Strategic Leadership & Stakeholder Management - ECU, MBA6140, Sem 1

This report provides a personalized strategic leadership plan, beginning with a discussion of the essential characteristics of a good leader, such as empathy, consistency, honesty, strong direction, effective communication, flexibility, and strong conviction. It analyzes the author's leadership strengths, including good communication, social, and listening skills, teamwork abilities, determination, and confidence. The report also addresses weaknesses like distancing, leading to please others, being autocratic and perfectionist, lacking timely delivery of results, incongruity, complacency, over-optimism/pessimism, lack of emotional intelligence, and impact creation. A detailed plan for developing leadership skills to become the CEO of Woolworths Group in twelve years is outlined, emphasizing learning from the past, developing strong communication skills, building relationships, fostering realistic optimism, understanding, developing listening skills, and willingness to take calculated risks. The report concludes by reinforcing the importance of embracing change and continuous self-improvement for effective strategic leadership.

Running head: STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP AND STAKE HOLDER MANAGEMENT
Strategic Leadership and Stake Holder Management
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Table of Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................2
Discussion:.......................................................................................................................................2
The Essential Characteristics of a Good Leader..........................................................................2
Analysis of Own Leadership Strengths and Weakness................................................................3
Plan for Developing Own Leadership Skills................................................................................6
Conclusion:....................................................................................................................................10
References:....................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction:
The report aims at providing an insight into personalized strategic leadership plan. As the
report primarily deals with my own development as the strategic leader, so it is both critical as
well as reflective. The report commences with a discussion of the characteristics of a good
leader. Good leaders defined as those who are not afraid of any kind of challenges. The
confidence of good leaders acts as an inspiration whereas the compassion acts as strength. A
good leader makes use of his compassion for understanding the needs of those who leads and
accordingly decide on a course of the action that acts as a benefit to not only the individual but
also the team. Some examples of good leaders include CEO of Apple Inc. Steve Jobs, Nelson
Mandela, and CEO of Amazon.com Jeff Bezos. The report also puts forward the strengths and
weakness of a leader. Often seen, successful leaders not only utilize the strength for influencing
the others but also minimizes the weakness that poses a hindrance it the ability of leading.
Effective leaders pose the quality of turning the weakness into essential positive characteristics
through diligence. There report also discusses about a plan for developing leadership skills.
Discussion:
The Essential Characteristics of a Good Leader
The characteristics of a good leader include (Latham, 2013):
1. Possession of Empathy: An empathetic leader will have followers that will more
likely express an interest in sharing the vision of leader instead of fostering negative feelings.
2. Maintenance of Consistency: The aspect of consistency of a good leader helps him in
earning respect and credibility from the team (Rajbhandari & Rajbhandari, 2015). Once a leader

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epitomizes as an example of credibility and fairness, the followers also pursue the same footsteps
and act in a similar manner.
3. Possession of Honesty: Leaders who remain honest about concerns will address
concerns rather than avoid it. Honesty also leads to better growth and assessment.
4. Strong Direction: Good leaders pursue a vision that helps them in breaking the norm
and aim for greater things. This is one of the essential characteristic of leadership (Katila &
Eriksson, 2013). By managing the goals and observing how to achieve them, these leaders can
lead to an impressive change.
5. Effective Communication: This quality of a leader helps him /her in guiding the
followers in having the right attitude. Proper communication regarding the issues, advice and
expectations will help in making the people more reactive and work towards the goal.
6. Possession of Flexibility: Good leaders are not only flexible but also open to newer
ideas that increase the likelihood of finding the best possible solution.
7. Strong Conviction: Good leaders have willingness and a strong vision and believe in
working towards it. This not only portrays them as an inspiration but also as resource to the
followers (Eisenbeiss, Van & Fahrbach, 2015).
Analysis of Own Leadership Strengths and Weakness
Successful leaders help in utilizing their strengths in influencing others. They also make
an effort of minimizing the weakness that interferes with the ability of leading (Daft, 2014).
Effective leaders also make an effort in minimizing the weakness that interferes with the ability

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of leading. Good leaders are diligent enough in turning their weakness into the positive
characteristics. In this context, I would like to analyze my leadership weakness and strengths.
Strengths
Good Communication Skills: As a leader, I possess good communication skills and
have the ability of clearly explaining the goals of a specific task to the employees so that they
can perform accordingly.
Good Social Skills: As the leader is someone who meets the strangers on a regular basis
for discussing business and talk to the employees regarding the task and the work performance,
so as a leader I possess the necessary social skills necessary for a particular situation (Batool,
2013).
Good Listening Skills: As a leader, I am a good listener. I always remain ready to listen
to any kind of problem or suggestions of my employees (Kluger & Zaidel, 2013). I also possess
the quality of speaking confidently about the business and the products.
Ensuring Teamwork: I also posses the quality of leading a team towards the success so
I necessarily possess the ability of not only organizing an effective team but can also work as a
part of them. Thus, I play an active role in knowing the practical details of the business and play
a role in thoroughly assessing the employees.
Enough Determination: As a leader, I also have enough determination in dealing with
the setbacks of the business (Ahmad et al., 2014). I try do not let any setback act as a hindrance
to the business and finally pushing the business in the pathways of success.

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Possession of Confidence: Leaders should also possess enough confidence that can push
through the drawbacks (Bolman & Deal, 2017). Being a leader, I also have enough confidence
that I try to show off proudly so that the associates and the business partners can trust my
judgment.
Weakness
Distancing and Standing Apart: As a leader, these qualities of mine leads to
disengagement and sub optimization thereby shutting down the best people around. It also makes
the employees under-delivering (Chin, 2013). Ideally, I should have been more authentic and
candid as well as vulnerable.
Leading for Pleasing Others: As a leader, I sometimes focus on being liked and wanted
by the employees. This makes me focus more on the people than the results. Instead, I should
have focused more on the achievement of the results, leadership and personal accountability,
having enough courage in terms of the performance issues, making harder choices and being
decisive.
By Being Autocratic and Perfectionist: As a leader I am not only a perfectionist or
hypercritical but also directive and autocratic. This has sometimes not only led to attrition and
burnout but also resulted in diminishing returns over the time.
Lack of Timely Delivery of Good Results: As a leader, in certain cases I was unable to
deliver good results within the expected budget and time.

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Leading through Incongruity: I have failed as a leader due to incongruity in saying and
doing things (Lavine, 2014). In other words, I have failed in the instances, where I should have
been true to myself and showed the ways through doing rather than saying.
Tendency of Complacency and Over Investment in Status Quo: As a leader, this also
acts as a weakness. As a leader, I should motivate people by finding newer ways of awakening
and playing a different role.
Possession of Over Optimism about Strategies, Tactics or People: As a leader, I often
hang on the lower performing strategies as well as the people. This leads to lower productivity
and people taking advantage of the trustworthiness.
Possession of Over Pessimism about Strategies, Tactics or People: I am also at times
over pessimistic about the certain people and remain in greater denial of treating them with
patience (Sanders, 2017). I have also not tried to unfold tactics in dealing with over pessimism.
As a leader, it is necessary for honoring the necessity for making tougher choices and
recognizing the impact of its potential.
Lack of Emotional Intelligence: I also have problems in accessing a range of own
feelings and letting the feelings in providing necessary insight not only about others but also
myself (Holt & Wood, 2017). It is therefore necessary for doing necessary introspection and
emotional/mental healing work necessary for accessing the greater range that would also help in
balancing my own feelings.
Lack of Clarity and Creation of Impact on Others: I also lack abilities of influencing,
adapting to the culture and fitting in impersonally and organizationally. This might sometimes

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due to the lack of the emotional intelligence and attunement. As a leader, it is very important to
observe the impact of one’s own feelings in every aspect of the work performed.
Plan for Developing Own Leadership Skills
Twelve years from now, I view myself as being the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of
Woolworths Group located in Australia (woolworthsgroup.com.au, 2018). Woolworths Group
refers to the compilation of chains, brands and divisions of Woolworths Limited Companies. It
represents a key Australian company with the primary interest in New Zealand and Australia.
Woolworths Limited Companies not only represents one of the largest Australian food retailer
but also a liquor retailer, hotel operator and the largest poker gaming operator of Australia.
Hence, the operations of Woolworths brand include liquor retailing, supermarkets, management
of the hotels and the pubs under the umbrella of its leisure and hospitality group along with
maintaining the low priced departmental stores.
In order to achieve this I need to develop myself over the years and possess certain
qualities that are necessary have for the CEO. This includes:
Aptitude of Learning from Past: To become a CEO, I must develop the ability of
learning and instilling the lessons for future (Schoemaker, Krupp & Howland, 2013). Mistakes
are bound to happen but it is important to learn from them and prevent their further happening. I
must also be able to develop an effective system of crisis management to deal with certain
situations.
Development of Strong Communication Skills: I must also develop strong
communication skills that will help in providing moral boost. I should also develop skills to
motivate the team but also encourage its completion within time. In addition, I should also be

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balanced and transparent in my communication. Further, I should also possess the ability of
translating the business challenge, potential and the expectations for the action using direct,
succinct and understandable language. In other words, I should devote more time in making
necessary connections.
Ability of Building Relationships: To become a CEO, I must develop the ability of
building relationship with not only the coworkers but also the clients. Relationship helps in the
creation of loyalty and an image of the company’s CEO. The positivity in the relationships helps
in spreading of the business through the word of mouth.
Development of Realistic Optimism: In the process of becoming a CEO, I must develop
immense confidence about my skills to the employees (Day et al., 2015). I should also develop
awareness and confront necessary challenges in the urge of reaching the audacious goals.
Be Understanding: I must understand about the matters taking place in the workplace. I
should be able to understand the emergencies faced by an employee (Komives, 2016). Moreover,
I should also realize the mistakes made in engaging an employee who has focus on the other
things. I must also realize that there are certain things that happen out of anyone’s control. I must
also develop the skill of accepting and understanding the situations and handling the things
accordingly.
Development of Listening Skills: To become a CEO, I must also be a good listener and
try to provide options and ideas to the others (Brownell, 2015). Listening attentively is one of the
key criteria of a good CEO. This is because when a CEO is seeking and listening ideas of trusted
individuals then the company and team becomes more successful.

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Willingness of Taking Calculated Risks: I must develop the unforeseen opportunities
of taking risks. This will help in portraying my confidence and help me in growing as business
leader. It is to be remembered that risky decision takes someone into an important and new path.
Embracing the risk also helps in overcoming fear of failure.
Adaptation to Management Style: I must possess the ability of reading people and
adapting to the necessary management styles. To ensure the success of the employee and the
company I should possess the ability in adapting to the management styles.
Effective Coaching of Employees: I should also be able to create a collaborative and
healthy work environment and provide the employees with the necessary tools for attaining
success. I must also provide training in a manner that helps in inspiring the staffs towards
success.
Developing Out-of –Box Thinking Procedure: It is an obvious fact that the market
changes with time therefore; I should develop the capability of thinking out of the box. This is
because it will help in generating better ways for achieving the goals of the business (Eisenbei &
Boerner, 2013). The out of the box thinking of the CEO makes the company in standing out to
the prospect and the customers.
However, along the way I see myself working as a store manager of a departmental store
Thomas Dux Grocer where my role would be to offer greater customer service in addition to
monitoring the store’s financial performance. In this particular job role, I expect to hold the
responsibilities of recruitment, training, supervising and appraising the staff thereby maintaining
the financial and statistical records. Then I expect to be promoted to the role of a director, a
person from the group of the managers who supervises and leads the specific area of the same

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company. The Board of Directors looks after the management aspect of the company’s business.
I look forward to be a part of the Board of Directors who would make operational and strategic
decisions for the company along with ensuring that the company meets statutory obligations.
Gradually with time, I hold on to the expectation of becoming the Business Head or the Chief
Executive Officer of a firm like Woolworths where I would be in charge of making the company
exceed expectations while ensuring its profitability.
When I receive the greatest job, I will initially be ecstatic and try to leave behind a great
reputation as a legacy. People will remember I will lead remember how I will lead the company
with a clear vision. Being the CEO, I will not only try to motivate and inspire others but at the
same time would be ethical and honest. My employees will remember me as a good
communicator who not only cared about the company but also made it a great place to work. In
addition, my employees would also remember me for having a global outlook, being decisive
with a sole focus on the customers.
Conclusion:
The report ends by throwing a light strategic leadership plan. The report tries to provide
an elaborate insight into the characteristics of a good leader. Here one can also find an analysis
of personal strengths and weakness of leadership. The report also puts forward a plan for
developing one’s own skills of leadership. This has helped me in understanding how a person
can serve the purpose of helping the organization in performing a better job since the plan helps
in focusing the resources, energy and the time in a specific direction. The planning helped me in
providing with a vision for implementation of the actions. The report also provided me with
vision of becoming more self-aware, reflect and undertaking planning. I will become more self

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aware through a sharp realization of my personality including my weakness and the strengths,
my emotions, thoughts, beliefs and motivation. I will reflect through building of an emotional
self-awareness thereby gaining a greater understanding of the strengths, emotions, driving factors
and the emotions. I will however make a plan by keeping a record of every possible things and
knowing what I want. I will also be realistic and specific in my planning by setting measurable
milestones. I will also try in breaking larger tasks into more manageable chunks along with
preparing a scheduled list. I will also try to put timelines and ensure creating a visual
representation. In addition, I will ensure that the planning leads to positive results and helps in
achieving challenging goals.

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References:
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employee motivation in telecommunication sector. Journal of management policies and
practices, 2(2), 11-25.
Batool, B. F. (2013). Emotional intelligence and effective leadership. Journal of Business Studies
Quarterly, 4(3), 84.
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership.
John Wiley & Sons.
Brownell, J. (2015). Listening: Attitudes, principles, and skills. Routledge.
Chin, J. L. (2013). Diversity leadership: Influence of ethnicity, gender, and minority status. Open
Journal of Leadership, 2(1), 1-10.
Daft, R. L. (2014). The leadership experience. Cengage Learning.
Day, D. V., Fleenor, J. W., Atwater, L. E., Sturm, R. E., & McKee, R. A. (2014). Advances in
leader and leadership development: A review of 25 years of research and theory. The
Leadership Quarterly, 25(1), 63-82.
Eisenbei, S. A., & Boerner, S. (2013). A double‐edged sword: Transformational leadership and
individual creativity. British Journal of Management, 24(1), 54-68.
Eisenbeiss, S. A., Van Knippenberg, D., & Fahrbach, C. M. (2015). Doing well by doing good?
Analyzing the relationship between CEO ethical leadership and firm performance.
Journal of Business Ethics, 128(3), 635-651.

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Holt, S. S., & Wood, A. (2017). Leadership and emotional intelligence. In Leadership Today (pp.
111-138). Springer, Cham.
Katila, S. & Eriksson, P.(2013). He is a Firm, Strong‐Minded and Empowering Leader, but is
She? Gendered Positioning of Female and Male CEOs. Gender, Work &
Organization, 20(1), pp.71-84.
Kluger, A. N., & Zaidel, K. (2013). Are listeners perceived as leaders?. International Journal of
Listening, 27(2), 73-84.
Komives, S. R. (2016). Leadership for a better world: Understanding the social change model of
leadership development. John Wiley & Sons.
Latham, J.R. (2013). A framework for leading the transformation to performance excellence part
II: CEO perspectives on leadership behaviors, individual leader characteristics, and
organizational culture. Quality Management Journal, 20(3), pp.19-40.
Lavine, M. (2014). Paradoxical leadership and the competing values framework. The Journal of
Applied Behavioral Science, 50(2), 189-205.
Rajbhandari, M.M.S. & Rajbhandari, S. (20150. Leadership maintenance: Filling the gap for
leadership competences. Educational Research and Reviews, 10(21), p.2777.
Sanders, J. O. (2017). Spiritual leadership: Principles of excellence for every believer. Moody
Publishers.
Schoemaker, P. J., Krupp, S., & Howland, S. (2013). Strategic leadership: The essential
skills. Harvard business review, 91(1), 131-134.

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woolworthsgroup.com.au. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/