Reflection Of 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

In starting my reflection process for this leadership journal, thinking of the “worst leader” was quite difficult. I have honestly been fortunate and have not had many experiences with poor leadership. But after some careful thought and consideration, I was able to determine the best and worst leader. In comparing the differences between the two leaders, the trait approach accounts for more of the differences. The best leader clearly possesses more innate qualities that makes her the best leader. She is a charismatic leader, seems very self-confident and exhibits determination in both her professional and personal life. She also has the trait of sociability. She always presents herself in a warm, welcoming, positive, confident manner.

The reading assignments this week take a closer look at the complex phenomenon of leadership. Throughout history, numerous ideologies and scholars have attempted to explain what distinguishes leaders from other people. Are there specific traits associated with effective leaders? Are there other factors at play such as the situation or nature? These are a few of the questions that continue to perplex students of leadership.

The most challenging area, is category nine. As you learned in a previous paragraph, there are a few extra pounds hanging around. I was also diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes a few years ago. Through diet and exercise, a healthier lifestyle was achieved. As the numbers improved, I became less diligent. This directly reflects my mood and my relationships with others. I become irritated more easily and this can influence how I approach others. I have been working on these relationships. As a quiet individual, this can be challenging. Social interaction can be draining. I am striving to speak and smile when I encounter strangers in public places. As I great co-workers, I try to remember things in which they have interests thus allowing for more meaningful conversations.

Before we start, let us distinguish between the role of Leadership and Management first, Leadership’s main function is to produce movement and adaptive change through processes, such as establishing direction through visioning, aligning people, motivating, and inspiring whilst Management's main function is to give commands and consistency through processes, such as planning, budgeting, organizing, staffing, and problem solving (Kotter, 1990).

Every leader needs to know themselves better than they know anyone else on their team. To admit that one has vulnerabilities means that they are not perfect so they cannot and will not expect anyone else to be. The thing is, that leader must admit those mistakes and learn from them in order to be able to help others to become their own type of leader within their own discipline.

With a million ideas racing continuously over and over in my head, once again like many times before, my struggle would present itself of not being able to write those ideas down on paper. Years of nursing experience, and more recently managing the nursing informatics department, carrying out ideas that would advance the flow of information and improve processes came so easy for me; yet it was so difficult to present this in writing to the leadership group in our facility. To confidently complete a walk through in each department in our hospital with the leadership, verbalizing the changes that would take place was second nature for me. This walk through demonstrated how the changes would improve not only the flow of information but also bridge each department to function in unity. Understanding what needed to take place and following through bringing about positive changes I was comfortable in performing, however, expressing this in written format was something I needed to development considering my position as manager of my department. To receive approval on any request for change, we were required to write our proposal as a professional improvement (PI) project. The proposal would include, the reason for the change, objectives, stakeholders involved, and set a timeline with target end date. The day would come when I would begin my literacy development journey. Writing a professional improvement proposal is one of the most important moments in my literacy development

They are the first point of contact for all of our patrons; we do over 300 events a year, many of them with over 200 guests. My employees are aware that they are representatives of the values and mission of the college and that if they disrespect a patron they are placing the whole organization in a bad light. They are also aware that they are one of the main reasons why we hold a great reputation around campus and in the surrounding communities. They are the ones who are making sure our patrons have a great experience when in our care and they are also in charge of making sure every patron arrives and leaves safely when attending our events. They play a very important role within our organization and without them, we would not be able to do what we do.

At the beginning of the semester after taking the assessment I found out that I needed to work on my leadership skills in influencing others specifically motivating performance, ethical power and team dynamics. I also found that my interpersonal skills like communication needed some work. My stronger human relation skills include valuing diversity, organizational change, behavior, human relations and self-performance.

My views on managing public and private organizations haven’t changed significantly over the progress of this course. The course readings and assignments solidified my understanding of core management concepts learned in previous courses. DuBrin (2012) covered some of the human resource concepts such as managing ineffective performers, developing job descriptions, job design, and teams more deeply than in other classes. Management and leadership are essential roles to both public and private organizations that influence the direction and success of the organization. Regardless of the level of manager, the critical functions focus on, “…planning, organizing and staffing, leading and controlling” (DuBrin, 2012, p. 2).

What is leadership? By definition from Dictionary.com, leadership is “the position or function of a leader, a person who guides or directs a group” (“Leadership”). As time pasts by, terms tend to change meaning and continue to alter denotations; for example, when I was a young eleven-year-old girl in fifth grade, I believed I used leadership on a daily basis because I had the best grades, and my classmates looked to me for assistance in times of academic need. Today, the word extends into a deeper significance in my life. Leadership means different things to different people around the world, and different things in different situations. I believe in Philippians 2:3: “do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves” (“Being”). God has given everybody one life, and He created us not to exist in stinginess and greed, but to assist the world by leading those around to achieve a common goal—that is leadership. While leadership is unique to everyone, my perspective of the term is the ability to inspire fellowship in those who desire a person to be dependent on when the world seems to be against them and in one’s own self.

In the readings, for this assignment, Covey writes that humans are four-dimensional beings. The dimensions include To Learn, To Love, To Live, and To Leave a Legacy. He argues that people will work according to how they are treated based on opportunities to use all four components of their dimensional being. Bolman, argues that there are many characteristics and studies that have been conducted about leadership. There are some things that are similar, but there are also differences depending on context, situation, and culture.

As I reflect on what I’ve learned this semester and what I’ve learned about myself and academically I’m pleasantly surprised. I had moments this semester when I thought, “I’m not going to make it.” I did, thank god, but I’m now in the middle of finals week looking back and pondering who I am becoming. She’s nothing like who I would’ve imagined when I was younger but she’s stronger and more compassionate. I feel like each semester I become more and more the person I’ve always wanted to be and to parallel that I learn new material and concepts that I’ll carry with me and find ways to implement them in my life and in my career as I move forward. One of the most relevant classes this semester has been Intro to management because of it’s immediate applicability. I realized I had strengths I had never recognized and things I could grow in. As we covered each module I tried to analyze myself and compare myself currently to who I’d want to be. I want to a mentor who can help encourage constructive conflict, and help create change by leveraging my power ethically and effectively. I want to become a visionary who can bring about change in the world and in my workplace by effectively walking people through the process of change, but I know in order to do that I need to learn boundaries and how to keep people accountable for non-compliance. I could also learn a lot about how to better organize and coordinate projects, after I have communicated the vision. Through this class I’ve

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.

Due to my passive nature, I’ve always avoided leadership roles. With that being said I still aspire to be someone who can be looked to as a leader. In order to reach that goal I observe and try to mimic the actions of people that inspire me. There have been many people I’ve taken orders from, but I have “followed” few. Those are the ones I consider to be true leaders, and have tried to be like myself.