Words: 917
However, there were three tools in particular which were exceptionally helpful in aiding me in identifying these important aspects of my leadership; the Transformational Leadership Questionnaire (TTL), the assessments provided in Leadership Theory and Practice (LET), and the two in- class presentations. With respect to my strengths, I was taken aback by the results of the TTL. Specifically, have never considered myself to be a “people person”. However, the TTL identified my three strongest leadership traits as empathy, feedback and achievement, respectively.
Basically, this means that, appreciate others and tend to their individual needs. Likewise, am effective at providing constructive response to the efforts of others. Finally, I convey enthusiasm and give confidence to other people. In contrast to the results of the TTL, the “Skills Inventory” assessment provided in L TAP confirmed my existing beliefs as to what my strengths are. This assessment consists of eighteen questions. The nature of these questions varies with respect to the leadership competencies they attempt to measure; technical skill, human skill, or conceptual skill.
According to the results of this questionnaire, my levels of ability from strongest to weakest are as follows: technical skill, conceptual skill, and human skill. Again, I believe that my greatest strengths lie in my technical ability. As stated in the Skills Inventory questionnaire, “One of my skills is being good at making things work. ” My strengths are further highlighted by the two group assignments; the in- class presentations. Although these assignments were intended to serve as opportunities to develop interpersonal skills, I took a more technical approach to these projects.
Specifically, for my portion of each presentation, I first developed a well thought out and articulate narrative. I then memorized the narrative and simply recited my script, verbatim, during the actual presentation. Also, I played a major role in the development of the Powering slides. Again, this serves to highlight my technical ability and tendency toward technical approaches to not only leadership, but all activities in general. My weaknesses, as reported by the TTL report are: motivation, performance and empowerment.
I’ve interpreted these results to mean that don’t have he ability to bring others to the realization that they are an important part of a larger whole. Also, my aptitude to address others’ motivation is simply lacking. Finally, I do not give adequate consideration to shaping objectives or managing performance. Together, these indicate a critical lack of soft skills. Furthermore, each and every assessment in the L TAP text indicates that the areas in which I am most lacking are my interpersonal skills. For example, on the “Style” questionnaire, my “Relationship” score ranked in the moderately owe range.
Also, as for the results of the “Path-Goal Leadership” questionnaire, scored low on the questions addressing my aptitude/tendency toward a supportive leadership style. Finally, the “Psychodrama Approach Survey” identified my personality type as 1ST]. This means that I am internally focused, factual and specific person who is detached in the decision-making process, and emphasizes control, planning and structure. Taking all of this into conjunction, this reaffirms my lack of ability to interact with others on a personal level. Finally, referring once again to the in-class presentations, I applied a technical method to these assignments.
Although I understood the respective subject matter very well, I felt compelled to develop a script. During the question & answer session following the second presentation, I did not prepare a list of responses to obvious/predictable questions. As a result, I found it more difficult to interact with members of the audience in addressing/answering any such questions. Again, this serves to emphasize my lack of ability to interact with there. To further support my beliefs and findings, it WOUld be best served to provide an example of one of my most recent experiences in a role of leadership.
In my current position, I am in charge of processing time & attendance data (payroll information) for a relatively large staff (57 employees). The automated time & attendance system used by my employer is disorganized and ineffective. In particular, the system can only generate basic reports of accounting, and leave usage categories (i. E. Sick leave, vacation leave, etc. ). I recognized this horrifying and took the initiative to create an in-house database system that would be capable of providing supplementary time & attendance data reports to the senior staff.
This database has made possible the authorization of compensatory time, scheduling of leave, and the preparation of productivity reports. Again one can see that I often depend upon my technical skill set to approach and solve problems. However, in doing so I become detached from the human element of any such problem. For example, although I developed a more useful tool for analyzing payroll/productivity data, this tool was a less than impressive tool in that it did not include data elements that would have made it an even much more effective tool.
If I had arranged to meet with the senior staff in advance of my development, they would have had the opportunity to address their concerns/interests to have additional elements included. Of course identifying my strengths and weaknesses is only the first step towards developing my leadership ability. In order to become an effective leader, I must work on my ability to interact with others both, on an individual basis and in a group setting.