The second assignment component is a written report of 3000 words. You need to systematically and critically demonstrate an understanding of traditional and modern approached on leadership and Management. Based on your engagement with appropriate literature and a critical personal reflection on your leadership disposition and ambitions, you will propose a strategy for attainment of personal and professional leadership goals. (Assignment component 1 requires you to reflect on another leader using a vignette and reflect on his / her leadership. While assignment C2 is all about your own leadership skills - [COHERENCE])
- Your CV / Profile (2 pages only) outlining your current and past experiences – appropriate to cohort as course assumes all learners are current / future managers and / or leaders [COHORT]
- A critical appraisal of literature relating to leadership theories – traditional and contemporary. A reflection to own leadership style and its impact.
- A critical evaluation of your own leadership behaviour (style) and skills based on the outcomes of self-assessment instruments, theory and practice
- A synthesis of justified and creative strategies for improving your own positive leadership behaviour (style) and skills
- A Leadership Development Plan identifying how the strategies will be implemented and a critical reflection of its implementation. [CHALLENGE]
Traditional and contemporary leadership theories:
Historically there have been changes in leadership theories for MBA Assignment Help and more specifically the leadership theories have adopted dynamic leadership theories instead of incremental leadership theories. Taylor’s leadership theories including traits and behavioural theories helped in providing how leadership should look (Armstrong, & Taylor, 2023). According to trait theory, I as a leader, am expected to have certain personality characteristics including charm, intelligence and self-assertiveness. Critiques assert that this presentation falsifies leadership since it does not cover situational aspects or learned behaviours. Behavioural theory, as done in Ohio State Leadership Studies, moved away from trait-based analysis and replaced it with leadership behaviours like task and people. However, behavioural theory has received criticism for its somewhat low sensitivity to the organisational context and cultural differences (Benmira & Agboola, 2021).
Modern leadership theories are founded on flexibility, adaptability and interactions of humans. The next transformational leadership by Bass and Avolio appreciated the leader’s potential to engage the followers due to his or her behavioural appeal aimed at influencing the vision and the individual requirements of workers. Hypothesis; transformational leadership is most suitable in an environment characterized by high adaptability and innovation due to its impact on promoting organisational innovation and commitment (Greimel, Kanbach & Chelaru, 2023). However, it is not likely to provide the best complement to very prescriptive and technical industries.
This approach is admired for addressing moral responsibility and employee care but might prove ineffective in the context of a high flow or profit motives (Roh, Kim & Hong, 2023). Of the more recent theories, adaptive leadership has emerged as popular particularly due to this reason because it was put forward by Heifetz and Laurie. An adaptive leader engages the system to identify problems, facilitate knowledge creation and mobilise the social system to realise solutions (Daubin, 2023). Although still highly applicable in the present-day high-risk, unsubstantial organizational environments, adaptive leadership requires a high degree of emotional intelligence and an ability to thrive in the uncertain and unknown, which not all leaders may meet. While leadership has been the subject of both historical and modern models of knowledge, none of these approaches fully describe the phenomenon.
When demasking the identity of a [describe your job role] I assume the elements of both transformational and adaptive leadership. I attempt to motivate my team by having a clear vision and challenging them to think out of the box. For example, in a recent project with [particular assignment or assignment type], I ensured that I created an environment where the team members could be granted authority to do what is best practised within their purview and ensure everyone provided feedback constructively. Not only did this cause elevated team spirit but also it ensured that inventive work interventions were effectively affected.
However, I acknowledge some areas of development, especially about embracing the concepts of servant leadership. As a team player, I care about my team members’ improvement; however, sometimes the concern is given to the performance more than to the relationships between members. Acknowledging this, I have started practising more of the one-on-one meetings to try and understand the personal needs and goals as well as the problems faced by different people. This has started initiating a gradual improvement of the trust and collaboration that exists between me and my team.
A major positive outcome derived from my profession was the ability to harness a leadership style focused on the team. With an accepting mentality, I have observed people getting more actively involved and using constructive attitudes towards changes in the organisation. For instance, when dealing with a particular example of a problem], the information sharing and use of adjustment of tactics as well as the inclusion of the team members made it possible to sustain the activities as well as create some ownership among the team members. I did achieve a lot as a leader and at the same time I realized that leadership is a lifelong process.
Johari window
On this, this is the Johari Window exercise, which is a psychological tool to describe spaces of visibility and anonymity between individuals. Asked questions such as the one from the figures below, participants, I would choose five or six words they deem most suitable to describe them from the following list: After that, peers or colleagues would select adjectives to describe the leader in the company. The exercise provides information about shared similarities and shared ignorance as well as strengths and weaknesses (Spennemann, 2023). I could use it to showcase leadership characteristics such as “visionary”, and “innovative or adaptable” and avoid learning how people perceive me and the opportunities for self-development together with the creation of awareness among his team members. This tool fosters the ability to discuss freely and enhances the ability of leadership.
11 Qualities of Effective Managers Scoring
Some strength is identified on the basis of the self-assessment of the managerial qualities, on the other hand, the weaknesses are also found out. The self-ownership and decision-making show outstanding performances in terms that recognising a high understanding of personal values and feelings, confidence in personal judgment, and the ability to remain calm in uncertainty. These traits indicate a more real-life, practical-minded set of leaders who are able to deepen confidence and maintain resiliency when faced with challenging conditions (Olson et al., 2021). The strength here is that there is a commitment to ongoing improvement and does this through pursuing better ways, being willing to try out new ideas and pinning it down to application. Add to them, flexibility and a continuous quest for goal achievement and, of course, logical problem-solving skills which are vital when it comes to management.
However, some areas stand out as potential areas for development. For example, rated terms like, Emotional Intelligence and Interpersonal engagement including the ability to understand others' emotions and coping with personal conflicts received moderately high ratings. Training in and development of these abilities can improve team functioning and relational satisfaction. Just like that, the notions of creativity and innovation should be considered to pay enough attention in order to develop a more inventive approach as it has been assessed for imaginative thinking and coming up with innovative ideas.
Tolerance of Ambiguity Questionnaire
The Tolerance of Ambiguity Test measures an individual’s capacity to solve problems and work with complexity and unfamiliarity. I am an individual with a high tolerance for ambiguity corresponding to the innovative activities of the organization and its evolution. I know that Airbnb entered the hospitality industry and offered a new idea of shared accommodation, which was rather uncertain and innovative when the company began its functioning (O’Connor et al., 2022). In particular, I was able to Dong Novel (scored in statements 2, 9, 11 and 13) by encouraging creativity and new ideas while introducing international travelling ideas which were new to the markets.
It can be observed that I am operationally strong in the area of complexity (statements 4+5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 14, & 16) as seen by my strategic orientation. I am at handling complex problems; whether it is the international legislation or the demand of the host and the guest. I demonstrate visionary leadership where people are challenged to solve complexity in an innovative, so the scores related to statements such as handling and valuing of complexity. Regarding insolubility (statements include the first one, the third one, and the twelfth one), the fact that Chesky manages to make decisions info-limited and in crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrates his adaptability in leadership situations (Vynohradova et al., 2021). The experiences of Chesky, Airbnb’s CEO, should be a classic example of the need to tolerate a certain level of uncertainty in order to transform the organisation and accept and embrace change in the organisation’s environment.
Locus of Control Questionnaire
The Locus of Control test measures if people tend to explain events happening to them as due to self (internal control) or due to factors outside their control (fate or luck external control). Compared with the attitude of Airbnb’s CEO Brian Cheski, his actions and focus correspond more to the internal locus of control. I also understand that Chesky owns Airbnb and his focus on hard work, innovation and leadership to build Airbnb, is often elicited by personal choice and work. He has been reported to direct his efforts towards positioning Airbnb for the future through mental and practical planning, resourcefulness and e especially, resilience in a belief that success is primarily determined by individual effort.
The table below indicates that I have Big Five personality traits, that is personality traits that mirror the-fashioned Big Five. The scores showed that I got 22 for conscientiousness, confirming that my focused, systematic strategy ensured Airbnb’s apt management of growth and product development. Regarding extraversion, I was estimated as 13 which identifies me as a balanced person with teams and customers and also distinguished and fair. In addition, my openness is relatively low and he scored 17 on the index, which made me end towards innovation and propel Airbnb to transform and develop. An SSI agreeableness score of 16 can be attributed to my readiness to work with other people well and positively because a low negative emotionality of 7 means that I will not be emphasised easily.
Listening skill questionnaire
According to the given test results, the result of 34 means that I should have good listening skills but there are various ways I can improve. I concur with this assessment since he tends to reward the nonverbal messages part of speech in particular by directing my attention to the speaker’s gesture and vocal intonation. However I do sometimes have issues with paying attention fully all through when a topic or speaker is boring, this may reduce his level of productivity. For instance, Brian Chesky, the founder of Airbnb, needs to be an excellent listener focused on customers’ needs and ready to encourage innovativeness in his team. He probably exercises empathy in an attempt to establish rapport both with his employees and consumers.
Cognitive style questionnaire
According to the questionnaires, My answers show an inclination toward an approach, planning and analysis that people with a methodical cognitive style like to do. It is useful for heads such as Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb, who is required to innovate while prioritizing the strategy. In terms of values, My capacity has been appreciated to close into goals, to think and decide carefully, and to be rather inflexible despite change. Still, Chesky as a leader of a disruptive organisation also exhibits flexibility for both operation and invention, which indicates that it is impossible to imagine a leader who would not fall into the category of Global leaders that has both intuitive and analytical cognition (Anastasiou, 2020).
Conflict Management Style Assessment
In handling conflict and negotiating I am a balanced conflict solver. As a leader, I do indeed show a strong interpersonal orientation and avoidantly thereby stating things like “I talk to others about problems to see if we can all come to agree on how to deal with this” and “I will give and take when dealing with a problem situation. I respect opinions which are different from others and try to explain the situation: “I always try to set my perspective and see the conflict from the other side.” My actions indicate openness and a readiness to overcome stalemates: which has been crucial for my organisation, a company that has to manage numerous intricate issues and actors.
The image illustrates the Personal SWOT Analysis Worksheet, which is a self-assessment instrument whose major aim is to identify an individual’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Self and context analysis assists in users’ self-development as it considers personal traits, environment and obstacles. Each section has the type of detailed questions like: What do you do well? Because of strengths or “What trends could you build upon?” for prospects in order to allow for guided reflection.
The Strengths’ heading is used to emphasize special skills, resources, and attributes, which give certain value (Modric, Samardzija, & Vejzagic, 2024). I have the ability to adapt to certain market conditions, and good communication and management skills which imply the ability to mobilise people. On the other hand, the Weaknesses section points out some options where I am not so effective. I can derive from his example are issues with regulatory and institutional frameworks and certain types of cognitive processing that do not allow for flexibility in rapidly emerging circumstances.
The worksheet also looks into macro environment analysis. The Opportunities section is devoted to the utilization of such trends as the emergence of new markets or training programs for the increase of growth (Modric, Samardzija, & Vejzagic, 2024). For example, I build flexibility into my business model to push into new markets. Lastly, the threat areas describe that which threatens the progress, for instance, regulations competitors or unfavourable market conditions. Due to this, by targeting them systematically, this worksheet enables the person to plan, counteract a weakness, capitalize on an opportunity or deal with a challenge (Sapiets, Totsika, & Hastings, 2021).
Identification and prioritisation of four development objectives:
âť– The strategy has a weakness of inflexibility in decisions made under rapidly changing circumstances for which cognitive flexibility must be developed (Uddin, 2021). This may include activities for me such as solving some problems, embracing different views and using more adaptive frameworks in a threatening situation.
âť– Building on strengths such as flexibility and communication, and pursuing developmental capacities in diversification and new and developing markets should be a clear business goal (Karman, 2020). This may be in regards to market research, cultural sensitisation and ways in which to address the varied needs of me.
âť– It is therefore important for organizations to be able to deal with regulations challenges if they are to achieve long-term success.
âť– When leadership competencies are developed and solutions involve concentration on teamwork and cooperation, team productivity and creativity may be improved (Anser et al., 2021). Achieving this requires nurturing teamwork skills, enhanced communication and increased diversity.
Critical reflection
Looking at my PDP, I understand that there are things such as adaptability & cognitive flexibility, exploration of the market, collaborative leadership and etc. In this case, through regulatory training, and attending mindfulness sessions I have developed basic problem-solving skills and flexibility. Extending into emergent markets has enriched my view and leadership development programs have boosted my capacity to encourage teamwork. All of them have translated into applied benefits including enhanced decision-making and efficiency in teamwork. However new concerns such as updating regulations and improving conflict-solving skills prove the continuous process of personnel and personal development.
Based on the overall discussion it is clearly stated that I can be a leader of a disruptive organisation and also exhibit flexibility for both operation and invention. It indicates that it is impossible to imagine a leader who would not fall into the category of Global leaders that has both intuitive and analytical cognition. My strength here is that there is a commitment to ongoing improvement and does this through pursuing better ways, being accommodating to try out unexplored ideas and pinning them down to application. Add to them, flexibility and a continuous quest for goal achievement and, of course, logical problem-solving skills which are vigorous when it comes to management.
However, some areas stand out as conceivable areas for development. For example, rated terms like Emotional Intelligence and Interpersonal engagement including the ability to comprehend others' emotions and cope with personal confrontations obtained moderately increased ratings. According to trait theory, people holding leadership positions are expected to have certain personality characteristics including charm, intelligence and self-assertiveness. Reviews assert that this presentation misrepresents leadership since it does not substitute situational aspects or remembered behaviours.
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