Chapter 1: meaning of leader
Chapter 1: meaning of leader
During chapter 1, I have developed my understanding of the meaning of leadership. In this way, I have learned that leadership is used to make liaison between leaders and followers who propose actual modification with results that reveals their shared intentions. This chapter was effective for me to understand different fundamental transformations in today’s organizations with leaders. These transformations are worlds are changing, war and terrorism, scandals and insecurity, needs strong leaders in these circumstances, and new paradigm (Northouse, 2018). As a result, I will be able to use leadership practices in an organization. This chapter has also boosted my knowledge about initial cause for leadership derailment with new theory skills can support me to eliminate the issues within an organization. The primary reason is acting in a discrimination style, being cold, detached and overconfident, informative personal reliance, and being too motivated and playing politics. Another reason is performance issues within the business, unable to hand over, and Poor selection (Ward, 2016).
Chapter 2: Research perspectives on leadership
From the chapter 2, I have developed my awareness about the trait approach, behavioral approach, individualized leadership, contingency approach, and substitutes. As a result, I would be proficient to apply these leadership approaches at the workplace. It would be also beneficial to become a good leader in future.
Week 2
Chapter 3: The leader as an individual
Under chapter 3, I have built my understanding of six dimensions of personality. These dimensions are extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, Emotional stability and Openness to experience (Antonakis and Day, 2017). I have increased my understanding of values, end values, and instrumental values. In this way, it is evaluated that values are fundamental beliefs that impact on attitudes behavior. It is also identified that end values are a beliefin the kinds of goals and results that are value pursuing (Heifetz and Linsky, 2017). I have also addressed that instrumental values are belief regarding the type of behavior that is feasible for arriving at the goals. This chapter has also increased my knowledge about Douglas McGregor theory. This theory defines two sets of assumptions like theory X and theory Y. In this way, theory X illustrates the statement that an individual are idle and cannot encourage to perform with have a natural trend to ignore responsibilities. I have also learned that theory Y relies on the assumption that an individual does not innately dislike performance and will commit themselves eagerly to act that they care about (Fairhurst and Connaughton, 2014). This chapter has also developed my understanding of the cognitive style. It will support me to make effective interaction within an organization. From this chapter, I have also increased my understanding of the role of charisma. In this way, I have learned that charismatic leaders have the capability to motivate and reassure people to do over and above they would generally do in spite of difficulties and personal losses. This leadership understanding is effective for me to identify my leadership skills.
Chapter 2: Research perspectives on leadership
Chapter 4: Leadership mind and heart
From chapter 4, I have increased my knowledge regarding mental models. In this way, it is evaluated that mental models are theories that people hold regarding particular systems around the globe and their projected attitude. This chapter has also developed my understanding regarding emotional intelligence. In this way, I have learned that emotional intelligence can be categorized into different families of emotions. These emotions are sadness, anger, shame, fear, love, surprise, and enjoyment (Covinand Slevin, 2017). I have also boosted my awareness about the transactional leadership style. In this way, I have learned that the basis of transactional leadership is an exchange or transaction procedure amid followers and leaders. Transactional leaders focus on the present, traditional management, follow the rules, maintain stability, and excel at smooth efficiency and running (Garrow, 2015). As a result, I will apply this knowledge at the workplace in the future. This chapter has also enhanced my experience regarding transformational leadership. In this way, I have learned that transformational leadership is defined as the competencies for making significant modification.
Chapter 5: Courage and moral leadership
During the chapter 5, I have increased my knowledge about the ethical and unethical leaders. In this way, I have learned that the ethical leader resolves issue promptly and also struggle for equality. I have also built my understanding that unethical leaders practice deception and neglect follower development. This knowledge would be effective for me to become a good ethical leader. This chapter was also beneficial for me to develop my understanding of Kohlberg’s stages of moral development. In this way, I have observed that there are three stages of personal moral development named pre-conventional, conventional and post-conventional (Komives, 2016). I have also increased my knowledge regarding moral leadership, servant leadership, authentic leadership, and leadership courage. This leadership understanding would be effective to become a good leader.
Chapter 6: Followership
Through chapter 6, I have developed my comprehension regarding followership styles. These styles are alienated, the conformist, the pragmatic survivor, the passive follower, and the effective follower. I have also created my knowledge about different ways to influence the leader. These ways are resources for the leader, help an individual to be good leader, develop association, and view the leader practically (Daft, 2014). I have also increased my experience about desirable characteristics in a follower. These characteristics are cooperative, honest, competent and dependable. As a result, I can be good followers or influence the followers in future.
Week 2
Chapter 7: Motivation and empowerment
From chapter 7, I have built my knowledge regarding motivation and empowerment. I have learned that motivation can lead to attitudes that result in high productivity at the workplace. This chapter was also prominent for me to comprehend the extrinsic and intrinsic rewards at the workplace. In such case, it is evaluated that extrinsic rewards are provided by another person such as supervisor such as promotion and increment in payment. I have also pointed that internal satisfaction an individual feels in the procedure of executing a specific act. This chapter has also gained my understanding of different theories of motivation. These are Hierarchy of needs theory, Two-factor theory, Reinforcement theory, acquired needs theory, Expectancy theory, and Equity theory (Shapiro and Stefkovich, 2016). It would enable me to motivate the employees at the workplace by applying these theories of motivation. This chapter has also developed my comprehension about empowerment. In this way, I have learned that empowerment is defined as sharing of power, allocation of authority and right to team members at the workplace. As a result, I am capable to use my empowering skill at the workplace.
Chapter 8: Leadership communication
This chapter has developed my knowledge about the meaning of communication. In this way, I have learned that communication is a procedure in which data and information are transferred amid sender and receivers like between leaders and employees. I have also observed that leaders communicate the big picture. Leaders focus on vision rather than facts and figures of data (Hazyand Uhl-Bien, 2015). During this chapter, I have learned that the richness of information channel is persuaded by different characteristics. As a result, I would be capable to communicate with my followers.
Chapter 9: Leading teams
During this week, I have developed my understanding regarding leading teams. In this way, I have observed that a team is set of more individual who cooperates and harmonizes their performance to meet a predetermined objective and goal. I have also learned that there are different processes of developing a team such as forming, storming, norming and performing. It is also evaluated that team leaders have different roles such as task specialist behavior and socio-emotional behavior (Komives, 2016). This chapter was beneficial for me to develop a role of team leader. These roles are identifying the significance of shared values and purposes. Team leaders should admit their mistakes and facilitate the support and coaching to team members(Shapiro and Stefkovich, 2016). I have also increased my knowledge about the different style to handle the conflicts. These styles are competing for style, compromising style, avoiding style, accommodating style and collaborative style.
Chapter 3: The leader as an individual
Chapter 10: Developing leadership diversity
This chapter was effective for me to develop the understanding of the diversity. In this way, it is evaluated that workforce diversity demonstrates that employees made up of individual who belongs to different human qualities and cultural groups. I have also increased my skill of social value system. In such case, I have pointed that different factors have been considered in social value systems such as power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism and collectivism, and masculinity and femininity. This chapter has also built my knowledge regarding personal development awareness. In this way, I have learned that there are different stages of personal diversity awareness. These stages are defense, minimizing differences, acceptance, adaptation, and integration(Shapiro and Stefkovich, 2016).This understanding would be applied to me to use effective leadership initiatives within an organization.
Chapter 11: Leadership power and influence
Under this week, I have built my knowledge about four leader frames of references. These are structural, human resource, political and symbolic. I have generated my knowledge about different type of power such as position power and personal power. I have also gained my knowledge about power of leader at the workplace such as interdepartmental dependency, control over information, organizational centrality, coping with uncertainty. I have also increased my knowledge regarding politics. In such way, it is observed that politics includes activities to obtain, build, and apply authority and other resources for attaining expected goals in which there is disagreement or uncertainty regarding judgement (Daft, 2014). I have also expanded my experience about guidelines for ethical actions.
Chapter 12: Creating vision and strategic direction
In this chapter, I have developed my comprehension about strategic leadership. In this way, I have built my understanding that strategic leadership is the competencies for projecting and think about the future deliberately to commence modifications, which will generate economical benefit for an organization in the upcoming time. I have also increased my knowledge about the vision, mission and strategy formulation. It would be effective for me to develop the vision and formulate strategy in the organization. As a result, I can be a good leader in long-term.
Chapter 13: Shaping culture and value
During this week, I have developed my knowledge about the cultures and value. In this way, I have observed that culture can be set of assumption, understanding, with customs, which is distributed by members of a company. I have also developed my understanding that culture could be shaped by different factors such as ceremonies, symbols, stories, selection and socialization, specialized language, and leader’s daily actions. I have also generated my knowledge that culture can motivate the employee commitment to the core function of the company. Thus, I would be capable of shaping the culture in an organization. This chapter was also effective for me to develop my understanding regarding different values approach to culture. These approaches are Adaptability culture, Achievement culture, Clan culture and Bureaucratic culture. These approaches would be applied by me for shaping the culture and value in an organization(Daft, 2014). I have also developed my knowledge about the value-based leadership. In this way, I have learned that ethical values in organizations are strengthened and developed primarily via value-based leadership. I have also gained experience that organizational structure should involve the training, disclosure mechanism, structure,and code of ethics. Consequently, this chapter not only developed my understanding of shaping culture and values in an organization but also improved my leadership skills.
References
Antonakis, J. and Day, D.V. eds., 2017. The nature of leadership. USA: Sage publications.
Covin, J.G. and Slevin, D.P., 2017.The entrepreneurial imperatives of strategic leadership. Strategic Entrepreneurship: Creating a new mindset, pp.307-327.
Daft, R.L., 2014. The leadership experience. USA: Cengage Learning.
Fairhurst, G.T.,andConnaughton, S.L., 2014. Leadership: A communicative perspective. Leadership, 10(1), pp.7-35.
Garrow, D.J., 2015. Bearing the cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian leadership conference. USA: Open Road Media.
Hazy, J.K. and Uhl-Bien, M., 2015. Towards operationalizing complexity leadership: How generative, administrative and community-building leadership practices enact organizational outcomes. Leadership, 11(1), pp.79-104.
Heifetz, R. and Linsky, M., 2017. Leadership on the Line, With a New Preface: Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Change. UK: Harvard Business Press.
Komives, S.R., 2016. Leadership for a better world: Understanding the social change model of leadership development. USA: John Wiley & Sons.
Northouse, P.G., 2018. Leadership: Theory and practice.USA: Sage publications.
Shapiro, J.P. and Stefkovich, J.A., 2016. Ethical leadership and decision making in education: Applying theoretical perspectives to complex dilemmas. UK: Routledge.
Ward, J., 2016. Keeping the family business healthy: How to plan for continuing growth, profitability, and family leadership. USA: Springer.