Assessment: Leadership Portfolio for Successful Leadership Module

This leadership portfolio provides an overview of essential leadership skills and traits, beginning with an introduction to leadership and the role of personality tests in identifying potential leaders. It delves into various leadership styles, including a personal assessment revealing a task-oriented and reserved approach, while also acknowledging the importance of people-related skills. The portfolio discusses leadership environments, comparing the challenge-control matrices of Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg with a personal matrix, and examines individual traits and characteristics. Further topics include power and influence, leader development, diversity in leadership, leading in challenging times, leadership and change management, and ethical leadership. The document concludes with a reference list, offering a holistic view of the multifaceted nature of effective leadership.

Leadership Portfolio 1
Name of the student:
Name of the institution:
Roll No:
Date of Submission:

Leadership Portfolio 2
Contents
Introduction to Leadership.........................................................................................................3
Leadership Styles.......................................................................................................................6
Leadership Environments...........................................................................................................8
Individual Traits and Characteristics.......................................................................................11
Power and Influences...............................................................................................................13
Developing Leaders.................................................................................................................15
Diversity and Leadership.........................................................................................................17
Leading Times..........................................................................................................................19
Leadership and Change............................................................................................................23
Ethical Leadership....................................................................................................................26
References................................................................................................................................28

Leadership Portfolio 3
Introduction to Leadership
Leadership is one of the essential skills in a manger. In order to be successful in an
organization, it is essential that the individual have the ability to lead a team. There are many
methods to select leaders and make them lead in the team, but in many organizations, it is
essential that managers take a leadership or personality test in order to be eligible for
promotion (Bowden, 2017). However, personality tests tend to restrict the personality of an
individual, which is often very unique, into the styles in the test. The Myers-Briggs, for
example, attempts to classify every personality that is unique into 16 types (Agung and
Yuniar, 2016). Many critics of personality tests also find the tests misleading and imperfect.
They argue that it is not possible to accurately describe every potential of the current
employee, their personality and thus, their preference for working styles, based on just 4
factors. However, nowadays personality tests have become a large part of the organizational
structure. Many managers all over the world use these tests as a basis for promotion, or a way
to weed-out employees who do not fit the organizational culture (Banks, et al., 2016).
One of the most common Personality tests is the Myers-Briggs test, which is based on the
works of Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist. It was developed by a wealthy housewife, Katherine
Myers, who was trying to understand her son-in-law (Ahmed, 2016). In the beginning, Jung
only presented 8 different types of personality, which had been expanded by Isabel Myers
Briggs into 16 personality types (Hoch and Kozlowski, 2014). Even though the Myers-Briggs
foundation does not recommend using the Myers-Briggs test to hire and fire employees, but
the test has been used for the same purpose everywhere (Carnes, Houghton and Ellison,
2015).
Most personality tests are based on a basic platform. DISC is a personality test that focuses
on four main traits- Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Cautious. My personality test

Leadership Portfolio 4
revealed that I am Cautious. This would mean that I am careful, logical and analytical. These
are skills that every leader should have since they would need to analyse situations and make
logical decisions carefully. The decisions those are made by the leader can influence the
entire team, which is why it is essential that the leader has the ability to critically analyse the
situations and make logical, carefully thought-out decisions based on the analysis. According
to the test, I also have task-oriented and reserved traits (Webber and Webber, 2015). This
means that I do not like to socialise to a large extent, and more oriented towards the task that
is at hand. Task-orientation is a trait that is important for a good leader since it helps in
ensuring that one is focussed on the tasks that are required to fulfil the goals of the
organization. A task-oriented leadership style would suit the requirements of a manager as
well, which is why it is essential for many of the leaders to be task-oriented in the
organization (Janssens, Simon and Marshall, 2018). It is essential in the organization to have
effective task planning and reward-punishment systems, task-oriented leader turns out to be
very effective (Deinert, et al., 2015).
My traits also include being reserved, which means that I prefer to work alone, which has
been proven to be beneficial to me as well. The report suggests that active and engaging
social settings have been known to drain my energy rather than replenish it. Thus, as per the
Myers-Briggs test, I turn out to be an introvert. However, being task-oriented and reserved
would mean that I would need to work on my people-related skills, which is also essential for
a leader (Liou, et al., 2015). A task-oriented leadership style can also clip the creativity and
autonomy in the organization, which can decrease job involvement and motivation
(Hargreaves and Ainscow, 2015). Employees who are creative, and cannot stick to the
strictest of deadlines would not be able to work under a task-oriented leader either.
Thus, while my leadership style would be task-oriented, it would be safe to assume that there
are both strengths and weaknesses to my personality, which is why it is essential to keep in

Leadership Portfolio 5
mind that the personality test will not deter an individual from performing their duties (Sharif
and Scandura, 2014).

Leadership Portfolio 6
Leadership Styles
Dear Colleagues, my superiors and friends.
When I was young, I use to dream a lot. I dreamt of being a movie star, a musician or singer,
or a pilot. If someone would told me that I would be the manager at one of the largest
organizations in the world, then I would have laughed on their faces. It's easy to get lost in
the world of make-believe and fantasies when you are young, but it's so much harder to face
reality when you grow up. But some aspects that help is being in an organization that shares
your values, and goals. I'm here today to tell you the future goals for the organization. I hope
that while you will listen, you will also imbibe the goals so that it is easier for us to move
forward as an organization. It is not my aim to be a sheepdog, herding the sheep into the
gates. The organization is not just a farm that is holding you, hostage, inside, but your home,
which is why we would also like to know your opinion at the end of the day.
There are many goals that we have for the organization, and the first one is to make the
organization more sustainable. We have been doing our best to reduce the number of
pollutants we release to the environment, and to do our best for the society around us and the
environment. In this regard, we would be launching a program to help the soup kitchen
nearby once a week. As part of this, I was hoping that you would consider giving some of
your time, maybe 1 hour or so a week, to help us in making the community a better place.
Sustainability is an essential element for every organization to succeed. We also want to
ensure that the organization is ethical, which is also an important aspect of success. This
would be the main goal for the company.
Another goal is improving the condition of the employees of the organization. Employees are
an essential element of the company, and they make the company or break it. I have been
extremely fortunate to have excellent subordinates who have been working under me. We
will soon be conducting a survey, so you can anonymously let us know what bothers you
about your work. This will be used to improve the working conditions in the company. We do
this because we care about the company and because we care about the employees as well.
We at the organization aim to meet deadlines provided to us. However, I will be the first to
acknowledge that we can improve on this. I believe that it is essential to improve on time
management in the organization, since time management can benefit the employees, both in
their personal lives and professional lives as well. Time management will help employees
improve their work-life balance.
The final goal is to increase productivity. Productivity has become one of the biggest
negatives for the organization. As you can see, the productivity of the other centre that is
nearby is higher than ours, even though we live in the ideal market and have the target
audience. Thus, we need to increase the productivity of the organization. For this, we will
have a meeting later, to discuss innovative methods to increase productivity,
Those were the three main goals for the organization. Thank you for listening to me on this
lazy afternoon.
Looking back at the speech, I think most of my message was clear. The speech was intended
to be given to an audience which would include my supervisors and my subordinates, and I

Leadership Portfolio 7
think the message was clear to both the audiences. Most of my personality came across very
well in the speech as well. I have a task-oriented personality, which comes across in the
speech very well. I felt that the elements of framing were the tactics that had been most
important to me, primarily because it involved the use of morals and the importance of the
mission and goals. I was able to successfully focus on the mission and the goals and the need
for them to be completed (Hancock, 2016). If I were to re-record and re-do the speech, I
would remove add one more goal, such as organization planning, to ensure that there are
enough goals for everyone to focus on. I would also change the goals around, and give
everyone the plan so that they can meet the organizational goals. I would also try to be more
succinct in the way that I talk (Lucy, 2012).

Leadership Portfolio 8
Leadership Environments
The two leaders that have been chosen include Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg.
The Challenge Control Matrix
For Bill Gates, the challenge control Matrix is that there a large or high challenge, and a high
control as well. Bill Gates was one of the few people who had a high control even when the
challenge was high. He responded to the challenge with an equally iron fist. When Microsoft
was crashing, it was essential that he do so to ensure that the stock of the product did not
come crashing down (Yang, 2016). He was always in control of the organization and ensured
that everything had been according to the plan that was set out by them. This level of control
ensured that the company did not go down (Hoch, et al., 2018). By doing this, Gates
increases the capability of the organization, thus ensuring that the organization is in the reins.
This helps in removing all the disloyal employees, and those who are not capable of working
hard as well. This type of leadership can benefit the organization (Oreg and Berson, 2014).
High High
Challenge Control

Leadership Portfolio 9
The same is true for Mark Zuckerberg When the challenges that the organization, or the
leader increases, the control that they also have increased. This shows immense capability, as
it takes a strong leader to keep control over an organization when there are challenges. This
can, however, be of no use when the product or challenge is such that the employees need a
certain amount of autonomy. If the nature of the employees is to be autonomous, then this
style will not help the organization to a very large extent.
The above is the Challenge-Control Matrix for me as the challenge increases for me, the
control that I have decreased. This means that I shall have to do my best to ensure that I hold
the reins of the organization if I am in power. This works for the organization if the
employees are extremely capable of handling everything themselves. It also works if the
challenge is such that the employees need autonomy (Spillane, 2012). However, otherwise, it
does not help the organization to a very large extent, which is why it is not encouraged. Most
challenges need a quick response, and this quick response, which can mitigate most of the
risks of the challenge, cannot be done via this method, which is why it generally not
Challenge High
Control Low

Leadership Portfolio 10
encouraged. For large organizations, there are thousands of employees, and the challenge
might not allow for autonomy either.

Leadership Portfolio 11
Individual Traits and Characteristics
Through the assessments, it was found that I have a mixed locus of control. My locus of
control score was 5, which resulted in a mixed locus of control. This means that as a leader, I
would be equally likely to believe that events are not in my control, or that I have the power
to control all events around me. I am equally likely to believe that the events that are
happening are not really in my control, as well as equally likely to believe that the events that
are going on in my life are in my hands. Individuals with both external and internal focus of
control are likely to believe that events are in their hands or not (Johnson, 2017). However,
they are also likely to be proactive and take matters into their own hands as well. They are
likely to take risks in their lives. However, they are also equally likely to look at powers such
as luck, religious faith or some other powerful person. Thus, it is important to assume that the
leaders who have an internal and external locus of control are very rare in the organization. It
has been found that people with an internal locus of control are more likely to be leaders. The
main weakness is that these people are also likely to take risks.
It has been found that I have a Type A personality. A Type A personality type is one that is
characterized by high ambition and drive. Most Type A personalities have an aggressive
attitude and are focused on the quantity and not the quality. Most Type A personalities have
an unrealistic sense of urgency as well. This correlates to the personality test taken above,
which showed that I had a task-oriented personality type, which would focus on getting the
task done, no matter the cost (Shamir, et al., 2017). One of the biggest weaknesses of a Type
A Personality is that they are at a greater risk of coronary heart disease, which is why it is
essential for my personality type to take it slow.

Leadership Portfolio 12
The major areas for development would need to be the importance I give to task-orientation,
and on the importance, I give to work itself. Thus, it is essential that I improve in my
aggression and focus on the quality of the work that is given.
The organization of my dreams would be in the service industry. It would not be a very large
organization regarding size, and thus, the people in the organization would be forced to
interact with each other on a regular basis. The mission of the organization would be to focus
on people since it is a service-based organization. The organizational culture would be a clan-
based culture. People would be able to interact in a normal, ordinary way, and the behaviour
would be based on the employee code. There would be 3 or 4 departments, each consisting of
one manager and one assistant manager. It would be the horizontal system, with as little
hierarchy as possible. There would be formalisation, and this would have a significant impact
on the employees as well. The role of the leader would be to guide the fellow employees or
followers to enhance the vision of the leader, which would also be in line with the vision of
the organization. The office would be light, with natural sunlight filtering in the materials
would be made of light wood. The dress code would be casual, and there would be flexible
work schedules as well.