Weekly Leadership Reflective Journal
After completing this fourth week of my leadership course, I was able to learn new ideas about my leadership competencies and refresh the memory of my leadership qualities that I was already aware of. This week’s leadership reflective journal presents the skills of my leadership style that I have learned about and possible adjustments thats required in my leadership approach.
This week I was able to engage in learning of different personalities exhibited by people and ways in which personality assessment can make me better understand myself as a future leader. As per the Myer & Brigg indicator a person can either be extroverted or introverted, sensing or intuitive, thinking or feeling, judging or perceiving (Birch, 2020, para 6-14; Solomon, n.d.). From the Myer & Brigg indicator based on the different personality indicators, I learned that I was extroverted, sensing thinking and perceiving(Birch, 2020). This has created a sense of self-awareness, which is crucial for me to be a better future leader.
In one of the weekly assignments, I took an emotional intelligence test, which was a useful eye-opener in understanding what type of a leader I am and how I can transition to becoming a better leader in the future. The results of the emotional test indicated that I am a transformational leader. From this, I was able to learn several leadership competencies presents leadership approach from my style of leadership. I was able to understand the characteristics of a transformational leader (Michael, 2003). With this, I was able to recognize that I’m passionate, and my leadership style seeks to motivate and influence others to achieve their goals in life as well as understand how the teams’ goal is essential to their life goals(Michael, 2003).
I was also able to understand my strength as an efficient communicator as well as become aware of my ability to build and maintain healthy relationships in my team. This trait of my leadership competence attributes to the development of trust, respect, and admiration from followers of a leader (Robbins & Judge, 2013). Having faith and respect in an organization is key to achieving the organization’s goals. Besides, respect is necessary for developing an excellent professional relationship and teams.
Another leadership competence that I have become aware of this week is the ability to value diversity and difference (Birch, 2020), as well as the ability to manage effective teams and groups. This competence trait made me understand that change is inevitable (Solomon, n.d.). As a leader, I should always seek to propel change that aims at ensuring that I address each of my follower’s opinions and suggestions (Michael, 2003). I was also able to understand and practice how these principles can be applied to motivate my group members and in my future career as a leader.
There are several areas where I would like to adjust in the future so that I would become a more effective leader. I have come to understand that I should focus on developing a sense of self-awareness and social awareness. This will enable me to become a better leader in the future by ensuring that I am aware and in control of my emotions(Birch, 2020). This could, in turn, make me a leader who can effectively manage to handle work pressure and stressing instances in my future career.
I was also able to that I would need to develop better ways I which I could judge a person. I learned that I follow the general approach that commonly used to judge people, which is by their first impression. Using this way provides little evidence to the conclusions that we land to about other people (Solomon, n.d.). I learned that developing a relationship with people that would help me get a better impression of the person, which is an accurate depiction of their moral character (Solomon, n.d.).
To conclude, this week has been a fruitful week, where I have developed an understanding of my leadership styles and ways in which I can improve my leadership trait to become a better leader now and in my future career.
References
Birch, J. (2020). How to change your personality, using Myers-Briggs functions. https://www.wellandgood.com/good-advice/how-to-change-your-personality/
Michael, J. (2003). Using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as a Tool for Leadership Development? Apply With Caution. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 10(1), 68–81. https://doi.org/10.1177/107179190301000106
Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2013). Organizational behavior. Pearson education limited.
Solomon, M. (n.d.). To Transform Your Company Culture, Change Your POV: Hyatt CEO’s Perspective. Retrieved May 14, 2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2015/05/11/transform-your-corporate-culture-by-changing-your-pov-the-hyatt-ceo-interview/#22eae4ad4413