Course 4. Foundational Leadership Principles: (Discussion #2) Learning Leadership Skills

@Heather225

1. Are leaders born or made?

I feel bothways, some naturally have the leadership instinct , while others develop these overtime with consistent efforts .

2. Identify 3 skills that you need to work upon? Direct communication , overcoming self doubt , time management

3. Imagine, you are a project lead and there is a conflict among your team members over responsibility share. As a leader, how will you approach the situation to resolve the concern?

Conflicts are bound to happen in a group , the good part is everyone is passionate about the same cause and maybe it's their enthusiasm that's causing a rift , I would remind them the actual cause of the project and why it's important to work as a team , I would reach out to them and listen to their concerns and ask them about what is a possible solution as per them, then from the feedback and brainstorming, I'd divide the tasks equally and accordingly so that no one feels overburdened or neglected .I would also encourage them to work as a team and be supportive of each other , as together we can reach our goals faster .

4. Please reply to 3 of your peers in the thread!

Done

@Heather225

1. Are leaders born or made?
Most of the time they are made by taking many small steps toward a big goal.

The other part of leaders that are born into leadership are royal families.
2. Identify 3 skills that you need to work upon?
I need to work on my time management skills because I forget about time and then get in trouble for it but I never learn my lesson. I also need to work on my motivation because most of the time I lack any. The last thing I need to work on is going ahead and doing things before they are asked of me.
3. Imagine, you are a project lead and there is a conflict among your team members over responsibility share. As a leader, how will you approach the situation to resolve the concern?
I would have a meeting to gather how everyone feels about they situation and then I would state all of the task that need to be completed and divide them up or another way to divide them up which will be decided by the whole team!
4. Please reply to 3 of your peers in the thread!

Done!

@Heather225

1. Are leaders born or made?

Generally made, but you can always be born with some leader personality traits, however, if you do not train them or learn from them then you will end up wasting that potential, so you'd still have to learn, therefore leaders are made!

2. Identify 3 skills that you need to work upon?

Professionalism: Vital for leading any kind of group.

Open mind: very important to take into account every opinion

Patience: achieving things as a leader does not happen overnight
3. Imagine, you are a project lead and there is a conflict among your team members over responsibility share. As a leader, how will you approach the situation to resolve the concern?

I would speak to both parties and get to the root of the problem, then I would find a solution with them making both parties happy

@Heather225

communication, problem-solving, decision making, conflict resolution, clear vision, integrity, emotional intelligence, listening, empathy, adaptability, resilience, etc.

1. Are leaders born or made?

There are definitely some inherent leadership qualities which explain why not everyone is a leader. However, social factors play a significant role as well. Hence, I would say it's both.

2. Identify 3 skills that you need to work upon.

Adaptability, Decision-making, and Patience.

3. Imagine, you are a project lead and there is a conflict among your team members over responsibility share. As a leader, how will you approach the situation to resolve the concern?

I would call a one-to-one meeting with each team member, followed by a team meeting. Each person's skill set would be evaluated and they would be delegated tasks accordingly. This would resolve any conflict over responsibility share, and ensure accountability.

@Heather225

1. Are leaders born or made?

There are definitely some inherent leadership qualities which explain why not everyone is a leader. However, social factors play a significant role as well. Hence, I would say it's both.

2. Identify 3 skills that you need to work upon.

Adaptability, Decision-making, and Patience.

3. Imagine, you are a project lead and there is a conflict among your team members over responsibility share. As a leader, how will you approach the situation to resolve the concern?

I would call a one-to-one meeting with each team member, followed by a team meeting. Each person's skill set would be evaluated and they would be delegated tasks accordingly. This would resolve any conflict over responsibility share, and ensure accountability.

@Heather225

1. Are leaders born or made?

I am 100% positive that leaders are made. One learns and improves his/her leadership through his/her personal experiences as a leader, as a member, and also through leadership programs like the 7 Cups LDP program. These experiences all help one to become a more effective leader.

2. Identify 3 skills that you need to work upon?

The 3 skills I need to work upon is charisma, communication, and feedback. I sometimes lose focus on what needs to be done by becoming to obsessed with meeting everyone's needs. Sometimes I just need to have the courage to stand up and direct some instructions. Also, I am not a talkative person but I need to communicate with my members and hold discussions when necessary. Lastly, I don't think I have a lot of experience in giving and recieving feedback in a leader position so I would also like to improve on that.

3. Imagine, you are a project lead and there is a conflict among your team members over responsibility share. As a leader, how will you approach the situation to resolve the concern?

I would first hold a discussion where me and my members can patiently talk our thoughts and opinions. I would focus on finding a point for compromisation. If the discussion gets too emotional, I will remove some members from the discussion location and separately calm themselves. The result of the discussion will usually be the redistribution of roles I and would contribute a lot in the decision-making process to make sure everybody can meet their expectations inside the team.

@Heather225

1. Are leaders born or made?

I think it's a bit of both.

On the one hand, some people are born with natural aptitudes that help them be successful as leader candidate. For example, they were born with a very creative mind allow them to see innovative ways to do things that others has not yet thought of.

On the other hand, people can grow into leader through life's experiences and hardwork too. The more you experienced both success and failures (especially failures help build resilience) you would have more knowledge on how to avoid same mistakes to happen, you would find ways to work through difficulties and hardship. People will then feel comfortable to follow and trust your guidedance.

2. Identify 3 skills that you need to work upon?

1. Balance high wam and high expectaions. I found it hard sometimes to be both critical and be nice at the same time. I used to think that if I'm too nice or easy, my feedbacks would not be taken seriously, and then I would choose to become harsh and put pressure on the team. In order to tackle this, I would be more mindful of my conversations with the team to see where jokes and warms conversations are needed. When things get abit stressful, instead of being stiff and serious, putting more pressure on the team, I would encourage them and sooth them out, and make personal notes to give critical feedbacks later.

2. Manage our time better: In order to not get myself in stressful situations with the team in the first place, it's important to manage our time better. For example, we can practice to spend most of our tasks in the 2nd Quadrant (important but not urgent). In the past, my team was often fall into the 1st Quadrant, everything seems so important and urgent at the same time! This can be very stressful in the long run.

3. Give Constructive Feedbacks and be aware of other's weather system: Combining what I learnt from course 2 and course 3 of LDP, I think I have received some effective communication tools, such as start and finish the feedback with a question, be very specific with clear example when giving a feedback; Being aware of other's weather system to see if they are in a suitable state to receive the feedback is also important.

3. Imagine, you are a project lead and there is a conflict among your team members over responsibility share. As a leader, how will you approach the situation to resolve the concern?

I think the first thing I would do, if the time is allowed, is to listen to each individual seperatly and privately and give them enough comfortability to express themselves fully. Sometimes, people hide or deny their true thoughts in group settings. I would ask them what would they prefer to do and why, what are they finding unfair,...etc. I would make sure each individual feel heard and validated. After gathering all the informations from each team members, I would first come up with a few new options for change by myself. After that, I would hold a group meeting in which I remind the team of our visions and common goals, give a few praise and encouragement where appropriate. Maybe make a few jokes here and there to diffuse the tension in the room. Then, I would present my options and ask the team what their thought or options are.

4. Please reply to 3 of your peers in the thread!

Done

1. Are leaders born or made?

Leaders are made because people need to learn how to work with others and incorporate their personalities into the group work setting in order to make the work go smoothly.
2. Identify 3 skills that you need to work upon?

I need to work harder on taking others' feedback positively without looking down on myself, speaking up more frequently in groups, and work to bring the members who do not meet the expectations up to the group's expectations as a whole without leaving them behind.
3. Imagine, you are a project lead and there is a conflict among your team members over responsibility share. As a leader, how will you approach the situation to resolve the concern?

I would ask each member what their strengths are and which parts of the project they are confident they can do well at. Then I can reorganize the responsibility share again to hopefully meet their expectations. If not, I can ask the rest of the group to vote on who they believe would suit the part more than the other. I would also encourage them to look at each other's parts even though it's not their own so they can give feedback and help in any other way.

1. Are leaders born or made?

A: There leaders that are born and leaders that are made. It is because my classmate, she rarely studies the social work book, yet she excells on the quizzes, and she does not have to do the hw, and yet she has very high grades.
2. Identify 3 skills that you need to work upon?

A:
3. Imagine, you are a project lead and there is a conflict among your team members over responsibility share. As a leader, how will you approach the situation to resolve the concern?

@Heather225

1. Are leaders born or made?

Leaders are made since learning to become a leader is a lifelong process. It takes much more and requires us to go that extra mile and become better every single day. It requires us to inculcate a myriad of skillsets and even build upon them and strengthen ourselves.

2. Identify 3 skills that you need to work upon?

Three skills that I need to work upon are:

Organising myself effectively

Not leaving the work for the last minute

Learning more every single day

3. Imagine, you are a project lead and there is a conflict among your team members over responsibility share. As a leader, how will you approach the situation to resolve the concern?

In case there is this kind of conflict, I will at first understand why the conflict arose in the first place. Then I will bring in the team members and ask for their opinions. I will make sure that no one feels as though they are oppressed and give everyone the responsibility to handle the work according to their capability and motivate my team to do better in the long run.

4. Please reply to 3 of your peers in the thread!

Sure!