Leadership Development Plan PDF

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Assignment 2 for Leadership & Decision Making...

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Leadership & Decision Making Leadership Development Plan Individual Assignment 2 Name: Mya Pwint Chit Class: L02 Student Number: S3809320

Table of Contents 1

1. Introduction

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2. Stage One – Observations 2.1 Leader Identification 2.2 Effective Traits & Qualities 2.3 Power & Influence

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3. Stage Two - Leadership Development Plan 3.1 Diagnostic Results

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3.2 Timeline Plan 4. Stage Three - Feedback 4.1 Adjustments To LDP

11 12

5. Conclusion

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6. References

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7. Appendix 7.1 Diagnostic Tests 7.2 Feedback Checklist Form

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1. Introduction

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Since the origin of the word, there has been much ambiguity regarding the definition of leadership; it is a subjective term many apply different meanings to. Leadership is an existing presence in multiple sectors of society and daily life, and without it, it is inevitable that we fail in our collective human endeavours. (Aliyu, 2019) According to Jonathan, Ian & Stephanie (2012), leadership is when an individual influences their followers towards goal achievement by applying their knowledge, skills and behaviors. A leader’s behavior is affected by internal and external situational variables, his personal characteristics, and his followers.

In this report, we will be closely examining one of the most influential leaders of all time: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. Though not all leaders are without their fair share of fallacies – Mandela being no exception – the focus of the study will be on his numerous achievements, accomplished purely through selflessness, pragmatism and inspiration to the masses.

By following the timeline of his legacy, we will perform an analysis on his unique leadership style, influential behaviour and qualities that made him an effective leader. This will in turn help identify our traits to sharpen our own leadership skills and be of great assistance in the future for our career prospects and lives.

2. Stage One - Observations 2.1 Leader Identification 3

Nelson Mandela was arguably one of the greatest leaders the world has ever seen. As a child, he herded cattle in his village growing up, having no political associations albeit for his father, a local chief and counselor to the monarch. He learned about the European colonialists inhabiting their land through his devout Methodist mission schooling, planting the first seeds of his interest in politics. Not only did he grow up to be the first black democratic head of state in South Africa, he also pushed the government towards abolishing institutionalised racism and reconciling different racial groups during his time in office. Despite being falsely imprisoned for 27 years for his anti-apartheid views, he continued with his non-violent political dealings. The reason he grew up to be a great president, however, was due to the fact that he possessed interpersonal, personal and strategic leadership skills. While his interpersonal skills garnered a loyal and passionate following across South Africa, and even around the world, his personal and strategic skills allowed him to become the symbol of an unyielding but peaceful resistance with a vision for equality. (Pietersen, 2015)

2.2 Effective Traits & Qualities Great Man Theory

Great Man Theory states that leaders possess certain general and task-related traits that differentiate them from non-leaders. An example is when Mandela decided to turn towards forgiveness after being released from prison, even choosing to actively seek out his incarcerators for reconciliation. In fact, he anointed some of the leaders who’d put him in prison as members of his first Cabinet. His ability to control his emotions whereas others might have sought vengeance is that of true emotional stability, as he understood his country’s need for peace and outweighed the need for further turmoil. (Lieberfeld, 2009)

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Warmth and extraversion are seen through the way Mandela carried himself; he presented himself with the regal airs of a chief’s son to the world. Whenever he frequented villages for his presidency campaigns, he performed township dances – an emblem of the people’s struggles – and greeted every attendee with a smile; a sign of willingness to build relationships with all walks of life for a more unified South Africa. He also had a witty, self-deprecating sense of humour, often on show in public speeches or interviews; “I went for a long holiday for 27 years,” he joked when asked about his time in prison.

Mandela’s tactful approach in expressing his thoughts and opinions is a trait of assertiveness. During his imprisonment, he decided to initiate negotiations with the apartheid government to convince his oppressors of his anti-segregation views. After going to every one of his prison comrades and recruiting them through pragmatic, persuasive means, he was able to launch a campaign to the African National Congress. (Stengel, 2008)

He also displayed task-related personality traits, such as courage, emotional intelligence and flexibility. Right before the trial that led to his imprisonment, he stated, “I can’t pretend that I am brave and that I can beat the whole world but as a leader, you must put up a front. You cannot let people know. Courage is not the absence of fear – it’s inspiring others to move beyond it.” That was exactly what he did: pretend and led his people fearlessly.

While Mandela encouraged, complimented, empowered, listened to and sought advice from those closest to him, he also knew when to challenge others and hold those responsible accountable in times of duress; an indicator of high flexibility. (Glad & Blanton, 1997) The Path-Goal Theory of Leadership Effectiveness

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The path-goal theory states that a leader should choose among four different leadership styles to achieve the most favourable and effective results in any given situation. Leadership style is defined as consistent behaviour patterns that determine the character of a leader. Mandela mainly possessed the democratic leadership style, though there were instances he displayed autocratic leadership when he led the nation individually and executed important decisions alone.

The democratic (or participative) leadership style permits followers to contribute their input into decision-making; they possess just as much a say in the final word as the leader himself (Gini & Green 2014). This can be seen when Mandela allowed the nation to voice their demands and opinions, while also leading the way – in a way, he allowed the nation to lead themselves. He molded his personality according to the type of people he associated with, and mentioned that the trick to leadership was to allow himself to be led. “It is wise to persuade people to do things and make them think it was their own idea,” he advised. Weber’s Conceptualization of Charisma

According to Weber, ‘charisma’ is defined as an individual’s capability to create and lead based on his extraordinary and mystical gifts and attributes, rather than on logical processes or legal laws and traditions. (Conger, 2003)

Above anything, Mandela was a charismatic leader. Not only did he empower and evoke strong emotions in his following, he was also able to retain the rapport throughout his imprisonment. For nearly three decades, supporters continued to fight against the apartheid, garnering attention and support across the nation. By the time of the 1994 election, every South African above eighteen was given voting rights and people of all races could participate in government functions. He was also aware of his nation’s love for sports and made reconciliatory moves by promoting the majorly white Springboks 6

rugby team at the 1995 Rugby World Cup, successfully instilling a sense of patriotic pride and washing away tensions.

Charismatic leaders are by nature also transformational, wherein Mandela changed countless South Africans’ outlooks on justice and a non-racial society. He also encouraged people to educate themselves as knowledge is the key to success.

2.3 Power & Influence

Mandela exercised both position and personal powers in order to influence his massive following. In terms of position power, he possessed legitimate power – the authority he held due to his presidential position and power to set goals and make decisions. Referent power came from Mandela’s respectable personal qualities and usually derives from charismatic leadership. This made his followers more inclined to follow his footsteps and model his behaviour as a form of psychological mirror. As he competently deployed his position and personal powers, this was answered with respect, compliance and commitment from his followers.

3. Stage Two - Leadership Development Plan 3.1 Diagnostic Results 7

Among the diagnostic tools given to help assess my strengths and weaknesses, four were taken as a guide to reflect and improve on my leadership skills: the emotional intelligence test, diversity management capability, leadership-skill assessment and the self-confidence test. Emotional intelligence consists of four dimensions: awareness of self, and others (social awareness) and management of self as well as others (relationship management) (Abraham, 1999; Schutte et al., 2001). Mandela spent a majority of his prison sentence introspecting, making time to self-reflect and plan his next move on the country’s situation. While my results showed standard scores for three dimensions, improvements can be made for better self-awareness and realisation of my strengths and weaknesses. The diagnostic tools have helped me immensely in doing so; however, it is advisable to become more self-managed by obtaining assistance through other external sources, and perhaps even internal. Mandela’s highly effective leadership abilities stem from his adaptability in associating with people of various races, age-groups and ethnicities. While the diagnosis states I do not possess an authoritarian approach or am uncomfortable with diversity or digital communication, more flexibility and cooperation is required to become a highly effective leader, such as learning to be a team player and splitting team responsibilities equally.

The self-confidence test evaluates one’s degree of self-assuredness. Mandela’s belief in himself and his unwavering vision for equality is a respectable trait and one that should be followed after. The analysis of my self-confidence test points out that I own a standard, desirable level of self-confidence, but measures must be taken to regulate it in order to not turn into egotism or low self-esteem. 3.2 Timeline Plan

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With the diagnosed strengths and weaknesses in mind, a personal leadership development plan has been formulated after thorough research and observation to fledge out my goals and hone my leadership skills. Three important goals are the main focus of this plan, and measurements indicative of whether I have achieved my aforementioned objectives or not will keep track of my progress. Other key components include the one-year timeframe, and the type of activities I would perform to help me.

GOAL

STRENGTHS/

ACTIVITY

TIMEFRAME

MEASUREMENT

WEAKNESSES Goal #1

Improve self-

Keep a journal to document

11/9/2019 -

Reviewing what I have

awareness

plans/thoughts every week

11/9/2020

written at the end of every

and relieve the mind to make

month to track the progress

room for new

of my work

information/ideas Do daily self-reflective

20/8/2019

exercises, such as yoga,

Better physical fitness, clearer peace of mind

walking or meditation Ask trusted friends/family

2/9/2019

for opinions of me (Wignall,

to a year later, compare

2019)

Take detailed personality

Ask same questions 6 months

comments 4/9/2019

Understand my true character

quizzes Goal #2

Improve team

Work less independently, be

leadership skills

more comfortable with group

with group, make decisions

activities

together, have open

9

25/8/2019

Actively converse/consult

discussions with each other Be a better listener

9/8/2019

Appreciate different people’s opinions and make sure I respond with no interruption or unnecessary input

Take up less responsibilities

3/9/2019

(Driskell, Goodwin, Salas &

eliminate freeloaders and

O’Shea, 2006) Goal #3

Maintain a healthy Be assertive

Split tasks equally to

groupthink 29/8/2019

Speaking up in group

level of self-

meetings and discussions,

confidence

voicing any adjustments needed or injustice within group Daily physical exercise, e.g.

20/8/2019

Better memory retention, clearer train of thought and

jogging, aerobics

focus, healthier lifestyle

Do hobbies/activities that

1/9/2019

Life enrichment, better

make me happy (Salyer,

harmony with mind and self,

Schubert & Chiaranai, 2012)

hence improved ability to think and make decisions

4. Stage Three - Feedback The feedback checklist form is attached under Appendix, where my chosen leader, Mr. Soe Oo, provided his thoughts on my leadership plan. While Mr. Soe Oo responded that 10

he did not observe much from my report that needed further clarification or adjustments, he contributed a few comments over the activities I am performing to achieve the three important goals.

He suggested that instead of reviewing my journal entries weekly (which was my initial plan), that I do so at the end of every month. Since a one-year timeline has been determined, weekly entries seem quite unrealistic should unexpected commitments and events of varying importance occur. Additionally, one’s progress can only shift marginally over the period of a week, while one month is a considerable length of time for goal development. Another comment was that for increasing my self-awareness, he suggested that I also take a personality or psychometric test, such as the Myers-Briggs test or Predictive Index, as they present accurate gauges of one’s character. He mentions that even with close friends, there may be personality biases or untruthful answers as they may fear being too harsh or offensive.

Moreover, in order to fluidly engage with each other as a group, he proposed that I sit down together and have an open discussion with all the members before the start of any project. According to his own experiences leading a team, this is of great help in clearing up doubts, reaching a common group norm and critical decision-making.

4.1 Adjustments to LDP

With my chosen leader’s feedback in mind, I have made adjustments in corrected red text and added in his suggestions to my leadership plan. Firstly, I have decided to review my 11

daily logs at the end of every month instead of checking it weekly, to give my goals a more expansive scope.

While I did not remove asking friends and family for their feedback as one of my activities – as I believe it will be helpful to see myself through the eyes of another person – I have added in taking personality tests under improving my self-awareness. I have also put in ‘have an open discussion’ under the goal of improving my leadership skills to get to know my group members better and have quicker group norming.

5. Conclusion With the analysis of Nelson Mandela’s leadership style and characteristics to guide my report, I have critically evaluated my own abilities as a potential leader. The application 12

of real-life theories and concepts into his character has greatly increased my understanding of what being a great leader truly means as well. Through the process of writing my leadership development plan, more self-awareness of my strengths has been achieved, as well successfully recognition of areas with room for improvement.

It is appropriately so that leadership does not possess one true meaning; it is, after all, a unique mixture of various dimensions. In order to truly be an effective and great leader, one should incorporate different leadership styles, be flexible enough to accommodate your followers – but firm enough to hold your own and lead – and maintain close interpersonal relationships for a loyal following. Ultimately, with enough time, practice and self-discipline, I believe that I will be able to cultivate all the skills necessary to pursue a career in the management sector in the future with enough experience to inspire and bring about greatness in others.

(2427) words

6. References

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Aliyu A., (2019), Impact of Effective Leadership in Organizational Performance, Vol.5, Issue.1, pp.15-25, January (2019). Accessed at: https://www.isroset.org/pub_paper/IJSRMS/3-IJSRMS-01656.pdf Gosling, J., Sutherland I., & Jones, S., (2012), Key Concepts in Leadership book

Pietersen, W., (2015), What Nelson Mandela Taught The World About Leadership, Leader To Leader, 2015(76), 60-66. Accessed at: https://doiorg.ezproxy.lib.rmit.edu.au/10.1002/ltl.20180 Stengel, R. (2008), Mandela: His 8 Lessons in Leadership Article Glad, B. & Blanton, R., (1997) F. W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela: A Study in Cooperative Transformational Leadership, Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 3, The Presidency in the World (Summer, 1997), pp. 565-590, Accessed at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/27551769 Gini, A., & Green, R. (2014). Three Critical Characteristics of Leadership: Character, Stewardship, Experience. Business And Society Review, 119(4), 435-446. Accessed at: doi: 10.1111/basr.12040

Conger, J. (1993). Max Weber’s conceptualization of charismatic authority: Its influence on organizational research. The Leadership Quarterly, 4(3-4), 277-288. Accessed at: doi: 10.1016/1048-9843(93)90035-r

Muswede, T.; Masvopo, D. T., (2018) The Role of Film Genre in Transformative Politics: An Ideological Documentary Analysis of Nelson Mandela: The Living Legend, Strategic Review for Southern Africa, Nov 2018, Vol. 40 Issue 2, p4-15. 12p.

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Lieberfeld, D. (2009). Lincoln, Mandela, and qualities of reconciliation-oriented leadership. Peace And Conflict: Journal Of Peace Psychology, 15(1), 27-47. Accessed at: doi: 10.1080/10781910802589857

Abraham, R. (1999). Emotional intelligence in organizations: A conceptualization. Genetic, Social & General Psychology Monographs, 125(2), 209-224. Schutte, N.S., Malouff, J.M., Bobik, c., Coston, T.D., Greeson, c., Jedlicka, C., Rhodes, E., & Wendorf, G. (2001). Emotional intelligence and interpersonal relations. The Journal ~fSocial Psychology, 141(4),523-536.

Reeves, A. (2005). Emotional Intelligence: Recognizing and Regulating Emotions. AAOHN Journal, 53(4), 172-176. Accessed at: doi: 10.1177/216507990505300407 Nick Wignall.com, (2019), 10 Ways to Improve Self-Awareness (With Examples), https://nickwignall.com/self-awareness/

Driskell, J., Goodwin, G., Salas, E., & O'Shea, P. (2006). What makes a good team player? Personality and team effectiveness. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, And Practice, 10(4), 249-271. Accessed at: doi: 10.1037/1089-2699.10.4.249

Salyer, J., Schubert, ...