Why should anyone be led by me - Personal Statement Example

? Why Should Anyone Be Led By Me? Ramakrishna S The purpose of this paper is to explain my interest and capa for leading others. It is abrief statement of my core beliefs and personal vision about effective leadership. It is also a description of my leadership style as well as legacy. It focuses on my traits and competencies as a leader. In essence it answers the fundamental question why anyone should be led by me. Why Should Anyone Be Led By Me? If there is one thing that I can claim having very good knowledge of, it is me. I have often heard that the ultimate end of education is ‘self-discovery’ (19). In my own case, thankfully, I think it happened to a substantial degree and I presume that is what gives me the aptitude for leadership. Besides my parents and teachers, several of my friends and a number of books that I read allowed me a lot of reflection and introspection as to what I was and what I ought to be. Thus they have been of immense help in taking a close look at my values, strengths, weaknesses, talents, relationships, passions and interests. In short they let me find my voice. At the same time, I am aware that the discovery is an ongoing process and the description in the current document is a portrait of what I am at the moment. In my experience as a manager, I made a conscious effort not to be overcome by frustration or disappointment at the end of an unsuccessful business encounter or presentation (31). I saw them rather as learning experiences and indicators of the dots that I missed. I was careful not to let my command be confined just to my area of specialization. I was prepared to go that extra mile to gain knowledge of other departments to the extent they would be needed so that my business acumen would become complete and credible. It also helped me to answer with conviction any questions regarding the business decisions that I had made. I constantly reminded myself that gaining access to the C suite in itself did not mean anything and there would a long way to go beyond that. A very useful tip given by my first boss was to think afresh always. I must say I took it to its letter and spirit. Before that, I remember having done the mistake of applying ‘one of the old solutions’ to a new problem that appeared to resemble an old problem. My first boss’s suggestion meant that each solution was bound to be as unique as the problem itself. Over the years, I have cultivated the practice of contemplating multiple options and applying mind-map sketches whenever I had to mull over one. It meant a little more labor to focus on the most significant parts of the data and then to identify the patterns. But then, it saved me from the unpleasant task of resorting to self-deception or depending on false reasoning and rationalization (180). Not that this method was entirely without risk, but it stood the best chance for success for the simple reason that the approach was as honest as it could be. I am glad I made mistakes. They gave me the chance to act in time and strengthen myself as a leader. On one occasion, when I was in high spirits following excellent pay off on one of the project ideas that clicked, it was actually one of my subordinates, a young man, who warned me, subtly though, not to be carried away by short-term success but to be prepared for future scenarios and contingencies. It took me some time to appreciate precisely what he meant. When I got the essence, I have begun to force myself and my team to stay away from the comfort zone and look at each project from an R & D perspective. It was one of the first lessons but one of the finest too. The first few months of my career caused me insomnia literally because too many deadlines seemed to accumulate at a time leading to stress (143). After a couple of experiences of sophisticated reproach by my superiors, I figured out how the daily grind affected my priorities and important and urgent tasks would inadvertently get overlooked. I realized that I was dwelling mostly with the tasks that I inherently liked and in this process the other functions were pushed to the back seat. I gradually learnt to discipline my schedule to set aside blocks of time for each of the tasks I was supposed to do justice to in a leader’s role. Doing the right thing would not have the intended result if it was not done at the right time. Delay could transform resources into burdens. This realization was crucial in avoiding panic and chaos that had an adverse effect on my creative faculties. When I was on my first job, I was on more often than not appreciated for the quality of work that I turned out. The sense of pride and accomplishment each of those compliments filled me with was otherwise good, except for its addictive nature. After assuming managerial charge a couple of years later, it was hard to shake off the temptation to do everything myself, because I believed I could do better. Even when I delegated a task, I would interfere often. In due course, however, it dawned upon me that leadership is not so much about doing a job well as it is about finding and training people that do a thing well. I know now that a leader is nothing without his team as he owes his success to a great extent to the quality of the team members and their degree of coordination. I now consult a lot before delegation and acknowledge every small job that is done well. I interfere less and allow room for my team members to be themselves instead of being my replicas. I do not think failures are as bad as they are made out to be. From first-hand experience, I have found out that failing early and failing often can be extremely useful in making one a better leader. This is particularly true when new processes are about to be implemented. Unless one is highly objective, it is not easy to foresee the cons of a hastily launched new project that is apparently of great value. For good judgment to prevail, it is imperative to be able to predict the possible impact of a process on other areas. Watching some of my colleagues, a very important lesson that I learnt was that a leader must have the courage to call a spade a spade and not to let authority intimidate his conviction. It would be sweet to avoid conflict but that would only make things worse eventually. It is possible to disagree without being disagreeable. It would be a graver mistake, however, to be making judgments too fast. All said and done, I hold the view that a leader must, in the first place, be a human being in terms of character, integrity and empathy (81). This becomes all the more important in a world that interprets success purely in material terms. I would like to see my leadership skills grounded in the ‘character ethic’ rather than the ‘personality ethic’. Reference Goffe, Rob & Jones, Gareth (2006). Why Should Anyone Be Led By You? – What It Takes To Be An Authentic Leader. Harvard Business School Press. APA STYLE FOR RESEARCH REPORTS 8 Appendix Additional APA-style Writing Tips ______________________________________________________________________ 8 1/2 X 11 inch good quality paper Use 1 inch margins All text double-spaced Start References on new page No low resolution printers No handwritten corrections Indent paragraphs five letter spaces (this can be more than five space bar strikes on a word processor program) No hyphenated broken words Left margin justification for body of text Do not right justify - leave right margin broken Number all pages except figures in upper right margin with short title (see Appendix A) Don’t forget to include a Running head on the Title Page Include a separate page for figure captions Correctly present numbers, including statistical copy Use the metric system for all measurements Use past tense to describe aspects of the study Avoid sexist language Spell check your work APA STYLE FOR RESEARCH REPORTS 9 Appendix (continued) Maintain correct subject-verb agreement Do not underline words for emphasis (italicize them) Know the proper procedure for citations Carefully reference every work used in your paper Read More