Essay on Personal Leadership Assessment

Introduction

From 1945, the studies conducted on leadership have recorded the increased numbers, which has made this phenomenon an essential research arena with its primary bedrock being organizational behavior (OB) (Arnulf & Larsen 2015). Leadership is an exercise documented in research as a substitute to the mainstream compositions of leadership that update leaders on how they ought to behave to attain effective management (Filstad & Karp 2020). This topic is essential because leaders are crucial determiners of the success of any company, organization, or institutions of every kind. Leadership is therefore has to oversee smooth running of the daily mandates based on laid provisions. The success of any leadership is obtained through collaborations with the different stakeholders within the organizational settings. Leaders are also obligated with ensuring conducive working environment for all employees under their management to give them room to conduct their duties. Furthermore, leaders are also responsible for assigning duties to the different player in the market (Top Education Degrees 2021). Similarly, as a leader, am responsible for making sure that the organizational goals, vision, and mission are achieved using objective approaches. Therefore, this personal leadership assessment paper analyses my leadership strengths and weaknesses based on the most suitable leadership theory (behavioral theory) defining my leadership traits and assessment protocols.

Other than my technical leadership qualities I attained through academic qualification, leadership theories have been a significant guideline for me over the years I have been in charge. The leadership theories are essential definition of every leadership regardless of the settings. These theories provide conceptual framework that effectively define leadership approaches. Furthermore, the theories acts as schools of thought availed to explain how and why particular people become leaders in their respective areas of specialization. They emphasize on the behaviours and attributes that people can emulate to improve their individual leadership traits. Other than reiterating on the behavior of leaders, leadership theories also emphasize on the traits of people emulating effective leadership traits. Although there are many leadership theories, behavioral theory is one of the most prominent of them. This theory states that although leadership qualities may not be inborn, leaders develop their attributes from daily acquired experiences (Western Governors University 2020). Similarly, behavioral theory suggest that actions of leaders determine their performance in any given organization. As was noted by Western Governors University (2020), there are two broad categories of leaders following the provisions of behavioral leadership theory, namely, task oriented leaders and people oriented leaders. While task-oriented leaders are more determine to address problems based on workflow, people oriented leaders solve issues with specific workers in charge of areas reporting shortcomings. Still, based on situation at hand, some leaders may choose either of the two approaches to solve problems they are facing.

Furthermore, under behavioral theory doctrine, the main concentration is based on particular actions and behaviors rather than the characteristics. Leaders are more effective because of the learned skills from practical approaches. Furthermore, behavioral theory implies that leaders need to have human, technical, and conceptual knowledge and skills to be successful at what they do (Western Governors University 2020). The technical skills denotes the knowledge of a manager on the techniques or procedure. On the other hand, the human skills implies that leaders need to interact with other employees while conceptual skills gives them the capacity to manage the organization or any setting with ease. Therefore, after doing a personal leadership assessment of myself, I can confirm that behavioral theory of leadership perfectly describes my leadership traits that has helped me become the person I am today. I am a people and task-oriented leader depending on the situation at hand. I also possess both technical, conceptual, and human skills that has enabled me to exercise my mandates with professionalism. Other than the knowledge I got from school, I have further gained leadership skills from practical field. Hence, the following section will analyse my performance score based on VIA character strength assessment, CQ pro assessment, and 360° refined assessment.

VIA Character strength Profile

Based on VIA character strength profile assessment score, social intelligence is my strongest attribute. Being a people oriented leader as provided by behavioral theory of leadership, social intelligence is essential trait because it improves behavioral flexibility. Similarly, Sowjanya et al. (2016) noted that this trait helps leaders to understand the needs of employees and responding accordingly. A socially intelligent leader is understand how to manage crisis in an organization. As cited by Sowjanya et al. (2016) “Leading effectively is less about mastering situations-or even mastering social skill sets, than about developing a genuine interest in and talent for fostering positive feelings in people whose cooperation and support you need.” Therefore, being a people-oriented leader, social intelligence has helped manoeuvre through difficult situation by use of simple tools such as good communication and instructions. Moreover, the current changes in world requires leaders to adapt flexible commutation styles that suit situation at hand. For example, virtual workplaces requires good communication strategy that can only be achieved by leaders who are socially intelligent. It has also been found that conversational leaders get favourable outcomes than those use command to issue directions to their minors (Sowjanya et al. 2016). This are some of the reasons why my social intelligence scores are relatively higher than other VIA character strength assessment.

However, my lowest VIA character strength profile is curiosity. As a product of the behavior theory, my leadership is often presented with scenarios that need quick thinking and reasoning to come up with solutions. The ever challenging workplaces and new tricks have always pushed in situations where I push myself in scenarios involving trial and error due to curiosity. According to several studies, managers need to be willing to accept a testing environment that can help them be creative (Bickett et al. 2019). Similarly, my curiosity has sometimes made me vulnerable to circumstances because it humanly impossible to make correct decision all the times. Perhaps this explains why curiosity trait scored the lowest on VIA character strength profile.

CQ Pro Assessment

According to the provisions of behavioral theory, leaders need to assess situation at hand while using the most effective lenses. Being a people and task oriented leader, I am often obligated with finding the proper solution based on the situation at hand. This need has one of my highest score in CQ assessment to be strategy. People with high CQ strategy are often thinking about cross-cultural interactions before or after their occurrence. I am often plan ahead, verify the assumptions, and projections during interaction in the organization. Furthermore, I always conduct a reflection check of all the interaction and their effectiveness.

Planning is one of my strengths as a strategic leader. According to Alipour et al. (2013), planning is important because it aids leaders set expectations and control of the subject variable. Through planning, I inform my minors how, why, and when certain things will begin and their certainty. When I plan that a particular adjustment will be done in say one month, I want it happen as planned. However, as a people oriented leader, checking/supervision is always an important determinant of the success or failure of a particular when people require close supervision. For this reason, I often do my supervision well to make sure that employees under my leadership are up to the task.

However, according to my CQ assessment scores, my CQ drive scored the lowest. Although I often try to be persistent in my approaches in a multicultural setting, challenges rising from situation analyses sometimes down play my effectiveness. When I am handling an arising situation, I always try to use the most effective approach available or suitable at that moment. Therefore, I may not be persistent with one particular leadership approach (people oriented or task oriented) because I normally tackle the problem at hand using the most effective means. The lack of persistency can hence explain why my CQ drive score is relatively low as compared to other CQ assessment parameters.

360° Refined

A as leaders who is defined by behavioral theory, my leadership is often defined by a combination of technical, human, and conceptual skills. Similarly, Markovic and Ljajic, (2016) noted that leadership entails critical thinking, interpersonal, and technical techniques. Interpersonal skills encourage the capacity to relate well with others in the workplace. On the other hand, technical skills are understandings that an individual contains regrading specified area of specialization. Although these attributes important, ethical leadership skills make them complete. Ethical leadership skills are conducts that bring gain to the workmates while avoiding toxic relationships (Yukl et al. (2013). From this description, an ethical leader have traits such as just treatment of all the employees, moral and integrity values when handling workmates.

Similarly, I consider myself an ethical leader which has helped me in implementing my “people oriented” leadership approach when dealing with employees. I have also portrayed my ethical leadership when managing employees bearing in mind that they form most essential division of any workplace of interest. Similarly, Yukl et al. (2013) also recorded that ethical behavior in leadership includes honesty, integrity, just treatment, awareness of ethical conducts, rewarding ethical behavior, and making minors responsible for ethical behavior in an environment. It is worth noting that I exit all these traits when handlings workers under my leadership. Although I am not the kind of a leader who use direct rewards as motivation, I always encourage my minors and workmates to work hard for the sake of themselves and the organization. I have seen them positively respond to the directions I give them which has made me more proud. However, sometimes being too ethical can be interpreted as weakness by ill-mannered people. Therefore, there is need to conscious of people that may want to take advantage of leaders who are ethical.

Furthermore, recognizing time management as necessity in departmental structures has been a constant study in the recent years. As cited by Claessens et al. (2007), the impermanent measure of work productivity has been essential because of ever-growing worldwide competition and the increased demand for quick availing of goods and services in both global and domestic markets. Currently, there has been an increased pace in conducting and compressing of activities to maximize output. Being a people-oriented leader, I have taken time consciousness one of my main leadership trait. For instance, some people prefer eating faster and sleeping less to increase their performance in other activities. Others make phone calls while having their lunch to manage time pressure witnessed at office places. Therefore, the increasing resilience of time could be identified in a theoretical and practical sense. Similarly, being a time conscience leader has helped become a good leader that conducts his duties on time. Although many people would not consider time consciousness as a skill, I consider it a necessary component in my behavioral leadership.

The people working under my leadership have always praised my time consciousness. They have accepted that time management is essential because I have shown them that it could help improve the quality of life. Through time management, one could get rid of the repetitive challenges such as insufficient time for individual activities. Perfect time management also reduces frustrations because a person could balance meeting personal and professional demands. The kind of mindset individuals witnessed by proper time management could increase energy levels and an individual’s general performance. For an effective understanding of the consequences of time management, Abban (2011) ascertained that Pareto’s principle could help explain time management and outcomes. Pareto suggested that 80 percent of the wealth was owned by 20 percent of the Italian population. If this principle is implied in time management matters, it highlights that 80 percent of the outputs are provided by only 20 percent of efforts. Therefore, for collective success, I have persuaded the people working with me to believe that each individual’s effort is required in the success of the company. Such achievement can only be possible first by managing time well and working together as a team. The only gap noted while trying to be time conscious is that sometimes fatigue occurs as result of predictive behaviour.

Recommendations

I believe that there is always a room for improvement in every aspects of our lives. Similarly my leadership traits have some elements that need to be improved particularly the areas where I did not perform well based on assessment performance scores. For example, in VIA character strength profile, my lowest was curiosity. To make curiosity a character strength, Bickett et al. (2019) noted that there is need for people to ask contextual questions which may help to provide paradoxical frames connected to risk and curiosity. Following this action plan will help me avoid unnecessary curiosity that may lead to unnecessary risks. Being a people-oriented leader as provided by behavioral theory of leadership, I will avoid doubting employees without concrete grounds. I would also recommend to improve my CQ drive that scored the lowest in CQ assessment test. My low scores in CQ assessment is as a result of lack of persistence in my conducts primarily because I work in multicultural settings that required flexibility. I have taken both person and task-oriented approach to tackle issues arising from workplace as provided by behavioral theory (Western Governors University 2020). I would therefore recommend to choose person-oriented approach because it has been the more effective. Doing so will help me persistent in my undertakings. The only gap noted while trying to be time conscious is that sometimes fatigue occurs as result of predictive behaviour. Similarly, fatigue resulting from my time consciousness is one of the main gaps from the 360° Refined assessment report. Therefore, while managing people as provided by behavioral theory, it will be essential to effectively plan my undertakings such that they do not become predictive and lead to fatigue.

References

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