Naïve and headstrong, I was determined to move out of my parent’s house and face the world on my own shortly after graduating from high school several years ago. Instead of attending college, I began working in the public sector as a temporary typist clerk. During this time my supervisor, Sharon, was an individual who truly made a positive impact on my life. Sharon’s style of leadership is best defined as the servant leader because she invested in the development of her staff and sought opportunities to grow maturely and professionally (Daft, 2016). The manner in which Sharon served the employees on her team still resonates with me today. During the early 1990’s, I worked in a Human Resources office of a large Workers’ Compensation …show more content…
Unbeknownst to me, Sharon made arrangements to pay my rent and utilities for the next two months. When I walked into my apartment, the living room overflowed with diapers, clothes, bottles, and a bassinet. Additionally, food and baby formula filled the kitchen cabinets and the refrigerator. There was no doubt Sharon was the person responsible for enlisting the support of others to help me during a very challenging season in my life. Furthermore, once I returned to work, Sharon did everything in her power to ensure I took the necessary steps to become a full-time …show more content…
I have shared my gratitude towards Sharon on several occasions. Therefore, she was not terribly overwhelmed by this call. Sharon retired several years ago, and I have since moved on to other employment taking the values I learned from her example. However, we continue to maintain a friendship which I will always treasure. The values she displayed help instill qualities which changed my perspective as a follower. The commitment she showed contributed to my engagement level and dedication to the organization (Daft, 2016). Therefore, when leaders invest in their subordinates both professionally and personally, the employee will develop into an effective follower to best serve the organization by utilizing their strengths which the leader has help nurture and
Hughes, R. L., Ginnett, R. C., & Curphy, G. J. (2012). Leadership: Enhancing the lessons of experience. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin
After reading over the book entitled, “The World’s Most Powerful Leadership Principle—How to Become a Servant Leader”, by James C. Hunter, I have learned that in order to lead one must serve. This book has provided me with the necessary principles needed to assist me as a Senior Executive Director at the UCF Community Care Center (UCCC). I like how the author specifically states that his book is not a way to teach one how to lead, rather it provides one with the path to take to be an effective leader. The book has assisted me the last few months in making a positive difference in the organization, especially being newly employed here at UCCC. My new employment here at UCCC has allowed me to have the character that one can know to respect, and has allowed me to slowly build authority, not through only
There are many things that have molded me into the person I am today such as being born into a family with four children. With three siblings, I have been forced to be able to work out problems from stealing each other’s toys to having to rush to the emergency room to get stiches because my brother chased me around the house and I tripped. My mother, father, brother, and two sisters were all born in Pennsylvania and I am the odd ball and I was born in Adrian, Michigan. From when I was a child I always loved being involved with sports because of my competitive nature. I grew up playing soccer and having success with that but then my love changed and I began playing lacrosse and football. I started playing lacrosse in middle school and played
Also, by promoting dedication he or she is able to make everyone notice that they’re putting everything in their power to make things run better than they already are. They’re being self-starters so that everyone else can see and follow the example, making a way towards their desired vision. Correspondingly, there comes the responsibility one must be able to take in, not as a burden but as a gain because that means he or she is actually doing the right thing and people know that they can trust in the leader doing the job. But also, being responsible for ones-self doesn’t mean it’s only on the job, but it’s also being responsible of one’s mental and personal health. Likewise, it’s imperative for the leader to take responsibility for the ones surrounding him or her, making sure things are going accordingly because a suitable leader must also keep in mind that without the others contribution things can fall apart. But taking in the responsibility doesn’t mean making sure things are running smoothly, it also means that the leader has to make decision that he or she feels are right for the group or staff, and like the old saying goes: “A leader is directly tied to the
M.D. Arnold once said, “A good leader leads the people from above them. A great leader leads the people from within them.” Reading this quote always reminds me of my decision to go into the Human Resource Management and Development field. It reminds me of what being in a leadership role is all about and how the wrong kind of leadership influence can potentially break or corrupt an organization. Ever since I can remember, I have always been the friend who others felt comfortable enough to speak to about their issues. I have always been the student who tries to find different methods to learn. I have always been the employee who makes sure my peers feel comfortable with the work given to them. I have always been a leader.
Identity-“Ones personal qualities.”Identiy is something only he or she can fully define. My uncle says I am affectionate,cheerful, and calm. My grandmother sees me as slim, pretty and sweet. My dad described me as perky, cheerful and happy, my mom says beautiful, gentle, and self-conscious. These adjectives describe me accurately, yet they are only abstract versions of me. Adjectives cannot begin to describe me and I aknowlege these descriptions for what they are, a condensed translation from my outward self to the world. It is impossible for anyone to understand me completely because nobody has experienced the things I have. My mother has never cherished a raggedy doll named Katie and my father never spent hours upon hours making collages and scrap books for his future children. My uncle never hid in the back of a pick-up-truck and traveled four hours to New York and my grandmother has never walked hours in the rain looking for the Queen of England. My identity is something only I can define.
As I have developed in my job, school, and as a person, I found that I enjoyed helping others and want to become a leader. This paper will further describe how my experiences and background have shaped the leader I am today.
Leadership must be service oriented. Instead of focusing on what’s in it for you, it is important to focus instead on
To become a truly effective leader, one must encapsulate the various behaviors related to the aforementioned course learnings in his/her persona and demonstrate such behaviors daily. This course has allowed me to identify four behaviors that all leaders must portray to be effective. The first of which is that a leader must be inspirational. To do so, a leader must set the appropriate vision and direction for the organization and provide a path to achieving defined goals. Additionally, a leader must induce the proper levels of motivation so that each employee has sufficient incentive to work towards the organization’s goals. As discussed in the class, motivation can be accomplished by factors such as rewarding hard work and providing the correct opportunities to employees. While these are motivating in that employees desire to be fairly compensated and to be doing work they deem valuable, inspiration comes more from organizational culture. A leader will be inspirational by setting a tone that appreciates each employee’s contribution, no matter how small in scale it is. Further, employees are inspired when they work collaboratively in a group setting and can capitalize on individual strengths to drive organizational goals.
John A., 2009. Not Bosses but leaders, How to lead the way to success.3rd ed. London: kogan page.
Every organization requires effective followership and leadership to reach peak performance. Effective followers use creativity, intrinsic motivations, and commitment to the organization to ensure its success. In addition, great followers need great leaders to guide them and build them into future leaders. Great leaders understand the importance of various followership styles and traits and use them to benefit the organization while helping followers achieve greatness as well. Futhermore, great followers and leaders strive to continually build on their strengths and weaknesses. With that in mind, strengths and areas of improvement will be discussed in the following paragraphs.
Followership is an important concept for leaders to understand because without a solid base of followers, a leader is nothing. Followers are people who support and obey the wishes of a leader. Even if an organization has the greatest leader in the history of leaders, the organization can still fail without the development of its members. Followers are the individuals who make the organization function. Identifying and improving their skills will help bolster the organization. The continuing push for efficiency in all aspects of business is another valuable aspect of the importance of followership (Kelley). When people work together more efficiently, it saves time and m...
I am by myself wearing my blue jeans and an old flannel shirt. It is cool outside but I decided to leave my gloves at home, feeling comfortable with my warm shirt and my sturdy boots.
By allowing for employees to be increasingly engaged in workplace activities, they are then given the opportunity to develop new skills. Most leaders also encourage for employees to participate in team building activities so that any employee would be more comfortable and have stronger chemistry when working with other members of their respective departments, and with other employees in the company as a whole. Leaders are capable of motivating their subordinates through a series of actions, such as words of encouragement, acts of appreciation, and allowing for employee involvement in key decision making processes in the company. For instance, leaders who appreciate, constantly encourage and assist in the improvement of the tasks performed by their subordinates will be able to build a strong and healthy employer-employee relationship. This good relationship instils the traits of confidence in employees and motivates them to enhance their performance. Excellent leaders commonly try to develop a dialogue or establish open communication with their subordinates. Employees who are well
Leadership is a relationship based on mutual influence and common purpose between leaders and employees in which both are moved to higher levels of motivation and moral development as they affect real, intended change in their organization (Chapman, 2005). Loyalty is important amongst leaders, and team members tend to be more loyal to their leaders than their manager’s. This is due in part to leaders accepting the blame for when things go wrong, celebrating team/group achievements and giving credit when it is due. Managers do not interact with their subordinates as much as leaders do because leaders do not have subordinates they have followers (Chapman, 2005).