Journal Entries and Comparisons to Semester II Domains of Study - Coursework Example

This would potentially ensure huge savings in time for the Company as well as a more efficient informational process for the Company, through a much more efficient execution of the leadership process in so far as communication is concerned. I also discovered this when communication issues cropped up during the execution of our Power Point project. The problem here was the breakdown in communications, so that members of the team did not have the information that they needed to integrate their efforts harmoniously with the other members of the team.

This illustrates how the objective of working towards a common goal could have been improved if one of us has assumed the leadership role at first and during the initial meeting, established what information each member of the group would communicate to the others, as well as the frequency of that communication. In the absence of a leader and a well developed policy on communication, we faced problems in coordinating our efforts. The four core aspects that a good manager must take into consideration in managing his team members effectively are as follows: (a) select a person (b) set expectations (c) motivate the person and (d) develop the person (Buckingham and Curt, 1999).

Good leadership constitutes the modification and adaptation of these aspects, for instance by selecting someone for talent not just for experience, intelligence or determination; while setting expectations, focusing only on the outcome rather than the method, while motivating, focusing on strengths rather than weaknesses and when developing the person, finding the right fit rather than merely pushing up the rungs of the ladder. I found this to be true in the management of my program for teen mothers; for example this program has helped to identify and motivate youngsters who were previously uninterested in work.

By focusing on outcomes, as I did during my visit to the hospital with Amber, I was able to demonstrate to her – without a word being said – the reality of being a mother and it may have also motivated her to work harder at her job because of the realisation that she needed to earn money for the huge investments that would be required in raising the child. It also produced a positive motivation because it focused upon identifying her strengths as a potential mother rather than seeing her pregnancy as a potential weakness that needed to be overcome.

In the context of hiring employees, Lawler (2003) has pointed the example of Southwest Airlines, which bases its hiring decisions on a realistic preview, making its employees tell jokes and make announcements, thereby simulating the actual job environment that employees will encounter. When I took Amber with me into the wards, I was exposing her in a similar manner to what she would be exposed to after giving birth, thereby providing me with a good estimation of how she was likely to react. In a similar way, when I got the insurance company involved in dealing with Rick’s recovery after he was moved out of the ICU, I met Mrs McDonnel from the insurance company, who was the most professional, organized woman I had ever met.

This woman was a typical example of good hiring by her employers, in accordance with the policy practiced by