Personal Leadership Development Plan
STEP 1: MY GOALS
I am an accounting major at college level. My pursuit of the course is due to my passion for numbers as I seek professional qualifications in accounting. Ultimately, after the completion of my degree, I would want to operate at the most senior positions of financial organizations as I seek to impart my knowledge into the business and help in managing people. However before I attain the ultimate goal, there one major hurdle that I would like to go over- Internship at a big four firm. I believe that training at the highest level will make one set and ready for real world business at the highest level. That is why my aspirations are pointing towards Deloitte, Price Water house Coopers, Ernst and Young and the likes. The rigorous training obtained at the level of a global multinational cooperation is the best one can get in the accounting profession. With no compromise on quality, the level would require total concentration and commitment. In the event, my level of detail and interpersonal skills will be tested and I am more than ready for these tests because I choose to be the best. My love for crunching numbers would be put to the test not only in terms of speed but in accuracy too. This challenge not only inspires me but also activates excitement.
After the internship process, graduation follows. I just like any other accounting student would like to put into practice the many years of schooling and rigorous training programs in order to test my skill set against real world analytics. A year after graduation a good place to start would be a small to medium sized business where I can learn the trade and hone my skills probably as an accounting assistant. 2-3 years in this position should give me enough traction to head on to a more senior position as an accountant in large cooperation. In ten years’ time, I expect to be at the epitome of my career say a CFO of a large multinational Cooperation or an international NGO.
Five assessment techniques that I used to gauge myself are leadership, participatory leadership, influence tactics, leader-member exchange and group cohesiveness. The first assessment I undertook was leadership – Michigan Organizational Assessment. The method inspects my leadership behavior and my performance on the job. On a scale of 1 to 7, the technique based the criteria on personal support, goal emphasis and work facilities on which I scored a 6 on all the above criteria. My score indicates that my style was considerably high on the specific elements tested. Based on the scores attained, the indication is that I have a strong possibility of becoming a great leader in my accounting profession. Additionally, the inert ability to persuade someone to deliver in accordance with group goals lives in me. In order to strengthen my personal leadership orientation in the world, my perspective would be to practice more on the required qualities in the real world scenario (Frum).
Participatory leadership was the second assessment test I undertook in which I was assessed by eight questions to evaluate my attitude towards; the average persons’ capacity, information sharing, participation, and nature of supervisory controls. In the use of this method a score of 4 and above in the eight questions denotes a favorable inclination towards subordinates’ capacity and business contribution whereas a score of 2 on the same scale shows hesitance in a leadership context which indicates that the individual prefers leadership control to participatory leadership. Personally, my scores for person’s capacity score was 2.5, information sharing 2.5, participation score 3 and control score 3.5. Overall, my participatory leadership averaged at 2.875. My score though not the ideal 4 still shows a general disposition towards subordinates their capabilities and their involvement in organizational activities. In my accounting field, I would need to work on my involvement and disposition towards followers. Overall, my participatory and involvement aspect are not very good, and I could make better strides if I enhance my skills in this sector.
I undertook self-assessment number 7, which is Influence tactics to evaluate my ability to impose my commands in an effective manner. For this technique, scores attained denotes the rational persuasion of an individual in a leadership position. A score of over 6 shows high rationality during persuasion. My scores on influence tactics are as follows; rational persuasion 5.5, upward appeal 5, exchange 6, Ingratiation 4, coalition 5, Inspirational appeal 5 and consultation 5. My low scores mean that my rational persuasion levels are way below par. Discretely this means that I have a weak preference for rationality. My influence tactics will affect my profession adversely. In order to be better I would need to improve on my upward appeal, ingratiation, coalition, inspirational appeal and consultation in order to be a successful leader tomorrow. The score can be made better by putting organizational objectives higher in priority than personal achievements. Discover personal goals of the influenced party and shape my efforts in accordance with these.
Under leader- member exchange, I was tested for my subordination for a leader or manager above my position. In this assessment, a score of 6 and higher is a good indication of high leader-member exchange and a score of 2 and lower indicated the opposite. My score for the leader- member relationship is 5 which clearly means that the relationship with my leader in terms of information exchange and command chain following is strong. In my pursuit to become a better leader in accounting, this self-assessment focuses on the relationship between my leader and me. My attitude or opinion towards the leader is not very high. However my leader's expectation for me is comparatively high.so as a successful leader, we should understand followers needs and problems and recognize their potential to enhance interpersonal understanding. To improve my leader-member exchange relationship, I should treat all my employees equally regardless of our friendship relationships outside work. I should be able to discern between the participatory ability and the performance capabilities of a person.
The group cohesiveness assessment is designed to evaluate your adhesiveness as a leader with a group. While 6 and above indicates a high degree of cohesion with workplace members a score of 2 and below shows a low degree of group cohesiveness. My score in this sphere is 5.17, which is not the best but still perceives group cohesiveness on the higher side. This aspect will help me in the provision of basic personal and work related support to members in the workplace. High group cohesiveness is set to be an advantage in the accounting profession because it helps me to get along with senior co-workers as well as junior co-workers. This will go a long way in establishing rapport, which is critical in the business world. 5.17 is not ideal, and I can increase my skills further by posting ground rules that reinforce teamwork principles. I can maintain a close relationship with group member so that everyone is at ease with everyone. Respect for other members opinion and its distribution is another instance where I can improve my group cohesiveness.
STEP 3: INTERESTING CONCEPTS THAT WILL HELP ME GAIN LEADERSHIP SKILLS.
The concepts of leadership that I found critical towards my vision to be a great leader in my professional career are the definition of leadership, the aspect of management versus leadership, the Bass theory of leadership and born versus developed leaders. On the concept of definition (Avolio, Walumbwa, and Weber)defines leadership as the process through which a leader can influence others to pursue organizations goals. Other accounts on the same define leadership as an individual who influences a group into achieving a common goal and inspiring third parties to pursue an objective via set parameters in order for the results to be a shared gain (Komives, Susan, R. & Dugan). Looking at the definitions, they all emphasize on one critical aspect of leadership- social influence. The main emphasis of this concept is the fact that the ability to persuade a group towards objectives that are far from personal constitutes a good leader. I am in total agreement with the notion because a leader always has to overlook personal goals and focus on group gain and organizational progress.
On management versus leadership, a controversy arises as to how far apart the two elements are. One would argue that a manager could also be a leader, and a leader exhibits management traits in his undertaking. (Teleşpan, C., Halmaghi) portrays the management key functions as controlling planning, organizing, budgeting, staffing and decision making whereas a leaders main functions involve adapting to change through motivation, inspiration, and envisioning people. In this respect, management is an important element in any organization, and it is impossible to run without effective management. Nonetheless, leadership is also required in specific aspects of the business. At the college level, I have experienced the benefits of a good student leader. With a good student leader, the student body runs well without qualms, but an incapable student leader can cause the whole institution to stall.
The Bass theory of leadership encompasses three minor leadership theories and the dominant one being the transformational leadership theory (Giltinane). The theory stipulates that people choose to become leaders and can learn leadership skills. This theory is the most subscribed to by proponents the world over. Personally, I feel like I can relate to the theory as I have learned many skills that can be used to improve one’s leadership expertise and this in itself shows that leadership is a process. Certainly, leadership is a process, and the necessary skills can be acquired progressively through mentorship or trial and error.
On the debate whether leaders are born or developed, several authors have had their say on the issue. Theorists have put strong views on the leadership characteristics that are inborn and socialists as well have as well adamantly proposed good arguments for leadership as a social process through interaction. My view is that leadership is not an inborn element but can be learned gradually through one’s life. In relation to the concept, I have committed more into leadership roles this year than last year, and that shows development and progress in my leadership skills. My professional career as an accountant has forced me into becoming a leader in whatever situation I encounter. It is the nature of an accountant to report for all that happens in a situation and for that matter the leadership trait is mandatory.
Works Cited
Avolio, Bruce J, Fred O Walumbwa, and Todd J Weber. “Leadership: Current Theories, Research, and Future Directions.” Annual review of psychology 60 (2009): 421–449. Web.
Frum, N. “Leadership Qualities.” Acta Medica Transilvanica 16.1 (2011): 261–263. Web.
Giltinane, Charlotte Louise. “Leadership Styles and Theories.” Nursing Standard 27.41 (2013): 35–39. Web.
Komives, Susan, R. & Dugan, John P. Contemporary Leadership Theories. N.p., 2011. Web.
Teleşpan, C., Halmaghi, E. “Leadership versus Management.” Revista Academiei Fortelor Terestre 17.1 (2012): 70–73. Web.
