Leadership As A Personal Reflection

Introduction

Whenever the word leadership is mentioned, I usually envision an individual who has an extensive amount of experience in the field they proclaim to be a leader of. Leadership does not just mean giving orders from a hierarchy position, it is about building a strong and reliable team. This team will not only include myself as a leader but also the other employees in which I will supervise as well as the other interprofessional team members. Because I realize and understand that for a team to work well, the leader must respect all members of the team, listen to their concerns about the work environment, and provide them with the necessary assistance in a respectable manner.

Blame and finger-pointing should never be an option to resolve an issue. Instead, the leader should investigate what went wrong, and maybe find a solution. For this paper, I will attempt to explain what leadership means to me by using theories that align with my explanation of a leader, which will also include my strengths and weaknesses.

Connecting Theory

Effective leaders will usually understand the importance of involving those who are around them, by having that type of attitude, it will help me to recognize that I cannot accomplish everything on my own. This leads me to the subject of being a transformational leader. According to Marquis, B., & Huston, C. (2017), the manager who is committed, has a vision, and can empower others with this vision was termed a transformational leader (Marquis & Huston 2017).

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While in the workforce, I have never supervised a group of employees but I have observed those who have been put in such positions. I have been discouraged to even participate in such bureaucratic positions, so I have always declined higher positions because I did not deem myself to be a dictator of others, in other words, I lacked the self-esteem to face such challenges. Soon, if ever given a chance to lead others, I will hopefully treat others better than I’ve been treated in the past by individuals who are placed in higher positions.

In retrospect, I believe that the way a manager treats their staff will not only affect their morale and productivity but that it will also affect the work environment and for that reason, I believe that good leadership should come from individuals at every level. In this manner, both the manager/leader and their team members are working together to accomplish a goal in which they share.

Pirson, M. (2019) explains, that econism, while empirical, is similar to prevailing management theory. Economism is indifferent to human dignity and as a result, human beings are mostly considered a resource with which to achieve efficiency and effectiveness (Pirson 2019). As a leader, I hope to have positive influences on others not just economically. Although I have never been a leader in the workplace, the opportunity has been afforded to me, through leading and managing other individuals’ lives on a personal level. For example, when my mother past away, my age at the time was twenty-three years old, in which I was given custody of my fifteen-year-old brother. Now, when I think back, I’m certain I would not have chosen to take on such a huge responsibility.

Nevertheless, I took on the challenge and continued to raise my brother, and teach him the best choices for him, to ensure he has a productive future. Of course, he was a teenager, who did not fully listen to everything I said, but he did take in some advice, to which he lives by today at the age of thirty-three. He also thanks me every now again, or when he gets an opportunity, for helping him understand, why making positive choices for his life, has helped dictate a productive path for himself.

And judging from my past relationships with others, I have had a positive impact in their lives, in which I have influenced them not only by helping them to dictate, delegate, and direct their futures but by also helping them to achieve their highest potential. Therefore, I can honestly say that I will do well as a transformational leader in a healthcare professional position. According to Amirkhanyan, A., Meier, K., O’Toole, L., Dakhwe, M., Janzen, S. (2017), softer management styles, with attention to the employees’ aspirations, rather than manipulation and control, maybe a key source of program improvement (Amirkhanvan et. al, 2017). This is a strength I hope to continue to possess and evolve into an effective transformational leader, which will help to champion and empower those  who I share responsibility with. Not only will I encourage the participants, but it will also be my responsibility to see to it that the individuals take accountability for their actions, which will give them the power to obtain their goals and become successful while doing so.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Consequently, there are I struggle with such as investing too much of self in the participants and not expecting any distrust because I simply am not anticipating any negativity, especially if all I give is positivity. This leaves me with nearsightedness, in which I’m so caught up with the small details of my participants succeeding, that I forget to see through an amazon of trees. This weakness disables me because I feel stuck in a rut due to such a huge focus on accomplishing the tasks I forget to look for better solutions for common processes. As an inexperienced leader in the workforce, I may also have a slow start with implementing my ideas and plans, but once I understand the appropriate approach to creating long term success, my team members will not underestimate my skills as a leader.

As mentioned earlier, in the past I had a lack of self-confidence, to be a manager when the opportunity arises. Simply because I lacked the wisdom and self-confidence to do so. This experience has become one of my crucibles. As explained by webster’s dictionary, a crucible is most commonly used to refer to situations that represent an extreme trial for someone, especially one that tests their courage or preparedness. Generally speaking, I did not want to become the manager that I use to constantly avoid and always hurrying out of their way once they showed up in the building. With these types of managers, I always avoided eye contact with them, always keeping my head down whenever they passed by me.

My goal as a future leader is to not constantly breathe down my team member’s necks, by checking on them every two minutes to ensure they have completed every menial task given to them. Instead, I would prefer to respect the fact that they have the proper training and skills to do their jobs successfully, I mean the reason they were hired in the first place, was because they possessed those skills, by respecting this sensitive part of my team, I can find the right balance, that works well for my team members as a leader.