Leadership Development

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Building Trust Experience

I had a similar experience to that described in the video about the Indian talking stick and listening intently with a close friend a few days ago. The two of us had become distant from one another after a fight and were not able to communicate our feelings. After a few days of not acknowledging each other’s presence in common areas, my friend finally decided to talk to me about the issue. It was during our conversation that I listened intently to his point of view and considered his side of the problem as he openly expressed his grievances until he felt that I fully understood what had happened. When it was my turn to explain, he listened quietly and reserved all questions until I was done speaking my mind. It was important that both of us felt secure while speaking freely and relaying all that bothered us to the other person. It was interesting that the feelings of hurt were expressed by my friend too, so we both had to make an effort to fix this issue.

Trust is essential in every relationship, whether it is personal or professional. One of the most effective ways to develop trust between two individuals is through communicating freely and having the other person listen intently to your concerns. It is important that the other person feels safe enough to share their entire point of view with you rather than limiting it to fit your likes and dislikes. Trust can be developed in a professional setting similarly, as the leader must openly communicate with their employees, allowing them to express their concerns and worries too. I believe this experience will be very beneficial to me in the long run as I join some organizations in the capacity of a team leader. I can tactfully manage conflicts and concerns amongst the employees and even those that are directly related to me. Future leadership opportunities are based on the growth of an individual, and this particular experience has allowed me to develop a more empathetic behavior towards others. I will listen to my employees and subordinates with an open mind, give due importance to their concerns, and try to address them in the best possible manner. I will also be more open to accepting any mistakes made on my part and work towards fixing such mistakes instead of brushing them aside as the leader of a team or an organization.

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Learning From My Leadership Credo

As a part of my leadership credo, I believe competence is necessary to motivate oneself and employees into performing the tasks assigned more effectively. At home, I faced a situation where my sibling was unmotivated to complete their work as they lacked some new skills that were essential for this task. I took on the role of a leader and encouraged my sibling to learn the skill with me using the internet as a source of knowledge. During the research and learning phase, I learned about the importance of STEM subjects and their relationship with all careers in the near future. The particular skill in which I invested my time and resources was graphic design along with my sibling, and it was easier to learn since we motivated each other to continue learning this new skill. I believe this is a skill that can be improved with more education and training, benefitting me in the long run.

As a leader, I used my emotional stability to help my sibling overcome their fear and learn something new, which made them more competent. My sibling depended on my leadership to achieve the milestone they had set at the beginning of the academic year but had remained unsuccessful in fulfilling the goal associated with it. Through strategic thinking, I was able to plan out the entire learning process that helped both of us learn a new skill, making us more competent individuals. This leadership experience proved to be quite pleasant for me as my sibling willingly took my advice and followed the plan that I had set for both of us. I believe in a professional setting; I can convince my employees to develop new skills and expertise by encouraging them through participation in training and educational seminars.

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Best Team Experience

The last time I worked on a high-performing team was a few months ago as a part of the research and design wing in a reputable organization. The focus of the team was to design a new application that synchronized with all the products produced by the company; therefore, the task was a significant one and required a high-performing team. My role in the team was as an assistant to the team leader, and I was responsible for organizing and assigning tasks to the team members as well as evaluating the monthly progress of each individual as the team worked hard towards the development of the application. The selection process for this particular team was not properly planned, and many additional members were selected that were not required for the development of the web application. I would have adopted a more administrative role in the team as the assistant's role limited my authority to that assigned by the team leader.

The current technique I use to manage conflicts in the workplace is by listening to all the parties involved and understanding their point of view on the entire problem. It is important that the concerns of each individual are tackled in a tactful manner without any bias or inclination towards one party. Once the issues of all parties involved are identified, the best solution is considered, and every individual is made to realize their mistake. In the future, I would prefer to have a different role in a team that makes me feel more relevant to the task at hand instead of being an assistant. My efforts to the team's development were not properly recognized nor appreciated due to the role I was allocated, and I believe I can prove to be a useful resource for any organization.

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Something About Followership

Just like being a leader, being a follower who maintains ethical practices in a workplace is important; therefore, during times when I am a follower rather than a leader, I use my independent critical thinking so that none of my actions go against the organization's culture and rules. I am truly committed to the organization in which I work, and I show this commitment by maintaining a professional demeanor in the workplace and not abusing workplace resources. My peers often look up to me for advice on ethical matters and show commitment to the organization in that manner. Since one of my strengths is being goal-oriented, the tasks I am assigned as a follower are rigorously worked on so that I can achieve the expected result at the least amount of cost and as efficiently as possible. My commitment to the organization I work for is deeply rooted in my care for the success of the organization rather than only achieving personal goals. I have fully aligned my goals with that of the organization; thus, all the benefits accrued by the organization due to my hard work and commitment are seen as personal achievements by me.

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My Top 5 Leadership Strengths

After doing the strengths finder assessment I got my top five strengths. My top leadership strength is 'focusing' in some particular direction, allowing me to set goals and objectives that are properly followed through. I prioritize some goals over others for the benefit of the organization, making alterations in my behavior according to the requirements of the business operations. At the same time, I am conscientious and emotionally stable; thus, my employees can talk to me freely, discussing their issues and concerns. Despite my introverted personality, I derive strength from being able to connect with my employees and guiding them while maintaining a friendly workplace environment.

Being goal-oriented has been useful in the workplace as I set goals and objectives to be achieved by the organization, creating a path for success. It is important to prioritize these goals based on what is most important for the organization in the short and long term; thus, I use this strength to prioritize the tasks and activities assigned to employees. Although working alone often proves to be more beneficial for the performance of the organization, I work on my relationship with employees, being an emotionally stable force whom they can rely on. Lastly, my conscientiousness helps create a workplace environment where ethical practices are followed.

The strength I picked was emotional stability in the workplace, as I offered my guidance and counsel on issues faced by employees in the workplace. The conflict between two employees working on the same task arose, which required me to listen to both sides before making a decision. I did not favor one employee over the other as it would give rise to negative feelings in the workplace. Instead, I convinced the two individuals to realize their mistake and apologize to the other before continuing to work on the task together. All feelings were openly expressed and tackled accordingly.

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Something About Me

Here are some personal stories I want to share in this blog that are all about leadership.

As the assigned leader of a team for a project, I was given the power and authority to make decisions about the usefulness of other team members, thus allowing them to continue their roles or be eliminated from the team based on poor performance and other factors. This experience was very enlightening for me as I understood the difficulties of being a leader and even realized that all actions have consequences. The lesson that I took from this experience was to make decisions about the future of an organization after due consideration of the holistic impacts they would have.

As a leader, my strengths lie in inefficiency, prioritization, and remaining goal-oriented since these have been ingrained in my personality. Some of the skills that I have developed while being in leadership positions over time include decisive decision-making abilities and thinking strategically for the benefit of the organization. My goal-oriented approach has enabled me to align employees' personal goals with that of the organization, thus improving their performance. As I value efficiency, I have encouraged my employees to be efficient too by interacting with regards to all activities. I prioritize the benefits and profits of the organization over my own, thus making decisions that are strategically thought through.

Some leadership strengths that I believe I lack include extroversion and, therefore, more polished communication skills. My introverted personality type limits my abilities to interact with employees and subordinates and even negatively impacts my relationships with other stakeholders. Therefore, having an extrovert personality would enhance my communication skills, allowing me to interact more confidently with different stakeholders, strengthening my relationship with each. As a result, the organization's performance would be improved significantly as the strengths of a leader are directly connected with the success of the organization where they spearhead operations.