Understanding Leadership Behavior in Organization

Question 1
Feedback on my current leadership behaviors and styles
Feedback from team member (Subordinate)
One of the key themes resulting from the feedback obtained is trust. Two employees have directly reported that I trust their competencies and capabilities, and I give acknowledgement to their efforts and contributions. In addition, these two subordinates are pleased and contented that I give them credit for the work that they do within the organization. This gives me a great deal of gratification knowing that I am a leader who successfully applies the Window and the Mirror Leadership Model. One of the key aspects of the Window and Mirror Leadership model is looking out the window and giving credit to the persons responsible for the positive results. Taking time to tell subordinates of the goo job that they are doing goes a long way in building trust, increasing productivity and also commitment. An additional aspect of the model is looking in the mirror and taking ownership of the negative results. I believe that to be an effective leader, it is important not to blame others for the failure experience as the buck stops with you. Nonetheless, it is necessary to hold them accountable for their actions (Northouse, 2018).
My leadership potential in this area is considerably high. Imperatively, one of my team members has pointed out that one of the key drivers that impel him to work in Talent Management within ABC goes down to the culture of trust that I have built within the team. However, in contrast, another team member has pointed out that from time to time she suffers from the lack of motivation owing to the repetitive and monotonous tasks that we partake in within the Talent Management section. Nonetheless, she chooses to remain within the department owing to the kind of leader that I am. Bearing this in mind, the aspect of motivation is an area of development that I need to advance on in the forthcoming months. One of the leadership competencies in ABC is the development of capabilities and this encompasses different behaviors including trusting my team, building rapport, and empowering team members to learn. Based on the feedback obtained, I believe I have high potential.
Feedback from team member (Subordinate)
The feedback from one of my subordinates is the call for frequent employee feedback or criticism in order for him to enhance his work performance owing to the reason that there are solely two or three feedback sessions within a financial year. According to Northouse (2018), providing subordinates with instantaneous and specific feedback is an essential behavior for a successful leader as part of my role and responsibilities to develop my team. Within ABC, the development of capabilities is deemed to be one of the most significant leadership competencies. Furthermore, the approach and sequence employed in giving feedback is also important. One of the key aspects that I have learnt in my journey as a leader is providing feedback to improve performance. Specifically, I have gained knowledge in providing affective feedback through the use of the 5Ss of rendering feedback, which comprise of selecting the time, securing the person’s permission, sharing specifics, summarizing the agreement.
Feedback from Colleagues
As a leader, I need to work more on how to move through the 4 effective leadership styles. A leader needs to act in some satiation with more directive style and I need to learn how to stop my team when they try to express and share their opinions in every step and process we work on. As in some situation and tasks we are required as an employee regardless of the career level to take immediate action and doing what we are required to do without trying to be creative and I need to be more firm with my team about that. I believe that being directive is an important leadership style that I need to learn how to play with as in ABC acting in a directive way is important because ABC emphasize in the opportunity of following the policies and procedure.
Feedback that I received from one of my colleagues is that my style of communication lacks assertiveness and subsequently impacts my capability to influence others. For my part, I am very cognizant that this is an area that necessitates improvement if I endeavor to grow and develop further as a leader in ABC or any other organization. Therefore, not dealing with it might hamper me to move on to a next level in the leadership ladder. Failure to be perceived as an assertive leader can adversely hamper my career growth in ABC owing to the reason that this is a key leadership quality and the subordinates can end up being uninfluenced by my leadership direction. In spite of the fact that this is not part of the leadership competencies of ABC, it is an essential behavior.
My colleague who also works in the talent management team pointed out that my style of leadership is risk averse in terms of actions and decisions. His point of view is that I need to more of a risk taker in order to avoid losing opportunities and facilitating a change in the talent management function. In spite of the fact that my colleague insists that this is an important quality for leaders, I disagree because I am cognizant that ABC is all about being risk averse and is part of the corporate strategy and the corporate culture owing to one of the main organizational goals being satiability.
Another colleague provided me with feedback in relation to my relationship with my subordinates. Notably, my collage and I share the similar office. For this reason, she has ideal and proper observation in relation to my relationship and communication with the members of the team. She points out that one of the leadership problems that I face is the over engagement of subordinates in the decisions that I undertake. Therefore, it is imperative to engage less in order to positively impact the authority and credibility as a leader.
Feedback from Line Manager
I have gotten acknowledgement from my line manager that I am a good listener. A specific example provided by the line manager is the fact that I was able to keenly listen to the feedback provided by him, take it into consideration and make immediate changes based on his feedback. Good listening skills are an important aspect of a quality leader. My manager pointed out that listening to the team members is an important element to succeeding as a leader. Furthermore, empathetic listening is significant. Information from the line managers was able to help me understand the relation between empathy and emotional intelligence and being cognizant of the people around me and comprehending their concerns and points of view. It is imperative to note that being an effective leader will be beneficial to me in building rapport with other teams and employees working at ABC and having such a reputation is essential for the growth and development of my career in the organization.
Another key aspect of the feedback given by my line manager is the need to improve and work on my negotiation skills. That is, it is important for me as a leader to demonstrate my perspectives and stand up for such points of view. Being a negotiator is linked to the capability to influence others and this is a key component for leadership quality. In ABC, strong negotiators are deemed to be individuals who are able to get things done and accomplish results. In accordance to my line manager, part of being a successful manager takes into account having the capability to influence and sway others and this is associated to one of the core competencies of ABC, which is achieving results.
Question 2
I have the belief that I can improve my style of leadership through increased team motivation. One of the key ways of increasing the motivation of the members of the team is by providing frequent feedback for their performance growth and development. Providing immediate and specific feedback is a key behavior for a successful leader as part of my role and accountabilities to develop my team. In ABC developing capabilities is considered one of the most important leadership competencies. Moreover, the way and art of giving feedback is important. I have learned during my leadership journey the importance of giving feedback to improve performance. Specifically, one of the key ways that I have learnt to give proper feedback I through the use of the 5s evaluation mode. This will include giving the employees a score ranging from 1 to 5 with 1 being poor and 5 being well done. Furthermore, improvement will be through providing affective feedback using the 5s of providing feedback (Northouse, 2018).
A second approach of improving my style of leadership is through increased assertiveness in my style of communication. This is with the main objective to ensure that such assertiveness is able to influence subordinates. Personally, I am very aware of that this is an area of improvement for me if I want to grow as leader in ABC or any other organization it might hinder me to move on to the next level in the leadership ladder. As a leader in the talent management section of the organization, being assertive will imply expressing myself in an effective manner and standing up for my different point of views but at the same time respecting the rights and beliefs of other individuals in the section. I believe that this will not only help me in earning the respect of the subordinates but also ensure that they follow the directives that I give out (Gill, 2011).
My style of leadership can also be improved by honing in on my negotiation skills. It is imperative for me to relay my different points of view and fight for them to be taken into consideration. As a leader, it is imperative to ensure that my perspectives are taken into consideration and lay emphasis on them in order for subordinates to follow them. Furthermore, in ABC, negotiation is considered to be a key component for successful leadership as it is deemed that it ensures that work is done and results are accomplished. To improve on this, I will ensure that I am mentally prepared to relay my points of view and also tailor my responses so that they are well articulated and understood by the other parties (McCauley and Van Vensor, 2004).
Question 3
Dates
(week commencing)
Relevant Competency
Action Taken
(describe what specific action you took as a leader)
Impact
(the impact of Action Taken)
Reflection
how could you improve
October 2018
Action:
I noticed that one of my team member is demotivated after I decided that Abdullah is going to be in charge for the operations while my annual leave. So, I set in a meeting with her to understand the reasons for her behavior and her answer that she felt that I do not trust her, and I don’t believe in her capabilities. I explained for her the reasons (Most of the tasks I delegated to Abdullah was operations and it is his strength and I explained that she has different strength which is strategic thinking and creativity and delegated 2 strategic initiatives to her.
Impact: Alaa understood my motives and acknowledged Abdullah strength and her strength and she gelt relative that I am aware of her capabilities. As, result she was more motivated to do her best in the 2 projects I delegated, her colleagues down
Next time I will eknowlodge her strength and her good work more frequent. She needs to hear more from me.
I inform my team with the senior management views and perspectives.
They feel that they more engage and it helped them in understanding the culture. – I have seen that in the type of ideas and solutions they started bringing to the table – it become more aligned with SAMA’s objectives
Ask my team to start attending the senior management meetings on behalf of me
I asked Abdullah to find a solution to one of the cases we have to handle without sharing my views
Building his confidence in talking decisions.
I will ask him to present his solutions and not only write it in email (face the winds)
December 2018
In the function annual work plan I have included all of the risks that we could face through 2019 plan and I proposed the solutions
A soild plan without any surprises through the year
Delegate the task of writing the risks and solutions to the team
Provide immediate feedback to one of my team members and that was based on a deal between him and I (provide immediate feedback regarding his presentation skills)
Improving his performance and commitment for improving in his presentations skills
To use the same approach with the rest of the team members.
I was not clear in the outcomes I wanted from the task I asked the team to handle. .
as result they provided me with information’s that is not relvent to the outcome I was looking to have (they have wasted there time.
Be more specific about the outcomes and give them the freedom to do things on their own way.
I arrange for a weekly meeting with my team but I never stick to the time ( I am always late to this meeting specifically)
As result my team started to be late to other meetings as well.
To stick to the meeting time or I should cancel it.
Question 4
Further Development Plan
Now that you have completed your Leadership Learning Log please give an indication of the time you plan to invest to further develop your leadership capabilities.
Short Term
(within 3 months)
Medium Term
(within 6 months)
Long Term
(6 months onwards)
Communication skills
Listening skills
Risk taking decisions
Negotiation skills
Decreased engagement of subordinates
Question 5
Leadership Action Plan
Strengths/Limitations
Describe either identified strength or limitation
Action Plan
Specify what steps you will take to either build on strengths or overcome limitations
Mechanism and Time Frame
Specify how you will achieve these steps and in what time frame together with the number of hours you plan to spend on each action learning
Risk averse
Take more risks in my decision making and in the actions that I undertake within the organization
The main way I will accomplish this is by partaking in greater tasks and projects that require a short period of time as they involve greater risks. I will spend 10 hours learning about risk taking and implementation
Good listening skills
In order to build on this strength, I plan to increase my level of communication with not only subordinates but also colleagues and line managers.
To accomplish this step, I will incorporate different aspects such as asking open questions, purchasing a notebook to write down information and also making more eye contact. This is a mechanism that will go on not only in the short term during conversations but also in the long-term
Excessive engagement of subordinates
In order to work on this weakness, my main decision will involve ensuring that I take on tasks alone, devoid of necessarily including all members. This will also include giving out direct orders to employees.
To accomplish this, I will ensure that I conduct less engagement meetings and also taking up projects and tasks that can be easily implemented through direct orders.
Negotiation skills
In order to work on this, I will incorporate different steps into my negotiation processes such as being mentally prepared, listening carefully, tailoring my response and ensuring my points are understood.
This will take a period of six months and the key mechanisms of ensuring that this is accomplished will be through training, practice and partaking in more negotiations. I will also take work in tandem with a negotiation coach.
References
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and practice. New York: Sage publications.
McCauley, C. D., & Van Velsor, E. (Eds.). (2004). The center for creative leadership handbook of leadership development (Vol. 29). John Wiley & Sons.
Gill, R. (2011). Theory and practice of leadership. New York: Sage.