Leadership is a human character trait that is often associated with having a social influence in a group, the ability to make and uphold complex decisions, and overall personality qualities that other people look up to. Cummings et al. (2018) argue that, despite the particular leadership styles a person may be practicing, people with leadership skills are paramount to creating a healthy working environment. This paper will cover my ideal personal leadership philosophy based on the results of the Clifton Strengths assessment and will present core values, mission and vision statement and personal development plan.
To begin with, the ideal leadership style for nurturing a positive and efficient working environment would be, in my opinion, a combination of relationally focused leadership styles including transformational, charismatic and servant. According to Cummings et al. (2018), relational types of leadership qualities encompass a variety of skills and techniques targeted at improving interpersonal relationships and the mental well-being of the employees. In particular, the authors highlight three styles of relational leadership: transformational, focused on employees working up to their potential, resonant, aimed at determining employees’ needs and wants, and authentic, concerned with public image and perception of the leader. In turn, Alblooshi et al. describe charismatic leadership as one that “exists in environments that are uncertain and too challenging… leaders are required to influence team members’ confidence in their abilities and promote a sense of community” (2021, p. 14). Finally, Gandolfi and Stone (2018) make a case for servant leadership being superior for building a positive working environment. Similar to resonant and transformational leadership, servant leaders focus on what motivates employees, putting their own needs aside, and allow people to develop by letting them in on managerial decisions.
As far as the personal leadership philosophy is concerned, I chose my core values as a leader to be empathy, attentiveness to employees’ wants and needs, and enhancement of employees’ potential. Furthermore, if I were a leader, my mission and vision statements would be “Creating the most convenient and fruitful working environment for all employs alike” and “Environment where each employee feels safe, content and working up to their potential”. With regard to Clifton Strengths assessment, the test highlighted five of my most prominent qualities: relator, positivity, includer, responsibility and adaptability. The first three qualities can be summarized as exhibiting a positive attitude, bringing the working team closer together and ensuring that each employee feels included – personality traits often associated with charismatic and transformational leadership styles. The last two qualities signify my responsible attitude and ability to adapt to unforeseen circumstances that are, in turn, associated with transformational and servant leadership styles. Based on this information, the list of Clifton Strengths and my own experience, in order to become a better leader I need to cultivate arranger and empathy qualities that require higher organizational and emotional intelligence skills.
In conclusion, I will present my personal development plan outlining ways of improving upon the chosen qualities and the plan for achieving the aforementioned vision statement. First, arranger quality and organizational skills can be significantly enhanced if one were to practice scheduling routine, time management skills and overall attention to detail. Secondly, emotional intelligence skills can be improved by focusing on active listening skills, maintaining a high level of self-awareness and, most importantly, exercising empathy for others. This way, my personal vision can be achieved by constant empathetic engagement with the employees, attentiveness to employees’ desires and thoughts, and putting oneself on equal footing with the subordinates.
References
Alblooshi, M., Shamsuzzaman, M. and Haridy, S. (2021). The relationship between leadership styles and organisational innovation: A systematic literature review and narrative synthesis”. European Journal of Innovation Management, 24(2), 338-370.
Cummings, G. G., Tatea, K., Leea, S., Wong, C. A., Paananena, T., Micaronia, S. P. M. and Chatterjee, G. E. (2018). Leadership styles and outcome patterns for the nursing workforce and work environment: A systematic review. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 85, 19-60.
Gandolfi, F. and Stone, S. (2018). Leadership, leadership styles, and servant leadership. Journal of Management Research, 18(4), 261-269.