Managerial Leadership. The skills and expertise required for being an authentic leader - Essay Example

?Managerial Leadership Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 4 Introduction 5 Report Aim and Objectives 5 Scope of the Report 5 Limitations of the Report 7 Discussion 8 Self Awareness 8 Johari Window 10 Different Perception 13 Values 13 Motivation 15 Interests 18 Conclusion 18 Recommendations 19 Bibliography 22 Appendices 23 Appendix 1 24 Abstract In this project I will be principally focusing to highlight the skills and expertise required for being an authentic leader. I will also try to emphasize the relations between the degree of self awareness and a successful authentic leader. The report will also demonstrate the importance of other factors such as motivation, values and beliefs in the context of leadership. In order to evaluate my leadership potentials I have used primary research. After analyzing those data I do have a clear idea about myself and also evaluated the requirements within myself in order to become a successful authentic leader. Authentic Leaders: - Authentic leaders are the persons who actually know themselves and portray what they know about themselves from their heart. Some of the essential characteristics of an authentic leaders are they always speak the truth, leads from inside, courageous and ambitious (Holden Leadership center, n.d.). Introduction The purpose of the report is to critically evaluate my competence and efficacy as an Authentic Leader. The report will highlight the applications of the presented models within the lecture. Apart from this the report will also highlight on the Personal intrinsic and extrinsic motivators. The report will also portray the primary and secondary research conducted by me for the completion of the entire project. Report Aim and Objectives The report is principally focused to demonstrate the four factors such as authentic leadership, values, self awareness and motivation. The report will also try to review and consult models of based on authentic leadership which was taught during the lectures. Finally the report will justify the reason for this report which pertains to the examination of my effectiveness as an authentic leader. Scope of the Report This section of the report will provide an overview of the entire report. This will also depict how the authentic leaders are indisputable in their purpose and recognize the purpose of their leadership as serving the customers, employees and investors and not the one related to self interest. Authentic leaders must perform their values constantly, balance their extrinsic and intrinsic motivations, build reliable relationships and operate with high levels of personal discipline and obedience. Therefore to become an efficient authentic leader self awareness is the most important factor. It comes from the understanding of the life stories of some eminent leaders and the impact of their crucibles and reflects on how their life stories and crucibles add to their motivations and their behavioural patterns. The leaders who do not take time their time out for introspection and manifestation of their life stories, crucibles and experiences are considered more susceptible towards being seduced. The seducing factors are external rewards such as authority, money, and recognition. The leaders may also feel the need to appear in such an ideal way so that other cannot confess any ill-activities and disclose their faults. In the process of becoming more self-aware, I have learned to find and accept my weak points, failures, and vulnerabilities, as like we appreciate our strengths and successes. While doing so, I gain compassion for myself and also tried to relate to the world around myself in authentic ways. This also allows me to release from the need to adopt pretences to astonish other people. This also helped in self understanding and what I am at an interior level. The report will also reveal how I learnt to reframe my failures and negative experiences into positive growth opportunities. Mindful leadership is a worldly idea which enables people to maintain effective leadership throughout their existence. It also enables them to be fully aware of themselves and their impact on other people. Mindful leadership also aims to develop self-awareness and empathetic leaders by combining western understanding of authentic leadership with eastern acumen about the mentality. This has developed from practices that have been used for thousands of years. Limitations of the Report In this part of the project report, myself as an authentic leader will not be able to show experimental research such as the emotions and feeling which I went through during the journey my life. However I will try to provide as much possible evidence as I can in writing in the context of my authentic leadership skills. The other limitation of the report is that I cannot support the report with photos and videos of the journey of my life, if that was possible the report could reach some new heights. Time can be also addressed as a limitation. Due to time constraints maybe I can miss some of the important chapters of my life which could certainly have certainly provided new dimensions to the report. Finally apart from myself to portray the concepts of authentic leadership and its related models there was constraints on the research part. There were issues in both primary as well as secondary research. It has not been possible to illustrate the authentic leadership with live examples due few restrictions otherwise it would have significant effect on the project. Discussion In this part of the project report I will be evaluating my self-awareness, values and motivation with the support of primary research and life story. Therefore it will help me to develop a foundation of my effectiveness and efficiency as an authentic leader with self-awareness. I suppose to become more self-aware, I should develop an understanding of myself in many key areas for self-awareness. Those key areas for self-awareness include personality traits, personal values, ethical leadership, emotions, and the psychological needs that drive my behaviour. Self Awareness The developmental programs of traditional leadership have always missed its mark for the last few years. Traditional leadership has always tried to rebuild leaders which has some different qualities or in other words possesses something different and special. According to the authors of the book titled ‘Rethinking Leadership in a Complex, Multicultural, and Global Environment: New Concepts and Models for Higher Education’ argues that development programs pertaining to traditional leadership collectively brings positional as well as hierarchical leaders and mainly focuses on the development of expertise and personality (Kezar, 2008, p.213). Therefore I will try to gain more self awareness and will also try harder in the process of understanding myself within different key areas of self awareness. The key areas which I will be mainly upon includes ethical leadership styles, emotions, personality traits, personal values and attitudes and the different psychological needs which will be helping myself towards the process of rectifying and driving myself behaviour. Self awareness is also considered as the basis towards the effective leadership that will aid me in the process of identifying the gaps in the leadership skills and will also help me to develop my skills. Apart from the aforementioned effectiveness it will also help me to find out the circumstances which will be more effective, helps in stress management, motivation, and intuitive decision making. Personality trait: - Personality traits can be defined as the prototype of feelings, thought process, attitudes and behaviour. It actually focuses on the difference between the individuals in the context of how they act, think and feel (Borghans, et al., 2008, p.3). Personality trait will help me out in the process of act on my personalities and gaining control over attitudes, values and the needs based upon the learning’s about myself. However it is also important to understand personalities in order to find and asses those situation which can be sustained by me and will also help me out in avoiding those circumstances which will be give too much stress to me. Ethical leadership Behaviours: - Ethical leadership can be defined as the process of understanding the interior core values and to have the courage to live with it in different parts of life (Center for ethical leadership, n.d.). I guess ethical leadership behaviour is also a crucial aspect which is to be considered for becoming more self- aware. Emotion: - Emotion can be defined as the assessment of a modification in the feelings. Although each and every emotions generates within the activity of brain, but all the emotions are first the psychological phenomenon (Kagan, 2007, p.1).The emergence of a specific emotion depends hugely upon the historical and biological settings. The recent trends depicts that emotional self awareness has become an important subject of discussion. It is also one of the five facets of emotional intelligence. Therefore it becomes very much important to understand my own feelings and what are the reasons behind it and also how will it impact in the thought process. Furthermore I have scored very high marks in the empirical research of emotional self awareness which portrays that I hold high level of feelings and tremendously closer to the peoples. This also depicts that having a well developed emotional self awareness will make me a superior authentic leader. Skill development: - This is also a crucial aspect towards the improvement of myself awareness. For example during my early college days I learnt how to remain confident and more self aware during the time of presentations. During the initial presentation periods I used feel hesitant. However with the course of time I became more confident and the quality of the presentation also developed. The other important reasons which helped me to get confident were by remaining positive and motivated. The communication and leadership skill also started to improve by staying organized and well prepared for the presentation programs. Often self awareness even reveals the skill gaps which can be rectified and on the things which I want to work on. Johari Window Johari window helps in recognizing our selves. It can be defined as the graphical representation for the interpersonal relationship. Originally created by Harry Ingham and Joseph Luft Johari window is a momentous tool for understanding the communication and interaction pattern of human beings. The window describes the procedure which initiates from a mutual knowledge and intends to reveal the unknown by deploying knowledge of each groups (Mefalopulos, 2008, p.95). (Source: Govleaders, n.d.). Therefore I am using Johari window model in order to develop and assess my level of self-awareness. Window 1:- Known to all The portion can be sighted as open window. This side of ours is what we freely portray to others and they also observe it. The best example of this window can be out attitudes and behaviour. It can also be enlarged if we disclose more of us. This factor has made me comprehend that I can progress my self-awareness with the support of primary research including which includes questionnaires and self-assessments. This has demonstrated that I am a self-critical of myself and I don’t let praise to get on and remain grounded. Window 2: Blind This is considered as the blind portion of the window. This part is not seen by us but outsiders can see it. To cite an example our body language and some of the other behavioural aspects that are not known to self. It can be enlarged from the reviewed of outsiders. This area was really beneficial for me in order to develop my effectiveness as an authentic leader. This has allowed me to know myself as how I am perceived by my leadership. The feedback which I received from by friends has established my authentic leadership capability and also gave me chance to improve on my weak areas such as to overcome the introverted characteristics. Window 3: Hidden This is referred to as the private part of the window. This side of ours is known to us but we do not share it with the outsiders. The best example can be some of secrets for which we feel embarrassed. It can be enlarged by revealing our hidden furtive. This area reveals things that I kept as secret to others. I believe some things must be kept as secrets or hidden as I like to keep some information confidential. From the primary research I conducted, people who are really close to me even could not understand some of my characteristics in my hidden area. Therefore this is a disadvantage for me as an authentic leader. Window 4: Unknown to all This segment is also known as the closed window. It is considered as a side of ours which are not known to self as well as to the others. This can be our unconscious demands, undiscovered talents & expertise, hidden motivational factors and concerns (Sutton & Stewart, 2002, p.21-22). I believe that from my past experience I had experienced many things that are unknown to me and other. During the university days I had friends that offered me to meet up and complete coursework’s and share ideas and knowledge however, I tend to stay home and complete my work and also stay away for theses social situations. From my life experience I have learnt to be independent person and I believe I work harder and better alone. Different Perception The primary research which has been conducted by me was very much essential as I have been able to take the feedback about myself from my friends and family. I have made them to fill out the questionnaire which I have personally designed in order to get a feedback of myself in the context of myself awareness. It has also helped me to assess my leadership qualities and actually the type of person I am. This section of the research is also essential for me as it has provided an insight about the perception of others about me or what my friend and family actually think of me. This has also helped me to underline the differences among their views and my views. The primary data also helped me to asses my strengths and weaknesses, my principles, self awareness and motivation. Values Value refers to the thing which has a high degree of significance. I consider value as an essential segment of my life is it helps me to assess what is good and acceptable and what is unacceptable. Values can be referred to as the important and valuable things for someone (National Defense University, n.d.). Values which are important for me Personal Value guides our daily life activities therefore it is also important to focus on our personal values. Therefore I guess in order to become a sound authentic leader, personal values plays a crucial role. However an authentic leader has to compromises the values in order to resist to the social and situational demands. Henceforth it becomes much more significant to have a high degree of awareness towards becoming an effective authentic leader. Now to depict my capability towards becoming an effective authentic leader I need to execute and implement the situation which will typically have strong characteristics, polite attitudes and solid bases of values. Now the most important value of me is my family because I believe having a caring family is very much important and thus I rank this value at the peak position. A good and caring family supports an individual throughout the lifetime and it also motivates to achieve something for the family. In my case I have been supported by my family since the day I was born or when I started to sense. My family members include my parents and my brother has been a stalwart support for me. They helped me out to sort out some of the difficult situations and stressful moments of my life. Therefore I believe that my family has guided me to lead life and get accustomed in every situation which is also considered as a crucial aspect towards becoming a successful authentic leader. The second most important value is my health. I strongly believe that if health remains fit any work can be carried out with ease. I also believe that an authentic leader needs to remain fit in order to accomplish the daily activities. In this respect to keep myself healthy, I go to gym everyday which allows me to remain stress free as well. During the night I also visit spa to make myself more relax. The third value which is very much important for me is to remain confident. Confidence is very much essential for an authentic leader. Since I want to become a successful entrepreneur this quality will help me out in the future as well. My friends also tell me that they always observe huge confidence in face whenever I discuss about doing a business. The fourth important and probably one of the most crucial values is money. Money will facilitate to take my thoughts to the next level and will help me out to raise the standard of living. Money will also aid in the process of opening my own business. Values which are not important for me Values are considered to be of low priority which is less important. Hence according to me the lowest priority value for me is my daily life work. I have considered it to be less valuable as I come through the same process every day. Starting from morning to the night when I go to sleep I perform the same activities. The second aspect which is not much valuable for me is my physical appearance or the way I appear towards the people. According to me work is more important than appearance. Somebody may look average but works quite effectively and vice-versa. However there is a minimal standard for appearing in front of the people, but showing off is not a necessity. Motivation Motivation can be defined as a variable which is conditional to the behaviours and when we analyze the concept of motivation, we conclude it by studying motivational behaviour (Wong, 2000, p.5). In other words motivation is the thing which helps people to perform its activities. It also acts as a driver to perform different activities. However the intensity of motivation varies from one person to other. For example an employee of an organization may get motivated by high remuneration package or a good work environment (Simpson, 1997, p.2). I really feel down whenever something goes against my desire. Such periods cause internal problems within me and I face difficulties in coping up with those situations. Motivation helps me out in the process of understanding the problems and allows me to take measures to curb those issues. Traits such as motivation and self awareness helped me to exploit the strengths and weaknesses of me. To cite an example primary research reveals when ever any I am given any big assignment I get hugely motivated and smaller activities do not drive as the other does. Therefore I need to discuss this fact with my seniors and will try to find out the best solution. The factors which motivate me work better includes responsibility, praise from others, opportunities to make something big and a sense of accomplishment. I also believe that both intrinsic and extrinsic motivators act as the driver. Intrinsic motivation can be referred to motivational activity that gets driven by the interest of the activity (Sansone, 2000, Definition of Intrinsic motivation). While on the other hand extrinsic motivator can be defined as the motivating source that is external to the people. Therefore I have made a list of those factors which act as motivators for me. Personal intrinsic motivators 1. Praise from others 2. Beliefs and values 3. Personal accomplishment 4. Caring 5. Responsibility Personal extrinsic motivators 1. Money 2. Commitment 3. Grades 4. Status and privilege 5. Obligations to others According to me the key factors towards becoming a successful authentic leader are personal values, degree of self awareness, a balancing act between the intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, development of a team which will reflect high trustworthiness and honesty towards the job and obviously to stay grounded as much as possible. I also believe that in order to get deeper insights of the intrinsic and extrinsic motivation personal values are hugely supportive. Intrinsic and extrinsic are both essential elements in the success of an authentic leader. Therefore it becomes a necessity to balance both. In addition to this the biggest challenge that might be faced by me is to remain grounded. However I will try my level best to remain grounded by immersing my negative aspects. Interests Interest is the key factor which will help me to find the actual motivator. Based on my life story I was able to collect or grasp my real interest which were actually close to my heart and my hidden desires. Hence I will be conducting a primary research to asses my real interest by designing an appropriate questionnaire. For example the questions could be what are the important factors for me and on what subject I take more interest and passionate. After analyzing my life story I have been able to assess my areas of interest they are socialization, travelling, education, spending time with friends and family, sports and technical gadgets. Conclusion After conducting all the primary researches and analyzing the data, in this section I feel to conclude my study. In order to carry out the primary research I have used my family members, friends and some other senior members who very close to me. During the beginning of the project I was having doubt in my mind that whether I will be able to become an authentic leader or not, however the past experiences of my life have really helped me to assess the key requirements towards becoming a successful authentic leader. The report also taught me to identify the qualities required for becoming an authentic leader. The report also helped me immensely as a human being and will also aid me in the process of becoming an authentic leader in the near future. Hence after conducting the research it can be concluded that I desperately wants to be an authentic leader and then to reach a position where I can become a successful entrepreneur. Recommendations In this section of the project I will try to put on some recommendations for myself and I will try to follow it. The first recommendation is that I should focus more on the transactional leadership theories as it will help me to have more insights on controlling, planning, organizing and motivation. The second recommendation for me is that I should try to remain grounded and put in efforts to rectify my ill behaviours. The final recommendation is that I should try to imitate other authentic leaders so as to develop my skills and expertise in the field of authentic leadership. References Borghans, L. et al., 2008. The Economics and Psychology of Personality Traits. [Pdf] Available at: < http://ftp.iza.org/dp3333.pdf> [Accessed 06 June 2012]. Center for ethical leadership, No Date. Ethical Leadership. [Online] Available at: < http://ethicalleadership.org/about-us/philosophies-definitions/ethical-leadership> [Accessed 06 June 2012]. Govleaders, No Date. The Failures of Leaders. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 06 June 2012]. Holden Leadership center, No Date. 10 Things Authentic Leaders Do. [Online] Available at: < http://leadership.uoregon.edu/resources/exercises_tips/leadership_reflections/10_things_authentic_leaders_do> [Accessed 06 June 2012]. Kagan, J., 2007. What Is Emotion? History, Measures, and Meanings. London: Yale University Press. Kezar, A. J., 2008. Rethinking Leadership in a Complex, Multicultural, and Global Environment: New Concepts and Models for Higher Education. Virginia: Stylus Publishing, LLC. Mefalopulos, P., 2008. Development Communication Sourcebook: Broadening the Boundaries of Communication. Washington: World Bank Publications. National Defense University, No Date. Strategic Leadership and Decision Making. [Online] Available at: < http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/ndu/strat-ldr-dm/pt4ch15.html> [Accessed 06 June 2012]. Sansone, C., 2000. Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation: The Search for Optimal Motivation and Performance. California: Academic Press. Simpson, W. A., 1997. Motivation. Hyderabad: Universities Press. Sutton, J., & Stewart, W., 2002. Learning to Counsel. Oxford: How to Books Ltd. Wong, R., 2000. Motivation: A Bio-behavioural Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bibliography Diamond, E., 2010. 7 Mindsets to Master Self-Awareness. Bloomington: AuthorHouse. McClelland, D. C., 1987. Human Motivation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Thomas, K. W., 2002. Intrinsic Motivation at Work: Building Energy and Commitment. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Appendices Appendix 1 – My Life Story Appendix 2 – Questionnaire Appendix 1 My Life Story The journey of my life began in 1990s when I was born in the Kosovo on 15/07/1990 and was named by my parent as Fejzollah Bala. During 1997- when I was only 7 years of age I witnessed what is a real war like and what is meant by the term ‘fighting for your life’. I also observed how cruel a war can be. At the age of 13 years I migrated to England to settle down in London where I lived since then. Moving to a new country at such a young age for me was not easy, to say the least however was all a blur being that young. In 2002 when I came to England I needed to adapt various new things such as the external environment of the country, to become accustomed with the people and the culture of the country and also I have to learn the new language. One of biggest challenge for me was to get familiar with the climatic condition. After that in 2006- At that point of my life I set some goals and objectives for myself in order to learn and go to university and experience the great things that the world has to offer. I have also decided to live the life in a big way so that at an older age I do not repent for myself that I could not achieve or reach a goal. During 2006-2007 I learned how can people lay and be so rude to your face and so I had to change my attitude towards them. I thought that people where nice and friendly but I was wrong not every person is the same as the others. Therefore I have pledged to myself that I will appear the same to everyone I will modify my behavior and attitude according to the person I am communication. This will also help me out to remain free of controversies. For the duration of 2007-2009 I joined my college and got the studies back on track. In the same year apart was right but when it came to starting university and meeting new and different people I had to step back and think about what I wanted and how I am going to complete it such as my aims and objectives. 2009-2012 has been an eventful period of my life because I will be finishing my university soon. In the future- To be in a position where I have gain the skills and experiences that I need to be near my ‘dream’ carrier which is Event Management. While working in an organization I hope I will be gaining the experience and the skills that are needed and wanted in order for me to be able to build a carrier. Appendix 2 Questions Average marks (1-5) 1. Do you think Fejzollah can be a Good Leader? 4 2. Do you think Fejzollah can make this own decisions? 3 3. Do you think Fejzollah is a Good motivator for others? 3 4. Do you think Fejzollah is hard working? 3 5. Does Fejzollah Seek feedback from others 4 6. Do you think Fejzollah is Helpful to others? 4 7. Do you think Fejzollah admits his mistakes? 3 8. Do you think Fejzollah has Confident? 3 9. Do you think Fejzollah is Responsible and reliable person? 4 10. Do you think Fejzollah is calm person under all circumstances? 3 11. Do you think Fejzollah is a down to earth person? 4 12. Do you think Fejzollah is a good influencer? 4 Read More