Final Reflections

Throughout this term I’ve learned about a lot of different leadership styles that leaders can call upon depending on the situation. A leadership style that I feel I need to work on, is developing a more enthusiastic personality. As stated in previously discussions as well as blogs I’ve always adopted the leadership style of presenting task to individuals and having the confidence that they will live up to their potential and complete the objective. I know this won’t always be a good method to use in a more traditional working environment. Using the leadership style of enthusiasm, brings another aspect when motivating people to reach their true potential or to carry out assignments properly, which is high energy.  

An enthusiastic leadership style will require me to work on my personality because I will have to be more sociable as well as emotionally involved. Most enthusiastic leaders are of high energy, which can rub off on their subordinates. I must work on being more up beat as well as in tune with the current emotional highs and lows of the people around me to gain an understanding of how to properly inspire them. I will work on this leadership style by using it in my everyday life because having a more enthusiastic personality is something that everyone can benefit from.

This term has also opened my eyes to what a follower truly is, as I always looked down on the term. I now understand that being a follower in some cases isn’t a bad thing because followers are a part of the overall success of whatever is being accomplished. You cannot have a leader without at least one follower. Also, If in the follower position, I know have deeper understanding for what goes into being a leader, which means I can be a better follower to a good leader. I will also take my time in this position because it allows me to listen and learn which is always beneficial to me in the further.              

Coaching

This week we learned about coaching and the role that it plays in leadership. As a basketball player I’ve been exposed to all types of different coaching styles for the majority of my life. The type of coaching that really resonates with me, is understanding someone’s gifts and help them by putting them in positions where they’re forced to get the most out of those gifts. I experienced this type of coaching as a player and it truly improved my performance on the court as well as my individual personality.  To me, the make up of a good coach is to realize what type of coaching style works for whatever individual they’re leading.

As a future leader, being able to work in a team as well as having the ability to lead a team is very important. I feel that, in this area I will not have much issues because of my time as a basketball player, where playing on a team and getting along with others to reach a common goal was what you needed to do I order to succeed.  I’m a firm believer in cohesiveness being the key to developing a good working environment which can lead to possible success.

Like anyone I like to be recognized for personal accomplishments in anything that I’ve done.  Although, I’m not so caught up on personal accolades when it comes to team accomplishments. I wouldn’t run from individual praise but I would acknowledge that without the team I could never accomplished anything. I believe that team success only works when everybody buys in.

Basketball has help me so much in my life. One of the things it’s help me with is how to be personable with people. Also, how to interact differently with different people, which is an ability I believe a leader can really use in any situation. It’s importaint to learn how to properly interact with employees, clients, teammates and bosses.  Coaching is an important aspect that I leader should have and know how to use properly.

Flexible Leadership

This week’s lesson, dealt with leadership and how good or bad leadership can have a great affect not only on the working environment but society. Also, that a leader who displays bad leadership doesn’t mean that they’re a bad leader especially if there are successful results that follower their lead. One great trait to have as a leader, is to be flexible. Flexibility as a leader is crucial, as often you will have to deal with issues that may go against the normal way of doing things. A leader who shows that they’re flexible enough to adjust regarding their decision making and tactics will likely prove to be a more affective leader. My travels have instilled in me flexible traits that I believe will come in great for me in the future, but I think that this program will continue to help me become even more flexible as a leader. 

While completing the skill-building exercises I realized a few things about myself and one of those things was that I’m not as flexible as I thought. I feel that there is a strong difference between being flexible and being too understanding. Sometimes a leader must be firm in their position or their meekness can be taken advantage of.  When office politics are concerned, after answering some of the questions on the skills building exercise I found out that I don’t separate my personal life from my office life. I don’t show that type of flexibility and I believe that has more to do with how society is structured now. People find themselves getting in trouble at their jobs more away from work than at work because of what they post on social media and the stances they take in their personal lives.    

The other thing that I realized was that I’m more of a transformational leader than a charismatic leader in the fact that I tend to place responsibility in front of people to see if they will meet the challenge in the hopes that it will make them more confident and increase their value. Although, while playing basketball I would lead by example with my play, I never saw myself as a charismatic type of leader because most of the time I chose not to be the one yelling to verbally trying to inspire my teammates. I would encourage them by putting them in positions to succeed on the floor and have confidence in them to make the correct decisions 

Influencing and Conflict Management Style

Having the right Influencing and conflict management style for working environments is a key component that a leader should have. This week we are learning that leadership isn't all about the numbers or what's on paper, its about how you carry yourself and how you respond to on the spot situations. How you chose to respond will no doubt be how you are perceived as a leader to your subordinates. This perception will lead to how hard or easy it will be to get your workers to follow your lead.  

In a situation of conflict as a leader, I would use the active constructive perspective talking behavior as described in the Center for Creative Leadership: Calming Conflict Podcast. I believe that it's very important to find reasonable solutions to conflicts, instead of the fast most times inaccurate solution. Trying to understand why an individual is behaving a certain way, instead of instantly coming up with your own conclusion before speaking with them, shows a higher level of leadership in my eyes. I'm learning a lot from this constructive behavior because of my personal life. When in confrontations/debates whether friendly or not I tend to find myself fixated on proving the other person wrong, instead of listening to try and understand why they're saying what they're saying. As a future leader this is something that I need to work on, so that I maybe, I'm able to reach healthier relationship with future CO workers in any form as well as the people in my personal life.

How I would go about influencing subordinates would be first, by my actions. I believe that sometimes being first in line to tasks, allowing those that follow you to see that you don't mind getting dirty, brings a  certain workman's culture to the workplace. This I feel would make most workers want to work harder and do more. Another tactic that I would use to influence my workers would be the tactic discussed in chapter 7 for Durbin's text, which is empowerment. To empower someone is to give them a sense of greater responsibility and trust, which will sometimes motivate them to live up to expectations because they know their value has increased within the workplace. Although I believe this should be done in moderation, due to the fact that everyone doesn't respond well to extra work being thrown at them, as the chapter further reads. Some people want to just come to work and do only what they are required. I feel as a leader I would have to vet the workers personality before deciding if empowering them with more responsibility is a good idea.