The Art of Being a Leader: Communication and Competence Essay

Introduction: Building a Leader from Scratch

Although a range of studies point to the fact that leadership skills are not intrinsic and, therefore, can be fostered in literally anyone (Lussier and Achua 9), the acquisition of the corresponding competencies and the search for the unique approach that will help create a team and lead it to success is admittedly complicated. Nevertheless, I believe that, by focusing on the concept of lifelong learning as the basis for developing my leadership competencies, I will be able to become an efficient leader.

Viewing experience as an essential part of becoming a good leader and understanding the importance of a proper communication approach, including the negotiation and problem-solving techniques, I will be capable of managing a team and promoting the personal and professional development of every participant, thus, creating premises for successful completion of any project.

Leadership Framework: Transforming People’s Minds

The transformational leadership style seems to be the most reasonable choice to make when it comes to defining the proper framework to work with. Seeing that the identified strategy helps build a unique philosophy that will, later on, challenge the participants’ concept of workplace responsibilities and promote Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and initiative among them, it will be sensible to focus on the transformative leadership style framework.

Strategic Challenges: Building a Vision and an Approach

A good leader must focus on the needs of the people working under their guidance (Kurucz, Wheeler, and Colbert 86). Thus, it will be necessary to create a vision that will encompass the needs of all stakeholders involved, employees and customers being the focus. For these purposes, the Six Sigma framework as the tool that will help increase customer satisfaction rates and enhance the professional growth of the staff should be viewed as crucial (Pyzdek and Keller 18). Particularly, every project will be handled with the help of the DMAIC tool, with the addition of the Total Quality Management (TQM) approach and the Just-in-Time concept (JIT) to enhance productivity and reduce waste and promote sustainability (Longoni 29).

Personal and Organizational Charters: Ethics and Decision-Making

There is no need to stress that, as a leader, I will have to meet the expectations of the people employed in the project. In a certain way, a leader must be a role model for the staff to follow. As far as the personal characteristics are concerned, I will have to become the model of ethical choices, whereas, from the professional perspective, I will have to demonstrate the framework according to which the decision-making process occurs (Simpson and Taylor 15).

Team Self-Assessment: Focus on Communication

Similarly, as a leader, one must promote the independence of the staff members. For instance, regular self-assessments must be viewed as a necessity. Serving as the premises from the employees to learn about their progress and identify the weaknesses to work on in the future, will also inform me about the future challenges that will have to be addressed in the team so that the project could advance.

Managerial Style: A Combination of Participation and Coaching

When it comes to choosing the managerial style, one must bear in mind that there is a significant gap between a leader and a manager. Although both positions are crucial to any organization or project, the roles that the two performances are often quite different from each other. Particularly, a manager is preoccupied with the issues that are related directly to the current objectives and problems within a particular team, whereas a leader embraces the situation on a larger scale, focusing on people and encouraging their growth (Magee 53).

With the differences mentioned above in mind, one should admit that a manager, while supervising the team, should address the issue of increasing the competencies of the staff members, therefore, promoting their professional growth. Thus, when performing the managerial functions, I will encourage participation and engagement in the process of staff coaching actively.

Conclusion: When Every Choice Matters

A leader does not need to have a set of inborn qualities, nor does he have to possess an intrinsic understanding of how to guide people toward success. Instead, leadership qualities can and need to be developed based on the experience of working with people and building practical knowledge based on the previously acquired theoretical concepts. As a leader, I will view the needs of employees and customers as the priorities of the organization and strive toward creating an environment in which successful communication will serve as the foundation for enhancing team excellence.

Works Cited

Kurucz, Elizabeth C., David Wheeler, and Barry A. Colbert. Reconstructing Value: Leadership Skills for a Sustainable World. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2013. Print.

Longoni, Annachiara. Sustainable Operations Strategies: The Impact of Human Resource Management and Organisational Practices on the Triple Bottom Line. New York, NY: Springer, 2014. Print.

Lussier, Robert N., and Christopher F. Achua. Leadership: Theory, Application, and Skill Development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Cengage Learning, 2015. Print.

Magee, Jeffrey. The Managerial Leadership Bible: Learning the Strategic, Organizational, and Tactical Skills Everyone Needs Today. New York, NY: FT Press, 2015. Print.

Pyzdek, Thomas, and Paul Keller. The Six Sigma Handbook. 4th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2014. Print.

Simpson, Justin, and John R. Taylor. Corporate Governance Ethics and CSR. New York, NY: Kogan Page Publishers, 2013. Print.