Personal Reflection : The Leadership Simulation Course

This essay will be discussing two different situations where skills by social workers are needed when working with groups. I will define the term ‘group’ and will be reflecting on my own experiences of working within groups and what I have observed in regards to individuals, behaviours and group dynamics. My examples are drawn from two particular situations where I have been involved, which include a multi-professional meeting and residential home for children with disabilities. I will be drawing on knowledge from K216 materials and other sources.

In considering potential leadership issues throughout the simulation, it is apparent that there was some inflexibility in shaping leadership style contingent to the situation. This was illustrated within the simulation, where as the leader, there was an initial focus on a task-oriented leadership style to ensure that team-members goals were properly considered. However, as the simulation progressed, and it became apparent that some group members were reluctant to contribute, I failed to implement a more relationship-oriented leadership strategy, creating an environment where members felt they could not contribute. It is apparent that an inability to contingently shape leadership

When I began this course I was very nervous because I had no idea of the scope of the course. I was unfamiliar with the Canadian education system and other students. After receiving instructions from my professor, I introduced myself to the person beside me and this process helped to break the ice. I developed a good friendship with the student and this technique used by the professor helped me develop better communication and relationship skills. After few classes, I felt very comfortable and the nervousness and anxiety faded away. I learned about leadership, power relationships in the profession, personal, cultural, professional and organizational, each of which is very important in the nurse’s career. I also gained knowledge regarding client centred care.

For the second simulation, I adopted a situational leadership style with a mix of both

The Social Services Agency (SSA) of Orange County can be considered a divisionalized organization; in that the bulk of the work is completed by quasi-autonomous departments (Bolman & Deal, 1993, pp). As exemplified by Bolman and Deal (2013), with freestanding campuses in multicampus universities, each with the ability to plan differently based on needs (pp 80). In the same manner SSA’s four departments are run by its own set of policies and procedures, which are directly related to the community members’ they serve. The agencies four departments are comprised of the following: Administrative Services, Adult Services & Assistance Programs (ASAP), Children & Family Services (CFS), and Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS).

The outcome of the simulations was positive for me because I used the right tools at the right time in order to implement change. Effective communication played a vital role in simulations. Knowing how, when and what to communicate will help us to have a smooth change process. Additionally, implementing change quietly is very important for a change agent. In both simulations, I used private interviews and walk the talk as my main tool in the first weeks of the change process to aware people about the change. I interviewed almost everyone and that helped me to understand about people, what they want from the change process, who is their allies, what are their interests, and if they are resisting to change what is/are the reason(s) behind that. Change needs time and I did not rush the process. Waiting for the right time to take a decision and ask for others (consultants and internal) supports increased my credibility.

It would appear that my original theory regarding the applicability and practicality of this capstone was accurate. This course has managed to successfully supplement the knowledge I had previously acquired in other courses. For example, I was familiar with and understood the basic principles of leadership. However, this course has taught me that the ability to lead is not an exact science, but an art and determining how to proceed when faced with uncertainty or a highly volatile situation is an exceptional challenge.

This Leadership Theory and Practice class was not at all what I expected it to be, which is great. I had heard of other people who had taken this class previously with different professors and how all they did was write papers and honestly, hardly learned anything about leadership. This class thankfully had an easy work load which helped with my senioritus, but still challenged me to think about different leadership styles, concepts, and what it truly means to be a leader. I was able to hear the views of many other people especially those who were also in the class, but also from the different people we had interviewed for the assignment we had to present on. I learned a lot about leadership and I learned a lot about myself in a leadership

“It is unequivocally clear that leaders are not like other people” (Kirkpatrick and Locke, 1991, as cited in Northouse, P. G., 2016, p.22). I have always thought that I was not like other people; I see the world through a different lens. This difference, which sets me apart from my peers, has sometimes restrained my progress; however, after studying my differences and seeing them as strengths, I can now focus on these strengths that make me a unique, passionate, progressive leader. In reflecting on my leadership skills, I will analyze the results of the leadership questionnaires, as presented in Peter Northouse’s book, Leadership:Theory and practice (7th ed.), connect those result strengths with the

Group work has been a cornerstone of the social work profession and requires a variety of facilitator skills and awareness of group processes. The SSLDTM Group Program for People with Difficulties in Social Situations (Socialwork1914, 2017) provides an excellent example of a psycho-educational group co-facilitated by two female social workers, Jane and Karen. After viewing the 6th session of this 8-week program, I began to understand how the concepts of group formation/development, interpersonal dynamics, and leadership styles contribute to successful group work outcomes.

In today’s time, social work practitioners work with and within various organizations and communities often and the need for a small group or team is essential. These small groups are formed together to accomplish work by increasing awareness and skill within the participation of each member and leader. Some tasks that cause for a group to be drawn are some form of an instruction, an opportunity or a perceived concern. In the social work aspect, this group can affect broader changes for a client.

I have learned many important and relevant concepts in this course. Perhaps the most relevant concept is understanding leadership. Now that I am almost done with the course, I realized that I knew nothing about Leadership. I thought leadership is the act of being in control of people and leading them to do a certain job. I thought of a leader as a boss, manager, or an owner. Although what I knew about leadership was partially true, Leadership is much more complicated and different than what I thought it was. Leadership has been defined in multiple different ways depending on different views. Peter G. Northouse said “there are almost as many different definitions of leadership as there are people who have tried to define it” (2013, p.4-7). Despite the multiple ways leadership has been defined, a

If one has no leadership ability, one cannot be a leader. If one does not make what his or her followers consider the correct decisions to achieve their goals, no one will have faith in the leader's abilities and, consequently, no one will follow and without followers, there can be no leader. Another important criterion which one must have in order to be a leader is a person who leads a crowd in the direction where the goal can be accomplish as well as someone who acknowledges a problem and finds solutions to it.

During the past ten weeks, I have strengthened my concept of what constitutes effective leadership. Importantly, it is a leadership style that maximises the contributions of followers to achieve the desired outcomes for the organisation they represent. As Nanjundeswaraswamy & Swamy (2014, p.57) explains, effective leaders need to balance the drive to achieve a task with managing relationships. Therefore, it is essential for good leadership to not only focus on the task but develop, motivate and empower team members to strive for the achievement of task goals.

As an educational leader, I have encountered several new and existing school policies. I never thought deeply about the various processes and the stakeholders involved in policy formulation and implementation. This semester I am engaged in the course Managing Educational Policy as School Leaders (EDLM 6005). This is Semester III, 2016/2017. My course coordinator is Dr. Timar Stephenson. Dr Stephenson was my course coordinator once before and was very helpful whenever I needed clarification or when I had a difficulty. I am thrilled to embrace the new ideas and learning opportunities embedded in this course since it teaches issues which I experience at work. Dr Stephenson, during his introduction reminded his entire class that success in this course would only be realized through hard work, dedication, and commitment. Therefore, it is imperative that I have the right attitude as I navigate this course. The course involves seven weeks of intense work. I am pleased to have a wonderful group facilitator by the name of Rhonda Joseph who has already given us a BBC to explain the requirements of the course and our first two modules.