The questionnaire presented and the reflection to it are pushed in reflection on own leadership vision. At the moment, the critical values for me are self-development, health, close relationships with family and friends, justice, self-realization, career, success, and other aspects. The values and their priority may change over some time (Sagiv & Roccas, 2017). Nevertheless, now they determine my goals in life – I want to achieve self-realization and success in my career, protect justice, and at the same time take care of the family. They also influence my leadership by highlighting certain qualities, directions for development, and formatting leadership style.
People’s values and goals also affect what kind of vision they can create and how articulate it. Leaders must be very persuasive to attract and convince people to share the same goals and values. The critical factor in persuasion for me is my belief in the advantages of a particular vision, and only then I feel comfortable with influencing others, but at the same time, I try not to press too hard. As Northouse (2021) notes, symbols can help transmit vision and serve as another persuasion factor. My ability to create a symbol is rather average – I can use verbal ones in speech but have difficulty making a visual image.
Action
I scored 28 points in the Leadership Vision Questionnaire, which corresponds to the moderate range. I agree with the result as I feel the need to gain additional knowledge and skills to become a good leader. Ways to improve my abilities include theory and practice on public speaking and people management. I also need a lot of experience and knowledge in my field of activity to be able to highlight values, prioritize and set goals. In my actions as a leader, I want to act guided by the values of honesty, justice, respect, and kindness to people.
I was a member of the school newspaper team and was responsible for writing part of the articles. Even such a small team should have a mission and vision. The newspaper was mainly entertaining and was not very popular. If I were a leader in the publishing office, my vision of the newspaper would be to be interesting and valuable to readers, highlight world events, and act as an agent for protecting students’ interests. For example, articles could be devoted to ecology, exciting professions, and such opportunities as internships for students.
Observation Exercise
For this exercise, I attended a meeting at my place of work. For the observations’ discussion, it is essential to note that I work in a military office, and the behavior of leaders and employees in this area is significantly different from others. For example, a precise vision and goals setting are characteristic of military leaders (Stănciulescu & Beldiman, 2019). Moreover, a clear vision is part of strategic communication that helps military leaders succeed (Norwich University, 2019). During my observation, the group discussed the goals sequentially and disassembled each into sub-items until they became fully understood. At the same time, it was clear for me how values and goals are connected, that is, what served as the motive for goals establishment during discussion.
Having a hierarchy in positions and strict discipline in the military sphere, the distribution of employees by talent is essential when hiring. As a result, tasks and goals were allocated considering personnel resources and opportunities with some challenges to motivate development. The leader clearly explained what he expected from employees and gave feedback about previous tasks. The latter was also the reward part since recognition of achievements always acts as motivation.
The working team established rules of behavior – some of them are part of the culture, and some are the consequences of interactions. I note the opportunity to ask my colleague for advice or help and the rule to resolve potential conflicts early among the positive norms. Negative norms are manifested due to a strict hierarchy – sometimes, one can observe neglect from a colleague with more experience or a more responsible position. Leaders try to promote positive norms and do not support negative ones by setting their example. They also maintain cohesion by encouraging collaboration among colleagues, but strict order slightly divides employees, and cohesiveness can be estimated at 3.
Organizational Climate
Using the Organizational Climate Questionnaire, I estimated the climate of my current place of work. Four of the five points correspond to the high range, albeit its lower limit, and the construction of cohesiveness received a high moderate rating. Using the assessment and my observations, I would call the workplace atmosphere quite productive, but there are areas for improvement, especially between colleagues. This climate determines the relationship between leadership and employees. Their main characteristics are the establishment of clear expectations from employees.
Notably, the vision of the leader also affects the health of the organization. For example, when a leader uses intimidation and pressure on employees, they experience stress and burnout, negatively affecting their work. In turn, with mentoring and positive leadership, employees reveal their potential, and trust is established in relationships. This environment has a beneficial impact on work processes and the achievement of goals. However, with the excessive softness of the leader, some employees may not exert enough effort to fulfill their duties. Vision in our organization is characterized by a clear definition of goals and objectives. At the same time, the leader plays a significant role in its establishment and implementation.
References
Northouse, P. G. (2021). Introduction to leadership: Concepts and practice (5th ed.). Sage Publications.
Norwich University. (2019). What is military leadership? Learn more about this career path. Norwich University Online. Web.
Sagiv, L., & Roccas, S. (2017). What personal values are and what they are not: Taking a cross-cultural perspective. In: S. Roccas & L. Sagiv (Eds.), Values and behavior (pp. 3-13). Springer, Cham. Web.
Stănciulescu, R., & Beldiman, E. (2019). The issue of leadership styles in the military organization. Land Forces Academy Review, 24(1), 54-60. Web.