Introduction
To develop as a leader, a person needs not only to acquire skills and knowledge but also to reflect. This process will provide an opportunity to understand the individual’s strengths and weaknesses better. Therefore, a person can identify areas that require further study and improvement. Moreover, reflection has a positive effect on the development and improvement of critical thinking, thereby enhancing processes such as decision-making and the resolution of emerging problems. Thus, this reflective work will help me understand how I can develop as a leader and integrate the theoretical knowledge I have gained into practice.
Description
First, when reflecting on my leadership activities and abilities, it is essential to understand the role I currently occupy. I work in the human resources department of Qatar Aviation Services at Hamad International Airport. The primary mission of the company is “to consistently deliver a safe, value-based and customer-oriented ground handling services” (Qatar Aviation Services, n.d., para. 4). To do this, it is necessary to pay special attention to such an essential component of the company’s activities as human resources. They must have the right level of motivation and engagement to provide an opportunity to increase the organization’s productivity.
Feelings
In this context, I think it is essential to mention Fiedler’s Continuity Theory of Leadership. This theoretical approach separates team management strategies into relationship-oriented and task-oriented categories. For me, the first approach is of great value since it implies that “leaders are concerned with developing good relations with their subordinates and to be liked by them” (Dinibutun, 2020, p. 50).
I believe that many factors depend on the kind of interaction and communication that is built among employees. Thus, in carrying out my duties, I place particular emphasis on building a respectful and cohesive workplace. This aspect implies the absence of any bias, discrimination, or inequality.
Within the framework of the theory under discussion, emphasis also lies on a leader’s ability to accept the situation at hand. To do this, the team leader must consider indicators such as leader-member relations, task structure, and position power (Dinibutun, 2020). At the same time, it is worth noting that, with the latter, I have some difficulties, as it implies the ability to reward and punish subordinates. It is difficult for me to find a balance between recognizing employees and building positive relationships with them while maintaining the professional nature of those relationships. At the very beginning of my practice, it was difficult for me to determine the most appropriate punishment, as I was concerned about the possibility of spoiling relationships with other employees.
Analysis
Gaining knowledge of theories and different approaches to leadership has been a critically important experience for me, and I have been able to put it into practice. I needed to gain knowledge about emotional and social intelligence. This phenomenon has helped in identifying ways to reward and punish employees, as well as raise awareness of measures to build positive dynamics in the workplace.
Emotional intelligence is defined as “the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and actions” (Lubbadeh, 2020, p. 40). In the context of leadership, this is critical, as such activity involves constant interaction with people. In other words, within the context of the role performed, emotional intelligence contributes to the formation of positive workplace relationships. Moreover, it is reflected in increasing motivation and improving the decision-making process.
It was equally important for me to gain knowledge about social intelligence. Research defined it as “the ability to understand the feelings, thoughts, and behaviors of persons, including oneself, in interpersonal situations and to act appropriately upon that understanding” (Katou, Budhwar, and Patel, 2021, p. 3). It has a broader scope than emotional intelligence, encompassing a wide range of factors and concepts. In other words, it focuses not only on individuals’ emotional states but also on how they manifest in their behavior and activities. This aspect includes making decisions, completing tasks, and solving problems that arise during work.
Therefore, I learned to apply this skill in my personal practice, which significantly increased team productivity and improved relations among team members. It is also worth highlighting the contribution it has made to improving the organization’s climate. By spreading awareness about the importance of emotional and social intelligence, a more positive and respectful workplace climate has been created (Trivedi, 2023). This helped to reduce the number of conflicts and misunderstandings that could become a barrier to achieving the company’s vision.
In the context of discussing emotional intelligence, it is essential to consider a leader’s ability to manage emotions. This trait concerns not only the individual performing leadership functions directly but also subordinates. There are several reasons why maintaining a stable emotional climate is essential for team productivity.
First of all, improper management of emotions can negatively affect human resources (Yours, 2022). This is because if the leader puts too much pressure on employees and provides little support, employees may feel overwhelmed, which can lead to undesirable consequences for the team. These undesirable aspects may include increased stress levels, burnout, irritability, and loss of motivation.
Another consequence of the lack of control over employees’ emotional states is the formation of interpersonal relationships in the workplace. Thus, giving excessive importance to emotions can lead to the absence of key components of leadership activity, such as control and punishment. This can lead many employees to feel excessively swaggering and to exceed the set behavioral limits. These circumstances lead to the loss of the head’s authority and the inability to regulate the team.
Evaluation
A leader should be able to control and manage not only his subordinates’ emotions but also his own. In this regard, skills such as self-regulation and self-awareness are valuable. As already mentioned, emotional and social intelligence play a significant role in the latter, which serves as a regulator.
However, such a characteristic as ethics is critical for a leader. This aspect implies the following features: the professional code of conduct and personal ethical standards (TEDx Talks, 2019). At the same time, it is vital to remember the need to “navigate the relationship between ethics and effectiveness” (Ciulla and Ciulla, 2020, p. 3). This is because leaders need to apply critical thinking in the execution of this aspect, both to themselves and to employees.
Regarding self-regulation and ethics, team leaders need to identify several critical indicators. One of them is the identification that people will absolutely not compromise. An example from my practice is that I will never agree to allow disrespectful treatment of others in the workplace, which is based on discrimination or unjustified disrespect. This is because I consider these manifestations harmful to the workplace. Thus, this aspect of self-regulation will provide an opportunity to limit potential doubts and emotional interference in the decision-making process.
In addition, it is also critically important for the team leader to identify the measures by which they will keep themselves accountable. In other words, how will the process of tracking compliance with the code of ethics and the rules they have set for employees be implemented? I consider this aspect vital because I believe the manager and employees should be aligned on workplace ethics and norms of behavior.
Action Plan
Conducting this reflective work on my leadership abilities in the main areas relevant to this type of activity provided an opportunity to identify areas that require improvement. To do this, I need to select several goals that will become a guide for further actions to improve. This process will contribute to my development and improvement as a leader and improve my critical thinking.
The first goal I would like to work on to develop as a leader is to improve my emotional intelligence. This goal is to understand team members better and apply soft skills when interacting with them. These include “the ability to communicate, cooperation, diplomacy, the establishment of relationships, team-building, and public skills; the ability to present ideas and to solve open-ended tasks creatively” (Volkova et al., 2020, p. 2).
In other words, I believe that the data the characters can provide can help build trusting and respectful relationships in the workplace. Moreover, the application of these skills can also positively impact the decision-making and problem-solving processes. This advantage arises from employees’ involvement and from taking into account their opinions and points of view on the topic under discussion.
Several steps can also be applied to achieve my goal regarding emotional intelligence. Hence, the most important thing becomes tracking how I react to other people, whether it’s their behavior or the decisions they make. This can have a positive impact on leadership development by promoting awareness of one’s own emotions and better self-regulation. A more detailed study of the emotional intelligence model can provide me with exceptional help in improving my emotional intelligence skills. Fig. 1 provides a more detailed description of the aspects included and highlights the areas that require the most attention. For example, it is essential to focus on both recognition and regulation, as they are equally crucial for a given skill.
Another goal that I should work on to develop as a leader is stress management. Research indicated that “the stress felt by managers can cascade to employees, impacting wellbeing, retention, and performance” (Staglin, 2023, para. 3). Thus, if employees see that the manager is not coping with difficult circumstances, they also begin to broadcast anxiety, which negatively affects the productivity of the team. I must pay attention to approaches that will not only help control my stress level but also limit the possibility of passing it on to others. Acquiring this skill will significantly enhance conflict-resolution and management abilities, which are critical when working with human resources.
One step is to monitor responses to stressful situations and crises, and reflect on the actions taken to address them. Moreover, it may be valuable to consider how other employees behaved in these situations and how the leader’s emotional state affected them. This is because “they often look to leaders to guide them in the face of fear, to provide them with clarity and direction, and, most of all, to give them reasons to remain hopeful and optimistic” (Chamorro-Premuzic, 2020, para. 4). This will provide an opportunity to better understand how the emotions of a leader affect the team.
Conclusion
In conclusion, reflecting on leadership and development in this area provided me with a fuller understanding of my strengths and weaknesses. Of particular importance in this context was considering how these skills can be applied in my professional practice. Gaining knowledge and theoretical approaches in leadership contributes to the development of my practice by providing a framework for processes such as managing team behavior and emotions, decision-making, and problem-solving. I have also highlighted several steps I want to take to improve my skills and overall leadership development.
Reference List
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Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2020) 5 ways leaders accidentally stress out their employees.
Ciulla, J.B. and Ciulla, J.B. (2020) ‘Ethics and effectiveness: The nature of good leadership,’ The Search for Ethics in Leadership, Business, and Beyond, pp. 3-32.
Dinibutun, S.R. (2020) ‘Leadership: A comprehensive review of literature, research and theoretical framework,’ Journal of Economics and Business, 3(1), pp. 44-64.
Emotions in the workplace: Why managers need to care(2022).
Katou, A.A., Budhwar, P.S. and Patel, C. (2021) ‘A trilogy of organizational ambidexterity: Leader’s social intelligence, employee work engagement and environmental changes,’ Journal of Business Research, 128, pp.688-700.
Lubbadeh, T. (2020) ‘Emotional intelligence and leadership–the dark and bright sides,’ Modern Management Review, XXV (27), pp. 39-50.
Qatar Aviation Services (n.d.).
Staglin, G. (2023) Stress management for leaders, improved mental health for the workplace.
TEDx Talks (2019) Ethics: yes, even when nobody is watching | Dawne Ware | TEDxFairfieldUniversity.
Trivedi, D. (2023) The power of emotional intelligence: Fostering a positive work environment.
Volkova, N. et al. (2020) ‘Soft skills, their development and mastering among post graduate students. SHS Web of Conferences, 75(04002), pp. 1-7.
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