Leadership Development - Article Example

Leadership development Section A 12 ways to better team building The most important aspect of leadership is to ensure that your team members are able to work as a unit. It is the only way through which success can be realized. According to Ellen Belzer, there are twelve ways in which one can ensure that effective team building exists. The following are the methods which are very crucial: The first thing as a team leader is to get personal; ensure you understand the motive of each of your team members. For example if you are doing an IT project, some people might be interested in software while others in hardware. It will be appropriate to distinguish the two. The second thing is to focus on the goals through defining the mission of the group. In the above case, the mission will be to successfully complete the project from hardware implementation to software installation. The third thing is to clarify the position of all the member of your group. This will help define the role of every individual. After doing this, the fourth step is to make the roles and identity of all the group members’ official. Using the above example, each members will be told to handle the assigned duty whether on software or hardware as intended. This will make each individual accomplish his target. What you do not know about decision making By default, decision making is one of the most important tasks of a senior executive; that is why they are referred to as managers. Many people presume that this is a very hard task, without acknowledging the fact that it might as well be the simplest task, if certain things are taken into consideration. In order to achieve this, they must first accept that decision making is a process and that two methods are used. The first method is advocacy and the other method is inquiry. Each of these processes will come in handy during varying situations. The next thing that executive members should take into account is that decision making at times is the work of a collective of executives. Because of this, not all the time people will share the same idea. Therefore, if they disagree, they should do it in a manner that is constructive. In such scenarios, it is essential that both teams structure a debate which will either take the design of point-counterpoint or the intellectual watchdog. After they all arrive at a decision, they should test this putting a number of considerations in place. With all the above taken into account, the idea of decision making becomes very easy. "Man’s Search for Meaning" In the book "Man’s Search for Meaning", there are many lessons for each and every leader in this society. According to this text, a leader’s job is to ensure that there is existence of meaning and purpose to his or her subjects. In his book, the author Frankly clearly puts out the essence of these two in an individual’s life. The setting of this book is in a prison where as a psychiatrist, Frankl was imprisoned during the world war. He wondered how other prisoners were able to survive the harsh conditions. Later, he was able to find out that the motivation they had was the will to meaning. Therefore as leaders, it is essential that we instill meaning to those who we serve because it is that which will keep them moving even through the difficult times they go through in achieving their goals. Section B The “Ultimate Meaning” of Viktor Frankl (On Moodle) The study of The “Ultimate Meaning” of Viktor Frankl is one that shifts the whole issue of leadership to a new level. In this discussion God as the provider of wisdom gets involved. In his search to define the “ultimate meaning” Frankl was only able to make in his last book “Mans search for the ultimate meaning, which this discussion is based. There comes the introduction of the ultimate destiny of man through the Urantia book. If one digs deep into the details of this discussion, it gets clearly portrayed that man tends to deal with facts, which sometime do not apply, while religion deals with values. However, it is advised that all men whether in the position of a leader or not should learn to integrate the two, since their product is reality. Frankl clearly depicts that though science, fact conscious bears, through wisdom, coordinate conscious is achieved. Also, through religion, we get to appreciate the value of consciousness, then revelation drives humans to reality. It will be therefore very essential for any leader to learn how to integrate all these aspects clearly, in order to get the appropriate perspectives on matters. A Question of Leadership: Groupthink We live in a world of democracy that is one thing that we really do appreciate. The problem is, to what extent do democratic practices drive us to the wrong paths? Many leaders have been victims of this, the idea of majority rules! Based on my experiences in life, grouping is very common and gets practiced in all the parts of the society. It is evident that only the fact that one cannot make a decision, no matter how right it might be without concerning others, that leads to group think. There are many ways of combating this democratic rot. The first one is to involve a process that has a myriad ways to arrive at a decision, the second mode is to clarify the goal of the decision and the other method is through the inclusion of a devils angle to question then the decision of the group. In my opinion, I would prefer the final option, the inclusion of the devils angle. This option is appropriate since the individual will question the authenticity of their decision. We will not be able to do away with democracy, but we can make decisions made through democracy to be ones that are appropriate. Section C The grapes of wrath The grapes of wrath is a classic story of the Joad family, who is forced to leave their home on a journey through route 66. It provides the unflinching look of farmers turned to immigrants in search of stability and jobs. It is during this period that Robert Greenleaf rises to become a great leader to this person. He starts with being a servant to the people then mutates to being their leader. What is important is that as a leader, he focused on the growth of his subjects. He desired that they grow into better and more productive persons. In the modern society, his acts clearly reflect to those in team building. According to this story, team building can be contributed through love and concern for one another. This is the same way in which the text urges us to incorporate new comers to our groups both as leaders and as members. Huckleberry Finn In this novel, the adventures of huckleberry Finn, there are great qualities of honesty and leadership that get displayed. This is about two boys on an adventure along the Mississippi river. This is an adventure for freedom in which Huck gets to show his great leadership skills. The most important aspect of leadership in this story is the virtue of honesty and trust in reference to leadership. It dictates that as leaders, we should be people who can be trusted and can own up to their promises. Section D Remember the Titans The movie ‘remember the titans’ is a classic example of leadership movies the world has ever had. The movie is about the racial integration of two coaches, a team composed of both the black and white race. With a leadership torn in between racial segregation, athletics and discrimination, the most captured essence of the movie is how people can put aside their differences and at the final end triumph. There are a number of leadership values that we can garner from this movie. The first thing is that we should all be able to manage our differences just like how Coach Boone managed to. The second thing is that we should demand excellence just like coach Boone did again. The final and most important aspect that one can absorb from this wonderful leadership movie is that one should always hold onto his or her values. Towards the end of this movie there was immense pressure on coach Yoast to give up his belief that it was possible to integrate the both sides of the team, but he did not let go and at the end of it all the team became one. Leadership Training from Sister Act In this movie, the sister Mary Clarence was hiding from the mafia in a convent. She disguises herself as a catholic nun after being caught up in a misdoing. She was not used to the catholic way of life so things seem to be very tough. However, when she fits into her peers, they get to feel that with her, the choir would be a better place. There are a number of stages that she undergoes. The first one is denial, then anger, followed by bargaining and depression. However, at the final stages, she gains acceptance among her peers. Under leadership, employees get to undergo a myriad of changes and at times it may be hard to gain control of them. However, through perseverance and wisdom, one will finally help them achieve their goals. Section E Ball exercise In leadership, at the end of the experience, there lies goals that an individual has to achieve. This is the main purpose of leadership; that you gear your team towards what you were intended to accomplish. When it comes to the issue of realizing one’s goals, there are a couple of things that get involved. The first thing is that different leaders have different techniques of achieving their goals and the second thing is that they achieve their goals in different periods. It is also important to consider that the complexity of the method used also matters. Take for example the ball exercise we conducted in class. When I was given the ball by the instructor, I perceived that his intended action was that I throw the ball into the box, when I threw the ball into the box, it missed hence failing in this scenario. When my classmate was given the ball, he took it straight to the box and dropped it right inside. Say if I was a group leader, my group would not have achieved their goal, however, the other group would have. According to me, I saw that throwing the ball would be fast, but the other student was focused on making sure the group would not fail. Therefore, despite that fact that goals might be similar, the manner in which we accomplish will always differ. Nine Dots In this class exercise, the teacher instructed me to join nine dots on a box. All the dots were only to be connected using four lines. According to me I saw it right that joining the dots from inside the box would be appropriate. However, my line of thought for the second time had failed me. The idea was that as leaders we are supposed to think outside the box. This was the only way through which the dots would be joined correctly. In this exercise, the instructor was trying to test the extent through which we reason out our decision making. We should not confine our thoughts to the usual things, in this case I was supposed to think outside the box. Looking at the bigger picture this means that as a leader one should clearly weigh the options before making a decision. Work cited DuBrin, Andrew J. Leadership: Research Findings, Practice, and Skills. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2011. Print. Read More