Introduction
A variety of experiences in life allow one to demonstrate their leadership skills. It is important to be able to reflect on and analyze such experiences to identify strong features and areas for potential improvement to ensure that the experience contributes to learning. The situation selected for this assessment is my participation in a school ‘Business Day’ project where small teams of business course senior students had to design a product and sell it. My main task was to divide work among the followers, plan, and manage the group’s development of the mock tail (a non-alcoholic cocktail), which was the product created by our group.
My followers were my senior peer students who were taking a business class with me. Overall, the group consisted of five members, including me as a leader and my four followers. The similarities between the followers included their same age (17 years old), female gender, and senior student status. As for the differences, the personality characteristics of each of the followers differed because some of them were resistant to cooperation or reluctant to participate, while others were not good team players. Overall, this context informs the type of circumstances I performed as a leader.
Analysis: Skills Approach
When applying the skills approach to my experience of performing as a leader, it is relevant to state which leadership skills I was able to demonstrate during the team’s work on the project. In particular, I demonstrated effective communication skills through the ability to connect with my followers and deliver the important messages to them and obtain feedback from them. Similarly, I effectively exhibited delegating skills by properly distributing project tasks among the followers depending on their skills and traits. Follower 1 was delegated to search drink recipes, follower 2 searched suppliers of cups and straws, and followers 3 and 4 worked on the booth logo and design. I showed commitment and responsibility by engaging in the performance of a separate task in addition to conducting my role as a leader. My specific responsibility in the project was to cooperate with the wood carpenter manufacturing the booth. Moreover, I used the skills of positivity and creativity to ensure that the process of cooperation between the followers was enjoyable and contributed to the successful achievement of our common goal.
Despite the successful demonstration of the above-mentioned leadership skills, I failed to use some important ones. In particular, my leadership experience was deprived of team-building. Despite my attempts to create a positive atmosphere, the misbehavior and reluctance of some of the followers hindered my ability to build a strong relationship between the team members. Moreover, I could not properly use my teaching and mentoring skills because of the concentration on my primary task and my overall reliability on my followers’ expertise in the assigned tasks.
Situational Approach
From the perspective of the situational approach, the followers’ level of development should be addressed. Overall, not all of the followers were at the same level of development. Followers 1, 3, and 4 were of the D4 level of development, which implies high competence and high commitment. Indeed, these subordinates were knowledgeable in the designated areas and were able to complete the assigned tasks in a timely and efficient manner. As for follower 2, her level of development might be estimated as D2, which represents low-some competence and low commitment. Indeed, this subordinate was reluctant to commit to task completion and was unable to negotiate with suppliers to find straws and cups for a reasonable price.
In my performance as a leader in the project, the primary leadership style I used was a supporting style. It implies a high level of supportive behavior and a low level of directive behavior. Since I did not manage to teach and coach the followers on task completion, I relied on their competence and delegated tasks with my support. I was responsible for planning the work on the booth and drinks and dividing the assignments among the team members. However, I did not give specific instructions as to how to achieve the assigned goals. The collaborative work on the project involved each follower’s contribution at the stages of creating and implementing the product.
However, I did not use the same leadership style for all the followers due to the particularities in follower’s 2 behavior. Indeed, since follower 2 was reluctant to engage in the project at the same level as the others, I had to shift my leadership style toward a higher level of direction. Therefore, I instructed follower 2 on the options for the search of suppliers and explained to her the priorities of cost-efficiency.
Conclusion
In summation, the assessment of my experience in a leadership position in my school business project has been a valuable lesson on managing teamwork and engaging followers for common task completion. The analysis of the leadership skills, follower development levels, and leadership styles allowed me for identifying my strengths and weaknesses as a leader. Overall, this analysis has helped me reflect on my drawbacks; the improvement of leadership skills will contribute to my growth as a leader.