[Archived] Course 4. Foundational Leadership Principles: (Discussion #1) Understanding your Leadership Style
Please note: In order to successfully complete Course 4, you must respond to this post. Your comment/response should answer the questions/shows that you completed the given activity (if any). Read the post carefully and follow the instructions given. Save your responses to a document that you can later refer to. You will need to copy/paste your response in the course evaluation form at the end of each course to show that you have done the work and to refresh your memory.
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Hello everyone,
If you are reading this, it means you have come a long way in your leadership training. Kudos to you for all the effort and resilience you have shown! It is amazing how you all are open to learning and adapting to new environments: the environment of leadership!
Before we zoom in and talk more about learning and adapting, lets zoom back out first and talk about how you feel about leadership. Regardless of how you see yourself, there is a leader within you. The one who visualizes how things could have run in a better way if you were in the leading spot. Leading spot here means:
A desire for change;
Believing you got the abilities to make it happen;
Visualizing success while keeping in mind the bigger picture.
To lead others effectively, you need a good blend of 4 broad competencies area
If you have a surplus amount of knowledge on how to lead but not a good emotional quotient (EQ), you will find it hard to tackle leadership challenges. Having a good EQ is as important as having the right skills, and if you have skills but not the right attitude and values, you won't be able to achieve your full potential as a leader. Your attitude and values impact how others view you as a leader. We need an alignment in all 4 areas.
You have your very own leadership style based on your competency level. So, the next step is to label your original leadership style. Because you can switch to any leadership style with deliberate effort, thought, and adaptation.
Daniel Goleman categorizes leadership approaches in 6 broad styles. Authoritative, Coaching, Affiliative, and Democratic help one to promote harmony and positive outcomes while Coercive and Pacesetting styles of leadership need to be used in specific situations as they could cause tension.
Your original style could be one of them. So for the purpose of this course, we are going to use a leadership style test to help you identify your core competencies. In brief, we are using the test here to help you identify your leadership approach. So, when you know how you approach an event, you could think and put efforts to bring a change in it. It will allow you to polish your strengths and focus to improve in other different areas as well.
Lets get started!
- Please take the leadership style test here: https://www.energir.com/blogue/en/at-work/quiz-what-kind-of-leader-are-you/
Next step, below in the comments of this discussion, share
1. What is your leadership style?
2. What is one thing you learned about yourself?
3. What is one thing you would like to improve upon?
4. Please reply to 3 of your peers in this thread!
After fulfilling the requirements of this post, please check out the next post here! You must take part in the brainstorming/activities given in all of these posts to successfully complete the program.
This post is brought to you by the Leadership Development Program Team, find out more information about the program here.
@Heather225
Thank you for the incredible post H!
Next step, below in the comments of this discussion, share
Apparently I am an affiliative leader!
2. What is one thing you learned about yourself?
I learned, that I focus a lot on team work. That I want everyone to work together, instead of against each other. And that I always want to satisfy everyone. But thinking about it, it does really seem to reflect me!
3. What is one thing you would like to improve upon?
I can't always satisfy everyone. I would love to, but sometimes it is simply impossible. I want to learn to accept that.
Hey you! Yes you! I wish you a really good day! 💜
@MelodyoftheOcean
Awww Mel, what a lovely type of leader you are! I can understand wanting everyone to work well together and how hard it can be when conflicts arise.
@Heather225
Leadership style ~ Affiliative
I have learned that mygreatest strength lies in my ability to ease tensions or motivate all my team members during difficult periods , even getting people who are accustomed to working alone to work together instead.
I would like to improve on my time management skills
@PhoenixTears5972
It's great that you have bundles of empathy and can support your team in this way!
Whew, time management is a big one. I agree
@Heather225
1. What is your leadership style?
I am a democratic leader
2. What is one thing you learned about yourself?
I like to arrange meetings apparently! I also learnt that I do prioritise getting everyone's unput and making sure everyone has an opportunity to speak and contribute.
3. What is one thing you would like to improve upon?
I have a lot of belief and enthusiasm for other people but I need to develop the same kindness for myself too.
@gentleFox20
It's often easier to give advice and believe in others. But I'm sure that you can learn to do that regarding yourself as well. I wish you all the best with that!
@gentleFox20
Being kind to ourselves is so important, maybe you could try treating yourself as a friend/team member and asking yourself how you would treat them in a situation?
@gentleFox20
Almost we have same contents. Great!
We had similar answers for this one despite being different types of leaders :o
@Heather225
My leadership style is “democratic leader”.
I learned that I like to organize meetings to consult team members or partners before making decisions. I am good at listening and drawing ideas out of people. I focus a lot on creativity and innovation.
I often feel like my ideas aren’t recognized based purely on how ‘good’ or ‘smart’ they are, and I have been working on (but still need to improve further on) finding the right people to believe in my idea, and convincing them to believe in my idea.
@Glue
i like that you learned you were good at listening to others, that will make you a great team leader here on 7 cups because that is the idea of course:)
@Glue
I hope, that you'll find a lot of people who believe in your ideas! Being creative and innovative are such great skills. I hope, you can find opportunities to use these talents!
@Glue
I like your learning, Glue! Very profound
@Heather225
1. What is your leadership style?
Affiliate
2. What is one thing you learned about yourself?
Encouraging relationships and having them help work together as a better effective team!
3. What is one thing you would like to improve upon?
Trying not so much on satisfying my team member, but helping them satisfy themselves in their work, satisfying people too much sometimes gets in the way of also focusing on myself to.
@magicalOcean594
Helping team-members to love what they are doing is definitely a great plan! We do best, what we like to do...
@magicalOcean594
That's great you want to work on helping them grow and finding satisfication in their work.
@Heather225
1. What is your leadership style?
2. What is one thing you learned about yourself?
I have learned that, according to this test, I have a strength in helping people work together.
3. What is one thing you would like to improve upon?
I struggle with letting go of control, which is crucial if you want to work in a team successfully. At the moment, I set really high expectations and when others, that I delegated work to, struggle to meet these, I tend to do it myself. I'm aware that this isn't helpful, and I'm working on putting trust into others.
@audienta
I get that - As we've already learnt in the course, setting high expectations are important, but sometimes we need to be a bit kinder on ourselves, as well as others, Our best is always enough (:
I'm glad that you reflect on what your strength is and what you struggle with.
Your self awareness is really important for you and your team.
I understand that expectations that are too high can be stressful
@Heather225
I am an affiliative leader.
Something I learned about myself is that my greatest strength lies in motivating and easing tension within my team.
I have done leadership tasks before, and although I like a participative leadership, constantly asking my team what they think, I think the lack of someone taking the lead is sometimes my weakness, expectations maybe need to be set.
It sounds great to learn what your strength or weaknesses as a leader is...
And yeah, I understand that expectations need to be set
@SparklingSeashells well said. Wonderful answer
@Heather225
1. What is your leadership style? I am a democratic leader.
2. What is one thing you learned about yourself? My leadership is based on collective information, always communicating with the team.
Happy to learn this quality of mine.
3. What is one thing you would like to improve upon? Though I work on collective information. I shouldn't be too much relying on my team members as at times we have to believe and rely on our self as at crucial stages this may come handy.
Wow, it looks like you're happy to learn about your leadership qualities!
I'm glad you realize that you shouldn't be relying too much on your team members.
It's great to know that thing about yourself!
@LoveTracker
Great learning!
1. Affiliative leader
2. I am more focused on relationships between people and I understand what my team and partners needs.
3. I rarely become a leader but if I become a leader one day, I want to communicate better with my team.
@Aileen1114117
I am also an affiliative leader and I feel the same about wanting to improve my communication <3 We have got this together 🎀