Leadership is an influential position that affects its followers. Leadership should take people from their current situation to a better one. The purpose of the paper is to assess and develop the best leadership qualities.
One of the lessons is that leadership affects everything at the workplace (Northouse 275). The leader must try his or her best to bring about growth and or change. The leader needs to motivate the followers to work towards the achievement of the company’s goals. Daniel Shivitz, the manager of The Copy Center, was able to categorize the two most important departments in his business.
Daniel knew that the desktop publishing unit had experienced experts who could handle their jobs without so much supervision. He only went there to encourage them and help them with little technical expertise. But he spent much of his time at the duplicating unit (Kouzes and Posner 352). The job was tedious, and hence his guidance and motivation was much helpful to them. The workers appreciated the fact that he could mingle with them and solve any impending problems on time. It is a lesson that can be very helpful to my ambition in leadership (Northouse 275).
The other person is Jenny Hernandez, the Publication Manager of City Mortgage. Her influence brought about a positive environment at work. She worked with all departments and persons without favoritism. She ensured that even her friendships did not affect her work and service to everyone. The employees were proud to associate with her. They were also free to share their concerns with her. During the annual holiday party, she had to cut glass into twenty-five pieces that represented the twenty-five staffs who worked at the company (Northouse 275).
She used it to demonstrate that everyone’s contribution was valuable. After sharing their stories, they put together all the pieces and hanged them in the front lobby of the office. They were happy to work for the City Mortgage. I learned that treating people with fairness motivates them to work harder.
The information is crucial because it helps to shape my career as a leader. One thing I learned is that every organization has goals to achieve. It is the work of the leader to make those goals realistic and achievable. A leader cannot work alone. He or she must have followers who have different needs. It is not good to have only one way of doing things with people. One must first get to know his people’s skills, talents, and their weaknesses.
When working with them I have to know how to relate to each and every person according to my understanding of their backgrounds. For instance, followers who have authoritative qualities do require directive kind of leadership (Kouzes and Posner 352). A leader would apply supportive duties to followers who need the human touch and affiliation. For a challenging task, a leader would apply the Achievement-oriented leadership style because the workers have high expectations for excellence.
Each department has got its challenges. The team that is cohesive and has experience would not be happy if a leader becomes authoritative and directive. As a leader, I learned that there is the need to learn and do the right thing at the right time. I should not be speculative in carrying out my duties.
As a leader, I have three most important things that require my attention. The organization and the management require growth and development. The second one is about the organizational goals. Everyone needs to work towards achieving them. The subordinates look up to me to help or support them to achieve their targets. I have to link all these aspects to my leadership roles so that the team does not fail. The most important of all these are the followers.
The subordinates are very important because they determine how far a leader goes in fulfilling the day to day objectives. I have to lead them well though working closely with them. They need guidance and coaching. It is important that they get such important attributes from their leader. They also need motivation through good payments. I need to remove any communication barriers so that I can have a one on one daily conversation with the subordinates. I also have to ensure that there are no obstacles that may hinder the true nature of teamwork (Northouse 275).
One of the obstacles to deal with is the authoritative nature of positions at work. I have to ensure that everyone gets credit for the good work they do. Success begins with the staff at the lowest level even to the highest level (Kouzes and Posner 352). If the company grows, it is as a result of individual duties put together. Another obstacle is the organizational structure. The organizational structure could be in such a way that it promotes a mechanistic style of doing work. It promotes too much bureaucracy that it prevents the leader from accessing information directly from the responsible staff. It also could prevent the staff from getting the desired attention on time (Kouzes and Posner 352).
I am a leader who is quick to learn. I also have a progressive record of building good relationships with people. I can lead people first to understand themselves and then meet their needs. I can also influence the management though dialogue to redesign the leadership structure so that it removes the barriers.
Works Cited
Kouzes, James, and Barry Posner. Leadership Practices Inventory, 3rd ed. Wiley: Jossey-Bass Inc, 2012. Print.
Northouse, Peter. Leadership: Theory and Practice, 7th ed. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, 2010. Print.