people such that I can
and therefore I will try to analyse the way my decisions are affecting and influencing others.
Moreover unethical leaders promote unethical activities within the organization and try to
pressurise their employees regarding their targets and this in turn creates a type of negative
environment in the organization. These leaders therefore do not consider the respect and dignity
of others. There are a few examples of leaders who used ethical practises and came to be known
for the same. They are known for their integrity, honesty and are the role models and one such

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leader is Ratan Tata. On the other hand there have been leaders who became famous globally for
their unethical practices such as the leaders of Enron.
Therefore it can be said that it is necessary for the leader to depict ethical behaviour in
their activities. When i get a job I’ll try to carry out my operations ethically such that I can
become a good example in front of others. I will try to be caring, honest and respectful towards
others. Prior to this course I did not have the understanding of how important ethics can be for
leaders however now I totally understand the importance of ethical behaviour on part of leader.
And I will also try to one such leader. I will try to carry out my business operations while also
considering about the society and the environment because ultimately our organization is
existing within the society and the environment. Therefore we have responsibility and duty
towards the same.
If I become a leader of the organization or even a team leader then I will try to set such
organizational objectives which will actually be achievable by others. This is so because if I set
such organizational objectives which are unachievable then my employees may become
demotivated and may not like to work. On the other hand if I set such organizational objectives
which are easily achieved by my employees then they will not feel challenged in their respective
hob roles and positions and will soon lose interest. Therefore I as a leader will determine and set
objectives after consulting my employees such that they can give a feedback to what they feel
about the organizational objectives. Moreover I will try to share my long term vision with them
such that they feel like they are an important part of the organization. Moreover I will support
open communication within my organization such that I can give regular feedbacks from my
employees and also give regular feedbacks to them. This will ensure me to create a friendly and
healthy work place culture and a supportive environment.

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Further from my course I have come to know about the concept of transformational
leaders. A transformational leader is someone who helps in bringing change in the society and
also within the individuals themselves (Ramsey et al., 2017). They work with the employees for
identification of changes that are required within an organization, then create a vision with the
employees for carrying out the change and ultimately the change process is carried out within the
organization successfully with the support of the employees. A transformational leader inspires
his followers by being a role model to them and he leads by example, he motivates his
employees not only in terms of rewards but by being connected to them at an intellectual level.
They are always open to new ideas and thoughts and therefore encourage his employees to take
part in decision making activities. These leaders can help in changing both the organizational
culture and climate. Therefore these leaders are always successful in achieving over performance
from their employees as compared to any other style of leadership. Since i have understood the
concept of transformational leaders therefore I will try to apply the same in my workplace. I will
always try to create a friendly and supportive environment for my employees (Bass & Riggio,
2006). This concept of leadership completely changed my perception.
Further I had a perception that leaders are not created rather they are born. However from
this course I have understood the fact that many leaders are made and not born. This is so
because I have understood that the leadership skills can be acquired by all those who actually
have a desire of becoming leaders. Moreover there are leaders who had leadership skills but they
later on turned out to be good managers. Therefore it depends upon the ability of a person to
acquire the skills or to develop the same if they already have the leadership skills. Therefore after
learning this concept I will try to acquire leadership skills and continuously improve the same. I
will also study subjects such as management and others in order to develop my knowledge and

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skills. I will take the help of my mentors to help me in improving my knowledge and skills.
Therefore I will continuously update myself.
There are many stereotypes about leaders such as men are much better leaders than
women leaders. Moreover one of the major problems with women leaders is also the fact that if
they try to be too autocratic then other may feel that they are masculine while if they adopt a
much lenient approach other will say that the women leader is incapable of managing her
position. And as a result of these stereotypes the number of female’s leaders is much less.
However from the course I have come to understand the fact that women’s leaders adopt a
different style from men and that does not make them ineffective at all. The women leaders
adopt democratic leadership style or participative leadership style as against the male
counterparts who adopt autocratic leadership styles. Women have a more people oriented
approach than men.
Further from our class readings and activities, I have understood that the organizational
culture and climate depends upon the type of leader and the leadership style adopted by him.
Therefore leaders have an impact on the organizational culture which further determines the
success of the organization. Moreover leaders always adopt a positive attitude towards their work
by being able to see the bigger picture that ultimately helps the leaders in motivating his
employees. The leader explains to his employees how their work contributes to the overall
success of the organization. Therefore I am also required to regularly check my leadership style
and effectiveness to understand if any change needs to be made to the same. Further from the
course I have come to know about different principles of leadership. These principles can be
applied in all types of organizations and also at different times. Therefore from the leadership
principles, I have understood that whichever work I will be doing I need to keep my desire of

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becoming a leader and I will become the same through different skill and knowledge sets.
Moreover my knowledge and skills set can be used by me even outside my organization for
fulfilling my responsibilities towards the society and the environment.
I have acquired a lot of skills during my course such as communication skills,
observation skills, conflict resolution skill and others and I have also gained a lot of knowledge
in the field of my interest that is leadership. I will continue to improve my knowledge and skills
through undertaking different leadership program, attending conferences and seminars on
leadership, I will also attend various workshops. I will have attend these programs every 3-4
months to keep myself updated with the latest set of knowledge and skills. Further I will also
read books of famous leaders in order to develop myself in the same field. I will try to volunteer
myself for the job role of leaders at different places whether it is at school, or college, or my
workplace.
This will help me in gaining practical experience apart from my theoretical knowledge. I
will start applying my leadership skills in not only my professional life but also my personal life
such as with my classmates. I will try to take up an initiative in every field such that I can gain as
much experience as possible. Therefore I will try to exploit all opportunities available for
improving my overall knowledge and skills. Moreover I will be open to feedbacks and any
suggestions from my teachers, mentors, peers and friends which can help me in improving my
ways of learning. Through regular feedbacks from my peers, friends, teachers will try to improve
myself. I will take the help of any leader who is known to me be it a leader in my school or
college or anyone I feel has leadership skills to help me develop myself continuously. Moreover
I feel that after this course, I am in a much better position to take decisions and I am encouraged
to take initiative in all activities because that is what leaders do they take initiative in all their

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activities and then the change process starts with them. Once I feel that I have acquired the
necessary skills I will also motivate others to carry out team work and therefore take advantage
of synergy.
Conclusion
Therefore from the above discussion, it can be concluded that my perceptions about the
concept of leading and leadership has changed over the period of the course through different
weekly activities and also due to various experiences that I have undergone. Now I feel that I am
in a better position to discuss about who is an ideal leader and discuss about the concept of
leadership and therefore with the help of my understanding I feel that I will be a better leader in
real life as well. Some of the major themes that have changed my concept of leadership includes-
gender equality, ethical leadership and also the ability to empower others. Therefore from the
paper it has been understood that my thoughts and ideas about the concept of leadership has
changed based on the class activities that we were asked to take part in. Moreover my past
experiences have also helped me in developing a new perception towards the concept of
leadership. With the help of my new understanding I have also understood that it is very
important to have open communication with others in order to understand their perspective and a
good leaders is someone who takes feedback from all his followers and takes a decision based on
the same. A manager is someone who aims planning, organizing, staffing, directing and
controlling all activities for achieving the overall objectives. Leaders usually have people
working under him and leaders are people who have followers who get inspired by the leaders.

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References
Bass, B. M., & Riggio, R. E. (2006). Transformational leadership. Psychology press.
Chukwusa, J. (2018). Autocratic Leadership Style: Obstacle to Success in Academic
Libraries. Library Philosophy and Practice, 1.
Engelbrecht, A. S., Heine, G., & Mahembe, B. (2017). Integrity, ethical leadership, trust and
work engagement.
Harms, P. D., Wood, D., Landay, K., Lester, P. B., & Lester, G. V. (2018). Autocratic leaders
and authoritarian followers revisited: A review and agenda for the future. The Leadership
Quarterly, 29(1), 105-122.
Hughes, R. L., Ginnett, R. C., & Curphy, G. J. (1998). Contingency theories of
leadership. Leading organizations: Perspectives for a new era, 141-157.
Knapp, S., Gottlieb, M. C., & Handelsman, M. M. (2017). Enhancing professionalism through
self-reflection. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 48(3), 167.
Kuenzi, M., Mayer, D. M., & Greenbaum, R. L. (2019). Creating an ethical organizational
environment: The relationship between ethical leadership, ethical organizational climate,
and unethical behavior. Personnel Psychology.
Northouse, P. G. (2019). Introduction to leadership: Concepts and practice. SAGE Publications,
Incorporated.
Ramsey, J. R., Rutti, R. M., Lorenz, M. P., Barakat, L. L., & Sant’anna, A. S. (2017).
Developing global transformational leaders. Journal of World Business, 52(4), 461-473.

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Van Vugt, M., Jepson, S. F., Hart, C. M., & De Cremer, D. (2004). Autocratic leadership in
social dilemmas: A threat to group stability. Journal of experimental social
psychology, 40(1), 1-13.