Reflective Essay on Leadership in Professional Development (CPD1102)

This reflective essay, submitted by a student, critically examines leadership skills within the context of professional development and ethics (CPD1102). The essay begins by defining leadership and its importance for modern managers, emphasizing its role in decision-making and resource allocation. A literature review supports the significance of leadership, citing studies that highlight its impact on workplace efficiency, employee motivation, and the creation of a positive work environment. The analysis identifies key leadership traits such as vision, communication skills, and empathy, which are essential for a manager's success. The essay concludes by reflecting on how leadership skills will contribute to the student's career, emphasizing the development of a clear professional vision and the importance of ethical conduct in the workplace. The paper also includes a detailed reference list following Harvard style.

Running Head: REFLECTIVE ESSAY
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Reflective Essay
CPD1102 Professional Development and Ethics
(Student details :)
7/21/2019

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This essay is based on the development of a clear and inspiring professional career vision
being an output of a critical review of professional skills essential for a particular profession.
This reflective essay will integrate skills development during the module CPD1102
Professional Development and Ethics. I identified that there are so many skills which are vital
for modern professional managers. Although, they are too many skills learnt during the
module to include in this report yet this discussion will include a particular skill development.
I am going to select one skill and discuss the role of chosen skill for the modern professional
manager while making a positive difference to my career. In this way, I am going to reflect
upon leadership skills as an identified skill for further critical analysis.
Introducing selected skills: Leadership skills
According to me, leadership being the selected skills can be defined as the capability of
leading a group of people or employees in an organization. In other words, it can be seen as
an essential component while positioning executives for making thoughtful decisions in
relation to their company's mission and goals (Alvesson & Sveningsson, 2013). Besides,
leadership skills are required to properly allocate resources for achieving such directives.
Apart from this, leadership competencies are those leadership skills as well as behaviours
which contribute to better performance of their sub-ordinates. In this way, by utilising
a competency-based approach to leadership, modern firms can better recognize as well as
develop their upcoming generation of leaders (Denehy, 2010). As per my opinion, the role of
the manager is vital in the context of demonstrating leadership skills at their workplaces. It
can be seen that a good leader can play the role of an effective manager while a manager is
not necessarily a good leader (Business Development Bank of Canada, 2018).
Literature Review
Several studies have been suggested that leadership is an important and essential skill for
today’s managers (DeRue & Ashford, 2010). In this context, leadership is an essential quality
required in a manager of this era. It is because modern workplaces are emerging as
competitors and hence they need high efficiency and effectiveness in workplace functions
(Bird et al., 2010). To do so, high skilled workforce and employees must perform their best in
every situation in order to accomplish the mission and vision of their organization. Hence, for
accomplishing the above modern managers require to demonstrate their true leadership skills
for extracting the best from their teams in terms of team outcomes in favour of their
organization (Connelly, 2010). Therefore, in this competitive edge better skills for leading

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others have become critically essential for getting the best out of today’s people being
employees. (DeRue & Ashford, 2010) observed that leadership is an important purpose
of management that majorly helps to optimize efficiency as well as to acquire organizational
goals. There can be a number of points that can justify the importance of leadership in a
modern organizational context (Hoch & Kozlowski, 2014). As leadership skills of managers
provide guidance while instructing the sub-ordinates the manner they should perform their
work efficiently and effectively (Alvesson & Sveningsson, 2013).
Apart from this, leadership skills are important to the function of the modern management
that helps modern organizational teams for maximizing their efficiency as well as
accomplishing organizational success and growth in the long-term. In this context, some
below-listed points are justifying the importance of leadership skills within the chosen
context of modern organizations:
To initiate actions
Being a good leader, a modern manager can start the work through communicating the plans
as well as policies to the sub-ordinates since where the work functions actually begin. I
believe that, leadership skills are necessary for modern managers for initiating actions
(DeRue & Ashford, 2010).
To motivate sub-ordinates within modern organizations
For motivating others, a manager needs to play an incentive role within the chosen work area.
I found that if a manager owns leadership skills then he or she is capable to motivate the
employees with non-economic and economic rewards and hence get the work in the better
form within timelines from their sub-ordinates (Hales, 2018).
For providing guidance
Being an effective leader, managers can not only supervise their sub-ordinates but also they
can guide them. Here, the managers are able to instruct their subordinates the way they need
to perform their daily work efficiently and effectively when possessing leadership skills
(Business Development Bank of Canada, 2018).
For creating confidence
Leadership skills for modern managers help them to create confidence which is a vital factor
that can be attained from expressing the work attempts towards the sub-ordinates. In this way,

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by having leadership skills modern managers can explain the clear roles as well as give them
guidelines for achieving the organizational effectiveness (Hulten , 2018).
To build morale
As per my evolved opinion, leadership skill-set helps to build the morale of the other
employees which denotes willingness to cooperate while working with others. Hence,
leadership skills help the managers to get their people into confidence by winning their trust
in the workplace (Goleman, 2017). In this context, many major research studies found that a
leader can act as a morale booster through attaining full co-operation in a way that people
perform with their best abilities while working for achieving organizational goals (Hoch &
Kozlowski, 2014).
To create a positive work environment
As we know that better management is all about getting things done from organizational
people within timelines hence leadership is the key to have an effective environment
(Goleman, 2017). Thus, a positive work environment assists in stable and sound growth. In
this way, human relations into modern organizations should be maintained by an
organizational leader. With the help of the right leadership skills manager can create personal
contacts with their employees and thereby can listen to the issues they are facing in order to
solve them effectively. Besides, leadership skills enable a manager to treat their employees
on humanitarian terms (Bird et al., 2010).
For better co-ordination
Within modern organizations, effective co-ordination is necessary for effective results and
growth in a competitive market hence leadership skills also help to attain the same. As per the
past studies, co-ordination is achievable from reconciling people’s personal interests as well
as organizational goals. In this way, the above synchronization can easily be achieved from
effective and proper co-ordination that must be a prime motive of an organizational leader
(Goldman, 2012).
Post conducting a literature review, it has been found by me leadership and management are
synonymous terms. Moreover, leadership is a key element of effective management. Being a
crucial component of modern management, extraordinary leadership behaviour focuses on
building a positive environment within which every employee develops and excels (Connelly,
2010).

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Critical Analysis of Literature Review
The critical analysis of the literature review of the chosen topic is helpful to me for
identifying why leadership skills and competencies are majorly important for my desired
position of a modern manager. I believe that leadership can be defined as the ability to impact
as well as drive the team efforts to the accomplishment of organizational goals (Gelfand et
al., 2012). Critical analysis of the above-conducted literature survey is suggesting that
leadership impact may generate from formal sources, like which provided from the
acquisition of manager position within an organization. In addition to that, I identified that a
modern manager must carry traits of a true leader, which means he or she must possess
leadership qualities. My analysis suggests that leaders grow and initiate strategies which
build as well as a sustainable competitive advantage in this contemporary era (Bolman &
Deal, 2017). I also found that organizations often need robust leadership along with a robust
management for optimal organizational efficiency. I realized that, for being a good manager
in my future workplace, I will have to possess the following traits of an effective leader:
 A proper vision and foresight
 An appealing physical appearance
 An in-built intelligence
 A well-defined objective
 Good communicative skills (Summers & Smith, 2010).
 Detailed knowledge of work functions
 Will-power and self-confidence
 A Sense of responsibility
 Empathy
 Humanist (Denehy, 2010).
In whole, this reflective essay has successfully fulfilled the purpose of developing a clear as
well as an inspiring vision of what I wish to acquire in my career. With the help of this
reflective essay, I successfully reviewed the literature, while focusing upon professional skill
development and ethics comprising leadership skills. I found that leadership skills are
important to the development of my career as well as future professional life. Besides, I also
critique the literature of the skills required to become a successful manager of the modern
age. In whole, I discussed the importance of leadership skills as well as how it will create a

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positive difference in my profession as well as a future career while playing the role of a
modern professional manager.
References
Alvesson, M. & Sveningsson, S., 2013. The great disappearing act: difficulties in doing
“leadership”. The leadership quarterly, 14(3), pp.359-81.
Bird, A., Mendenhall, M., Stevens, M. & Oddou, G., 2010. Defining the content domain of
intercultural competence for global leaders. Journal of Mangerial Psychology, 25(8), pp.810-
28.
Bolman, L.G. & Deal, T.E., 2017. Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership.
London: John Wiley & Sons.
Business Development Bank of Canada, 2018. Top 7 decision-making tips for managers.
[Online] Available at: https://www.bdc.ca/en/articles-tools/entrepreneurial-skills/be-
effective-leader/pages/7-decision-making-tips-managers.aspx.
Connelly, J., 2010. The study skills guide essential strategies for smart students. London:
Kogan Page.
Denehy, J., 2010. Leadership characteristics. The Journal of School Nursing, 24(3), pp.107-
11.
DeRue, D. & Ashford, S., 2010. Who will lead and who will follow? A social process of
leadership identity construction in organizations. Academy of management review, 35(4),
pp.627-47.
Gelfand, M.J., Leslie, L.M., Keller, K. & de Dreu, C., 2012. Conflict cultures in
organizations: How leaders shape conflict cultures and their organizational-level
consequences. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(6), p.1131.
Goldman, E.F., 2012. Leadership practices that encourage strategic thinking. Journal of
Strategy and Management, 5(1), pp.25-40.
Goleman, D., 2017. What Makes a Leader?(Harvard Business Review Classics).
Massachusetts: Harvard Business Press.

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Hales, J., 2018. THE PROS AND CONS OF SERVANT LEADERSHIP. [Online] Available at:
http://blog.zingtrain.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-servant-leadership [Accessed 10 December
2018].
Hoch, J.E. & Kozlowski, S.W., 2014. Leading virtual teams: Hierarchical leadership,
structural supports, and shared team leadership. Journal of applied psychology, 99(3), p.390.
Hulten , , 2018. The Importance of Education and Skill Development for Economic Growth in
the Information Era. [Online] Available at: https://www.nber.org/chapters/c13937.pdf.
Summers, J. & Smith, B., 2010. Communication skills handbook: How to succeed in written
and oral communication. Australia: John Wiley & Sons.