Style
My leadership style can be described as that of a reformist who is charismatic as well as one who employs visionary approach to operations. I am also a passionate-innovative and a visionary type of a leader. I instinctively make efforts to level the playing field of the persons that I lead. I also try to develop the team I am working with so that they can be able to drive operations in their different activities. To some extent, I involve others in the process of decision-making. I tend to be democratic when approaching issues. I am a transformational leader who applies strategy when approaching most dealings in the area of work in which I participate.
One of my weak points as a leader is that I score poorly in employing emotional intelligence in my style of leadership. Most of the times, I lack the soft skills that are required to read people’s mind and make meaning out of the situations. Since I am motivated to follow institutionalism, I may seem or be judged that I lack empathy when dealing with other people. I demonstrate some level of empathetic listening. Such a style of leadership predisposes me to a number of risks on execution of operations. One of the greatest challenges that I face is that of taking too long to conclude issues as I seek to accommodate other people’s views. With this, I ran the risk of getting things completed late despite the urge to ensure that institutionalism is maintained. There is a danger of being sidetracked when trying to accommodate other people.
Principles
One of the principles underlying my style of leadership is the drive to understand the cause of things. I endeavor to explain situations as they occur based on facts rather than the emotions that I am feeling. I work to preserve the integrity of all the processes which I pursue. I strive to seek justice and fairness in all situations whenever the methods that I rely on seem to fail. My style of leadership is also informed by the desire to ensure that institutionalism prevails at all times. Another principle that drives my style of leadership is that of striving to ensure that my future visions are shared by the persons who are around me. Having the people around me sharing my vision is key as it guarantees a higher chance of achievement.
Foundational skills
The foundational skills that underline my leadership style include good judgment and level-headedness. I can separate my emotions from the situations that occur when dealing with others. The ability to be process-oriented is also necessary for the style of leadership that I adopt. Other skills that form the foundation of my leadership style are objectivity as well as maintaining high standards. I think through most of the things that I intend to perform which is essential to sustaining the personality that I have.
Plan to Improve My Weaknesses
One of the major weaknesses, as identified in my style of leadership, is that of lacking emotional intelligence. It is vital for successful leaders to be emotionally intelligent (LeClerc, Doyon, Gravelle, Hall, & Roussel, 2008). To achieve the ability to read other peoples’ non-verbal cues and to integrate the outcomes effectively to my dealings with people is key to my success as a leader.
The first thing I need to do is to spend more time reading detailed accounts and books about non-verbal behavior. By doing that, I will be able to identify what kind of cues people demonstrate and during which kind of situations are the signals displayed. From my reading, I will be able to make appropriate interpretations of the cues that people demonstrate and enhance my opportunity of being able to interpret the signals appropriately. To be able to enhance my learning about non-verbal cues, I will leverage my ability to focus on the future. I will keep reminding myself of the desire that I have, to become a great leader. I will also leverage my desire to seek the institutionalization as the concept cannot succeed without me being able to read people effectively.
The other item on my plan to help me develop emotionally intelligent skills is to spend more time with people. As such I will be able to get a practical aspect of the theories of non-verbal human behaviors. It is not enough to read about emotional intelligence from a theoretical point of view. One may experience significant hinges in the application of the theory without having seen how the non-verbal cues play out in the real world.
I also need to work on my decisiveness so as to be able to complete my operations. The weakness stems out of the desire and needs to be just as well as the desire to accommodate opinions. As such I will need to seek ways of accommodating other people’s opinions when making judgment within the time available to complete the decision. I will ensure that I limit the number of people to involve in my decision-making processes so that I reduce the time spent making decisions.
Reference
LeClerc, C., Doyon, J., Gravelle, D., Hall, B., & Roussel, J. (2008). The autonomous collaborative care model: Meeting the future head on. Nursing Leadership, 21(2), 63-75.
Appendix: Test Results
Test 1
Test 2
Test 3
Test 4
