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

@Heather225

1. Are leaders born or made?

Leaders are made. We can acquire them by learning. Taking small steps every day. That is how one learns, practices, and masters skills.

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

i. I am a bit indecisive so decision-making is something I would like to work upon.

ii. Patience is another such thing I want to work on.

iii. Management of time and energy. I tend to waste both in various unnecessary activities. I would like to avoid 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?

Firstly, I will make sure I understand what the situation and conflicts are about so I don't sound biased or a person who doesn't know anything but is only trying to micromanage the team while I try to resolve the conflict. Secondly, I would conduct a meeting, allow them to voice their concerns and as we follow, we would find a solution accepted by everyone.

1. Are leaders born or made?

I think it is both ways. While some could be natural born leaders ,some leaders are made as well.

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

I need to work on my communication , decision making and self esteem skills.

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 will see that teamwork and communication skills ensues during the conflict and everyone's feelings and thoughts are taken into consideration.

@Heather225

1. Are leaders born or made?

Leaders are made. Leadership is a set of skills we learn with communication, problem-solving, critical thinking and a host of other skill-sets.

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

Balance, firmness, and scheduling. I tend to do a lot in bursts, and I would like to change that to be more consistent and spread out. Additionally, I have a tendency to be too soft with individuals who often miss deadlines, I should be more firm and remind them of expectations they have agreed to. Additionally, my schedule tends to be messy because I don't plan my weeks. I would like to change how I do work.

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 go to each person to get their opinion on what the conflict is about the responsibility share so that we can better divide the responsibilities, as well as hold others accountable for their commitments, offering help to those who need it.

@Heather225

1. Are leaders born or made?

Leaders are definitely made! It takes a lot of work to become a leader - as talented as you are - and it takes even more practice to master effective leadership skills!

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

I need to work on setting lower expectations and being able to adapt to the needs of the team as well as my team mates. I'll also need to work on being patient and allowing my team adequate time to fulfill their tasks instead of having the urge to do everything myself for the sake of efficiency.

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 will talk to the members calmly and listen to their opinions. I will then talk to the members directly involved in the conflict and see what their concerns are. I will also try to re-delegate the responsibilities to other team members or extend the project's deadline and confirm with everyone so that we're all on the same page and feel equally comfortable with our respective tasks.

@Heather225

Next step, below in the comments of this discussion, share
1. Are leaders born or made?

My understanding is that we are all born with the ability to become leaders innately, but that role is not "unlocked" until we go through the process of learning to become a leader to unlock our potential. We acquire skills through teaching, learning, and observation.

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

Decisiveness: I can definitely be quite indecisive and take a lot of time to make a decision with the fear of what the outcome would be, but I need to learn how to make tough decisions in a reasonable amount of time while analyzing the choices in the best manner.

Flexibility: I think I need to learn how better to adapt to situations in which the outcome was not what I expected or to take others' ideas/concerns into consideration when coming up with a plan/goal.

Communication: I often avoid hard and tough conversations instead of just approaching others and having those important conversations. I need to learn how to get better at tackling these conversations in a professional manner.

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 talk to each member of the team to hear everyone's thoughts and concerns and gather information about the conflict. I would then have a group conversation in which I can lead and mediate the conversation to approach a solution and reach a fair delegation of work that everyone can be satisficed with. If a decision cannot be made that is unanimously decided upon, as leader I will make the executive decision to delegate what I think is fair based on everyone else's accounts and based on their roles/skills they have to offer to the project.

@Heather225

1. Are leaders born or made?

Leaders are made. You don't have to born as a leader. You can be a leader by growing and motivating others

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

Communication- no matter how many people would admire my boldness and not sugar coating. They are people who do get offended because I suffer in producing my words or phrasing it the way a little less harsh.

Procrastination- I am careless sometimes in my responsibilities.

Can't think of third

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 will first tell them to calm and ask why do they think they suit the best. And then I'll ask whether the other agrees. I'll try to create a bond of understanding. And then give them turns to take up that responsibility or propose similar to it

@Heather225 1. Are leaders born or made?

Leader are made. One can acquire leadership skills through training. We can mold ourselves through learning the right set of qualities.

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

Resilience, Conflict resolution and Adaptability

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 will recognize the problem and I will try to find common grounds between the team members. I will try to find a peaceful solution which will be of benefit to the organization, team members and the client/customers.

@Heather225

1. Are leaders born or made?

“people can become leaders through the process of teaching, learning, and observation.” I personally believe that leaders are made. While some people can have natural leader instincts, I believe everyone can learn through the process of teaching, learning, and observation.

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

Three skills that I need to work on are:

a.) Decision making

b.) Being directive when appropriate

c.) Setting boundaries

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?

As a leader, I would approach the situation by inviting the team members to a meeting where we can all talk openly about the issue and see if there is another alternative to the conflicting situation.

@Heather225

1. leaders are made-- not born ! i believe that when we are born, we are all kind of on the same level on everything. the skills we develop depend on our influences and the things we are introduced to when we are young as well as what we take likings to :) everyone can be a leader, but some take more time to develop their leadership skills than others !

2. i need to work on patience, more courage to speak up about my own input, and pushing others more to do their part as well when they don't end up doing it. i get a bit scared to do so at times and i think work should be shared equally so it's fair for the whole group :)

3. i would make sure everyone's getting the same amount of work. i'd ask what everyone needs to work on and i'll do my best to split it equally while also listening to everyone's opinions. as long as everything is fair-- that's what matters the most ! if one person isn't doing their part, i'll do my best to urge them to do so. however, if they don't, i'll try to take the work myself if i'm available or i'll attempt to split it. i'd also notify someone about it so that person doesn't really get away with it.

@Heather225

1. Are leaders born or made?

Leaders are made, not born. Leadership skills are practiced and earned. Skills like conflict resolution, organization, and collaborative problem-solving need to be practice. Also, confidence is a leadership trait that must be built up.

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

I need to work on resilience, decision-making (I’m indecisive sometimes), and communication.

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 let people on both sides of the conflict express their perspectives on the issue. Then, I would propose some solutions (e.g. changed roles, a shared to-do list, etc) and have their opinions on it. Ideally, both sides would be able to compromise, but if not, I would step in and make the final decision based on what I think is fair, and then clearly communicate expectations to the team.