The Reflection
As a result of the classes and lectures that I have attended, I have become an excellent team member by learning to practice active listening while others are putting across their opinions. I have learnt the art of good listening whereby I keep my mind open, resist distractions, and delay evaluation. This constructive discipline has enabled me to share the information that I know while interacting with other group members attentively. Self acceptance has become so evident in me that I can now withstand both positive and negative criticisms which I could not do before. This has enabled me become a person who likes challenges thereby looking for every opportunity to offer my problem solving skills voluntarily. I have developed so much confidence that I can now be able to face any obstacle that I come across.
I also had this weakness on my personality that I would always agree with what my group members say and I think this reflected negatively on my personality. This is because I lacked the motivation to think outside the box as well as interacting creatively with other group members. I have come to appreciate the need to have active attitude toward goals and I am more willing to take risks, inspire others’ commitments and try to improve or change things. This class has therefore helped me become a person who has a positive outlook on life and to become the one who likes to add on to what group members suggest. I now find it easier to discuss my ideas with group members and look forward to discussing theirs too as a way of getting positive feedback for any brainstorming session at hand.
Prior to attending these lectures, I had so much fear of addressing a group of people and putting my points across. More often than not, I would forget what I wanted to say and this would haunt me for a long time. But now I have mastered the art of public speaking and have learnt how to apply appropriate leadership in class, in a team and in any kind of environment. Theses lectures have therefore helped me to reflect on my past, how it has impacted on my present and what effect this will have on my future.
The Connection
The “Abilene Poradox Video” has been of great significance to me since it has helped me built my personality especially in the area of communication, training, organizational behavior and accountability. In the area of communication, this video was very effective on me since it made me realize I have poor communication skills and that I do not know how to handle some specific situations. I was able to realize that I was unnecessarily harsh on people around me and those working under my supervision, always giving them orders and not giving them an opportunity to express their views on the matter. As such, this video has helped negate the negative behavior towards others.
The lesson on change management was also of significance to me especially the self evaluation to test my hardiness in the area of commitment, challenge, control and connection. I have realized that I am not excited and energized by new projects and rarely do I seek for new opportunities in my life because of fear of the unknown. But I do look for things which I can do something about and when there are demands at work, I use the most effective approach by trying my best. I also give far much more than what I get from others and always seek out to other people whenever I have a problem or difficulty. Kotter’s eight-stage process for change has been of great importance to me since I have learnt how to create a sense of urgency, build a coalition, create a vision for change, communicate a plan for change, eliminate obstacles to change, create small wins, build on change and make change a part of my culture.
Of most significance to me in this class is the understanding of group dynamics. Different people have different ideas and perceptions which result into constant conflict. Managing people with diverse attitudes, cultures, abilities and beliefs is not an easy task especially for the team leader who has to remain objective throughout the course to ensure corporate objectives are achieved without compromise.
I have also been able to understand organizational behavior and that the best organizations help employees become better people by making them understand or accept goals, use of collaboration not coercion, effective use of people, encouraging innovation, problem solving adequacy and improvement of employee morale by promoting feeling of well being and satisfaction. The importance of an effective reward system for employees is evident since employees feel appreciated and adequately rewarded. This reflects in the performance of their duties especially as a result of being motivated. I have also learnt the need for continuous employee training through seminars, workshops and professional courses in order to enhance efficiency, effectiveness as well as learning emerging issues and trends in the market.
In team building, Riley’s coaching model from basketball gave an insight on the components that create teamwork. For a team to achieve its objectives, elements of togetherness, equality, attitude, utilizing the team members to take full advantage of skills and strengths, thinking of the team as we not I, organization, role playing as well as rapport and sharing experiences by an effective team. Teamwork, I have learnt, enhances faster problem solving and decision making.
The Focus
I have always known that I have a strong character in leadership but I did not know how to improve this until I took this class. But now I have a clear picture about how I can improve and maintain my character. According to Jim Collins, an effective leader catalyzes commitment to and vigorous pursuit of a clear and compelling vision, stimulating higher performance standards. I have learnt the various strategies of leadership and will improve my leadership skills by implementing the agricultural theory which states that effective leaders are grown not born. Since growth takes place outside the context of formal training, I will be looking out for opportunities to work in an environment that is growth conducive. Moreover, I intend to coordinate activities, shape group norms, provide feedback, enhance two-way communication, negotiate focus and encourage groups as a way of enhancing my leadership skills. This will be best achieved by using intuition, envisioning, expanding resources, being subjective, linking future with present, believing and commitment.
I believe that empowering leadership which encourages independent action, opportunity thinking, teamwork, self development and goal setting will be the best type of leadership to implement in conjunction with transformational leadership where I will provide vision, express idealism, use inspirational communication and give high performance expectations. I will give the employees my clear outlook, regular feedback, refrain from assuming things and will regularly inspect what I expect. I will also give them clear guidelines, recognize their efforts and motivate them to improve job performance.
At home, I will give every family member be it adults and children an opportunity to express their opinions on matters affecting their livelihoods. I hope to give them a clear direction of where we are coming from, where we are and where we are headed. I believe this will go a long way in cementing and improving my relationships with others since they will feel that I value them and their views as well.
The major weakness I realized that I have is lack of stress management skills which fortunately were tackled in this class. I look forward to becoming a more outgoing person and seeing the glass as half full rather than half empty. I will also embrace the services of a counselor who I believe will help me to reflect better on pertinent issues affecting my day to day life. Concerning the weakness of low self esteem, I will be reading motivational books so as to create self awareness and remain motivated. I know that there is a lot of unutilized potential in me which I hope to put to use.
