My Vision of Leadership (Leadership Challenges and Learning Organizations)

My thoughts for Blog 5

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For 6 sessions, I learned leadership aspects in my “Leading in a Changing World” module of my MBA program taught by Dr. Joyce Lim at PSB. To begin, she generously shared her life experiences and encouraged us to share ours, for inspiration. Amongst all, I grasp concepts like “ethical, handling diversity, managing change, and leading styles”. Lastly, being a good leader isn’t enough – the aim is to embody the above principles while leading. Being Authentic, with a capital A.

An Authentic leader motivates and inspires followers to reach objectives by being genuine and honest, with an ethical viewpoint achieved through increased mindfulness and equitable evaluation (Crawford et al, 2020, p. 126).

My Vision of Leadership

In this blog, after learning models and theories of leadership, I want to highlight what is deeper. The Authentic Leader. 

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“What sets apart a good leader from a great one?” Charisma? Smartness? or a deeper attribute? Authentic leadership shows that most impactful leaders are those who remain true to themselves and their principles.

In the organization, Authentic leadership enhances employees’ emotional attachment to their job, boosting overall team performance, encouraging improved performance (Duarte et al, 2021, p. 1).

On a self-level, Authentic leadership is where leaders are conscious of their thoughts and actions, in the environment they function. They are always conscious of their own values, morals, strengths, and knowledge as leaders and as subordinates. (Maximo et al, 2019, p. 2)

To me, an Authentic leader does not need to possess leadership qualities or hold a high post. Don’t need approval or be noticed. They only need to strive at improving oneself.

This manner of leading to positively impact others by becoming the best version of oneself, and is achievable; anyone can reach this goal by embracing a “learn-by-doing” approach.

My inspiration, The Reasons

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Oprah Winfrey distinct herself as an Authentic leader. Overcoming a challenging past to find success as a television presenter, actress, entrepreneur, producer, and philanthropist. Over her career as CEO of Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), she was a source of inspiration for countless people. LIFE flagged her the most influential woman of her generation and her Network has raised sums for charitable programs. She advocated for children’s rights and was involved in the legislation of a nationwide registry for child abusers.

Oprah has launched the careers of numerous individuals, authors, and brands. She can influence a whole industry without mentioning any individual or item. (Shazanah Abdul Wahab et al, 2020, p. 62)

Source: Goggle

It would be an injustice not to recommend this book to illustrate her authentic style.

Feedback for me

Well, throughout the course, there was no survey or feedback done. But I do garner at times kind comments passed to me that I would mostly seek input and teamwork and cooperation, like to have open communication and chance to make decisions and involving members. However, to narrow down to my style of leadership, I suspected a mix of democratic and participative.

Source: https://www.mindtools.com/

A self-test done at https://www.mindtools.com/azr30oh/whats-your-leadership-style confirmed it. Indeed, these are good traits in the media industry where you can’t function alone. 

Skills Development

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I cannot agree more to the comments and the self-test.

It is stated that the participative/democratic leadership style, being the most effective, involves the leader providing guidance to group members while encouraging their participation, taking part and welcoming contributions from members (Košičiarová et al, 2021, p. 3).

Personally………

I must be receptive to feedback with a positive mindset, leverage on listening and continuous improvement, and cultivating bonds with colleagues. While enhancing my language fluency and presentation, I too must improve teamworking skills by acknowledging my weaknesses and being open to feedback from peers. These skills come in handy in my current Healthcare role.

To me is not about skills mastery or discovering a natural leader. It is the ability to convince others to follow that is probably one of the most difficult responsibilities for a leader. Is possible only if I set a positive example to inspire my followers. When faced with challenges, they look at me how I am dealing with the situation.

To all readers leaders – I leave you with this.

Source: Goggle

References

Crawford, J. A., Dawkins, S., Martin, A., & Lewis, G. (2020). Putting the leader back into authentic leadership: Reconceptualising and rethinking leaders. Australian Journal of Management, 45(1), 031289621983646. Sagepub. https://doi.org/10.1177/0312896219836460

Duarte, A. P., Ribeiro, N., Ribeiro, N., Semedo, A. S., & Gomes, D. R.. (2021). Authentic Leadership and Improved Individual Performance: Affective Commitment and Individual Creativity’s Sequential Mediation. 12, 1–11. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.675749

Maximo, N., Stander, M. W., & Coxen, L. (2019). Authentic leadership and work engagement: The indirect effects of psychological safety and trust in supervisors. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 45(0). https://doi.org/10.4102/sajip.v45i0.1612

Shazanah Abdul Wahab, Mohamad, N., & Wahab, S. (2020). Influences of Women’s Leadership Performance Towards the Corporate, Political and Social Success: A Review and Research Agenda. Asian Journal of Research in Business and Management, 2(4), 54–68. https://myjms.mohe.gov.my/index.php/ajrbm/article/view/11571/5540

Košičiarová, I., Kádeková, Z., & Štarchoň, P. (2021). Leadership and Motivation as Important Aspects of the International Company’s Corporate Culture. Sustainability, 13(7), 3916. MDPI. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073916