Discussion – Group Leadership
After taking the test for this assignment, I learned that my leadership philosophy for group leadership is democratic. This philosophy underscores the importance of involving team members in the process of making decisions. Emphasis is put on input, opinions, and contributions from all team members, which nurtures a sense of ownership and a culture where engagement from everyone is expected—some of the democratic leadership traits that I value most include collaborative, inclusive, and communicative. Besides, the main focus of democratic leadership is ensuring that there is collective decision-making and everyone participates; with this, an inclusive environment is created whereby everyone is heard and valued. I believe that is important because groups will have different people with different experiences, insights, varying levels of expertise, and knowledge. Giving everyone a chance to speak and present their opinions or ideas means that a lot more information will be analyzed and that the decision made will be the best option.
In addition, I believe that democratic leadership deters groupthink, which is one of the risks of group work. This is when individuals set aside their own beliefs or opinions and adopt those of others for various reasons, including the desire to conform and self-censorship, among others. One of the consequences of groupthink is that poor decisions are made; examples of poor decision-making by group thinking include the 2008 economic crisis and the Challenger space shuttle disaster. Secondly, group thinking leads to a lack of creativity, and there is resistance to new ideas or information. This phenomenon prevents one from expressing their ideas and challenging each other in addition to being a danger to a person’s objectivity. As much as everyone agreeing with each other is important, creativity is also important for growth, and this can only take place by avoiding groupthink. Moreover, as a leader, I believe that authority is one of the factors that can lead to groupthink, which is why it is important for me to take a step back and allow the team to brainstorm and contribute. This is as opposed to pitching my own ideas, which could make the team intimidated, and choose to agree rather than challenge the ideas.
The test also taught me that some of the skills of democratic leadership I have and value include being an effective communicator. One requirement for success, especially in teamwork, is effective communication. Having this skill ensures that I can convey ideas, expectations, and feedback as clearly and effectively as possible. In addition, it also means that I am a good listener and that I understand and respond accordingly to the concerns and needs raised by my team. Further, effective communication helps me build trust with my team. The second skill that I have is adaptability, which means being able to quickly adjust to new situations, unforeseen changes, and challenges as well. Living in an ever-changing environment, having the ability to adapt is key to succeeding. On the other hand, I learned that I lack the skill of conflict resolution. Conflict is one of the traits of any group because everyone will have their own perspectives, preferences, and ideas. These differences will, at some point, crash, and conflict is bound to rise. As such, it is important as a leader that I grasp the different ways of resolving a conflict, for example, through compromise, collaboration, accommodation, or competition. In addition, by mastering effective conflict resolution, I will stop matters from escalating and help uphold a cooperative and harmonious team environment.
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Question 
All discussion board initial posts should be written in APA formatting, citing sources when used, and a minimum of 500 words per initial post.
Discussion – Group Leadership
DB1:
Complete the exercise on page 55-57. What did you learn about your attitude regarding group leadership? Based on your score what leadership skills do you already have and name at least one skill you could acquire or improve on. What degree are you confident in your ability to facilitate a group with culturally diverse participants?