Self-identity
Every organization that pursues excellence in the conduct of its business must invest in effective leadership. A successful project leader must possess necessary competencies to influence and guide his juniors and engage in productive sets of actions to achieve the ultimate goal of the project. However, due to the frequent changes in the dynamics of running an organizational and a project, modern leaders must engage in constant self-improvement to match the demands of a project. Leader-development involves engaging in initiatives that improve the competencies and skills such as self-awareness, commitment, emotional capabilities designed to improve leadership capacity (Day et al., 2014). Thus, through self-development, a leader acquires relevant skills to drive a project to success. This paper allows me to pen down a self-development plan for the next five years in project leadership. I will examine my strengths and note down development needs.
Every human being has distinct features that set him aside from the other. Self-identity is the way a person perceives and interprets self in the sense of characteristic and experiences (Klenke, 2007). Hence, self-identity shapes people behaviors. I firmly believe that the end justifies the means. I grew up in an extended family environment that put great emphasis on excellent personal achievements. Through the family background, I have grown to believe in myself and have confidence in my capabilities. I have engaged in the habit of trying various viable means in approaching an issue until I have the intended results. These skills relate to the situational theory of leadership. Personal excellence is not an option and, has embraced the idea of using creative and multiple ways to handle an issue. Hence, my motivations in life originate from the fact that there exist different means to achieve the targets in life. My family has instilled in me the persistent aggressiveness and patience to attain excellence. I am very passionate about relationship building and making new friends through social interactions. I have a goal to be a leader in an organization that embraces creative and innovative ways of solving a problem and one that believes in every person’s capabilities through duties delegation.
Project leadership is the carrying out of the leadership roles on a project, guiding it to success through rallying the teams behind the objectives and laying out policies to enhance its attainment. However, the success of any project is affected by some issues. An organizational project is impacted by the effectiveness of its leadership (Dulewicz & Higgs, 2005). Leaders with relevant skills and capabilities lead the project to success. Thus, project leadership must be based on the charismatic theory of leadership to equip the leader with necessary competencies. Charismatic leaders inspire enthusiasm and motivation to own the project and lead to the realization of the goals (Sparks, 2014). Possessing charismatic leadership skills enables a leader to win the emotional, intellectual and behavioral commitment of team members to work towards the project objectives. Hence, a charismatic leader is seductive and lures employees to conform to the organizational projects and meets the members’ expectations though sharing the vision in an effective manner. Moreover, the success of a project depends highly on the leader self-awareness of his strengths and limitations. Therefore, project leadership must be anchored on authentic leadership style. Authentic project leaders are true to self, communicate and act openly according to the needs and have high morals (Klenke, 2007). Having authentic leadership traits allows a leader to be realistic with the project, draws commitment and integrity from members and lead with sense of purpose. Authentic leaders act on their values and are cognizant of other people’s strengths and limitations and build people’s confidence and resilience. Hence, authentic leadership will embrace openness to the strength of the team the development needs and hence, achieve success. Furthermore, different projects demand different strategies to attain the goals. Thus, project leadership should be guided by the situational theory of leadership. Situational approach advocates for project management depending on the environment (McCleskey, 2014). A situational leader gives definite instructions to team members, establish organizational patterns and communication channels in regard to the situation at hand. Possessing situational leadership skills will enable a leader to relate the scenario to the best interventions. Thus, situational leadership will evaluate the circumstance and make the best decision.
Project Leadership
I plan to develop skills in charismatic leadership. As a charismatic project leader, I will be able to influence and draw commitment from staffs and be visionary in tackling any challenge in the course of the project. I want to develop authentic leadership skills. As a project leader, I will be able to engage in self-evaluation exercise to know my strengths, limitations and emotions as well being able to deal with diverse members in the project to positively guide the project. Additionally, I plan to develop situational leadership skills. As a project leader, I will have the confidence and the experience to handle different hurdles while coaching and mentoring team members. In my life, I have been inspired by my parent’s persistent pursuit of results through various means and, will strive to solve a problem rather than quit.
In the next five years, I vision myself as a leader in a telecommunication company tasked to lead various projects aimed at placing the business ahead of competitors and create a favorable image. The task could be leading a corporate social responsibility project such as raising money for charity or disbursing monetary help to the needy, disabled or senior citizens in the community. Moreover, the project could involve leading installation boosters and fiber cables to enhance the services of the provider and gain an edge in the market.
Being a project leader would mean employing effective strategies to achieve excellent results through creativity and innovation, empowering team members through coaching and training as well as duty delegations. There is a stiff competition in the telecommunication industry that requires the team players to constantly draw effective strategies to remain at the top. A project leader in the industry will need to have the creativity to come up with appealing CSR projects and innovative infrastructures through effective building and management of teams. Working in the industry as a project leader will enable me to lead an organization that is in pursuit of results to beat the competition and lead projects that means life to the community. Thus, the role in the industry matches my life goals of believing in everyone’s capabilities through delegation and persistent creative and innovative problem-solving skills.
In my undertakings in the industry, I will need to develop teamwork skills. Leading CSR projects will demand to work in teams, encouraging and inspiring them and developing their capabilities through training and coaching. These skills align with the transformational leadership. Transformational leadership encourages teams to own the projects and take interest (McCleskey, 2014). I will need to develop my self-awareness skills and emotional intelligence. The skills will allow me to engage in a constant personal review of my strengths while noting how my emotions might affect the success of the project. The skills align with authentic leadership. Authentic leadership influence followers from a moral and ethical perspective while self and team reality (Klenke, 2007).
I will need to develop mobilization skills. While leading a project on resource mobilization for the needy, I will need to develop my influential skills to lure people to make their contributions. The skills align with charismatic leadership. Furthermore, while leading boosters and satellite installation, I will need to develop technical expertise to allow me to lead from the point of knowledge. While leading CSR projects aimed to benefit the company through creating an appealing image, I will need to develop skills to enhance my readiness to deal with different projects. These skills align with situational leadership.
Career path
My mission is to be a transformational leader characterized by the ability to have my juniors adopt the project and commit to its realization. Moreover, I want to influence action but taking care of my team members and the community needs. I want to lead a team committed to personal and organizational excellence and support them through coaching and mentoring.
My relationships at work will be based on openness, mutual respect, and accountability. I will be honest with the details of the project at hand to create trust, inspire confidence and motivate the members to rally behind the project. Additionally, I will inspire respect and tolerance of opinions during the project and encourage every member to share their perception without fear of discrimination. I will advocate for a relationship that demands accountability and responsibility for actions taken after duties delegation. Furthermore, I will encourage personal relationships to allow the team members vent their frustration and or speak about a bothering issue that is affecting their productivity.
I am very decisive and take independent and bold decision in different situations to pursue the target results. However, I would like to develop my teamwork skills to help me engage the members effectively during a project and persuade them to adopt the vision. These skills align with the transformational leadership styles. Sharing the project vision and motivating a team elicits commitment from team members and inspire success (Zakaria, Mohamed, Ahzahar & Hashim, 2015)
I am very creative and persistent and, keep coming up with different strategies to approach an issue until I get the desired results. Nevertheless, I would like to develop my persuasion power and influential skills to draw the community to adopt the project. Effective persuasion powers motivate people to accept social change (Ames, 2009). I would like to be able to establish my targets with ease and ensure I connect them with the project. The skills align with charismatic leadership style.
I am very confident of my personal capabilities and, adapt to different environments with ease clinging on my abilities to find new ways to handle the issue. Nonetheless, I would like to develop visionary skills to be able to evaluate a situation before making a decision. A visionary leader gives the project a purpose of life and maintains focus (Turner & Müller, 2006).Through this, I will limit the number of strategies employed on a single issue by use of foresightedness skills. The skills are based on charismatic leadership.
I am a very friendly and social. I build personal relationships with ease. However, I would like to develop active listening skills and empathic communication. The skills would allow me to listen keenly to team members and project stakeholders and show interest while relating to the feelings of the communicator. These strengths relate to authentic leadership. Active listening allows productive interactions and builds trust and confidence among people (Zulch, 2014).
I have experience in solving personal and family problems in minor situations through creative thinking. Nevertheless, I would like to gain first-hand experience in solving weighty corporate and community problems. Learning how to handle different and substantial projects in the corporate and organization will allow me to come up with important corporate social responsibilities and serve the best interest of both the organization and the community. These strengths relate to servant leadership styles.
I have experience in raising extra money for personal effects through part-time work and short term contracts. Conversely, I would like to gain practical experience in resource mobilization for big charity events. I would like to influence people to contribute toward a right course. These strengths are rooted in transformational leadership style. A leader with effective mobilization skills sparks audience willingness to be part of the project and motivates them to commit towards the objectives (Siegel, 2010).
I have experience in class room presentations and discussion group moderations. Nonetheless, I would want to gain first-hand experience in aspects of training, coaching and mentoring junior staffs and develop their capabilities and support their engagement on the project. These strengths lie under transformational leadership style. Through individualized considerations, leaders support team members to attain their full potentials and impact the success of the project (Zulch, 2014).
I have experience in academic writing and speech writing. However, I would like to gain practical experience in writing a funding proposal for charity projects to solicit money to raise the status of the needy and disabled people. The skills are based on servant leadership style. The skills will enable me to persuade different institutions to invest in a project aimed at uplifting the community and improve their wellbeing.
I am optimistic and positive minded on an issue that confronts me. However, I would like to develop a more emotional awareness mindset to handle any disappointment and, be more expressive about my emotions. These strengths are rooted in authentic leadership. An emotional mindful leader is empathic and makes ethical decisions that deliver success in the project (Siegel, 2010).
I am good at working on personal and small projects. Nevertheless, I would like to develop the abilities to work on big life-impactful projects that involve a lot of people. I would love to have the capabilities to run a project that completely changes the lives of a good number of people and develop their abilities to live beyond constant help. These skills are based on servant leadership style.
I am a creative problem solver. However, I would like to develop a mental framework towards persuasive communication skills and, be able to persuade and draw people to be part of the project. The strengths are rooted in transformational leadership skills. Successful project leaders have effective persuasion skills to win supporters and motivate them to adopt the course of actions (Zakaria, Mohamed, Ahzahar & Hashim, 2015).
I have exceptional interpersonal skills that help me interact with ease in my social circles. However, I would like to develop my organizational communication and conflict management skills to help accommodate everyone in the project and enhance success. These skills are based on authentic leadership style. Through this, I will be able to accommodate people’s opinions and give directions without succumbing to coercion. Conflict resolution is a must have skills for project managers (Prieto-Remón, Cobo-Benita, Ortiz-Marcos & Uruburu, 2015).
I have effective self-management skills that allow me to prioritize my goals and deal with personal stressors efficiently. Conversely, I would like to develop my team management skills and deal with diversity and team needs. These skills are based on transformational leadership style. Acquiring these skills will allow me to attend to teams needs and curb any problem that would threaten the success of the project. Effective team management skills foster trust and collaboration and motivate the team towards success (Turner & Müller, 2006).
I have effective time management skills in carrying out different tasks. Nevertheless, I would like to develop technical expertise and physical capabilities and improve my leadership capacity in projects such as satellite installations. These skills and abilities are rooted in the situational theory of leadership. Effective management of a project requires one to have technical abilities (Turner & Müller, 2006).
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Goals |
Methods |
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Team building and management Skills |
I would like to develop my team building and management skills. I would like to have the abilities to identify appropriate team members’, inform them about the project in a concise and understandable manner. I would like to have the skills to manage and guide them through the intended objectives while taking care of their developments needs and supporting them throughout the project. These abilities are based on transformational leadership theory. Being able to build and guide a cohesive team in a project heightens the abilities to deliver quality performance (Redick, Reyna, Schaffer & Toomey, 2014). |
I would do this through attending formal training on team buildings. Additionally, I will read about successful leaders with exceptional teamwork skills. I will engage in drawing members of group assignments together and moderating the discussions and, evaluate my abilities to hold it together. |
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Self-Awareness |
I would like to develop self-awareness skills. I would like to have the abilities to continually evaluate myself to know my strengths and limitations in handling a particular project. These strengths and expertise are rooted in authentic leadership style. A manager who has great self-understanding is well equipped to make decisions based on his capabilities and recognizes the impact of his strengths and limitations on the success of the project (Redick, Reyna, Schaffer & Toomey, 2014). |
To develop this, I will regularly engage in self-evaluation test on personality and skills. Moreover, I will concentrate on people’s responses to my behaviors and abilities. |
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Emotional Intelligence |
I would like to develop my emotional intelligence skills. I would like to understand my emotions and moods and, how my feelings can affect my productivity at work and interaction with my colleagues. These strengths are rooted in authentic leadership skills. Awareness of one’s feelings and emotions allows a leader to control their effects at the workplace and, act in heightened empathy (Batool, 2013). Through these skills, I will be able to develop and manage cordial work relationships. |
I will read various publications on emotional intelligence and attend training sessions on EI. I will regularly review self in social circles and evaluate how I react when I am emotional. I will evaluate how I deliver class presentation when angered or provoked by class members to know whether I am becoming effective. |
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Conflict Resolution |
I would like to develop my conflict resolution skills. I would like to be able to mediate between team members or address idea and personal conflicts. I would like to build trust, mutual respect and institute an open communication channel that encourages respect for opinions. These abilities are rooted in authentic leadership. Team leaders must possess the abilities to solve conflicts as a result of dynamic individuals to enhance teams’ commitment (Prieto-Remón, Cobo-Benita, Ortiz-Marcos & Uruburu, 2015). |
I will attend conflict management seminars and training. I will take formal courses on team management and conflict resolution in institutions of higher learning. I will engage in mediation of group members in group assignments and family members and, evaluate my success to bring harmony to know whether I am effective. |
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Coaching and Mentoring |
I would like to develop my coaching and mentoring skills. I would like to have the abilities to develop my team member’s capabilities, encourage and motivate them to them achieve the best while supporting them with necessary resources. Additionally, I would like to inspire them and grow through the ranks in their careers and be their best. These strengths are rooted in transformational leadership. Great leaders are viewed not only on the project success but the ability to develop the strengths of their teams and empower them (McCleskey, 2014). |
I will learn from my role models in life through what they do that inspires me so much. I will read more on team development publications. I will engage in voluntary high school mentoring events and coaching them on best reading methods and, evaluate how I am able to inspire the students to attain their best. |
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Active Listening |
I would like to develop my active listening skills. I would like to be able to keenly listen to team members and take cognizant of the non-verbal communication. Moreover, I would like to be able to establish communicator’s needs and consider their emotions in my responses and acts, thus, become empathic in my communication. These abilities are based on authentic leadership. A leader who is sensitive to the emotions of other people can create a respectful working relationship and build trust among the followers (Zulch, 2014). |
I will enroll for formal communication classes in higher learning institutions. Additionally, I will embrace the behavior seeking to understand people emotions. I will observe people use body language and non-verbal cues during communication. I will evaluate how I respond to a friend’s explanations when in need of help to know whether I am becoming effective. |
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Cultural Intelligence |
I would like to develop cultural intelligence skills. I would like to have the abilities to establish what is acceptable and not acceptable to people of different cultures such as handshakes, words and personal distance. I would like to know work and life motivations of people of diverse cultures and, understand what influences them. These skills are rooted in transformational leadership style. |
I will make friends and interact with people from different cultural backgrounds. Moreover, I will read widely about different cultures in books and over the internet. I will observe how members of same culture great each other, use gestures and personal space. I will interact with people of different cultures in social functions and evaluate my compliance to cultural requirements. |
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Technical Skills |
I would like to develop technical abilities related to different events in the industry. I would like to have abilities to connect boosters and have practical knowledge of telecommunication systems. These skills are based on situational leadership. Successful project managers must have the technical credibility to make informed decisions (Gillard, 2009). |
I will attend formal technical trainings related to the industry. Moreover, I will work as a volunteer in similar projects to gain the first-hand experience. I will engage in fixing cables or Electricity wires at home and know whether I am becoming effective. |
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Influential skills |
I would like to develop my influential skills through confident persuasive communication and eloquent speeches to instill trust and commitment to team members. I want to be able to lure people and team members to listen to what the project entails, connect their emotions to the projects and what it will mean when it becomes a success. I would want to influence people to change their hard stance positions on an issue and adopt the project. These strengths are rooted in charismatic leadership style. Influence competencies relate to the success of any project (Redick, Reyna, Schaffer & Toomey, 2014). |
I will do this through sharpening my communication skills and practicing persuasive communication in my social circles. Furthermore, I will study more about influential communication and observe influential leaders. I will engage in public speaking contests in school and evaluate my ability to connect people’s emotions to the speech to know whether I am becoming effective. |
Conclusion
Successful project leaders must engage in continuous self-development plans. In this paper, I have laid down my self-development plan in a project leadership position. I have evaluated my character, experience, skills and my mindset and, identified development needs and the goals to achieve to be an effective project leader.
In the next five years, I have the vision to be a project manager in a telecommunication industry leading corporate social responsibilities and equipment installations projects. To be successful, I have established the need to acquire skills in authentic, transformational, charismatic and situational leadership. I have set the goals to develop self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and active listening skills. I want to grow my skills in team management and conflict resolutions and technical abilities about the project at hand. Furthermore, I have a goal to develop my influential and cultural intelligence skills while enhancing my abilities to coach and mentor team members. To achieve these goals, I will take formal courses in institutions of higher learning, attending different leadership training and conferences, self-evaluation, soliciting responses in social circles and volunteering in the industry to have the experience.
References
Ames, D. (2009). Pushing up to a point: Assertiveness and effectiveness in leadership and interpersonal dynamics. Research in Organizational Behavior, 29, 111-133.
Batool, B. F. (2013). Emotional intelligence and effective leadership. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 4(3), 84.
Day, D. V., Fleenor, J. W., Atwater, L. E., Sturm, R. E., & McKee, R. A. (2014). Advances in leader and leadership development: A review of 25years of research and theory. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(1), 63-82.
Dulewicz, V., & Higgs, M. (2005). Assessing leadership styles and organisational context. journal of Managerial Psychology, 20(2), 105-123.
Gillard, S. (2009). Soft skills and technical expertise of effective project managers. Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology, 6(7).
Klenke, K. (2007). Authentic leadership: A self, leader, and spiritual identity perspective. International journal of leadership studies, 3(1), 68-97.
McCleskey, J. A. (2014). Situational, transformational, and transactional leadership and leadership development. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 5(4), 117.
Prieto-Remón, T. C., Cobo-Benita, J. R., Ortiz-Marcos, I., & Uruburu, A. (2015). Conflict resolution to project performance. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 194, 155-164.
Redick, A., Reyna, I., Schaffer, C., & Toomey, D. (2014). Four-factor model for effective project leadership competency. Journal of Information Technology and Economic Development, 5(1), 53.
Siegel, D. J. (2010). Mindsight: The new science of personal transformation. New York: Bantam.
Sparks, G. A. (2014). Charismatic leadership: findings of an exploratory investigation of the techniques of influence. Journal of Behavioral Studies in Business, 7, 1.
Turner, J. R., & Müller, R. (2006). Choosing appropriate project managers: Matching their leadership style to the type of project. Project Management Institute.
Zakaria, I. B., Mohamed, M. R. B., bt Ahzahar, N., & Hashim, S. Z. (2015). A Study on Leadership Skills of Project Manager for a Successful Construction Project. 1(2), 89-94
Zulch, B. (2014). Leadership communication in project management. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 119, 172-181.
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