Leadership skills
Leadership has a lot to do with what an individual does to motivate and inspire others to work together in fulfilling the same objective. While it is a trait that takes time to develop, good leaders are hard to come by, and those that have excelled in leadership often have to utilize a lot of skills, patience, experience and effort to not only manage the people following them but also grow as leaders. It is therefore important to understand what makes one a leader and then finding ways to improve daily. At a personal level, my journey into becoming a leader has put me through a great deal of challenges and experiences. I have grown to learn that being a true leader involves identifying one’s own capabilities, noting limitations and coming up with ways to improve. I also learnt that to be a good leader, one must keep observing how other leaders take on the role as this acts as a guide on what to do. Having role models makes the learning process easier as one has an idea of what to do in certain situations or when tackling a certain challenge. The most important lesson however is that leadership is not just about the leader but also the relationship and influence that the leader has with the rest of the team.
My skills as a leader begun to manifest while I was in school as I realized I was more comfortable taking charge than following others. Throughout my childhood and teenage years, I found it really easy to get along with people and even convince them to engage in activities that resembled the teams used in organizations today. I found great pleasure in playing games that would require some form of planning especially when I was picked to set the plan. I was not only good at making up plans that would work but also managed to get everyone involved in bringing the plans to action. People found it easy to follow my instructions as I would always assign duties to people depending on my perceived estimation of their capabilities. The childhood games taught me a great deal of how to handle people with different skills. They also taught me the importance of identifying people’s traits and abilities and then finding a duty or responsibility that requires such skills. Although my childhood games did set the foundation for my leadership skills, it was not until high school that I truly established my capabilities as a leader.
The first time my leadership skills were really tested was when I was selected team leader for a school project. My friends were well aware of my leadership skills and wanted me to lead the project so as to have a smooth experience. In the early stages, I was of the opinion that the project would go on smoothly and that I would have an easy time leading the team as most of the team members were my friends. I however came to discover that it is that bond of friendship that would prove most challenging especially when it came to convincing each member to play their roles. It was in my nature to first visualize the task at hand and plan out a way to achieve the desired results. I would always try to figure out how I would resolve the task at hand on my own as this made it easier for me to know what is expected, the challenges that might come up and what can be done to overcome them. After visualizing the task at hand, I then move to analyzing the skills of every member in my team, their capabilities, and limitations and where they are best suited. Since I already have a general idea of what the end results will look like, it becomes easier to assign duties and responsibilities to individuals because I can anticipate what will be required in every stage of the project.
As per the instructions of the group project, each member of the team had to be assigned a specific task that would be combined to make the project complete. The contribution of each member of the team had to be noted down as a way of making team members more accountable and discouraging laxity. As team leader, it was my responsibility to assign the tasks to each team member and this was done with careful consideration of each team member’s abilities, skills and limitations. I assigned the tasks as best as I could and further went on to explain how each individual would go about accomplishing the task. As a group, we decided that we would meet on a weekly basis to assess the progress of each individual; discuss any challenges that may have come up and work together to ensure that the project ran smoothly. Since everyone was satisfied with the task assigned to them, I felt confident that my leadership skills had once again helped me to manage and motivate a team and if all went well, the project would run without any delays.
When the team met to check on progress, I was shocked to discover that some team members had not even started working on their tasks. Even after it was made clear that the success of the project was dependent on the contribution of each team player, some members had no problem neglecting their responsibilities and failed to present anything. It was at this point that I realized I had a challenge to overcome and it would involve a lot of motivation and pressure to get all team members on board. Having to work with my friends made it even more difficult as I had to lead without affecting the relationships I had with the team members. To achieve this, I decided to employ the threat and reward approach of leadership.
The threat and reward response is based on the belief that; when human beings come across something unexpected or unpredictable, they tend to analyze the situation and figure out if it will bring good fortune or danger. This occurs in the limbic system of the brain which activates neurons and releases hormones which leads the individual into establishing whether the unexpected event is a risk or will bring rewards (Rock, 2009). In relation to leadership, the threat and reward approach is ideal as it applies to people that perform well under pressure as well as those that are motivated by rewards. Although the threat and reward response has it that people are more productive when reacting from a threat rather than when seeking rewards, the approach is highly effective as it motivates both those who are not performing and also those that want to excel and get recognition within the team.
The threat part of the approach was used to motivate those who had not done anything to fulfill their role as part of the team. Since the project was to be presented in front of the professor and the rest of the class upon completion, I decided to use this as a tool to threaten team members into participating. Since we agreed to finish our individual parts two weeks before the project was due, the last people to hand in their parts would be selected to present the project. After spending time with the team, I had discovered that majority of then did not like the idea of standing in front of a class to present a project. Furthermore, those that were not treating the project with the seriousness it deserved would be further humiliated because they would have to present something that they had no idea of what it entailed. The idea of standing in front of a class not knowing what one is presenting was threatening enough especially because our class was known to ask a lot of questions during presentations. The reward part of the approach applied to those that had already started their parts and were making good progress. Other than not having to present the project, those who were first to finish would get special recognition and not have to do any more work for the project. They would also be exempted from merging the work from all team members and get time to rest before the team met to go over the entire project before presentation.
My quest to be an effective leader has greatly influenced most aspects of my life and how I engage with other people. I have come to learn that being a good leader starts with one’s self esteem and also the attitude that one has towards life. If a leader is kind, competent, motivated and has a positive work life balance, the traits are mirrored down to the rest of the team who look up to their leader for guidance (Scott, 2018). In learning the skills required to be a good leader, I have become more in control of my life not only when leading others but also in my personal activities. I tend to lead by example so that those who look up to me as a leader can follow my approach towards life and also in fulfilling projects or accomplishing tasks. Since team members look up to leaders for guidance, they tend to emulate what they see their leaders doing not only in the work place or when working on projects but also in their social life. If the leader does not have a social life or is insincere, team members may emulate this attitude and this could greatly affect the effectiveness of a team.
As a leader, I have also learnt the importance of cheering other people on whenever they accomplish a task or overcome an obstacle. People have this need for attention and do well when their actions are recognized and appreciated. I therefore find myself encouraging people to do their best and acknowledging their efforts even when not working on a project together. Motivating people and pushing them to excel in their endeavors has become a personal trait as it does more to raise the morale of the people I interact with. Furthermore, cheering people on gives other members of the team the desire to do even better so that their effort is recognized and appreciated (Wahlen, 2018). Motivating one individual in return encourages others to do better and this is highly effective in managing an effective team.
I have also discovered that I do not shy away from difficult situations like I used to in the past. As part of being a good leader, I am required to find a way to overcome challenges and work my way around negative situations without having them affect the effectiveness of the team. Although the success of any team relies on the ability of the team leader to make the team as fun and engaging as possible, disagreements are bound to happen as people tend to disagree due to differences in opinion (Williams, 2017). In such situations, I have discovered that resolving the issue fast ensures that the team remains strong even after a conflict is encountered. Settling differences directly and fast allows for team members to overcome the challenge and move forward to focus on the task at hand. Instead of spending a lot of time settling dispute, I have grown accustomed to resolving issues immediately they occur as this does not give the problem room to intensify or take away time meant for completing a project (Williams, 2017). In my personal life, I have the same head on approach where I resolve conflicts as soon as they arise so that I can focus my energy on other things that will be more beneficial.
Lastly, I have learnt to treat people as different yet still give them the same level of respect. In any team, there are those with exceptional skills while others struggle to even perform the simplest of tasks. I have discovered that people are different not just in teamwork but also in real life. In my pursuit to be an exceptional leader, I have adopted the approach where I acknowledge that people are different but these differences do not have to affect how I treat them. my experience has taught me that people deserve the same level of respect regardless of what input they bring. It is therefore important to recommend and praise exceptional work but still treat the exceptional performers the same way I would treat those who struggle to accomplish tasks. This approach not only makes it easier for me to interact with others but also sets a good example for those that look up to me as a leader. Instead of discouraging those that struggle to perform tasks, I am able to encourage them to keep trying and also encourage others to have the same approach in the process.
The journey to becoming a competent leader has been full of learning experiences. In learning what is required of a leader, I have picked up traits that make me a more responsible person not only as a leader but also as a human being. I have learnt to appreciate myself more because of the impact that I may have, knowingly or unknowingly, to people who consider me a role model. I have also learnt how to maintain composure even when trying to resolve an issue. Since being a leader involves overcoming obstacles and resolving issues, it has taught me that most problems always have a solution. No matter what I face in my personal, educational or career life, I have learnt to expect challenges and face them head on as there is always a solution. Even with the skills I’ve learnt, I have come to discover that leadership is a skill that one must constantly improve. I take it upon myself to keep on learning and improving so as to become an excellent leader and keep employing the skills I learn even in my personal life.
References
Rock D, (2009) “Managing with the brain in mind” Strategy Business Collection, retrieved from, https://www.strategy-business.com/article/09306?gko=5df7f
Scott S, (2018) “The 10 effective qualities of a team leader” retrieved from, https://smallbusiness.chron.com/10-effective-qualities-team-leader-23281.html
Whalen D, (2018) “Thirteen powerful actions great leaders take to build great teams” retrieved from, https://medium.com/swlh/13-powerful-actions-great-leaders-take-to-build-great-teams-5990c052059f
Williams T, (2017) “Building a strong team: The secrets of a successful leader” Forbes, retrieved from, https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2017/10/19/building-a-strong-team-the-secrets-of-a-successful-leader/#43fbd5c14405
