Defining Yourself as a Leader

2 Defining Yourself as a Leader Introduction In this world, successful leaders must be in tune with their strengths and weaknesses to allow them to lead others and lead themselves. They must be able to adapt and overcome by using many different leadership techniques. A leader that knows their strengths and weaknesses uses this to encourage others to help them reach their full potential. A leader who understands will look to improve their skills to lead and teach their group. A good leader also motivates and encourages his group to work as a team so that each group member can grow with the knowledge of those around them. The leader will also look out for the welfare of his team to ensure that they are being safe in what they do. A good leader must also inspire the team to develop innovative solutions to problems they will encounter. This paper will discuss my strengths and weaknesses as a leader and discuss the outcome of leadership assessments that were taken. My Strengths To help understand my strengths, I asked three of my co-workers to answer some questions about me. I asked them to answer the questions: Who am I when I’m at my best? Can you provide a specific example of a time when I was at my best? Through these interviews, I pointed out some of my strengths as a leader, problem-solving skills, commitment, honesty, and lending a hand when needed. I was also informed that I listen well to others’ advice and take their point of view into account when trying to solve a problem. I commit to whatever job is at hand, with a never-ending list of solutions to help aid in a resolution. I’m completely honest with whoever I work with and do not linger from the truth to make to team feel good. I’m always there to help my section when facing a complex problem or decision. I have excellent problem-solving skills because I look at things from many different angles to find the best solution. Or to find the right person that will help to solve the problem. According to the “COMMUNICATION STYLE SELF-ASSESSMENT,” I use an analytical style. In this style, individuals tend to be slower in making decisions because they prefer to have a lot of information to make a decisive decision. According to the VIA character strengths survey done by the VIA Institute, my core strengths are honesty, love, spirituality, love of learning, and perseverance (VIA, n.d.). As a leader, you must be completely honest with your team; if your team can’t trust you, you will not perform at their full potential. They will also be reluctant to seek you for advice when they run into a problem that they can’t solve independently. There are many aspects to becoming a good leader; they cannot be defined as one skill; you must be well versed in multiple aspects. Leadership Statement I want to be the type of leader that my group respects and looks up to and one they can come to when faced with any problem. I want to create an environment where my team can grow with 3 knowledge. Because I don’t believe that you hire people to boss them around, you hire innovative and creative people so they can find solutions to help you and the company. I want to make sure that I’m not judgmental of my team members and give them inspiring and helpful feedback about their performance. I feel that if you keep a team member informed of their progress and shortcomings, they will feel more appreciative and respect you more. Growth Opportunities Some of the areas I need to grow in are confidence in myself and my abilities. I seem to second guess myself a lot of the time, fearing not having the correct solution or that I will fail. My recent focus has been learning to have more confidence in myself and not second guess my decisions. I have been leading people for many years, and many of the leadership abilities that I have were learned in the Army. I also feel that without this confidence, your team will not see you as a good leader and will not come to you for answers in time of need. Another area that I need to work on is letting my team continue researching to find a problem rather than jumping in and finding the problem or fixing the issue myself. I tend to think that if I see the problem or solution, they should also see it. I have gotten better in this aspect over the years, but it still seems to come up now and then as an issue. I will use my commitment and problem-solving to help lead and develop my team. My commitment will help show the team that when I start working on a job or problem, I’m committed to seeing it through until the very end until the job is complete, or the problem has been resolved. Seeing my commitment to the task at hand will also teach them how well my problem-solving skills work hand in hand with my commitment. My problem-solving skills can help and lead my team to look at different angles to solve the problems they may encounter. I look at issues from many different angles to help guide me to resolutions. And I always enjoy helping others when they are stuck or need help; I think it is always better to have someone look at something from a different perspective. A lot of times, the answer stands out when doing this. My confidence issues can also be overcome with my commitment because as I am committed to a job or problem, I do not quit until the job or problem is resolved. For problems like mathematics, there is always more than one way to get the same results. I need to remember and understand that I need to follow my instincts and remain focused until the job is complete or the problem is solved. And stop second-guessing myself by having confidence that the job is done correctly. If I only look at what I have accomplished in my career and the obstacles I have endured, this will only help build my confidence. Most of my confidence issues are not in my problem-solving skills; they are when I have to come up with something to implement. I always have in the back of my mind that someone else will have a better idea than me. But I can always use my team to my advantage and get their input on my thoughts and ideas and come up with an even better plan to implement. Conclusions Good leaders must realize that they are in a powerful position that allows them to help shape the behaviors and performance of their group. This must be taken seriously because it can have 4 dreadful consequences if not performed correctly. You must have good interpersonal skills and know-how to utilize them. I have worked for many different types of people, and there is a distinct difference between a boss and a leader. A leader will help you develop and utilize your full potential by pushing you to strive to learn and solve problems. At the same time, a boss is merely there to supervise. A boss will not have your best interest at heart; instead, they want you to do your job so they don’t look bad. A good leader is also there to help other individuals rise to tackle any problem. Something that has really stuck with me is a quote from Steve Jobs that read: “It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do" (Brandon, 2018, para. 2). And I also just read a quote from Lee Iacocca that said: “I hire people brighter than me, and then I get out of their way” (Locker, 2019, para. 5).