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How I Learned From An Individual Contributor Role For A Director With Multiple Teams

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Throughout my career, I have transitioned from an individual contributor role to leading project teams to a director over multiple teams. I have made these career transitions with little formal training. I learned from the good leaders I’ve reported to and avoided the behaviors of poor leaders I’ve work with. I have a high need for personal achievement, followed by a moderate need for power and a lower need for affiliation.
According to my Winslow assessment, my high dedication traits are ambition, endurance and coachability. I am a competitive person that often has unrelenting work habits with a high degree of perseverance. I will do what it takes to get the job done. I often times create deadlines for myself and my teams. I get …show more content…

Much of this comes from being able to build relationships with those I work with. In most cases participative management allows the team members to feel empowered and it’s a collaborative effort so that everyone is working towards the common goal. The ability to positively influence teams speaks to my moderate power need. In some cases, I do have to use the directive managerial style if others do not understand the vision, follow the lead I set for them or meet expectations. I find myself most challenged with the coaching managerial style. It is a struggle to slow down and spend the extra time with the employees coaching and developing them, when I know I can do the work quicker and to a higher standard. I have to consciously make an effort to take the time to teach someone how to do something and not jump in and take over.
My high need for achievement and moderate need for power is evident in my behavior both professionally and personally. The achievement need acts as a catalyst for me to continuously improve and maintain high expectations of myself. As I have matured professionally, I have shifted my focus from personal mastery to team accomplishments. This shift helps satisfy my achievement need as I am no longer in contributing individually. I have high expectations for my teams and chose to lead through

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