Leadership Styles and Professional Growth

Leadership Styles

It is highly likely that I will be able to develop high quality leadership traits with the passage of time.

Values and personality:

It is hard to become familiar with your personality because you cannot see the flaws in yourself. No matter how hard you try the positive aspects will come forward leaving the negative ones far behind. But observing yourself every once in a while is the key to success. It helps you change your personality according to the situation. If I had to put my values and my personality on a piece of paper I would begin it by telling about my behavior with my closed ones, my associates and especially with the ones I deal with on daily basis. I believe on taking everyone with me and not being competitive as competitiveness leads you nowhere. It might lead you to success somehow but leaves you with no friends and no companions (Adair, 2009).

As a leader there are numerous responsibilities on you. You cannot be a person with a confusing or an under-developed personality. I had to be certain that I worked hard on getting an inspiring personality and the kind that a leader requires to have. I was understanding and considerate with people. I was respectful towards my fellow mates especially my subordinates. In order to win their trust I had to win their confidence. I was the transformational leader, the leader who creates vision and aims to achieve higher goals by inspiring and stimulating his followers (Adair, 2009).

Then comes the values, but before acknowledging your values it is important that you know what values are? Values according to me are small gestures on which your daily life is based upon. Values are your priorities and my priorities are making sure that I am not a burden on anyone or I am not dictating anyone's life. My major value is my optimism, competency and my ambition.My values have a big impact on my followers that is why as a leader you should choose and practice the values that will prove you as an efficient and an innovative leader. It is very important for a leader to be optimistic in his leadership. Because of my optimism I was able to deal with conflicts and overcome them, I was able to find a positive way out of every mistake and blunder my team made and most of all it had a massive effect on my team members as their positivity helped us in achieving our goals and aims. I made them see our bright future which would happen as a result of our hard work and because of this motivation they struggled more to achieve it. A leader's optimism is the reason why a team prospers (Adair, 2009).

Competency is required for every leader as, it is only then that he would be able to deal with a thousand issues related to his team and organization. My competency was very significant for my team members. They looked up to me and I had to set an example for them. I had to deal with financial issues, my team-building, I had to make my members trust me, I had to watch their each and every action. I had to adapt to every situation and act flexibly and above all I had to guide all my members to be flexible in dealing with every condition. It was my competency because of which I lead them towards their goal and I had to make them finish it on time with my inspirational speeches and continuous motivation. I had to solve the problems prevailing within the organization and settle all the issues in a way that will help me build relationship with my team (Adair, 2009).

My ambition is where I am right now. I wanted to be a leader and my determinations lead me here. I did not just sat in one place looking at things. I managed each one of them. I set a goal and I have made an excellent team and I achieved that goal with hard work and efforts. You would need an ambition if you want to spend your life revitalizing and in a significant way. Because without an ambition there is no leader, it would be the ambition that would keep him working hard even in the adverse and antagonistic situations. It was my ambition that helped me in motivating my team members, in building a relationship with them and thinking of new strategies daily for my leadership (Adair, 2009).

2.

Abilities in motivating and communicating:

Motivation and communication are the greatest weapons you can own. As a leader these should be in your bones. I had to learn this tactic in order to make myself better. I made myself understand this term as I had to give my team mates the reason to act, to move forward and to keep going and not give up. In order to get a focused team I had to keep them motivated through communication. My words were their energy. I gave them such atmosphere around which they wanted to achieve more, they wanted to accomplish more. I knew they all had ability and I only had to make them use it. So I gave inspirational speeches to them. How can we be the one leading, and how can we be the greatest influence through our hard work. As a leader I had to leave a vigorous effect on them. I had to be their friend, teacher and their superior. I had to be strict with them at times, at times I was cold, there were times we were like the best team mates helping and supporting each other (Montana and Bruce, 2008).

There is no team without the power of motivation. A person cannot even move without getting motivated. It is the leader's duty to know what motivates his team, what will keep them going no matter how hostile the circumstances are. Along with motivating my team members I also had to create and develop opportunities for them so they could avail them and keep their motivation level going (Montana and Bruce, 2008).

Praising them was the biggest factor I used in motivating them. I kept on telling them how proficient and skillful they were and how they were the backbone of the organization. I had to keep telling them how they manage everything and how they listened to their leader and obeyed me. I had to reward them along with it to make them going. I praised every improvement I saw in them and this made them even more driven towards work. It made them realize that they are making a difference by working hard and their presence matters a lot. It also improved my working relations with my associates which was very useful to me (Montana and Bruce, 2008).

Encouragement was another factor that would lead them towards motivation. There were times when they would lose it and sit back. I had to pat them and tell them what a wonderful job they were doing. I guided them in every single matter they were working on. As a leader I had to deliver a rousing speech every time the team mates were together. But I had to make sure at the same time I wasn't pressurizing them. I had to keep them relaxed so they could do their work more attentively. As a leader you should not hesitate in encouraging your followers. You should praise and encourage them more often and in a proper manner and show them with your gestures as well (Montana and Bruce, 2008).

The key abilities and aptitude of a motivational leader are his skills of communication. I communicated with my team members and kept them optimistic about achieving a goal. I kept on telling them that they had potential and they could achieve it with their struggle. Along with my excellent skills of communication I had to work equally with them so the accomplishment of the goal could be possible and my team members would not lose hope. I kept on giving feedback on their achievements so they could keep going and not lose their desire to work (Montana and Bruce, 2008).

3.

Team Building:

For a leader his team is important like his own body part. There is no leader without a successful team. If a leader manages to build his group appropriately, without a doubt he is leading towards triumph. The best leader meets every need of his team member. He knows how to deal with each of them as they all have different needs and wants. An organized team is a sign of a prosperous leader. The team should be the priority for the leader since a strong team will make a leader stronger. A leader should develop confidence and commitment among his team mates so that they can trust each other and work together in a better manner (Schultz and Schultz, 2010).

For team building the first rule is to bond with your team so you could work with efficacy together. I had to work with my team members with great energy and liveliness in order to build a team. There was no leader at first but only team mates working together. I had to be enthusiastic with them and make them excited about tasks. I taught them tactics for survival and made them seek their goals. I had to make them strong so no one could break them. I taught them that their team mates need as much encouragement and praise as they do. I told them they had to be a friend in order to get a friend. I developed the sense of sharing among them so they could unite. Communication with your team is essential and I made sure they all had well developed skills of communicating with their leader and fellows so they could share and understand strategic choices (Schultz and Schultz, 2010).

I expected high of my team and for that I made sure they had all the conveniences and resources they required for the fulfillment of the tasks. I gave them ease so they could complete the responsibilities in time. They got their reward not because of the time or space but because they completed together as a team and followed my rules and guidance. For an absolute and thorough team building I played fair and square with my teammates. If they did the work jointly I made sure each one of them got the same amount of praise and this assembled team building of my team members. As for the building of the team should be united and organized (Schultz and Schultz, 2010).

I followed some dos and don'ts as well for my effective team building. I did not hung up on small minute details which would bring odd circumstances. I learnt that it was better to let go of some details and move forward as this is exactly what we teach our team. It is important for the leader to surpass his team members' expectations as he is the one they are following and idealizing at the moment. If there is a selective team who gets more praise than others I used to add up the efforts and struggles of the other team as well so there won't be any competiveness. I taught them to set up their priorities and put their fellows before everything. There is nothing important than to meet the needs of your fellows, if your fellow partner is not satisfied or willing to work with you there is no way that you can achieve your goal and aim (Schultz and Schultz, 2010).

For my team to be cohesive I made them get into activities that would turn them into an efficacious team. I made the teams by holding discussions and group assignments by which I came to know which members go along well. By holding discussions I saw that they started getting closer and getting to know each other personally. It is entirely in our hands to make the team members unified. I listened to their strategies and made them listen to one another because of which they started working well together (Schultz and Schultz, 2010).

Building trust in your team members is essential as without trust they are just single individuals working together. They won't work together, discuss together and it will be a chaotic team resulting in failure. If there will be no communication there will be no discussion which means no strategic plans. Along with building trust among them trusting the leader is equally necessary. I noted that I wasn't more focused on the mission than my team members. I equally gave them time so they could rely on me and my game plans. I set up an example for my followers so they could do the same for their team members as well (Schultz and Schultz, 2010).

4.

Relationship building:

Your rhetoric and orator skills are the qualities which make you an excellent leadership. A leadership giving an excellent and an inspiring speech is most likely to get more followers. There are several characteristics of having a good relationship which includes mutual respect, understanding and motivation. You will have to solve your member's problems. If you expect your team to just bring resolutions and clarifications to you then you are expecting way more than they are capable of. For building a relationship with your team members you will have to be a grand listener and a devoted leader with excellent communication skills. Your communication skills will influence your members; in short they would be learning every move and every tactic you use (Zaccaro, 2007).

I will be discussing transformational leadership in detail which is related to my relationship building with my team members. A transformational leader is the one who can induce positivity in his followers. He is the type of leader who can stir excitement in his followers and create a vision for them to follow. He will develop opportunities for his followers to learn and to bring innovation among people. They are all about supporting individuals and sharing thoughts. So a transformational leader is an idealized person for his followers who shows by his attitude how his team mates should behave (Zaccaro, 2007).

I adapted every quality of a transformational leader to achieve a strong relationship with my team. I had to work hard on the relationship building and every leader has to. I developed relationships with my associates and members so they understand me better and respond me well. I was well-aware of the fact that we would not develop a strong relationship overnight; I would have to work hard on it. A leader who is flexible enough to make relations with all his members is a brilliant leader whose members trust him and accept him as their leader. I made sure that I was dealing well with my fellow associates especially my subordinates. I was a source of guidance for them and I put their needs before the work. My aim was to support my followers and not just complete the work. I was more like a fellow worker than a leader for them who would help them in every task (Zaccaro, 2007).

In order to make our relationship strong I listened to them and their needs. I made them realize that they could rely on me and have a good communication whenever they felt like. As a good leader I listened to them, I understood their new innovative ideas and I was always ready to implement them just to encourage them. In order to get them to trust me I had to trust them first and convince them that their decisions are as important as mine are. I showed them with my actions that we all are equally involved in making this team strong. I did not take the credit for anything instead gave all the credit to my team members who were always there at my beck and call. I had to be an exemplary leader who keeps his members with him in every path of the way. I assigned work to that member who I knew was capable of doing it; I did not want to pressurize them. I was their guide, their mentor and their friend who would help them to achieve and then give a pat on the back (Zaccaro, 2007).

5.

Innovation and strategy style:

Leadership has its types and its rules to follow. A leader is one who has his own rules to follow and who directs a group to function. leadership has its types and requirements tobe a good leader. I want to be a leader with all the qualities which a leader ought to have. But I prefer not to follow the already set guidelines regarding leadership. I want to introduce and follow some new regulations regarding leadership. The concept of leadership is neither dominating nor ruling according to some of its types but to follow something that has already been set before sounds monotonous. Everyone knows that we are not born leaders but we are born with the ability of leadership. So it's up to the leader what kind he wants to be (Lussier and Achua, 2010).

An innovative leader will create new ideas; he will blend all the existing leaderships and produce an innovative style for himself. For that I would explain the term innovative leadership first. We are all aware of the meaning of the term innovative which means new, original, unconventional and experimental. There are types of innovation which include exploratory innovation which means engendering and initiating brand new ideas, the second is the exploitative innovation which means to adjust and reform the already existing ideas and thoughts (Lussier and Achua, 2010).

The innovative styles of leadership are transformational, transactional and ambidextrous leadership (Lussier and Achua, 2010).

The innovative leadership is the transformational leadership which has motivational leader who is not only passionate, energetic and determined he is also willing to help his fellow partners equally in developing a friendly relationship with them. He has a positive effect on the whole organization (Lussier and Achua, 2010).

After reading about the transformational leader I was already keen on trying innovative style of leadership in order to devise new strategies for the team. In order to be innovative I had to bring in some changes. I wanted to adapt the innovative style so I could lead my members in a more different way and make them do their assigned tasks more diligently. I brought my insights out and made them applicable so I could know about my insight capabilities and the results they produce. This could help us in getting new motives for our company and we could devise new ways of performing them. I planned on moving forward and not stick to one idea. If I fail in one I would try to do it again but prefer to go for more new ideas and a new path. New ideas and new paths are the road to success. My second rule of innovation was to keep learning new things to apply them in my life, because as long as the process of learning continues the process of innovating new strategies will keep on going. I started unlocking the mysteries that would lead me somewhere as I had the desire to exceed my fellow members. They looked upon me and I had to fulfill their expectations (Lussier and Achua, 2010).