It is one of my learned opinions that leaders are not born overnight. The following is a leadership development paper that is not exactly a research paper in the traditional sense. I have ensured to use information from previous coaching activities and personal feedback and insights that will help the reader view my establishments as a learned leader. During my course and assessments, I gained one of the most esteemed abilities including the art of observation. Such a lack of leadership skills can be supported by the fact that a 2007 study discovered that only 36% of staff members in the team felt that they were competent enough to fill roles that required leadership skills such as observance. It is pertinent to mention that, in 2018, the baby boomer generation is on the verge of retirement and the recent fluctuations in the economy have further highlighted the importance of leadership in the eyes of shareholders, businesses, and workplaces in general.
In the modern era, leadership skills such as communication are more often than not overlooked. It is imperative that anyone aspiring to become a multifaceted leader like myself is able to understand that there are challenges that people will face when understanding decisions that are made. However, there is data that suggests that leaders can tend to rank badly as far as communication skills are concerned. Online surveys suggested that, after surveying 1300 people, leaders tend to perform strongest on traits that they least tended to in the past; these include aspects such as track record of success (Durkin, 2017).
It is also essential to note that on many occasions workers will leave the organization because there is no connection between the leader and the individual. The mentoring tactics will have to go both ways, and this is one of the skills I have learned during my recent projects where different ways to do the same thing in a better manner can help connect different generations. It is expected that leaders at all levels tend to shift the way that they conduct operations. For instance, the way that technology disrupts the workplace should be accounted as a valuable aspect of our culture. This is one of the commonest differences between millennials and Gen Xers whose leadership styles can be mutually exclusive.
Some of the attributes that I aspire to model every day include teamwork, integrity, and humbleness. These aspects include teamwork which is believing that the player who is part of the team has more value than those who are leading alone. I am a principle-oriented person who will say what I mean, and my actions and words would be similar in ideology. It is also imperative that leaders be held accountable, as we collectively own every outcome. If one tends to ignore situations that require correction, this translates to weak accountability where leaders fail to offer solutions to problems. Studies can support the idea of leadership quality and practice that were conducted in Malaysia. The mentioned study looks at a set of questionnaires and surveys that were seen under 24 federal ministries that including the Malaysian prime minister. The results of the study showed that Malaysia faced many challenges and obstacles due to its multiracial presence and report where several public sectors were ignored due to the lack of interest by workers (Bin Abd Aziz, Said & Alam, 2015). Overall, it is in the best interests of any sector to promote the development and practice of leadership qualities as part of the assessment system to become efficient and reliable as a sector.
One of the most inspiring leaders is Nelson Mandela and his fight to freedom. He exemplifies the traits of both a team worker and a leader. Moreover, he stood against all injustices during his time and the relationships he had with the people were commendable. He was a gifted leader with apt cognitive powers. As was common in his leadership style, anticipation was a valuable possession for Mandela to have seen the apartheid system in South Africa. Even though he was in his prison cell, he saw and anticipated actions that were to occur in the future. Even as a team worker, I took it upon myself to challenge people who were in the wrong, and at a higher social standing. One ought to believe in one’s rights beliefs, and civil liberties (Glad & Blanton, 1997). Any system that does not ensure liberty ought to be challenged and overthrown at the very best. Interpreting any errors in judgment is also highly ambitious, and more so, required as part of ensuring the best quality of leadership skills (Mandela, 1990). To learn is to effectively lead. Similar points were also faced by Mandela after he was released from prison. One needs to learn and adapt to many of the societal norms today include socialist societies with tinges of Marxism.
I essentially believe that open communication that includes collaboration at the workplace is required; moreover, excuses are rationalizations are unnecessary as part of core strategies at work. I will aim to lead with the best possible measures and also look at the best level of empathy to understand people from various walks of life and leverage their experiences for the betterment of the workplace. It is essential to embrace changing conditions and ensure that learning and growth patterns follow. The millennial leadership study can support some of the points that are mentioned above. For instance, a survey of 412 individuals was done, out of which 52% of these women were millennials (Staff, 2015). When these individuals were asked some of their biggest motivators, the answer was empowering others along the process. A selected few equated money to power (Staff, 2015). Overall, the leadership style that was chosen was transformative, similar to Starbucks’s ideologies at the workplace. In general, looking at transformational leadership tendencies is imperative when favoring flexible work schedules and deadlines (Banks, McCauley, Gardner, & Guler, 2016). The study that focused on millennial habits also suggested that 28% of upcoming leaders are highly reserved about work-life balance, and such an issue can be dealt with by introducing transformational leadership in distinct ways.
We live in a time and place where leadership is only evolving. The most basic responsibilities that have been assigned to a leader are to direct the activities within the department. It is also imperative to be part of the decision-making department. Expectations of the staff, and convicting members to align with the visionary’s message is a daunting task, but can be aligned by motivating members to achieve common goals. Transformational leadership and head-centric leadership styles have pros and cons (Bass & Avolio, 1993). In any case, always ensuring that there is a head-centric leadership can cause problems internally, as the leader’s interests may not be consistent with a more transformative style. Communication is key in many ways, and integrity and humbleness are required for all those working in a civilized manner. Communication is usually not the strongest aspect that leaders show, but it is essential that there be some level of communication among workers of different social standing. Collaborating with external companies and departments is also a positive action as it shows a message of acceptance and humbleness.
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