Leadership Journal: Self-Reflection on Leadership Qualities and Style

This journal entry delves into a self-assessment of leadership qualities, exploring the author's strengths and weaknesses. The author identifies a task-oriented personality, effective time management, and a tendency towards autocratic leadership. The journal compares the author's self-perception with another's, highlighting differences in assessing leadership potential and the importance of feedback. The author analyzes the impact of their communication style and leadership approach on team dynamics, recognizing the potential for miscommunication and reduced team cohesion. The journal concludes with a proposed leadership development plan, identifying barriers to implementation and emphasizing the growing significance of leadership in various fields. The author references relevant literature to support their analysis and plan.

Journal
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Learning about myself
I have learned that my expectations from myself are very high. I do not get satisfaction in whatever
I do as I believe there is always a scope for improvement. I find it difficult to work with people with
higher competencies and skills. This is because it makes me feel less competitive that reduces my
motivation level. I have a strong inclination towards undertaking and completing organisational
tasks with minimum or no errors(s) while encouraging others to follow the same behaviour. I never
thought that I have the capability of “getting things done by others”, which is one of the key traits of
a manager. However, I am relatively less capable of “getting things done along with others”, a key
leadership trait. In other words, either I start doing tasks by myself that are supposed to be
undertaken by the team members or I give instructions at every point that reduces work flexibility. I
have recognised that I am more like a manager rather than a leader. This is due to my autocratic
style of working that allows having people who would work for me rather than people willing to
follow me. Furthermore, I have learned that I have effective time management skills along with the
ability to work under pressure. This would be beneficial for me in crisis situation as it requires
quality performance within stipulated time with merely any scope for error. I have realised that I
have the willingness to eliminate the scope for legal show cause through abiding by the rules and
regulations. It points towards my inclination to bureaucratic organisational culture to a certain
extent.
Similarities and Differences of Perceptions
Perception plays an important role in every sphere of life as it influences the way an individual
interprets and understands the world (Omi, Rodriguez, & Peralta-Gómez, 2013). What we see and
feel is not necessarily be the same as that of another person. In other words, there are high chances
of similarities and differences in the perceptions of individuals that are applicable while developing
perceptions about self.
I have always thought that emerging as an efficient leader would be a challenging task for me,
considering my lack of leadership skills and competencies. However, Varun perceives that I meet
most of the requirements for becoming an influential leader. He believes that, the only requirement
currently is enhancing my skills while converting my weaknesses into strengths. Such differences
in our perceptions are majorly due to my relatively low level of self-confidence that restricts me
from seeing myself as an excellent leader in the long run.
On the other hand, there is one point at which we both have similar perception i.e. my tendency to
avoid taking feedback. Both of us believe that this characteristic would create barriers in my success
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in the academic as well as professional field. This is because it would not allow me to recognise my
areas for improvement and developing strategies to suit the demands of the stakeholders that are
essential to elevate employee satisfaction. Also, we both believe that I give prime importance to
discipline. This is one of the key characteristics of powerful leadership as it encourages completing
given task(s) on time while ensuring optimum quality of output. I perceive myself to be task-
oriented individual that is the most important factor contributing to become a strong leader.
However, Varun believes that I give extreme focus on task completion that might create work
pressure on my team members and thereby, contributing to low staff morale. This is the biggest
barrier to the path of leadership.
Outcome of My Own Style
I believe the most important factor that contributes in developing a successful work environment is
communication. This can take place between two individuals, between team members and/or
between manager and subordinate(s). My current communication style (one-way) might lead to
miscommunication. This is because one-way communication generally ignores the concerns and
queries of others that would restrict me from developing a strong relationship with my team
members. This, in turn, would affect team cohesion. This might make my team members react
unprofessionally due to low morale. Inability to gain the scope for expressing own views would
restrict the team members from developing an attachment with the organisation. This would affect
work relationship. My autocratic style of leadership might result in decline in employee
productivity. At the same time, the probability of resistance to change would increase. This would
have a severe impact on team cohesion. This would restrict me from undertaking a work of my
choice i.e. tasks with strict deadlines. My interest in these types of tasks reflects my task-oriented
personality. However, without the support of my team members it would be a challenging task for
me to carry out my preferred work successfully. This is because the success of a team relies on the
level of coordination and cooperation among the team members and with the team leader. Every
team member has varying skills and competencies that need to be utilised at the optimum level to
meet the set target(s). Absence of such cooperation and coordination would create a barrier for
enhancing team performance and completing assigned tasks on time.
On the other hand, my working style that involves assigning top priority to task completion would
bring discipline in the team. This would minimise the chances of delay in task completion while
boosting team productivity with no scope for experimentation, which is essential during crisis
situation. At the same time, I would be able to appraise performance of my team members strictly
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Defining Qualities of great
leaders
Self-Assessment
Develop Personal Vision
Statement
Identify Current
Leadership Skills
Set Goal & ObjectivesDevelop an Action Plan
Others’ Feedback on Own
Leadership Competencies
based on their workplace behaviour that includes discipline and ability to meet deadlines. This, in
turn, would help in developing transparent relationship with the team members.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths- Task focused and ability to direct people towards goal.
My task focused behaviour would help me completing tasks on time and thereby, proving my
potential to effectively manage a project. This would enable me to gain professional growth in the
form of promotion. Ability to direct people towards goal would demonstrate my leadership skill
while showing my contribution in the organisational success. This, in turn, would strengthen my
position in the organisation.
Weaknesses- Autocratic leadership style, task oriented personality and ineffective communication
style
My task-oriented personality is my strength as well as weakness. This is because even though it
would be helpful in ensuring task completion, it would create a wrong impression i.e. my focus is
solely on completing tasks rather than the concerns of the team members. I need to be an active
listener in order to enhance my communication style. I need to develop empathy to understand the
team members’ needs that would enhance my leadership style.
Figure 1: Proposed Leadership development Plan
Source: Self
Lack of time is the biggest barrier to the implementation of the above plan. The 2009 global
financial crisis has increased the responsibilities of the individuals to restrict further recruitment and
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thereby, minimising cost of operations. Thus, I might not get the required support from the experts
for implementing the plan. My nature of ignoring others’ suggestions would further create
difficulties in the implementation of the above plan, considering ‘Others’ Feedback on Own
Leadership Competencies’ an integral part of it on which next stages are dependent. It has been
revealed that 70% of the MNCs have plans to expand their overseas presence that indicates
potential requirement for powerful leaders in future (Folkman, 2014). The significance of leadership
is gradually growing in Australia in various fields starting from health and social care and education
to corporate world (Hackman & Johnson, 2013). This provides a potential opportunity for me to
implement the leadership plan to grow professionally.
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References
Folkman, J. (2014, September 18). The Urgent Need To Develop Global Leaders For Company Growth.
Retrieved from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/joefolkman/2014/06/18/the-urgent-need-
to-develop-global-leaders-for-company-growth/#36a75a12487f
Hackman, M., & Johnson, C. (2013). Leadership: A Communication Perspective, Sixth Edition. Long Grove,
USA: Waveland Press.
Omi, Y., Rodriguez, L., & Peralta-Gómez, M. (2013). Lives And Relationships: Culture in Transitions Between
Social Roles. India: IAP.
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