My vision of Leadership

Posted on by mirzah4

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way” (John C. Maxwell).

In this blog, I am discussing my vision and understanding of leadership, my inspiration as a leader and a reflection on the blogs that I have written earlier. I am also discussing the feedback that I have received from my peers and skills which I need to develop as I progress through my MBA to be able to have a good platform to start my career in banking.

My Vision & Understanding on effective leadership

 

Leaders play a vital role in the horizontal and vertical growth of an organization. They have to shoulder many important responsibilities and can lead a company towards success by chalking out a vision for the company and its employees. Such leaders are regarded as transformational in nature. They have the ability to meet the set and desired objectives by motivating and inspiring the people who work under them.

 

I am a firm believer that when it comes to leadership, ethics play a vital role in the success of a company. Ethical leadership is extremely important to gain the trust and commitment from the followers (Mihelič, et al. 2010). When a leader himself is not ethical, then people lose their faith in him and what he preaches, as you also can see in my first blog, where I do a indebt discussion of the topic.

This form of dynamic transformational leadership is my inspiration as well. Such leaders have the ability of taking people under their wings to polish them and turn them into success machines (Horwitch & Whipple 2014). These leaders are mainly responsible for bridging the gap between what a person actually is and what he aspires to become (Mihelič, et al. 2010). An inspirational leader has the following attributes:

  • Motivates his people
  • Creates a sound vision
  • Provides future direction and guideline
  • Inspires people

Leader, who inspires me

Skjermbilde 2016-04-02 22.13.41

Source 2: Horwitch 2014

Richard Branson, as I have mentioned earlier in my blogs, is the classic example of such transformational leader (Toma & Marinescu 2013). His transformational approach of leadership makes him an inspiration for me. He stimulates his employees, listens to their perspective and empowers them by giving them an authority of their venture (Mirzah4, 2016).

 

During my module, I have come across a number of various leadership theories and models, which have assisted me in building and analysing my leadership skills. Particularly, Hofstede model, 4-v and Belbin’s team-role model have assisted me a lot. These theories and models also helped me differentiate between various types of leaders. It made me recognize my strengths and weakness, as well, as a leader. This course has aided me to polish my strengths and work on my weaknesses.

 

During my group work sessions, I realized that I have the ability to lead my group members. I got the opportunity to lead my team on many occasions and which helped me to identify the true leader inside me. Based on the feedback that I have received from my fellows, I realized that I have the power to make people work and listen to me. I can also make my team deliver a good quality work even under pressure. The feedback that I received from my peers on many occasions including leadership module, was quite positive. But I also have some flaws. A thing that I was not aware of before my peers told me, was that I sometimes can push my decisions through even if I am the only one feeling that is the right decision. When working on the Hofstede model I wanted to analyse this further. The feedback came from people according to the Hofstede model nations with high power difference, I realized that I had adapted the Norwegian dimensions where the power difference is quite low. I was just fighting for my case and justifying what I felt was the right thing to do, but my peers felt I was forcing the decision. This is a factor which I will have to be aware of if I´m leading a multicultural team in the future.

However, I twice had a privilege to lead my team in this module; I have learned some key factors that are very important for any leader, in order to lead his team successfully. It is very important for any leader to be aware of the cultural background and the differences of his team members (mirzah4 2016: Blog 2).

Skjermbilde 2016-04-02 22.13.52

Source 3: Thomas 2016

Initially, my team had some understanding barriers due to cultural differences, however they started getting along as they got to learn about the background of their colleagues. I would work on my cultural awareness skill in order to strive well in future.

 

I believe that I can polish my skills before and while I am in the banking industry. The banking industry seem to be very audacious and suits my aptitude as well. Therefore, I believe that I can grow in that area. This will also allow me to implement all my skills in the right area and I will be able to learn even more. Real work experience will also allow me to learn from true leaders who are currently working in the industry.

However, at the same time it is extremely important for me to remember the ethics and values. Therefore, if there is a misfit between my values and the organizational ethics then I must make a wise decision and should choose the organization wisely.

Bibliography