Academic Master

Human Resource And Management

Leadership Self-Awareness Essay

Being effective is one of the biggest challenges facing leaders in the current dispensation. Leaders are more concerned with being stamping their authority in their sphere of influence, so that in the long run, both the leaders themselves, their subjects and their organizations achieve satisfactory results. Sterrett (2000) asserts that the first step towards an effective leadership is to know oneself, your strengths, your weaknesses and your unique abilities: That is called self-awareness. These are the features that bestow confidence in a leader and propel them to surpass their apparent limitations into astounding achievement. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is fourfold: to report and discuss my Values in Action (VIA), to report and discuss my results on Emotional Intelligence Self-Assessment, to discuss how I would improve my leadership skills based on my scores on Emotional Intelligence and Values in Action assessments, and finally to discuss the limitations of the concepts and quizzes discussed in module 1.

Values in Action

My scores on the Values in Action assessment elicited mixed feelings in me. Some were surprising while others were as per my expectations. On love of learning, Judgment and Prudence, my score was 5. I scored 4.8 in honesty and fairness, while on love I scored 4.6. I scored 4.4 on perspective, kindness, bravery and application of beauty. I also scored fairly well on Humility, curiosity, humor, forgiveness, gratitude and endurance. However, my score on zest and spirituality were surprising; I scored 2.6, being the least score for the assessment. According to Cantore and Passmore (2012), a score of five on the love of learning implies that one loves discovering new things both in class and on their own. This was not surprising to me because I always utilize every opportunity I find to learn new things. I usually visit archives and museums just to find out some of the long-forgotten information. Furthermore, I usually watch documentaries of great leaders and of geographical features to acquire additional information on top of what we learn in class. However, my score on zest and spirituality were surprising because I expected to score highly on them. My actions have always been shaped by my spiritual beliefs and I have always approached my duties with enthusiasm and energy.

Emotional Intelligence Self-Assessment

Just like in the Values in Action test, my scores on the emotional intelligence test brought a mixed feeling of surprise and satisfaction. First I scored 5 on the management of impulsive emotions and distressing feelings. I also scored 5 on admitting my mistakes and confronting other people for their unethical actions. Moreover, on taking a firm and principled stand, I scored 5 and at the same time, I scored 5 on fitting in fluid situations. This implies that I have excellent emotional intelligence in these areas. I scored 4 for both realizing why I usually have particular feelings, on recognizing the impact of my feelings on my performance, on cognition of my strengths and weaknesses, and on staying focused under pressure. Tearle (2014) posits that a score of 4 in these parameters implies that the person has a good emotional intelligence. Surprisingly, I scored 2 on being reflective, and readiness to seize opportunities which implies that these areas have a big room for improvement. This is contrary to my expectation to score excellent on these parameters based on the fact that I always take advantage of every single opportunity to achieve something. Nonetheless, I am results oriented and I am always propelled by standards and objectives. I always set very challenging goals for myself and for my group, with an edge of calculated risks to ensure that the goals are worth pursuing.

How I will improve my Leadership Skills

Seligman (2009) gives a valid assertion that emotional intelligence and Values in Action are the two main pillars upon which effective leadership is built. Therefore, to improve my leadership skills, I will focus on improving the areas in my emotional intelligence score and the values in action score to make them excellent.

First, I will work on my Values in Action. I will maintain an unquenchable thirst for learning new information and thinking outside the box. I will also maintain my reluctance to jump into conclusion without applying proper judgement. According to (), effective leaders investigate first and do a thorough analysis before concluding on any matter, no matter the urgency. Furthermore, I will always cease from doing regrettable deeds. However, too much of anything is dangerous and Sterrett (2000) warns that even too much learning can be perilous. So I will be careful to do everything with utmost moderation. Too much learning brings the notion of ‘I know it all’ which Tearle (2014) also cautions that is very detrimental for a leader. A leader must be open to new instructions and learning opportunities. Furthermore, excessive learning can drive a leader to share too much information which might overwhelm their subordinates.

Study-after-study on judgment shows that people who view things from multiple angles are able to navigate the challenges of transition and change pretty well. Furthermore, people with excellent judgment capability cannot be swayed easily. They stand their ground; a feature that every leader desires. Therefore, I shall work on my judgment ability by doing things that I would typically not choose to do. This breaks the stereotype and prejudice which usually makes people have skewed judgment.

Limitations

There are a few recognizable gaps in the information available in the quizzes that I took. First I feel that the quizzes tend to overemphasize their effectiveness. They also tend to overlook the effect of nurture on leadership capability. It is a common knowledge great leaders are rather made than born. One of the ways through which leaders are made is through nurture and apprenticeship. People have become great through the direct and indirect influence of another great person they emulate. So I feel that the emotional intelligence quizzes miss the aspect of mentorship, apprenticeship, and nurture.

In the same breath, the quizzes seem manipulative because of the mere fact that they just pose single phrases of simple questions with rigid responses. How about if the subject has an alternative response? The VIA pinpoints six values as the signature values. These are honesty, fairness, creativity, judgment, and love of learning. While they are all that counts, such a vantage point seems narrow and is likely to make a leader have a narrow perspective.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is an amazing thing to find out one’s strengths and weaknesses because that is the first step to solving any leadership challenge. The assessment tools have been useful However, One more thing I needed to know about myself was the type of personality I have and the kind of personality disorder that I might be having. There are numerous personality disorders and research findings show that each individual has a personality disorder that defines the way they carry themselves. Knowing my type of personality and personality disorder would help me to know how best to handle myself and how best to handle others. The way we see and deal with others is influenced more by our own personality than anything else.

References

Seligman, M. (2009). Dr Martin Seligman’s top strengths. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC1HZqCbZ70:

Cantore, S., & Passmore, J. (2012). Chapter 15: How can people understand and build on their strengths? Top Business Psychology Models: 50 Transforming Ideas for Leaders, Consultants, and Coaches. London: Kogan Page. [eBook Business Collection]

Sterrett, E. A. (2000). Manager’s Pocket Guide to Emotional Intelligence: From Management to Leadership. Amherst, MA, USA: HRD Press. [EBSCO eBook Collection]

Tearle, R. (2014) Emotional Intelligence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MepJp7KpaH4, Intelligent Executive, Maidenhead, UK:

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