Developing Leadership Skills - Essay Example

Developing Leadership Skills In my opinion, leadership is the ability to influence people to come together towards a common goal without forcefully coercing them into action. A good leader influences action by understanding the mindset of his subordinates and knowing how best to coordinate them towards achieving goals (Northouse 17). For this assignment, I observed my friend Carl who is a soccer captain and Jenny who is the head pharmacist at my local drug store. On this day, Carl had fallen out with his teammate Mark and it had escalated to a physical fight. Tensions had been brewing between the two because Mark had consistently challenged the captain’s decisions in front of his teammates. Mark is a very talented and hardworking player but has a high temper and is generally stubborn. He could have actually made captain but his mean tempered streak and sense of individualism stood in the way. Carl is also a talented player and a team player but is generally passive aggressive. He barely shows any emotion and has generally ignored Mark’s negative comments and public jabs to avoid fueling his anger. However, Carl had resulted to benching Mark during practice when the coach was not around to alienate him, decision that Mark had not taken kindly after missing out on several practice sessions. Constant arguments had a cold war had gone on between the two till Mark finally confronted Carl and a fight ensued. The two now sat before the coach pleading their case and explaining what happened. Carl argued that Mark had constantly disrespected him and did not heed the advice of his peers during practice. Therefore he had been forced to make him sit out during practice and work with teammates who followed his lead. Mark on the other hand argued that he did not mean to be disrespectful and was only trying to have his voice heard. Being a good player and an avid reader on how to improve the way they played was only trying to get the captain to incorporate a few plays during practice. Carl interpreted this as a threat to his authority and hit back by alienating him from the team. Mark kept insisting that even though he has a short temper and sometimes speaks his mind in an assertive manner, he did not mean to fuel a feud between him and the captain. Carl appeared insecure about his abilities as a leader and did not act objectively. As a leader, he had identified that there was a problem based on how Mark behaved towards him. However, he did not deal with it effectively. Alienating him only fueled a feud between them and drove the team to take sides making it harder to work as a team. They had never evened out their differences and sat to talk about how they felt about each other. Luckily, this was an avenue to settle old scores and agree to work together as a team. Carl accepted that as the captain he could have stimulated participation and teamwork and allowed Mark to try some plays. Accepting Mark’s suggestions was not a threat to his authority. Carl used the paternalism leadership approach where anyone appearing question his authority was punished by being forced to sit out, a leadership style which drew the team apart and let to a physical fight. Jenny is the head pharmacist at the largest local retail pharmacy and has been lauded for her management and leadership skills over the years. As the head of the largest pharmacy she has earned respect and is considered a mentor and role model among professional women. However, it has not always been an easy task as pharmacists can easily fall prey to the lure of money due to conflict of interest. On this day jenny sat before the owners of the pharmacy after a decision she had made to change drug suppliers from Hadleys pharmaceuticals to Clavam pharmaceuticals led to a crisis. The suppliers enjoyed a cordial relationship with the store owners and had been supplying drugs to the store since its inception. Jenny had recently signed a new contract with a different drug supplier and the old suppliers had reached out to the store owners to intervene. She argued that Clavam supplied superior range of drugs which had proven to be more effective than those supplied by Hadleys. Moreover, Clavam’s superior drugs were much cheaper and selling them increased the store’s profit margins by more than forty percent. Michael, the Hardleys’ representative, argued that based on their track record of timely delivery and a working relationship over the decades, they deserved a chance to continue supplying drugs to the store. He insisted that the two families have always stood by each other and it was not fair to stop this partnership just because there was a new supplier in town. He also attacked Jenny saying that she was too young to comprehend how family businesses operated and that she could not understand why two old families would stay in such a partnership. Jenny did not respond to the Gibes, and instead focused on proving her proving her point that her decision had been based on drug quality and increased profits. Michael did not separate the person from the issue at hand and attacked jenny based on age. Jenny on the other hand remained objective about the issues at hand and received supporting arguments from her subordinates. They had prescribed drugs from both companies to patients and had observed that Clavam sold supplied drugs of a superior quality. Jenny had listed to them and made the decision to retain Clavam as the sole supplier for the accountants had also confirmed that the store would record better profits. To end the conflict, Jenny offered a solution, which was to retain Hardleys pharmaceuticals as the herbal products suppliers while Clavam took over all drug supplies. This way, Hadleys would still have business and the two families would continue with a partnership. Their herbal products were at per with those supplied by Clavam and since they were fast moving goods, Hadleys would stay in business. Jenny’s leadership style promotes teamwork where everyone at the pharmacy was consulted before a decision was made. She was determined and prioritized drug quality over a relationship where only the supplier stood to benefit just because he shared strong ties with the store owner. It was clear to me that she could effectively manage other employees, resources and understood the technical aspects of her job. She was also socially perceptive as she was aware of Michael’s emotional state and handled it by offering a solution instead of completely cutting them off. I good leader should be emotionally intelligent and regulate their emotions to come up with the most effective solutions. Carl chose to punish Mark and only escalated the feud between them leading to a fight. In the past I have let my emotions cloud my judgment but observing Jenny maneuver gibes and get work done was an inspiration. I plan to hone my leadership skills by enhancing my administrative, conceptual and Interpersonal skill. Allowing for people to express their views freely and fairly motivates subordinates and promotes teamwork which leads to positive company growth (Northouse 134). Conflict may occur as a result of change or it may bring about the change itself. It is healthy if managed effectively and in creative ways which improve relations. A leader should not run away from conflict but should face it head through strategic planning, creating a vision and making the right decisions to solve problems. Work Cited Northouse Peter G. Introduction to Leadership: Concepts and Practice (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2012. Print. Read More