I am working in the department of external relations and communication, and during my practice, I have gained significant professional experience and opportunities for development. The most unexpected and complete experience for me was observing the actions of my supervisor, as well as other heads of the departments, since I have seen their professional leadership and learned from them. However, the most inspiring and teaching for me was observing the leadership skills of my supervisor Hana al Blooshi, since I interact with her most often and am her subordinate and follower.
While at university, I studied leadership and leadership styles; thus, I know that leaders can differ significantly in their approaches to motivating, directing, and managing their staff. Nevertheless, during my work in the department of external relations and communication, I saw these differences in real examples. Some leaders leaned more towards transformational styles, and others used transactional, laissez-faire, servant, or combinations of these styles. However, in all cases, these approaches were most appropriate for the employees and their work. Nevertheless, the most common style is the transactional one, since customs by its nature is a highly hierarchical organization, and the system of rewards and punishments is the most conducive to motivating employees and maintaining a formal hierarchy. However, my supervisor, Hana al Blooshi, made more of transformational leadership to meet the organization’s goals and my needs at the same time.
My supervisor’s transformational approach is manifested in the fact that she is guiding me through all assignments, asking for my needs, and using my interests. First, as an experienced leader, the supervisor identified my strengths and used them to choose the assignments. At the same time, the tasks were selected in such a way that I would also fix my weaknesses. Second, the supervisor motivated me by providing useful but often challenging tasks for me and made sure I fully understood the instructions. However, I had enough freedom and responsibility to complete tasks, which allowed me to find ways of working that were convenient and effective for me. Thus, I not simply followed the directions but also applied my own experience, skills, and critical thinking, which allowed me to develop as a professional.
In addition, the most critical aspect of our professional relationship was that I received feedback about my work and in my turn gave feedback about my experience. I believe that in this way, the supervisor also received new knowledge to improve her skills. Thus, two-way communication and supervisor support helped me to cope with my responsibilities better. At the same time, other employees also received enough attention, which once again underlines the supervisor’s high leadership qualities.
Therefore, the main lessons about leadership for me were that different types and approaches to leadership could be effective for different employees or teams in the same organization. At the same time, a leader’s critical quality and skill should be the ability to communicate with subordinates, understand, and take into account their needs. In addition, feedback from both the leader and the followers is one of the most crucial elements of interaction since it allows a person to reflect on the experience gained, as well as find aspects that need improvement. In this way, employees and the leader form quality and trusting relationships that benefit the team and the organization.