Introduction
Effective leaders need to evaluate themselves in order to uncover their points of strength and areas of weakness on a regular basis. Self-evaluation helps leaders to see how far they are from achieving goals. It also provides a guidance to plan for what needs to be improved on personal and professional aspects. Clawson stated that before trying to understand other people’s behavior and personality, a leader has to be able to understand the own behavior and the reason behind it in order to maximize one’s leadership potential (Clawson, 2006). In this paper I will attempt to highlight my personal strengths and weaknesses as leader, I will also identify any areas needed for improvement and will develop a plan with the leadership skills and practices that I will use or that I need to develop to become an effective leader.
Leadership Approach
One of the present and most widespread approaches to leadership that has been the focus of much research since the early 1980s is the transformational approach (Northouse, 20150211, p. 161). As its name infers, transformational leadership is a process that changes and transforms people. It is concerned with emotions, values, ethics, standards, and long-term goals. It includes assessing followers’ motives, satisfying their needs, and treating them as full human beings. Transformational leadership involves an exceptional form of influence that moves followers to accomplish more than what is usually expected of them;
As Northouse (2015) explained, transformational leadership is a process that can change and transform the emotions, values, ethics, standard, and long term goals of the people. It also involves transforming followers to accomplish more than what is expected of them. The four factors that are closely associated with transformational leadership includes being an idealized influence or charisma leaders who act as strong role models, have a high standard of moral and ethical conduct, and deeply respected by his or her followers. A leader who can inspire and motivate their followers to be part of a shared vision of the organization. A leader who can also stimulate followers to become more creative and innovative, and provide the necessary coaches and advice to the followers (p.167).
Those that follow a transformational leadership framework believe that leaders possess many of the aforementioned qualities, but the focus is on one’s ability to inspire and empower others (Ross, Fitzpatrick, Click, Krouse, & Clavelle, 2014). These leaders literally ‘transform’ their followers by inspiring enthusiasm and performance towards a
There are many models of leadership that exist across a range of fields (e.g. social work, education, psychology, business, etc.). The ability to transform an organization successfully requires a different set of attitudes and skills. Transformational leadership is an approach where a leader utilizes inspiration, charisma, individualized attention, and intellectual stimulation with their employees (Iachini, Cross, & Freedman, 2015, p. 651). Transformational leadership helps to clarify organizational vision, inspires employees to attain objectives, empowers employees, encourages employees to take risks, and advocates the seeking of alternative solutions to challenges in the workplace (Transformational Leadership, 2015). It allows the leader to engage and motivate each follower identify with the organization’s values and goals.
In another instance, I had to lead my fellow student employees during one of our biggest summer events. Our team had coordinated this event a few times before and each person had both the ability and the confidence to complete their tasks. For this situation, I used an entrusting style of leadership and let them take charge of their respective portions of the event (Daft, 2014). This style of leadership gave them the freedom to use their creativity to improve the event and the decision-making process was more efficient.
A society with an absence of leadership is one that exhibits disarray and pandemonium. Leadership, therefore, is a vital facet of human life and can be seen as a building block from which great nations were built upon or large corporations have thrived under. I believe leadership is intrinsically in all human beings, however some leadership traits in people are far more superior than others. This paper will evaluate results from multiple assessments that identify my particular leadership potential. Using Northouse’s text, this paper will also identify my particular strengths and weakness within leadership. The penultimate paragraph of this paper will consider how my evaluated leadership style interacts within my work environment.
Transformational leadership comprises four components: inspirational motivation, idealized influence, individualized consideration and intellectual stimulation. The transformational leadership style can create positive outcomes for followers, which is a positive reflection of their leadership style. The transformational leadership style also has its dark side. Schuh, Zhang, & Tian (2013) describes two types of transformational leadership style, the first type of transformational leadership focus on altruistic goals and common good and behavior characterized by high moral and ethical standards. The second type of transformational leadership style is self-centered, focuses on their own status, authority, power, and position at the expense of
Transformational leadership is one of the most modern and popular advances to the ideas of leadership that has been given attention to much research since the early 1980s. Transformational leadership is part of the “New Leadership” paradigm (Northouse, 2013. p. 185). This idea gives more attention to the charismatic and affective elements of leadership (Northouse, 2013. p. 185). As the name suggests, transformational leadership is a method that changes and transforms people (Northouse, 2013. p. 185). It is concerned with emotions, values, ethics, standards, and long-term goals. It also includes assessing followers’ motives, satisfying their needs, and treating them as full human beings (Northouse, 2013. p. 185). Transformational leadership involves an exceptional form of influence that moves followers to accomplish more than what is usually expected of them. It is a process that often incorporates charismatic and visionary influence (Northouse, 2013. p. 185). Current president, Barack Obama has become the demonstration of hope and change throughout the Western World. Although his time in the United States Senate has been brief, he has made an astounding change in the cultural attitudes and behaviors of developed western nations towards people of color and legislated one of the most progressive reforms in history, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obama, 2008). President Obama has defined his rise to and term as President with a leadership style that can only be
Transformational leadership has been presented in the literature as different from transactional leadership. While transactional leadership was defined on the basis of the influence process underlying it, as an exchange of rewards for compliance, transformational leadership was defined on the basis of its effects, as transforming the values and priorities of followers and motivating them to perform beyond their expectations (Yukl, 1998). Bass and Avolio (1994) proposed that the behaviors transformational leaders’ exhibit include four components: individualized consideration, inspirational motivation, idealized influence and intellectual stimulation.
A good leader uses their strengths to work with their team members and position them for success while working to turn everyone’s challenges into a positive. Before that, though, a good leader needs to understand their own strengths and challenges. For example, my best strength is my ability to work hard and learn quickly. My biggest challenge is time management.
Because transformational leadership uses a less coercive approach, it is a more preferred style of leadership by followers (Avolio, 1999). Yukl (2006) asserted that there is substantial evidence that transformational leadership is an effective form of leadership. Yukl also noted that transformational leadership was shown to be effective in a variety of different situations. Based on this information, this study assumed that transformational leadership would have a significant
An individual is their own person, each one of us is different, born with different traits and characteristics. These traits are built upon and developed throughout a person’s life through experiences in life. The leadership journey can start very early on from being a child and part of a family into adulthood and part of an organisation. In order to understand what leadership really is, it must first be defined to present a boundary of the issue itself. For this topic, is a complicated, varied and wide one it is more difficult to define there is not just one definition but hundreds of definitions according to different
Authoritative figures in organizations large and small have inadvertently been faced with the decision to choose a leadership style. One method, which proves beneficial to most companies, is transformational leadership. This leadership style implicates a close, positive relationship between the leader and the follower. In these types of professional relationships, it is important to note that the leader sincerely cares for the subordinate’s best interest (Men, 2010.) It has been proven that the transformational leader prevails by consistently inspiring and motivating peers, fostering
“Transformational Theory states that leadership is the process by which a person engages with others and is able to create a connection that results in increased motivation and morality in both followers and leaders” (Wolinski, 2010, p. 2). This theory suggest that a leader must first become aware of his or her own thoughts, feelings and motivation before they can encourage others to do the same. Once the leader becomes aware, their perception increases and the leader is better able to choose actions that are compatible with the needs of the persons they supervise.
After completing this Seven Habits profile, some of the leadership strengths and weaknesses I knew I possessed were reinforced with the results of this survey. Scoring highest, were my strengths of putting first things first and sharpening the saw. These two strengths were followed closely by a third-place tie of being in tune with my emotional bank account and ability to be proactive. Scoring lowest were my two greatest weaknesses, which are seeking first to understand and life balance. Tied in third-place as weaknesses are thinking win-win and synergize.
**TransformationTransformational leadership. Burns (1978) and Bass (1985) provided much of the foundational research on transactional and transformational leadership theory that led to advancements in guidelines for leaders. Although Burns (1978) and Bass (1985) agree on the characteristics for both theories, there iswas one point of difference. The one area where a difference exists is that Burns (1978) offered that translational and transformational theory were two separate approaches that existedexist on opposite ends of the spectrum. whereas Bass (1985) argued that transactional leadership was the starting point for a leader moving to a transformational approach. Before a more in-depth review is provided for these alternative views, it is first necessary to provide further background information on transformational leadership. Transformational leadership theory is based upon four specific constructs; charismatic or idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. The four constructs serve the leader’s attempt to connect with the follower at a higher level of interest (Alabduljader, 2012; Groves & LaRocca, 2011; Liu et al., 2011; Odumeru & Ogbonna, 2013; Washington et al., 2014).