My Personal Leadership Administration ( Mba ) Program Essay

Self leadership through personal learning and reflection “provides a foundation for effective leadership skills” (Watson, 2004). The Canadian College of Health Leaders (CCHL) includes self leadership as one of it’s five core leadership competencies, which is defined as “The Lead Self” domain. As part of Leading Self, effective leaders must demonstrate: self awareness, managing self, developing self and demonstrating character. (CCHL, 2010).

As a Naval Officer I had the opportunity to experience both leadership and management. Today's Navy operates with fewer people and resources than before. Therefore, leadership and management are more important than ever. Very early in my career I was taught leadership and as I advanced through the ranks I experienced management.

Being a leader is more than simply holding a leadership position or having the ability to lead. Everyone is capable of being a leader, but not everyone exercises his or her leadership abilities. Each person’s idea of leadership is different. My idea of leadership has developed over time, and being a member of the President’s Leadership Class has helped me develop my philosophy of leadership further than what it was two months ago. My personal philosophy of leadership is the ability to effect change through leading by example, taking initiative, and encouraging others.

One of the challenges facing nurses today is learning how to be an effective leader. Assessing and analyzing the style of leadership the nurse possesses is the first step in facing the challenge. The purpose of this paper is to analyze and understand the characteristics of my style of leadership from an assessment performed by Gallup Strength Finders and DiSC and compare the strengths I have in common with Eleanor Roosevelt.

Much has been written about the difference between management and leadership. In the past, competent management staffs ran effective companies. In light of our ever-changing world, however, most companies have come to realize that it is much more important to lead than to manage. In today's world the old ways of management no longer work. One reason is that the degree of environmental and competitive change we are experiencing is extreme. Although exciting, the world is also very unstable and confused. In an article entitled What’s the Difference between Your Hospital and the Other? Gary Campbell states that the difference between a manager and a leader is that the manager “finds himself quite willing to

Over the course of this semester, I have learned about the theoretical foundation of leadership and management. From various leadership styles to numerous learning tools have all aided in shaping me to become an effective leader not only in the health care profession, but everyday life as well. Through utilizing these tools, I have managed to put them into actions through working individually and in teams which has helped me to learn more about myself and the type of leader I am. Throughout this action plan I will reflect on my definition of leadership, what I’ve learned about myself in the capacity to demonstrate leadership, my leadership strengths and weaknesses and three action steps that will help me to develop my leadership in the future.

Is a leader as defined in the Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, merely one who leads - synonymous with a boss? Or something more? I believe that a leader is much more than that and can be defined in any number of ways. In attempting to define a leader personally, I will use both myself and others as examples.

According to Webster’s Dictionary, leadership is the power or ability to lead other people, the act or instance of leading. I believe that Leadership is an art, the art to get others to follow and accomplish a common goal or task in a harmonic manner. A leader can be shown in all kinds of shapes and forms. To be a great leader many people believe it consists of modeling the way, inspiring a shared vision, enabling others to act, and encouraging the heart. Over the course of me learning how to become a better leader and being in leadership roles, I’ve learned that all these are very necessary to be a great leader.

Before this class, I had a very primitive and vague definition of leadership. Not only did I define it as per my views and ideologies, but I also said that each individual has their own definition of leadership. My initial belief was that leadership does not have a clear cut definition, but there were well defined leadership traits which made an individual. I also initially believed that personal traits did not translate into leadership traits with no strong correlation. After going through the various modules this class offered, it is safe to say that I have significantly redefined leadership and underwent a strong personal assessment. This paper talks what I took back from each of the class activities, assignments and how my self-assessment compares to the perception of others.

In corporate America the term used to describe a person in a position of power is “Manager”. A leader can be a manager, but a manager is not necessarily a leader. Leaders motivate, challenge, and influence others to achieve goals. Great leaders have the necessary skills and attributes which allow them to connect with the team and organization. Being a leader is not the same as managing an organization. Leader’s posses the interpersonal skills needed to influence others to achieve a goal willingly. Leading is a major part of a manager’s job. Leaders do not need to be a manager to lead people, but managers must know how to lead as well as manage.

The sum of education, experiences, and observations lays a foundation upon which I will grow to become a good leader. In this plan, I will focused on those aspects of leadership that I believe are most required for personal development as well as those which will be so significant for my future leadership career. I have identified three goals which will guide me in the development process. My goals are to develop my integrity, listening skills and communications skills. I assume that this plan will change and be altered as required by life circumstances.

Is every good manager a good leader? Is every leader a good manager? Leadership and management are often used in similar perspectives, yet they do not share the same meaning. Leaders are exactly what the name says - they lead team members to success. Managers, like leaders, have the meaning referenced in the name. Managers manage over employees, striving for success. The two titles can be used simultaneously with one person, but this is a rare occurrence.

My leadership outlook is collectively designed from my life experiences, ascertainments, achievements, and failures. I see leadership as an excursion simultaneously taken by leaders and followers to a mutual destination. Great leaders have clear core values, a course of action, an organized, suitable, and effective team, and unambiguous communication that will lead their team to this common goal. The best leaders have definitive vision and mission statements. They often refine these statements to ensure the requirements needed to successfully accomplish the vision and mission of every area of their lives including their family, their organization, and their unit is feasible.

There are multiple theories of personality and leadership assessments that have proven effective in helping individuals achieve their full career potential. The “Big Five” theory of personality, for example, measures the five broad areas of personality, including extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience (Srivastava, 2015). Other types of assessments, such as the more simple leadership assessment we explored, simply measure leadership qualities, such as emotional intelligence and confidence. In exploring a couple of such resources in more depth, such as the leadership assessment provided by the University of Kent’s Career Enhancement Center, as well as the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator, it is clear that understanding more about oneself can lead to enhanced career choices.

Within each organization there should be effective leaders who should be able to maintain an organization’s vision and mission. These leaders are part of the management that can effectively lead a growing organization to succeed. There are various tools such as character traits, influence, persuasion, and change which can help an effective leader manage. A manger/leader should be prepared to persuade and influence others by using their character traits. Theories of leadership, management, and influence and change will be a major topic in this paper. This paper will discuss each of the elements of leadership and management, and how influence, persuasion, and change can affect the outcome.