Reflection on Leadership Styles and Personal Development

Upon completion of a Leadership and Management course, I realized that effective leadership transcends traits and personality; it is about fostering an attitude that embraces vision, perseverance, and influence without compromising staff morale. Initially inclined towards autocratic styles, my perspective has now shifted to appreciate the transformative power of participative leadership. This evolution in understanding underscores the importance of continuous professional development through training programs aimed at enhancing interpersonal skills and reflective abilities. My future plans include attending conferences and seminars to further refine these competencies while evaluating their impact on my growth as a leader.

Running head: MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP
Management and Leadership
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

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Executive Summary:
There is n gain stating the unquestionable importance of effective leadership skill in determining
professional success of an employee as well as organizational success of a company. Anyone
who wishes to realize his dream of becoming an effective leader in future should essentially
know his own VABEs and must always be aware of 3 levels of leadership, as anyone who
completely knows his strength and limitation, can only achieve his dream of becoming a leader.
In order to become an effective leader, an individual should not only possess the behavioral skills
needed to control and influence the subordinates, but must also possess the leadership attitude
shaping his beliefs and ideologies.

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What is the value of the subject experience for developing your leadership capacity?
The subject experience has been an invaluable resource for me as far as the development
of my leadership skills is concerned. Although just like any other person, I have always had the
wish to become a leader, I was barely aware of the skills and competencies that help one to fulfil
his dream of becoming a leader. I have always believed that anybody can be leader, provided he
has the ability to boss over and dominate people, and yet the self-assessment activities have
altered my perception of a leader. By undertaking the tests, I have realized that the honesty,
integrity, confidence, communication skills as well as reflective skills are integral features
characterizing a leader. The self-assessment tests have been very effective as these tests have
enlightened me how I can be an effective leader, given my effective communication skill,
positive attitude, high score of emotional intelligence and a positive attitude towards the
problem. On the other hand, this has also made me aware that my listening skills and
perseverance are not high, and require improvement, if I wish to be a leader. So, the subject
experience has also been a very enlightening experience for me. This subject experience has
especially been an important experience for me, as it helped me gain insight into the skills of
leadership that I possess, and also the skills that I currently do not possess, and should work on,
if I wish to be a leader in future. I have usually been content with my communication skills, and
have never realized that my patience, listening skills as well as analytical skills have to be strong,
if I wish to be a leader. This experience has provided me an insight into the skills and basic
competencies that I need to develop if I really wish to realize my potential of becoming a leader
to the fullest. This is why I consider this experience to be highly educative and informative, that
has enlightened me on my weak areas, while also encouraging me to enhance and groom my
professional skills, to prosper in future.

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How has this experience changed my thinking about my leadership capacity?
I believe that I have always been a leader, and most of the leadership skills were innate in
me. However, I required someone to motivate and encourage me to pursue my dream of
becoming a leader in future. As per my opinion, the breadth of knowledge about the leadership
traits and basic competencies, that I got exposed to, during the course has enriched my
knowledge and has stimulated me to pursue my dream of becoming a leader in future. The
greatest benefit of this experience has been that it has helped in changing my mindset about and
my attitude towards the concept of leadership. I have always had a one-dimensional knowledge
about the concept of a ‘leader’. However, this course has helped me consider the concept of
leadership from various perspectives, such as for the first time, I became aware of the cross-
cultural communication skills expected of an effective leader. I realized that a leader should not
only be assertive and vocal with his subordinates, but also be patient enough to deal with diverse
group of employees. This is exactly the reason why I would claim that my experience in the
leadership course has been paramount to my ability to redefine the concept of leadership in a
new light. I would like to state here that prior to undertaking the discussion sessions on the
leadership classes, I was always inclined to think that a leader is needed to be bossy and his
forthcoming attitude coupled with his commanding attitude will suffice to make him an effective
leader. However, the discussion sessions have rectified my misconception, as I learnt that many
budding leaders fail to realize their dreams, simply because they fail to be self-motivated and
self-aware, accounting for their risk-averse nature that ultimately leads to their failure. After the
completion of my discussion, I became aware that it is not sufficient to dominate others, but I
must myself also be confident, driven and passionate, that will motivate my subordinates to work
harder.

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Why do I think this? Plan how this information will be useful to you – consider in what ways this
learning experience might serve you in leadership roles, current or future, and life generally.
I would like to mention that I did not have any prior experience of assuming a leadership
role, nor have I ever encountered any person who has assumed leadership responsibility in life.
Quite naturally, I was ignorant of the nature of an ideal leader. However, the subject learning, for
the first time, has provided me with sufficient knowledge that has developed and improved my
understanding of what a leader should be, and what should be his ideal skills. I have realized the
importance of additional skills such as effective communication, collaboration, creativity as well
as motivating and persuasive skills that are to be inculcated, if one wishes to become a leader.
In future, the knowledge gained through this activity, will be of invaluable help in
embracing leadership role. Since I have become aware of my strengths as well as my areas of
development, I would be able to brush up and enhance my skills accordingly. I will be able to
enrol myself in respective training courses and seminars that can help me become a confident,
productive and efficient leader in future. However, an individual often has the hidden potential to
become a leader, and yet he remains aware of his opportunities or desires to translate his dream
into reality. The min mapping sessions in class have largely helped me what I want, as well as
identify my strength and areas of weakness that I can work on. The learning sessions have also
provided a highly enlightening experience to me as they offered specific and practical strategies
that can help me influence my subordinates and get my job done, in future as a manager.

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How will I transfer or apply my new knowledge and insights into the future?
I wish to become a Bank Manager in future, and would require to apply the leadership
skills in future. I would require applying the knowledge I learned here to exercise my authority at
the workplace, and to ensure that the financial objectives are accomplished in the year end.
Before undertaking this subject learning session, I was a believer in Authoritarian leadership
style. However, this session has helped me become more aware of the importance of the
Transformational style of leadership. I have decided that I will apply my knowledge in order to
become a transformational leader who will uphold the Participative leadership style at
workplace. I will not merely boss over my subordinates, but will rather encourage my
subordinates to participate in the meetings, communicate any issue to me, or voice any opinion
or suggestion, if they wish to voice. In most of the banking sectors, the Autocratic style of
leadership is being followed which is often the reason behind lack of employee engagement and
high employee turnover rates. Hence, I wish to apply my knowledge regarding the benefits of
Transformational leadership in my organization, so that it can be used for motivating employees
as well as increasing their engagement level within the organization. I believe that it is not
sufficient to acquire knowledge, but it is equally important to share the same so that the
employees can share and exchange tacit and explicit knowledge in order to work more
effectively in future. Since knowledge sharing is a critical team process, and leads to
organizational success, I wish to share the acquired knowledge regarding basic leadership tactics
and traits with my team mates and subordinates.
What plans do I have for future leadership learning and development?

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I wish to become a Bank Manager in future, and consequently I will require assuming
leadership role that in itself will provide me adequate learning opportunities in life. While the
application of my learnt time-tested knowledge about leadership traits and strategies will mostly
prove to be effective, there will still be areas where I will be challenged, and will get to explore
new aspects of an ideal leader. Our Guest Spwaker during Week 12, Mr. Bryne had emphasized
the importance of continually grooming and developing one’s professional skills so as to stay
relevant in the job market. Although this subject learning module has already helped me develop
my leadership skills, I wish to enhance my interpersonal communication and listening skills, by
enrolling myself in a training course for a month. Since I found my reflective skills to be lacking
as well, I have decided to attend a couple of conferences and seminars in this regard as well. I
believe it is not sufficient to train and professionally develop my leadership skills, but it is
equally important to ensure that I am able to evaluate the effectiveness of such development
programs on me. Hence, after attending the seminars, I will again take up leadership personality
tests so as to understand if my skills have improved at all or not, and so that I can devote some
time to introspectively think about the flaws and areas of concern.
Explain your approach to leadership as a result of completing this subject.
After the successful completion of this subject, my approach to leadership has complete
changed. I have realized that I have always believed that leadership is all about a trait or the
personality of a person. However, this subject has taught me leadership is not just a trait, it is an
attitude towards work and co-workers, and life at large. Leadership is not defined by what kind
of a person an individual is, or how authoritarian he is, but how he possesses and believes in
larger than life visions, and how he learns to persevere to accomplish that vision in life. Earlier I
believed in a more autocratic leadership style, and my approach towards an ideal leader was

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rather one-dimensional. However, after the completion of this subject, I have realized that
transformational or participative style of leadership is far more effective as it helps in getting the
work done, without the loss of staff morale. I have also learnt that a leader is not one who tries t
dominate and control others, but rather who establishes his superiority through his dedication to
the task at hand, ability to influence and motivate his staffs and faith in the realization of his
vision.

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edition). Upper Saddle river, NJ: Pearson education, Inc.
Custom Publication (2016) BX3174 Leadership and Management Readings. Brisbane: Pearson.
Endrissat, N., & Von Arx, W. (2013). Leadership practices and context: two sides of same coin.
9(2), 278-304). Retrieved from http://lea.sagepub.com.elibrary.jcu.edu.au/content/9/2/278
Grint, K. (2005). Leadership limits and possibilities. New York: Palgrave Macmillan
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course_id=_76983_1&content_id=_2363215_1
Murray, P. (2016). BX3174: Management and leadership. (Power point slides). Week 1 to 13.
Retrieved from:
Raelin, J. (2011). From leadership as practice to leaderful practice. 7(2), 195-251. Retrieved
from:https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-2363287-dt-content-rid-4074510_1/
courses/16-BX3174-TSV-INT-SP2/From%20leadership-as-practice.pdf