Strengths And Weaknesses Of My Leadership Style

Another leadership strength I possess is motivating subordinates. I often encourage coworkers to strive for their goals, whether it be going back to further their education or changing jobs. I truly believe if we are unhappy the retention rates are lower and their work is not high-quality. I often motivate subordinates by offering rewards for exemplary work. A recent night shift two staff nurses and myself received eight admissions in four hours—the reward that night was ice cream.

Leadership goes beyond management, for some, leadership is instinctual and pours over into your personal life. This paper will discuss a leader I admire in my personal life, and analyze their leadership style. I will discuss how that leader has influenced my leadership style, as well as how things like environment and the economy affect my leadership approach.

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.

Leadership is an important outcome of the doctor of nursing practice (DNP) program (Zaccagnini & White, 2014). Measurement tools are available that identify leadership style (Clark, 2010) and personal talents, called Signature Themes (Gallup, Inc., 2010). When leadership style and personal strengths are identified, they can be maximized to achieve success (Clark, 2010; Gallup, Inc., 2010). This paper provides both a framework about the importance of leadership in the DNP curriculum and several examples of how I will use my leadership style and Signature Themes to succeed in the DNP program.

Moreover, while taking the Leadership Foundations Class, there were many lessons that provided me with tools to be an efficient leader. However, when my teacher exposed the class to servant leadership, I immediately took interest in it. At this moment, I finally directed my leadership to embody the qualities of a servant leader. Some of which include: acting with humility, encouraging the new generation of young leaders, valuing diverse opinions, and serving others before

At twenty-three, Carly Fiorina had dropped out of UCLA Law School with no plans about what she wanted to do with her future. However, almost twenty-two years later, she became president and CEO of Hewlett-Packard Company - the first woman CEO of a Fortune 20 company. She was given a mandate by HP’s board of directors to “shake things up” and was later named the "Most Powerful Woman in Business" by Fortune magazine. Prior to joining HP, Fiorina spent nearly twenty years at AT&T and Lucent Technologies, where she held a number of senior leadership positions (Cara Carleton Fiorina. (2014).

With regards to leadership, my strength lies in my desire to help everyone. A leader has to put the group first and make every decision with that principle in mind. When freshman approach me in the hallway, eyes wide with terror and uncertainty, I stop and ask them what they need. If the track team needs and extra runner for a race, even if I despise that race, I’ll step up. My philosophy is to lead by example, not by command. I’ve found that simply telling people what to do is the most ineffective way to actually get them to do it. For example, I am very passionate about track and want the track team to do extremely well at state this year. Instead of giving a rousing speech about courage and strength, I started training months in advance. By making myself better, I encourage others to be better too. I’m not the best on the team by a longshot, but by working hard I inspire others to be better than me. My goal by the end of track season is not to be the best on the team, but for the rest of the team to be better because of me. By doing that extra lap I hope to inspire others to do the same.

Today a lot of the things we talked about really hit home with me, and I actually cried in a room full of strangers as I told them my story and why I chose to be a leader.

will become stronger and have more depth, which will allow the entire team to move forward in attempts to achieve their ultimate goals.

Effective followership is an essential component of effective leadership in that, without good followers, the leader’s work is difficult and cumbersome. The role of the follower is many times understated. As illustrated by Kelley (1998), “effective followers are thinkers; energetic and assertive, self-starters, independent problem solvers, and carry out their tasks with these characteristics (p. 143). Effective followers also are characterized by their ability to perform tasks with little supervision, their intelligence, and ability to think for themselves. We are all followers, even those who consider themselves leaders; so to encourage this effectiveness in others; we must be role models for those under us, so that they may also be effective at following. Chaleff (2009) observed that “all important social accomplishments require complex

Prior to the course, my leadership style could be defined as a combination of elements of both the servant and situational and styles. From the outset of my career in education, the idea that leadership is about trying to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served (Spears, 1996) has been important. I have also been cognizant of the effect that this process has on the least privileged in our society, to ensure they will benefit or at least not be further deprived (Greenleaf, 1970). One of my guiding questions has always been, “Am I doing harm?” At the heart of my philosophy has been the desire to identify and meet the needs of students, players, colleagues, and learning communities where they are at (not where I think they or anyone else should

After reviewing my leadership weakness, it’s apparent that I have some areas of opportunity to improve as a servant leader. Making these changes will not only make me a better leader, but it will help me become a better all-around individual. One change that can be made is to improve my listening skills. Improving my listening skills will increase my leadership capabilities. Allen (2016) said, listening is one of the hallmark characteristics of the servant leader (p. 2). Taking the time to properly listen to others shows them I care about their views. Improving my listening skills will create a healthier work environment. This will also improve productivity, which may have been previously delayed due to poor listening on my behalf.

Leadership is the ability to engage, inspire, motivate, and support others through setting examples and mentoring others. A leader must be connected and aware of their abilities and values while being able to identify their personal challenges. Displaying confidence in your leadership approach will allow for others to trust your lead and achieve positive results. Benjamin E. Mays, former president of Morehouse College, thought to be one of the greatest student affairs professionals, quoted, “Every man and woman is born into the world to do something unique and something distinctive and if he or she does not do it, it will never be done.” It is our job as student affairs professionals to use our strengths to have an impact on our students.

In chapter two of the textbook, Introduction to Leadership, I was introduced to leadership traits, and asked to identify my specific traits and determine my leadership strengths and leadership weaknesses. There is an extensive list of traits which contribute to the leadership process and effectiveness of the leaders, however, six are considered to be key traits: intelligence, confidence, charisma, determination, sociability, and integrity. (Northouse, 2015) Of these six traits, I consider intelligence, charisma, determination, sociability, and integrity to be my strongest, and while I am very confident, I tend to question myself occasionally. Therefore, I would consider confidence to be my weakest trait on the list.

What are the key strengths and weaknesses of the supportive, directive, and participative styles of leadership? Substantiate your response.