What is leadership? Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines leadership as “the power or ability to lead other people”. Although this is simply put, it is also correct. But leadership is much more than the ability to lead. The ability is one piece of the puzzle. Other pieces to consider in leadership are education, attributes, and style, just to name a few. In this assignment, I will focus on leadership style. Specifically, I will discuss my style according to the assessment developed by The University of Kent in the UK.
After taking the assessment, it was determined that my style is Participative. Participative leadership is Democratic and focuses on a collaborative effort from the team. Participative leaders rely on the team’s ideas and abilities instead of making all the decisions on their own (Murdock, K. 2014). Although the leader makes the final decision, the team has the freedom to contribute to decisions being made. Teamwork is an essential attribute for Participative leaders. As a Participative leader, you must possess the ability to set aside your ego, listen to the team, and give the team freedom to make their own decisions. In reviewing my results, I was not shocked by the fact that I as fit the mold of a Participative Leader. I’ve never been the type to rule with an Iron Fist. I don’t believe in a “my way or the Highway approach. I’m a collaborative individual and I rely heavily on the people around me to achieve a specific goal. Reason being,
The results of my Leadership Style Assessment was a Participatory Leader. I believe that the results were accurate. I try to listen and understand to everyone’s point of view before making a decision regarding others at work. “Participative leadership also known as Democratic Leadership Style is a method of leadership that involves all team members in terms of identifying important goals as well as developing strategies and procedures to achieve the goals. From this point of view, participative style of leadership can be perceived as a leadership style that relies primarily on functioning as a facilitator that the one who simply issues commands or orders or making assignment for each member of the team.” ("Participative Leadership," p. 1-2) The definition of Participative Leader to me means a Leader that listens and considers every point of view before making a final decision.
In this assignment I aim to outline the advantages, disadvantages and overall effectiveness of the different styles of leadership.
According to dictionary.com leadership is defined as, the position or function of a leader, a person who guides or directs a group: Its synonyms include guidance, influence, control, direction and supervision. These are all qualifications that are needed to be an effective leader. All characteristics are not necessarily needed at the same time and do no need to be used for each subordinate. This paper will identify my personal leadership philosophy along with theories to support my leadership style.
When developing a template to assess which leadership styles are best suited to mitigate the effects of a decline in financial compensation, it is imperative to understand leadership theory. One of the first pioneers in leadership theory was Kurt Lewin. Kurt Lewin (1890–1947), was a prominent figure in psychology in his generation. He provided a solid foundation to the teachings of organizational development. In many circles he was known as the father of organizational development. He was best known for the development of field theory. Field theory was essential because it allowed business professionals to understand why undesirable behaviors was produced. It also taught how to bring about desirable behaviors. Field theory was developed in part because Lewin wanted to address organizational employee turnover.
According to Harold Koontz, “leadership is defined as an art or process of influencing people so that they strive willingly and enthusiastically towards attainment of group goals”.
A leadership philosophy helps to define and let others know what you expect, what things you value, and how you act as a leader. Different styles of leadership are needed for different situations. Every leader needs to know when and how to display a particular approach of leadership within a group. Leadership strategies define every leader’s personal leadership style. Three leadership styles of a counselor are the following: authoritarian style leaders, democratic style leaders, and laissez-faire style leaders.
What is leadership? How does people perceive leadership in their everyday Life? Can we still today, in a world oriented more an more towards individualism and commitment to achievement of personal goals, talk about leadership?
Every person who enters the field of education has both the opportunity and an obligation to be a leader (Dufour, Marzano, 2011). Leadership defined by Owen (2002) is, “A journey of discovery. It is the expression of a person at his or her best whose aim is to transform something for the better and to develop this potential in others. It is not a solitary pursuit but one that harnesses the energy of those around you. Leadership is a process in which leaders and followers engage to achieve mutual goals. Prentice (2004) defines leadership as the accomplishment of a goal through the direction of human assistants. A great leader is one who can do so day after day, and year after year, in a wide variety of circumstances.
My leadership style is a combination of two of the leadership styles mentioned in this module. The transformational leadership style mostly exemplifies my style and personality. However, I have implemented situational leadership based on the skill level of the teachers assigned to my school and happenings within the community.
leadership is one leadership style out of several that a leader or team can employ. Other styles
Stacey Feiner once stated, “For those of you who really want to give critical thought to your unique leadership style and foster genuine followership, learn from what’s out there and weave it into something meaningful and authentic.” (Feiner, 2015) For the last two weeks, I have spent time self-analyzing and soul searching to identify the qualities I bring to a leadership role. Many of the core values important to me also align between the participative leadership style and laissez-faire leadership style. These values include working in a team environment, empowering others to make decisions and providing support for those decisions, keeping an open mind to new ideas/suggestions, and being involved with my team members on a daily basis. (Mooney, n.d.) As I learn ways to build on my strengths within these leadership styles, I also need to improve upon my weaknesses to become the well-rounded leader I want to be.
There is much that is written about leadership; like books on leadership styles, techniques and also biographies of leaders that have inspired people to action. While this is true, there is the everyday leadership and a slightly different outlook to leadership as well. Here are a few of them.
Leadership has been a developing concept for me. People I have met throughout my life have greatly influenced my definition of leadership. I have seen my definition of leadership evolve as a result of their influence in my life. In this paper, I will discuss how my previous leaders and five leadership levels shaped the way I approach the idea of leadership.
Throughout this course I have come from having a general understanding of leadership to having a more specific knowledge of what is encompassed within this calling. Leadership is not a position to accomplish a goal, leadership is not a person who people revere, leadership is not a power that makes everyone submit. However it is an attitude everyone should carry with them realizing they can influence for good or bad in any situation. It is an action that does not sit still waiting for others to take up the slack. It is an approach to influencing, training, modeling, and passing the baton to the next generation.
Leadership is a concept most people feel informed enough to discuss, but that few are truly educated sufficiently to comment on. Therefore, it is instructive to consider the leadership styles of people with very different approaches both to better understand the diversity underlying leadership, as well as to appreciate the effective and less effective strategies that underlie different leadership outcomes. For that reason, this essay will consider the styles of two leaders who are less visible in this highly contentious presidential election season: Jill Stein (the Green Party nominee) and Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate. The leadership styles of both are very different, yet they are aligned in the sense that both are outsider candidates struggling to gain momentum from a disaffected electorate. This essay begins with a theoretical discussion of leadership more generally and then turns to the two leaders as case studies, comparing and contrasting them and drawing conclusions about how they both work within the same public sphere and for putatively similar ends (i.e., gaining votes).