From this course I have learned and come to understand that leadership is coupled with various nuances and complexities. This is through getting beyond the theoretical aspects on leadership to practical aspects of leadership based on the know-how the practical and theoretical aspects of leadership enable the discipline to be comprehensive as a way of making it a discipline of integrity. The theoretical aspects are meant the various methods which enable us not to have misconceptions about leadership.
From this I have leaned that the discipline of leadership is a wide and in-depth study with full effects and essence which cannot be merely be assumed as a way of following instructions. I under the topic of Universal leadership attributes, it is evident that the term leadership is an amalgam of five various aspects. There are people in the world like Bill Gates, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Oprah Winfrey, Gorge Washington and Winston Churchill who is call led the notable leaders. But all these leaders show different styles of leadership based on their traits. This style of leadership is well informed in the theory Y and Theory X by Douglas McGregor.
These styles of leadership are the lasiez-faire, democratic and authoritarian leadership style.Under the topic of leadership behavior, I have learned the three basic skills required in leadership which are administrative, conceptual and interpersonal skill. It is important to know how these there aspects of leadership skills bond in an effective and integrated leader. A leader has to show emotional intelligence and skills for solving basic problems as well as resolve conflicts.
I have learned from the example of Martin Luther who is a leader who had effective vision seen in his, I have a Dream speech. This is a skills or trait which organizations leaders can emulate to make them charismatic and transformational leaders.Leaders a have a role and responsibility to play in establishing a culture in the organization which is essential for achieving the overall mission and goal of the organization. Some of these important cultures which can be instilled by an organization leader include encouraging employee’s ton form groups where they can discuss the desired behaviors like proper feedback and communication skills such as performance management
.Despite the guidelines on aspects of being a good leader, leaders face a lot of challenges known as the out-group members. These aspects are discussed in the theory of leader-member exchange (LMX). This theory presents some of the behaviors which leaders can be helped through adopting them because they act as a remedy or to prevent group issues and any aspect which they can do to bring about conflict in the organization. Leaders can overcome various obstacles when they come up with realistic and achievable goals and directions to those below them.
The leader also has to ensure the task he is assigning is suitable and he is responsible to provide healthy motivation.Leadership involves addressing the complex concepts related to ethics, values and character. The ethics of a leader is based and judged from his actions. The values which leaders have are their mode of actions, beliefs and ideas which people will view them as being desirable and worthwhile because people have different values (Introduction to Leadership: Concepts and Practice (Northouse, 2008, 67). Leadership is also about change because the leader is the spear head to managing change and acts as an agent of change. He is responsible for implementing and planning change based on various processes.
This therefore calls for leaders to be practical and come up with contracts which can be applied and understood in an easy way.I consider myself a potential leader because I am not tied down to the philosophy of leadership, the theory Y and theory X because in our modern day society or the era we live in, most of the jobs are not based on industries but instead we are in an era of corporate business and corporate partnership. This therefore calls for the implementation of anew philosophy in becoming a good and efficient leader. I believe that leadership is based on ethical aspects in which a good leader will guide and influence others to accomplish a common goal is for the common good of all. Because this is the only way we can this world to be humane, fair and much better than what it was before.
This therefore means that I believe I am a transformational leader who is guided by ethic and vales to bring forth positive change to an organization.What I need to apply to my leadership skills which I have learned in this course in on values. I have learned that values are one of the components of psychological process of cultural patterning, social interaction and storage of knowledge. This means that I may use my values to inhibit progress even when other people are right. I have therefore used my knowledge and even to ask my juniors to provide suggestions on the aspects they would like me to change in may values.
This is because the main challenge which leaders face is not only coming up with as solution to various conflicting values among his subordinates but collaborating with his juniors and other organizational managers to facilitate common understanding of various aspects of both organizational and individual values in terms of their hierarchies, identifying the values they share and finally work together in creating alignment.In my practice as a leader in the past few months, I have tried to utilize the theories and practices of leadership which I have leaned in the course.
I have ensured that I have effectively communicated with my team members in an effective and sensitive ways so as to avoid arising conflicts. I have leant to be understanding and to appreciate the difference which each one of us has because the modern day American Society is highly diverse. From various renown leaders in the world like Bill Gates and Martin Luther King and even President Barrack Obama, I have t learned from them the aspect of being visionary leader. I believe that I should be positive in my thinking as a well as being future minded leaders. Even the most successful business of the world has leaders who are visionary.
They are able to have a vivid picture of where the organization with be in the coming few years and this means that they have to develop realistic strategies to attain the general goals of the organization in the future. This means that I have leaned not only to think big but to think ahead.For the past eight weeks I have developed in the past week are three. First, I have developed new realistic goals and mission which attainable. I have also developed effective strategies to examine how the available resources can be utilized to help the team achieve the goals and lastly are the tactics and strategies of attaining the set goals.
Reference
Northouse, P (2008) Introduction to Leadership Concepts and Practices, Sage Publications, pg 67
