CX506001 Leadership Reflective Journal - Weeks 1-4, 2019

This reflective journal chronicles a student's exploration of leadership principles and their application within an organizational context. The journal entries, spanning the first four weeks of a leadership course, delve into key concepts such as change management, change leadership, and the importance of aligning personal and organizational goals. Through self-reflection, the student analyzes leadership theories, examines the roles of leaders and managers, and draws insights from case studies like Heinz (Australia) and the biographies of successful leaders such as Steve Jobs and Peter Widdow. The journal highlights the significance of time management, critical thinking, and the ability to influence others in driving organizational change and fostering innovation. The student reflects on their own leadership development, emphasizing the need for structured thinking, clear understanding of leadership theories, and the ability to learn from experience. The journal aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of leadership, its practical applications, and its impact on organizational success. This reflective journal is a valuable resource for students seeking to understand leadership and its practical applications.

Reflective Journal
Reflection is very important as it is going to help in having the right estimation of the progress or
the decline. Moving forward and backward in learning, organizational career and academic is the
natural course but an individual is not going to draw most out it when there is no adequate and
effective engagement in reflection.
Hence, with that aim, this reflective report of the topics learnt in class is prepared. My aim of
preparing this report is that I am looking forward to understand more about the learning
outcomes and help in better learning. The preparation of the report is going to help me analyze
each of the topics taught in the first four weeks separately. Thus, it is going to lead to a detailed
understanding.
The topic is leadership which is not just a theoretical concept but also something that is of
immense importance when we talk about the practicality of it. The theories learned in the course
need to be brought to practice and this can only happen when there is adequate amount of time
given in reflecting upon what has been done in class. Preparation of the journal helps in
structuring the reflective report which enables easy recapitulation and revision.
The topics range from change management and leadership management and also going through
example case study of Heinz (Australia).
Leadership is a vital concept in organizations and there are many examples of organizations that
have made to the uppermost of the list, internationally, because of great guidance. Here, the
leaders become instrumental in helping the employees to merge their personal goals with the
goals of the organization.
Appreciating the central role that leaders play, the idea of leadership in organization were
investigated and many writings have been made available that enlighten us of the philosophies
and concepts that have facilitated in better description of leadership and also have supported its
application in the real circumstances. Accordingly, it became a discipline to be studied.

Leaders are not indistinguishable to managers. Managers manage the personnel and allocate
work for each worker or team but it is the leaders who motivate to complete goals and endow the
employees making them feel essential and a vital part of the organization.
Here is my entry that I recorded from time to time during
Entry 1
On the sixth week we were learning about change management and change leadership. The
concept and the difference that was pointed out to us was quite good and I was very impressed
with how they are different terms from each other and how they still have to work in unison in
order to accomplish the organizational goal. The leadership change is about calling out on people
and inspiring them to take the risk and make them believe into what we are believing by means
of convincing capability. On the other hand, change management is another concept which is
about technically bringing a change in the way the organization has been functioning through
data, statistics and the market scenario. The goal is set through change management but it is the
change leadership which can make the employees work together and achieve the target so that
the change that takes place in the organization is considered to be positive.
Entry 2
Date:
While I was going through this lesson there were a few things that were still unclear and I was
not sure if I should be keeping those doubts in mind or looking to solve them out as It was
important that I train myself to become a leader. The path to leadership is not easy and people
are not impressed easily. Even Steve Jobs and Peter Widdow had to go through several criticism
and lows in life before they could prove themselves as one of the best leaders in the world fixing
the assigning popularity of two corporate giants in today’s world.
For this I started to read biographies of these leaders and it helped in in gaining ideas about the
mind-set that works and is needed to be an able leader. These biographies had helped a lot and it
was good to have the knowledge in my head which is definitely going to help me in future and
boost up my morale.

Entry 3
Date:
Often when I am reading up lessons I have in mind that I need to do proper referencing in the
assignments that is going to come. Which goes on to say that I will need to do a lot of topics.
This created a sense of nervousness in my head and also I got pressurized that I will not be able
to provide just reference as I will forget what I have read where. For this, I consulted various
tutorials that are there on You Tube. Our course guides have always provided all kinds of
suggestion required.
Entry 4
Date:
As the week was proceeding the topics were gathering and accumulating and I was running
behind. Learning about leadership in organization and not having to manage my time well was
making me feel bad about myself.
Hence, the next thing that I put in my target list was to have a better time management so that
there is I am able to give time to lessons and lecture notes and also provide some self-study time
along with taking care of my personal life.
Entry 5
Date:
In the 8th week we came across an article that was titled ‘Full of Beanz’. It was a great piece to
read and quite inspiring. I was amazed at the will and determination that was shown by the leader
Peter Widdow.
One major thing that I learned through this article was that I realized that leadership is not just
about thinking critically and making people root for you. In the process of being a good leader,
there is going to be many people who will think badly of us. The leader must care of about
hurting people but the welfare of the organization can never be compromised because the very

aim of the leader is to bring back the organization on track. Reading up the case study of Heinz
is one of the inspiring piece of work done.
Entry 6
Date:
Case study and business events help in analysing the situation and it also helps us in kindling our
thoughts and coming up with ideas. Leadership involves thinking out of the box but sometimes it
may also include thinking within the box. In such situations what is important is that we must be
thinking logically and not lose cool which is very important for taking care of any situation in the
organization.
Entry 7
Date:
When I was learning more and more about the leadership, there was thing that was constantly in
my mind and it was that I am supposed to be clear of all the theories that are there in the lesson
so that my idea and concept of the leadership could be strong and apart from my instincts, I will
also have a structured thinking which has its own importance.
Entry 8
Date:
The decision to have a journal was quite helpful and it has helped in understanding each lesson
with gravity.
I tried noting down the differences between the change management and change leadership
While change management is related to bringing in smaller changes in the organization, change
leadership is aimed at bringing bigger changes and reshaping the very philosophy with which the
organization is working. The change leaders work like an engine and drive car, here drives the
organization. It is about urgency that is made to feel and it is about influencing not just one
manager or one boss, but it is about influencing the entire organization and bringing in changes

that are hard to pull off in the beginning but eventually is going to help in having the stability in
the organization.
Leadership also involves innovation and it not just is limited to constantly saving the company
from the problem. Continuous innovation keeps the product interesting and the consumers also is
ready to purchase the product or the service as apart from utility they are also seeing something
worthy of spending the money on.
The reflective journal is prepared not just with the aim of influencing me but I also hope that it is
going to help my juniors or someone in the family to have a better learning process and it can
function as a document of experience.