Introduction
This paper highlights the important role of reflection in leadership development and enhancement. Kolbs, Gibbs, and Johari window are presented as possible models for undertaking this reflective assessment but Kolb’s framework is selected as the most appropriate one to use because of its emphasis on personal learning experiences, which is a core factor in my leadership development journey. This presentation is divided into four main parts. The first one provides a background of the case study firm, which is London Energy – a UK-based waste management company. The second section explains the three reflective models for analysis and provides reasons why Kolb’s model emerged as the best. The last section of the presentation explores the implications of making leadership changes, in terms of their effects on employees and the organization.
Company Background
This reflective exercise is relevant to my role as an employee of London energy, which is a UK-based waste management company. Wholly owned by North London Waste Authority, the firm mostly operates in North London and operates as a private enterprise (London Energy Limited, 2021). My role in the organization is that of a team leader, who manages groups of employees involved in marketing, sales, and research development.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the operations of London Energy in the same manner it has other firms in the waste management sector. Given the service-oriented nature of the company’s operations, 80% of the workforce operates in the field while 20% is office-based (Gallacher, 2021). Managers are struggling to change the perception among their employees that working from home is a privilege for those in leadership and managerial positions. At the same time, management is trying to prepare its employees for digitization through training and skills development (Gallacher, 2021). However, the process requires a change of organizational culture, which is expected to normalize remote working as a function of normal business operations in the new business environment.
Organizational Challenges
London Energy has had trouble implementing its work-from-home program because of attitudinal differences about remote working. Particularly, some employees are having trouble embracing the concept because they do not believe they deserve to use it (Gallacher, 2021). This problem leads to the improper application of the work-from-home program. Others are unfamiliar with the use of relevant digital communication tools, such as Skype and emails, to facilitate daily communication. As a team leader, at London Energy, my role will be to ensure the effective implementation of the work-from-home program as a tool to minimize COVID-19 infections.
Importance of Reflection
Reflection is an important part of leadership development because it helps in identifying weaknesses and opportunities that can be minimized or enhanced to boost effectiveness. The process is based on an evaluation of one’s experiences and interactions in leadership forums to determine whether desired goals of leadership are achievable, or not (Grant et al., 2017). In the same vein of analysis, reflection can help leaders to understand how to merge their skills with organizational resources to realize common goals. In this presentation, the reflection will be used to identify skill gaps that need to be addressed in my leadership practice at London Energy.
Reflective Models- Kolb Experiential Learning Cycle
Different models apply to leaders when undertaking reflective exercises. Kolb’s reflective learning model is one of three frameworks of personal reflection I will highlight in this presentation. It proposes the use of experience as the basis for active learning and participation (Bisson, 2017). Developed in 1984, the model is characterized by four stages of personal reflection (Bisson, 2017). They include processes relating to the evaluation of concrete experiences, observation, and reflection of past conduct, development of abstract concepts about leadership effectiveness, and testing of new situations (Hayes et al., 2017). These stages of personal reflection are distinct but appear as an interconnected chain of activities, as highlighted in figure 1 above.
Criticism of Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle
Kolb’s experiential learning cycle has been criticized for being too simplistic in its interpretation of people’s lived experiences. Particularly, the propagation of four distinct learning silos as the main framework for conducting reviews has been challenged for not reflecting people’s true lived experiences (Clarke, 2017). For example, it has been confirmed that the four stages of the model could occur simultaneously thereby influencing leadership development. The model is also deemed to be limited in scope because it only uses experiential data to develop its outcomes.
Reflective Models-Gibbs Reflective Cycle
Gibbs’s cycle of reflection is the second model that can be used for evaluating a leader’s effectiveness. It is expected that this reflective exercise is supposed to help leaders understand their strengths and weaknesses. This process provides a balanced judgment of one’s skills as they are required in an uncertain business environment (Alvinius et al., 2017). The reflective cycle covers six stages of analysis and the first three include an evaluation of one’s experiences, feelings, and thoughts about leadership by highlighting the good and bad attributes of the experience (Alvinius et al., 2017). The latter three stages are focused on developing a response strategy for the findings observed in the first stage of assessment.
Criticism of Gibb’s Reflective Cycle
Critics of Gibb’s reflective cycle assume that it promotes a reactive understanding of one’s leadership experiences in the remote working environment, as opposed to a proactive one (Williams et al., 2020). They also believe that the model fails to ask deep questions relating to one’s leadership experiences, thereby providing conjecture data for analysis (Liao, 2020). Additionally, its superfluous nature gives it the power to promote unrealistic thinking, which could be exploited into populist ideas for political gain.
Reflective Models: Johari Window Model
The Johari window is the last evaluative model I will discuss in this presentation. It analyzes the nature of the relationship between leaders and their subjects using four quadrants of review that seek to find open, façade, blind, and unknown attributes about one’s personality, as shown in figure 2 above (Sharma, 2020). Under the “open” category, personality attributes selected by a person and their peers, which are relevant to the remote working environment, are assessed and in the “blind” category, identifiable attributes that are relevant to leading virtual teams are disclosed (Carraher and Smith, 2017). In the “façade” category, only those attributes that have been selected by subjects, as being relevant to a virtual working environment, but have not been identified by peers, appear in this segment of the analysis. Lastly, “unknown” traits refer to characteristics of the virtual learning environment that are unknown to leaders and their subjects due to a lack of awareness of their existence or collective ignorance (Clarke, 2017).
Criticism of the Johari Window Model
Critics of the Johari window model suggest that its efficacy in evaluating leadership effectiveness significantly diminishes if its findings are not meant to improve one’s skills or minimize the negative effects of “bad” behaviors (Carraher and Smith, 2017). Partly, the Johari Window model could also lead to a lack of trust between leaders and their subjects because it requires users to disclose their weaknesses, by sharing personal information, some of which could lead to broken trust with some employees (Clement, 2019). In this regard, the model’s success requires a high level of maturity among all those involved. At the same time, leaders should match group energy to be effective.
Kolb’s Reflective Model
Based on an evaluation of the three reflective tools highlighted in this presentation, I chose Kolb’s reflective model as the preferred framework for evaluating my leadership skills and traits, as they related to a virtual work environment. The model was purposefully selected for the analysis because it uses experiential data to evaluate one’s leadership skills (Stewart et al., 2017). Having gathered experience in leading virtual teams at London Energy, I needed a reflective model that primarily relied on one’s experiences to evaluate leadership conduct. Kolb’s experiential learning model accommodated this need because it evaluates leadership effectiveness based on reflective observations and abstract conceptualizations.
Outcome of Analysis
By using Kolb’s experiential learning model to evaluate my leadership skills, I discovered that I practice the democratic leadership style, which does not augur well with a remote working environment where employees operate in different locations (Jones and Giordano, 2021). The characteristics of a democratic leadership style are centered on the provision of support services for employees, the promotion of innovation in the firm, and the involvement of employees in decision-making processes (Crossan et al., 2021).
Model Application Diagram (Kolb)
Leadership issues I encountered through the implementation of Kolb’s model ranged from procrastination and the failure to observe deadlines. I also found that the democratic leadership style created conditions for harboring uncertainty in the organization because of the lack of a central point of command for directing team activities. Relative to this statement, three questions emerged from this probe as follows:
- How do you direct teams in an environment where employees have been trained to perceive themselves as being equal to leaders?
- How does one promote team cohesiveness in an environment where teams are located in different locations?
- Which is the best communication tool to use in a virtual work environment?
The three areas highlighted above are pertinent to my leadership journey because they address challenges I have encountered when adopting the democratic leadership style (Wilson, 2021). Additionally, the three questions touch on key areas of my leadership development program – communication, team direction, and cohesiveness.
Implications for Employees and Organizations
The implications of my leadership outcomes will be felt by my organization and its employees. However, there are good and bad implications because good leadership qualities have their benefits while the adoption of bad leadership qualities has negative implications on the overall sustainability of a firm. In the next slides, I will explain people’s reactions to the positive and negative aspects of my leadership evaluation process.
Implications on Employees and Organization – if Leadership has been Improved
My leadership skills will have a positive impact on employees and the firm when improved. The improvement will happen when my leadership style changes from one that promotes democratic governance to servitude. By making this change, I am likely to have a positive impact on employees and London Energy at large. The effects may be observed through an increase in organizational productivity and employee morale (Harper et al., 2020). At an employee level, my improved leadership skills are likely to lead to increased innovation and creativity because, under the servant leadership format, employees would have the freedom to solve problems affecting their businesses (Venus et al., 2019). This outcome will be realized through the proper allocation of resources among employees and may exploit the strengths and minimize weaknesses of team members.
If Leadership has not been Improved
The failure to develop my leadership skills could harm employee performance and organizational productivity. Gill and Negrov (2021) add that ineffective leaders are likely to intoxicate the work environment, thereby making it difficult to realize organizational goals. In the context of London Energy’s business, competitors are likely to take over the market if leadership is not improved (Sayyadi, 2019). Therefore, there are likely to be low levels of employee morale, satisfaction, and productivity if leadership practices are not improved because employees would lack the freedom to be creative or harness their collective team power.
Areas of Improvement
In the context of this reflective exercise, areas of leadership that require improvement are based on the application of Kolb’s learning model. The first two stages of development demand that a leader recalls relevant factors impacting leadership effectiveness. The last two stages demand that an abstract conceptualization of proposed plans be completed and an action plan be developed to sustain improvements in practice. Relative to these demands, the communication strategy adopted at London Energy and the style of leadership practiced are areas requiring improvement.
By addressing key areas of my leadership skills outlined in the previous slides, the positive impacts of the changes are likely to be felt by employees, customers, and the organization through improved levels of satisfaction, productivity, and creativity. For example, London Energy’s corporate goals are likely to be realized when there is a change in leadership style from one that is premised on democratic governance to servant leadership because the latter is a natural fit for teams working remotely (Bennion et al., 2020). Therefore, the proposed changes will likely have a positive impact on employees and the organization.
Conclusion
Leadership is one of the most effective tools for managing uncertainty in organizations. It is especially important for London Energy, which is grappling with uncertainty and change brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The insights provided in this presentation highlight the importance of reflection as a tool for improving leadership effectiveness. In the context of this review, Kolb’s reflective model emerged as the suitable framework for evaluating my experiences leading virtual teams at London Energy. The findings are critical in improving the overall productivity of the organization by making employees, managers, and customers more adaptable to change.
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