Leadership style and organizational effectiveness

¶ … Northouse's Leadership

Question -1.The five most important questions in the questionnaire for a leader and why?

Northouse brings to light many very relevant qualities that are important for a leader to have, hone and embody in practice, in a thorough and complete manner. Among the truly pivotal and significant questions that Northouse raises, for me the most valuable questions that he raises are numbers three, six, nine, eleven and thirteen. Question number three is: sets standards of performance for group members. This is so crucial because it's been widely understood that human beings largely learn from example. Children learn how to act by mimicking the behavior of adults. In the workplace, one's staff members aren't to be treated like children, but in order to reinforce ideals and standards, leaders really need to be the ones leading by example. Thus, leaders need to embody the change they want to see in their workplace. Question six refers to the task of responding favorably to suggestions made by others. This is so important because it refers to the ability of a leader to make all members of the group feel included and to have the sense that they are all members who are of equal importance to team as a whole. Even if a leader doesn't agree with the suggestions made by others, it's still important that the leader make all members feel included and significant and to feel as if their ideas are being listened to with equal weight as everyone else. Point number nine is that the leader is able to develop a plan of action for the group and to be able to communicate that plan of action to all group members in a compelling way, which makes everyone excited about the plan, and makes everyone feel confident that they are capable of completing all details of the plan in their entirety. Question eleven refers to the act of properly defining the roles and responsibilities for each group member.

Everyone who is on the same team needs to feel like they have a responsibility to the team as a whole and that they know what that responsibility is, and feel certain that they can fulfill all their duties completely. Question thirteen refers to the process of being able to clarify one's own role within the group. As the leader, it's important to not just lead with conviction and guide all members of the team with a high degree of certainty, but also to show that one also has concrete responsibilities to the team and to the project. This type of transparency and communication can create a winning scenario for the greater team at large.

Question -2.What do your task and relationship scores indicate about you approach to leadership?

My task and relationship scores demonstrate that I have an approach to leadership which is centered on a certain level of seriousness and reverence for the honorable duty of leadership as a whole. For the task section, I scored a 45, which is very high. In the relationship section, I scored a 44, which is also quite high. I found this very validating, because according to Northouse, "…researchers from the style approach have ascertained that a leader's style consists primarily of two types of behaviors: task and relationship. The significance of this idea is not to be understated. Whenever leadership occurs, the leader is acting out both task and relationship behaviors; the key to be being an effective leader often rests on how the leader balances these two behaviors. Together they form the core of the leadership process" (2012, p.84-85). Reading this made me feel like I would be justified in trusting my instincts in this regard, and that I was generally on the right path when it came to the importance and function of leadership.

Question #3 Select three items from the questionnaire and describe how this course has influenced your views in this area.

The three items from the questionnaire that I would like to discuss are items six, nine and thirteen. For example, for point six, this course demonstrated the wide range of ways that I would be able to respond favorably to the suggestions made by other people: the course taught me various ways to positively reinforce the good ideas that others share, and how to respond in a positive fashion even to the bad ideas that others offered up. Even bad ideas or ideas that are simply unsuitable for the group can be responded to in a positive fashion, so that everyone feels good about their contribution. For point nine, developing a plan of action for the group, the course taught me the wide variety of ways I could develop such a nuanced plan and how I could make it as strong as possible. The course also taught me how to anticipate problems that I would never have thought of. Finally, the course taught me the wide variety of ways that I could assert my roles and responsibilities as the group leader, and what the best possible course of action for me would be in better elucidating that role.

Part 2: In the second part, describe the kind of leader that you would like to become in the future. Include the type of employment position that you would like to obtain and the type of leadership role you would like to perform in the position.