The Situation
Leadership can be inborn as well as instilled. Whichever method it comes into existence does not count. Instead, what counts is the quality of leadership and the aspects that are tagged along the whole system. A leader is by simplest definition someone who is in charge of a group of others in doing something. As a leader, one has to interact with others in the organization, and it is inevitable. This implies that your co-workers will have to be with you in your work, and they will learn all about you. Leadership itself is a process that is not achieved overnight. To be more precise, we have strategic leadership. Strategic leadership is the kind of tool that is used by an organization to provide a mission, vision a direction of growth and the organization’s success (Bock, 42). This is not easy for a task, and it requires the contribution of all those within the organization as well as all other significant affiliates.
As a store manager, I have responsibility bestowed upon me to lead in overseeing that the firm’s equipment and other sophisticated machines are well managed. This is a position that puts me into a very brittle situation since the company entirely relies on my competence in ensuring that all the activities are well coordinated. Leading others into doing tasks requires a strategy and evaluation of the current situation and the operational environment (Bock, 43).
I meet with all the employees from the various departments of the organisation. My job is one that will entail interacting with everyone in the organization. This means that everyone I interact with has an excellent insight of my traits, which is they know my capabilities, strengths, weaknesses and even ways through which I can develop myself further. I have to ensure that I carry out all activities with respect to the understanding that I have for my team members. My strengths are put to test, on how I make decision, my reaction to different outcomes, how I contribute towards the development of my team members as well as overseeing the long-term achievement of the company’s goals.
The challenges I face
Being a store manager comes in handy with its own challenges. To the contrary, leadership is a process or a cycle that is full of challenges that arise from all sorts of reasons (Crossan, 67). My team members including the manager may view me as almost perfect but despite that fact, I have challenges. At times, I am encountered with a conflict of ideas as well as opposition from others. This is practical because not everyone has to agree to everybody’s opinions. This requires a bold approach of even heated but healthy arguments with the others in the company.
When it comes to decision-making that pertain my department, it becomes a challenge to consider everyone’s views. In fact, the problem comes in when the decision made doesn’t keep pace with the strategy of achieving results. My workmates rate me highly in terms of decision making though I don’t personally find it accurate since the challenges could be a set back at times in terms of achieving. Decision making also becomes a laborious task when everyone regards me highly but in the real sense I am not the perfect person they think of, it is a process that is challenging whereby results have to tally with all inputs. I have to consider fairness and justice, for instance in resource allocation and equipment distribution.
The other problem is when it comes to team building. For me to gain success in the organization, I need to have a strong team that has good relations with each other. A strong team of workers will ensure a company’s progressive success (Crossan, 67). The members of my group have the assumptions that I am highly capable of being that perfect team-builder. To the contrary, it is difficult to coordinate each member into developing the strategies that we have laid out duties and first class goals. For this, I am faced with the entire challenge of ensuring complete teamwork operative design. In addition, team building requires a prior developing of the workers through training, evaluation and performance. This for a task is hard despite the fact that most give me high credibility.
As an administrator, it is my role to ensure long-term results for the organization at my level of operation. I am required to incorporate adequate knowledge of the industry, the company, and our customers so as to create a diverse critical thinking system. It is possible to achieve all this from the perspective of my co-workers but in the real-life situation it is a challenge. This is majorly because a proper coordination of the employees and the activities at hand is not achieved in a day. The usage of the resources and facilities under my control needs constant supervision. Sometimes I have to inhibit even issuing of equipment to ensure that there are backups in case of emergencies. This requires setting of timelines that have to distinguish between career and non-career activities.
Assumptions
It is important to consider some titbits that govern my work as a leader and a figure of motivation to others. I have to set the goals of the organization to be at the frontline of all my operations. The success of our company is the core aim that has to be instilled in each worker under my control. This requires constant delegation of duties and responsibilities that will enable them to have a routine that puts the organization’s needs ahead. When making decisions, no matter how perfect my team members may regard me, I have to consider each one’s views and incorporate their ideas and contributions.
At the same time, I have to create a platform that will ensure personal and professional growth career-wise. This needs the acceptance of responsibility and owning up to mistakes. In addition, planning efforts have to be integrated with all the platforms of our business unit. This will help in being in a position to tackle and deal with different outcomes at any given time. Business strategies have to be clarified, and the objectives well stated out.
It is general knowledge that as a leader I have to set good example for the others to follow and understand what is expected of them. I have to portray the accurate work ethic, work with zeal and resilience and be a role model. Team building is not an option; it has to be incorporated into the work plan since a team is better than one-man mission.
My role
In my work, it’s my duty to ensure long term results. Being the store manager requires commitment. I have been able to challenge the perfect existing procedures and even opted to introduce better ones. It is my duty to identify some of the best practices for my work from even external sources that are something I haven’t fully achieved. To make this strategy of long-term results, various researches with available data and its evaluation have to be done by me and give recommendations
I am also entrusted with a role of leading others. This position ensures that you help those following you achieve personal development apart from the organization’s success. It’s my duty to set visions and work plans that attracts and retains employees and customers indirectly as well. I am also required to inspire innovation in others and recognize their commitment. This duty requires setting an example of what those under my watch should follow. In addition, I have to treat each person fairly.
Similarly, to achieve the targets set, I need to build a strong team that is to steer the mission of our company. This has been achieved through setting of challenging goals and clear communication of what has to b done. I respond without bias to any positive suggestions for instant improvements. I have to make sure that the success of my team is well rewarded to instill future morale to achieve more.
For each task we engage in as a group, there is an expected outcome. For this, I hold the duty of ensuring that whatever the outcome it is well managed and received positively by all those affected. I have to lobby for the elimination of activities that are lowly profitable to us. When the outcomes are negative, I have to lay out timelines and counteractive measures for rectification purposes. Everyone has to be held liable for each outcome.
Factors that impact my ability to lead successfully
Leadership has its base. This base or foundation will comprise of factors that will impede or aid its success. (Bock) My role as a leader constitutes of factors that ensure my success as well as those that hinder my success.
Majorly, various inhibitors face my success as a leader. To start with, there is little team work in my work group. Teamwork is the backbone of a department’s success and without which, tasks would be very difficult to accomplish. This is mainly contributed to by lack of chances to be fully mandated with the task of getting new recruits for my workforce. Also my inability to mobilize my taskforce into being an army that is united has inhibited my success despite that I am viewed as successful.
There is also a lack of the chances to develop adequately others. This requires distributing work and responsibility to my team, but it has not been the entire case. I have not been able to set goals and clarifications that clearly define the distinction between career and non-career activities. This hinders the right of giving my workforce a real direction as they carry their duties. This is because they are only going to concentrate on finishing their assignments without an extra mile gained in the process.
On the same, employees need to be offered platforms for self-development and advancement (Bock, 44). Currently, lack of such principles has made most employees feel as if they are machines programmed to perform only given tasks. This is a challenge to me because a successful leader is one who offers a chance for those under him to advance and develop them freely. This also hinders the possibility of realizing new capabilities in my workforce which could be incorporated to ensure our success.
Immediate feedback from work reports is absent. This slows down the pace with which I and my team react to the outcomes. This hinders the chance of effective responses to unexpected outcomes. Also, there is no clear outlining of tasks. This requires in-depth of issuing of timelines stipulating what activities to engage in. Similarly, the issuing of relevant information such s financial data that I can use to make my drawings and a recommendation is a difficult task.
Steps were taken and those in the planning
Similarly, I have decided to adopt a work plan in which the employees are enlightened and inspired in terms of imaginations and commitments. This will create a challenge for new ideas, inventions, as well as innovations. This will give all involved to develop themselves and realize new talents.
I have introduced the system that ensures adaptive working for all within the departments. Adaptive working instills dynamism in workers which in turn renders them ready for any all sorts of outcomes. It implies that in case of any changes, may it be organizational changes, operational changes or even market changes, the employees will respond. (CROSSAN)This will also prevent any distress among the employees which at times renders them less productive. Additionally, I have taken an initiative of training the employees on focusing on available opportunities. Focusing on opportunities rather than problems helps in diversifying the ways in which our success can be achieved.
Contingency plans
A good leader is one who always has a backup plan when things go out of hand or don’t bring the anticipated results. Such occurrences demoralize the team players such that their efforts will seem to have gone into waste (Crossan, 68). To prevent such scenarios, I have come with recovery plans that are applicable even in the long-term. Firstly, I have embarked on a challenging series whereby individuals are given assignments and challenges that match their various skills. This will enable the creation of specialists who can deal with any outcome.
The other way is through the evaluation of all the workers concerned and discovering their strengths and developmental needs. This will involve more training and addition of recruits to strengthen the workforce. The workers will be taught on how to handle disappointments since success is not always guaranteed. Timely feedback and concerning performance will be observed.
I have also ensured that there are platforms for team building. A strong army is one that is united and can readily adapt to unexpected outcomes. My team will be ready for any unforeseen occurrences. I have also embarked on distress elimination among my workers to ensure that they are emotionally fit for continued productivity. All the workers will be fairly treated. Duties and responsibilities will be properly delegated to develop personal skills and flexibility. All ideas will be considered when making decisions and related directly to our strategies.
In conclusion, leadership doesn’t require all forms of complexity. It is a dose that is administered in bits while gauging the outcomes. A leader needs to be quick in thinking and a good decision maker who incorporates all affiliates when arriving at a conclusion. For successful achievements, a leader must be ready to face challenges and find solutions to them, both short term and long term.
Works Cited
Bock, Wally, George H. Labovitz, and Donald T. Phillips. Strategic Leadership. Carrollton N.p., n.d. Print.
Crossan, Mary. "Strategic Leadership and Organizational Learning." 2004: Print.
