Reflection On Leadership Experiences
My recent professional role has been in sales for a local company. I was promoted into a leadership position as a sales team leader. This role exposed me to different aspects of myself that I didn’t recognize before. In this role, I led people by motivating them to make more sales and have team spirit when executing their roles. I was tasked with managing people to perform their roles effectively. I was leading 15 people in my group.
This group was my everyday task to ensure they were doing well in their duties and meeting their objectives efficiently. I communicate with them daily to address the daily issues in the field.
The experiences that have impacted me as a leader are the 2 tasks that I was involved in the organization. These tasks include creating employee motivation programs and joining weekly leadership training conferences. Creating an employee motivation program was very influential because it allowed me to change an organization. I had to develop ideas to help my team since I had interacted with them for a while. I intuitively knew what would make them happy and increase their job satisfaction. I gained strategic planning skills that brought a change in my life and that of the organization (Özbağ, 2016). Also, the leadership forum I attended brought into light various strengths of my leadership style that I was unaware of. As I result, I became a better leader who acknowledges inclusivity in decision-making.
My leadership strengths
Jack Welch’s Foundational Principles include mission & values, honesty, voice, differentiation, and dignity. Deriving knowledge from these principles, I possess the knowledge of voice and dignity. As a leader, I listen to my team members for feedback from people around me. I love listening to the thoughts of others as well as their ideas. Every individual in my team is important and should voice out their ideas and thoughts. As I listen to their views, I acquire better decision-making ability. Also, the individuals feel a sense of belonging which help motivate them to do their jobs (Özbağ, 2016). Dignity is another strength that I possess. I treat people as I would like them to treat me. I don’t put people down or discriminate against them based on their diversity. I do my best to earn my team’s trust and do things fairly without harming anyone’s feelings.
I can pull strength from Jack Welch’s 8 Essential Rules that influence leadership development. This rule is relentlessly upgrading your team. I have actively engaged my teams in constant training to improve their skills for the job. Also, I offer those materials where they can learn how to improve themselves professionally. This strength has given my team the best ability to perform well in their duties. My team is successful because I have evaluated, coached, and built their self-confidence.
Emotional Intelligence and Your DiSC Profile
My DiSC profile shows that I am an ‘I’-style. This means that I am optimistic, enthusiastic, high-spirited, and enjoy relating to others. Such a personality allows an individual to work well under pressure, catch people’s attention, communicate effectively, and loves to work in a free-flowing environment. The ‘I’-style is linked to the strength of encouraging team setting and uplifting others to perform better. However, this style has weaknesses, such as reluctance to provide negative feedback and unrealistic imaginations.
The management experience that links to this style is encouraging people, promoting collaborations, taking action, and giving support. The leader can offer warm relationships with team members, promote creativity, and consider the needs of others. Such leaders make people feel good about their jobs. This aspect promotes job satisfaction in the organization. Such leaders are available for others, give direction in a friendly manner, and create peaceful ways to execute tasks efficiently.
On the other hand, this kind of leadership can be challenging. The leader dislikes being forceful with others, which can sometimes be crucial. Such a leader makes decisions independently that can be risky for the business. A leader with such a personality has difficulties committing to long-term goals because they need to see things happening and quick results.
A Plan for mastering your leadership style
Some leadership skills I would like to master in the future include taking initiative, critical thinking, handling conflicts, and constant learning. In taking the initiative, I would like to know the art of taking up more responsibilities in my position. I look forward to learning competencies that fall outside my primary knowledge area. I want to have critical thinking skills shortly to see a problem’s potential before it happens (Underhill, 2015).
Also, I can be in a position to develop mitigation approaches to prevent the problem from happening. In this regard, I can see and take advantage of potential opportunities.
Handling conflicts is another skill that I should learn shortly. A successful leader should know how to handle and resolve difficult people in the workplace. In this view, I need to learn to be honest and straightforward with individuals concerning their behaviors. Constant learning is crucial in a changing business space. A leader should constantly learn and challenge them to keep up with the new trends.
Steps to take to master the skills
The effort to master those skills requires an action plan. The plan involves various steps. I should define what makes a leader relevant to the industry and time. I should conduct a self-assessment test to understand my strengths and weaknesses and act accordingly. Identifying the core values is another crucial step. A personal vision statement is another important aspect that I should focus on. Pointing out the current and lacking leadership skills is crucial in mastering them. I should set a goal both long- and short-term. The last step would be composing an implementation plan considering all important activities.
I will measure my success by marking every milestone. The plan’s success will be evaluating the different variables to assess the progress. Also, I should involve a mentor to create a link with an individual who is better than me and will motivate me to grow (Wessh, 2019). The mentor will be reminding me of my goals. Meeting this goal is another way of measuring success in life. In the long run, I look forward to becoming a successful leader who can influence others efficiently.
References
Özbağ, G. K. (2016). The role of personality in leadership: Five-factor personality traits and ethical leadership. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 235, 235-242.
Underhill, M. (2015). The relationships among Situational Leadership® II, Emotional Intelligence and DiSC® behavior.
Wessh, J. (2019). GE’s Two-Decade Transformation. Jack Welch’s Leadership. GRIN Verlag.
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Question 
Write a 4-6 page paper in which you address the following:
Reflection On Leadership Experiences
1. Reflect on your leadership experiences:
- Describe the leadership aspects of your most recent professional role.
- Identify and describe 2 key experiences that have impacted you as a leader.
2. Assess your leadership strengths:
- Describe 2 key strengths from Jack Welch’s Foundational Principles (see Winning, chapters 1-4) and 8 Essential Rules of Leadership as they pertain to your leadership development.
3. How do these experiences and strengths relate to aspects of your Emotional Intelligence and your DiSC profile?
4. Develop a plan for mastering your leadership style:
- Identify 2-3 leadership skills you would like to master.
- Describe steps you can take to master those skills. How will you measure your success?