Credible Leadership Journey

al., 2011). To fulfill this role, group leaders should have a clear grasp of the boundaries of their competence. As a rule, leaders should conduct only those types of groups for which they have been sufficiently

The two theories that I chose to do my self-assessment by are the authentic leadership theory and the servant leadership theory. The authentic leadership theory was chosen due to my desire to stay true to who I am and what I stand for. However, the servant leadership theory was chosen because of my desire to meet the needs of others while doing what I can to help others succeed as well as meet their set goals. Being a servant while being authentic are the traits I want in my style of leadership and are assessed throughout this paper along with my strengths and weaknesses in the area of leadership.

Credibility is the foundation of effective leadership, so it makes sense that building credibility with ones constituents is essential for a leader to be effective in his or her organization. Two of the most difficult obstacles to overcome for a leader that is new to an organization, is building trust and then learning, adapting to and supporting the existing organizational culture, including the groups moral and ethical values. With little tolerance for mediocrity, for a new leader these can be challenging obstacles that either lead to success or failure. Kouzes and Posner’s four primary characteristics for a successful leader are honest, forward-looking, competent, and inspiring. In the course of this analysis, it is the first two of the

Leadership- should reflect the team’s stage of development. Leaders should motivate, facilitate goal setting, educate and evaluate achievements.

Authentic leadership emphasizes that leaders must practice self-awareness, optimism, resiliency, balanced processing (valuing others’ input and all relevant information prior to making decisions), and relational transparency (being one’s self in all interactions). The authentic leader values bringing out the best in others and continually ensures that his/her behavior is both ethical and moral at all times (Laschinger, Borgogni, Consiglio, & Read, 2015). In order to be an authentic leader, a person must request and receive feedback with an open mind and take advantage of opportunities to explore one’s self, which often results in the individual feeling vulnerable (Kerfoot, 2006). Vulnerability is uncomfortable for many due to our society’s emphasis on being autonomous

Leadership is about creating a vision for that function and gaining peoples commitment by strategic direction.

The leader must be sure to take the group dynamics into consideration. It is important to make everyone involved feel that their needs are important. For the project to be a success, everyone participating must feel as if they are contributing and that they are being valued equally.

First, determine a direction for elite followers by structuring and conducting a strategic conversation, the task of the leader is not to impose a new vision from top down (p. 83). Second, develop a fair process for conducting the conversation about direction, the leader must be patient not to impose their vision, rather allow others to participate in the decision (p. 84). Thirdly, establish a fair process that includes the opportunity for follower’s genuine participation and decision based on acceptable principles and standards, the task of the leaders is not just direction, rather it also includes getting members to buy into the idea (p. 85). Fourthly, once you have established a process, use it genuinely to help determine a direction for your organization, the leader must make sure to follow through and not make members feel that their efforts were futile (p.85). Fifthly, your primary function as a leader is to ask the right questions, and not determine that as the leader you have all the answers. Finally, discern patterns of deference, the leader must understand the source of deference and use it to accomplish the organizations goal (pp.

Leadership: The Main head of the organization should always shares their leadership structure and plan which need to be implemented.

Leadership is a process of influencing activities of a particular group of people with the aim of attaining certain stipulated goals. In defining leadership there is need to consider a particular group, the common goals and the duties that are allocated to specific members of the group depending on their abilities (Fiedler 1976). Leadership therefore cannot successfully occur unless members of the group are given different considerations in terms of personality, traits and responsibilities. In considering leadership, it is important to look at the leader, the group or organization they are leading, the members as individuals and the situation; these are

An essential component of leadership is to articulate and exemplify the organization's core values. These values must be clear, compelling, and repeated. The leader must both "walk the talk" and inspire his/her colleagues within the organization to also live these values. Values are at the core of individual, group or organizational identity. Values are relatively enduring conceptions or judgments about what is considered to be important to an organization. Agreement between personal and organizational values result in shared values which constitute the benchmarking of a successful business practice.

I also believe that an effective leader plays a significant role in promoting and molding individuals’ readiness as it relates to motivation and commitment. As such, I developed my leadership assessment with these points in mind. The assessment focuses on 14 attributes that I believe are important not only for a leader to be successful within the parameters of the SLT, but for most any leadership model adopted by a successful leader in the modern business environment. The assessment was completed by Bobby, my manager of nearly six years, and by Katrina, my highest-ranking direct report of nearly four years. Each was asked to assign a candid rating to each attribute using a one-to-ten (worst-to-best) scale as well as to make notes or offer any suggestions so that I may incorporate it into my leadership style in an effort to improve the areas of weakness and become a better leader. In addition, I did a self-assessment using the same criteria. It should be noted that while Bobby offered both a ranking and narrative feedback, Katrina completed the assessment using the numerical ranking only. The results were consistent in some areas and mixed in others, but revealed some valuable information that I can use not only within the context of this course, but also as my career is better defined over time.

The values and beliefs at all levels and in all departments must be aligned, and existing and future leaders should be role models for this culture.

Participating in the course Foundations of Organizational Leadership presented many opportunities to enhance and enrich my perspective on leadership as well as develop my own unique leadership philosophy. By observing the theories, models and cases presented in Northouse, Kouzes and Posner textbooks, I was able to learn through the experience of others what a true leader should represent. While considering the strengths and weaknesses of each theory, I am able to implement a leadership style with an effective approach tailored to many different types of learners. In addition, witnessing both the triumphs and failures of various businesses and leadership styles, helped me confirm my personal stance and aspirations towards becoming a leader. By implementing what I have learned from the course and textbooks, I will address in this paper what specific leadership theories, styles and models have contributed to forming my own leadership philosophy. In addition, I will also define the values, qualities, strengths and weaknesses and ethical considerations that pertain to my stance on leadership. By integrating a faith based approach as the foundation of my leadership style, I hope to implement my new philosophy into my current and future career path.

The leader should know that living in harmony with these basic principles, the human enterprise can flourish and be sustained (Berghofer & Schwarts, ud). Ethical leaders should focus on moral values and fairness in decision making, consider the impact of organisational decisions on the outside world, and clearly communicate to employees how their actions at work contribute to the overall goals of the