Introduction
Leadership is the foundation for building innovative organizations and realizing bold ideas. This concept is very different from management but includes administrative and management skills. A leader has a unique set of skills, qualities, and competencies to consolidate resources and achieve goals. He or she knows how to inspire people and use strategic thinking to transform an organization in a challenging environment. Thus, leadership combines special skills and personality traits to convey its vision to followers.
An Ideal Leader
Leadership implies the presence of not only managerial skills and knowledge but also the influence of personality on followers. Koo and Park (2017) note that leaders’ “personalities and behaviors create a cascading effect, influencing top management teams, middle managers, and employees of the entire firm” (p. 1). Thus, the characteristics and traits of a leader are the most important factors that shape interactions and relationships within the company. Organizational leaders have a set of competencies that relate to different areas of both personal and professional nature. They refer to technical, interpersonal, managerial, individual, and leadership skills (AndriukaitienÄ— et al., 2017). The interaction of these competencies allows leaders not only to successfully inspire followers to achieve goals but also to organize the work process.
This assumption is supported by examples from various global industry leaders who are shaping an innovative technological and organizational environment. For instance, Steve Jobs is a transformational leader who has been able to bring change to both technology and organizational spheres. He was a visionary who was able to motivate people to implement innovative ideas (Wooi, 2021).
This ability to generate new ideas and rally people to be active in its implementation and to convince them of its significance is the primary quality of a leader. Leadership means bringing about change in the world around you, as well as in people’s lives, which Jobs has been able to do. In addition to his inspiring and visionary abilities, he also possessed a sufficient level of technical skill to translate ideas and teach his followers. Mentoring is essential for good leaders, as they also need to support their followers and provide them with the necessary knowledge.
One of the other important skills of leaders is decision-making skills, which are also based on their personal qualities such as self-confidence and strategic thinking. This competence allows leaders not only to promote their ideas but also to develop the organization in a competitive environment (Wooi, 2021).
For example, Jeff Bezos is able not only to focus employees not only on the company’s vision but also on the ongoing work to achieve it (Wooi, 2021). This trait requires the leader to be able to foresee the future and analyze the environment in order to implement the appropriate changes (Hallo et al., 2020). This compensation requires not only decisiveness but also the knowledge that would allow developing the most effective strategy. Without decision-making skills, a leader cannot be flexible enough to transform the company in difficult times.
In this regard, it is also important how leaders build relationships with their employees since much of the success of an organization depends on human resources and their management. In this regard, it is necessary not only for competent communication but also for attention to the personal qualities of employees, as well as the development of their professional skills. For example, Bill Gates, as a servant leader, is caring for people “by helping them personally and professionally instead of one’s interest” (Wooi, 2021, p. 59).
Thus, for him, the achievement of the ultimate goal lies through the empowerment of his subordinates and the expansion of their capabilities. This competence requires from a leader not only flexibility and creativity but also a high level of emotional intelligence. This commitment to the development of not only commercial projects but also related resources makes the leader inspiring for others.
Thus, the ideal leader has a sufficient level of technical skills and vision to create and develop new ideas. Determination and decision-making skills allow him or her to think strategically and adapt the organization to new conditions. He or she also knows how to work with people and invests in human resources using emotional intelligence. In general, a leader rallies followers and consolidates resources to implement an innovative idea through his personal and professional characteristics. In parallel with commercial activities, leaders also have a global impact on all areas of society.
Becoming a Leader
In my opinion, the formation of leaders in the first place requires the ability to learn constantly. It is extremely important for a leader to have relevant information not only in the technology but also in the social sphere because many different factors affect the current environment. I don’t think that specific training has a key impact on the development of leadership competencies. Nevertheless, the right environment can allow you to establish the necessary connections and acquire the necessary contacts, which you can later use in implementing the ideas. Networking, in this case, is an important part of a leader’s life since success is built precisely on the use of resources, including human resources. Constant collaboration with various actors will allow not only to obtain the necessary tools but also to acquire knowledge and skills.
Education for becoming a leader is necessary to acquire technical and so-called hard skills. These skills can be specialized knowledge in a certain area, such as IT. However, it is also important to have the administrative and managerial competencies to create an effective organization. Without special competencies in the field of business and marketing, a leader will not be able to build an effective system for the implementation of his idea. Of course, networking can help in this case since the leader can delegate these tasks to other people, but this type of management implies low innovation since the leader cannot directly influence the processes.
Additionally, hard skills allow a leader to act as a mentor, which increases the level of knowledge and competence of employees and makes them much more effective performers. They will be able not only to implement tasks but also to make decisions or propose ideas, which expands the scope for innovation within the company. Of course, it is also necessary to have a high level of emotional intelligence and communication skills in order to train followers successfully.
Thus, a leader needs to constantly develop not only in the technical sphere but also in communication. In this process, the work on the character of the leader plays a key role since all people can have unpleasant traits that harm their interaction with others. It is important for a leader to observe not only the followers but also himself in order to mark the points that need improvement (Seibert et al., 2016). Additionally, it is necessary to constantly evaluate the effectiveness of training programs and monitor the improvement of both your skills and the knowledge of followers.
My Personal Leadership Development
I am currently on the path to developing my leadership competencies. In terms of personal qualities and attitudes, I have a sufficient set of characteristics for successful leadership. First and foremost, I consider uncertainty and change as integral parts of modern systems, which gives me the potential to maintain an advantage in the future in a complex environment (Hallo et al., 2020). However, my innovative vision is underdeveloped, as I strive to optimize resources more than to implement ideas.
This point is the weakest side of my personal set of leadership qualities since I still cannot effectively search for ways to develop in conditions of limited resources. However, when dealing with people, I rely on personal influence, not on bestowed authority. This point is the most powerful of my qualities, as it emphasizes that I constantly strive to improve my competencies so that people can see me as a role model and be inspired by me.
At the same time, I lack flexibility in more abstract skills as persuasion and conceptualization. Successful company management also requires imagination, which, when combined with administrative skills, results in high results. At the moment, I rely more on managerial competencies than on more situational technics, preferring analysis and implementation of suitable tools. The leader needs to have a developed intuition to note changes in the environment, as well as to evaluate them.
In dealing with employees, I tend to work with them and develop their personal skills rather than delegating tasks. This point allows me to be an excellent leader when it comes to human resource management. I can not only inspire them but also act as a mentor or give my advice in difficult situations. I also work with them to achieve a goal, using my technical skills rather than observing them from the outside.
However, the choice of employees is my weakness, as I rely on their qualifications without evaluating potential or personal qualities. This trait can negatively affect the ability to notice and develop talented followers who could make a significant contribution to the organization in the future. However, the direction of the team in completing tasks is my strength, as I am acting as a role model and inspiring followers. This factor allows me to develop more trusting and intimate relationships with my employees within the framework of which we work together to achieve a common goal. This aspect has a positive effect on building stronger and more lasting relationships, where each member of the team feels significant.
I also have a fairly high level of decision-making, communication, and performance evaluation skills. I strive to create a system that inspires employees for continuous development and improvement, which in the long term allows us to create a highly qualified team of specialists. Additionally, being determined and ambitious allows me to make quite risky decisions that can be key to making the right change. However, I need to develop in the field of environmental analysis, as I currently have difficulty taking into account many factors. I use tactical skills more than strategic skills, which can negatively affect the long-term development of the organization.
My biggest weakness lies in the competencies of working with the resources of the company and the environment. In particular, at the present time, I see changes as a response to any external challenges without feeling their constant need. In terms of human resources, I also rely on current goals without considering the potential of the candidates and the company. I am more inclined to make decisions based on statistics and facts rather than often relying on my own feelings. The orientation towards procedures and programs can have a negative impact on the flexibility of the system that I am about to build since this approach does not react quickly enough to changes. Thus, I need to assess potential versus existing factors better and also prioritize flexibility over stability.
When it comes to setting and achieving goals, I have the right perspective for a leader. I emphasize the result, not the process of achieving it, and I also value enthusiasm, motivation, and interest. It is important for the leader to focus also on the processes that accompany the business, such as social change or the impact on those who are at fault. It is important for me what kind of impact my activity will bring not only to me but also to other people. Moreover, I consider the activity not only from a commercial point of view, as a more complex process with many components. However, I also need to focus less on creating order and more on developing an inspiring atmosphere in the organization.
Where I will be
One area of continuous ​​improvement that I should focus on is strategic thinking and planning. I need to pay more attention to forecasting the future than assessing present events. This point is also related to work with human resources, in which I should think about the prospects of candidates rather than their existing merits. Improvement in this area will enable me to create an organization that is flexible and innovative.
Young and ambitious employees will also be able to generate unexpected ideas or ways to implement them, which will prevent the company from stagnating. I intend to spend more time observing the environment and analyzing the processes that take place in it. This will allow me to begin to recognize patterns and predict possible events, as well as mark opportunities that I could utilize. Additionally, I will focus on a holistic consideration of any issues, including opposing opinions, as this can give me insight. Overall, in order to be successful, I need to be more open about the diversity of ideas that exists in the world.
I would like to acquire courage and more self-awareness as leadership traits. I need courage in order not to be afraid to explore new territories for potential opportunities. This characteristic will also allow me to apply solutions that would seem too risky to me more boldly. Improved self-awareness will allow me to use my intuition and rely more on my feelings and will also increase my self-confidence. It is also important to note that I constantly need to develop my technical skills in the chosen field. Additionally, it is necessary to grow in the management area constantly and to apply administrative tools effectively.
References
AndriukaitienÄ—, R., Voronkova, V., Kyvliuk, O., Maksimenyuk, M., & Sakun, A. (2017). Theoretical insights into expression of leadership competencies in the process of management. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 15(1), 220-226. Web.
Hallo, L., Nguyen, T., Gorod, A., & Tran, P. (2020). Effectiveness of leadership decision-making in complex systems. Systems, 8(1), 1-21. Web.
Koo, H., & Park, C. (2017). Foundation of leadership in Asia: Leader characteristics and leadership styles review and research agenda. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 35, 697-718. Web.
Seibert, S. E., Sargent, L. D., Kraimer, M. L., & Kiazad, K. (2016). Linking developmental experiences to leader effectiveness and promotability: The mediating role of leadership self-efficacy and mentor network. Personnel Psychology, 70(2), 357-397. Web.
Wooi, C. T. (2021). Leader versus manager: Lessons from top business executives. Annals of Management and Organization Research, 2(1), 53-65. Web.