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The Resolute LeaderJaseudia KillionPADM 7607Public Management and LeadershipLeadership Style PaperMarch 3, 2014The Resolute Leader According to the 8 Dimensions of Leadership, there are eight categories in which a given person can be categorized by taking an assessment. These eight dimensions are Energizing, Pioneering, Affirming, Inclusive, Humble, Deliberate, Resolute, and Commanding. The assessment is completed using the DiSC model which has four basic quadrants in which the eight leadership dimensions fall-Dominance, Influence, Conscientiousness, and Steadiness. 012065000The Disc ModelThe DiSC model is further broken into two axes: The North-South Axis and The West-East Axis. The North Axis leaders tend to enjoy fast paced work environments and are more outspoken. The South Axis leaders tend to be more cautious with decision-making and are more reflective (Sugarman, Scullard, & Wilhelm, 2011).The West Axis leaders tend to ask more questions and are more skeptical especially when it comes to new plans or ideas. The East Axis leaders are more accepting of new plans or ideas and are warmer, friendly (Sugarman et al., 2011).The Resolute leadership style falls in the middle of The North-South Axis, straddling the fence. This means this leader may possess characteristics of both axes: preferring fast paced environments and being more outspoken than the style to is immediate left-the Deliberate leader, while also being cautious and reflective like the Deliberate leader. Along The West-East Axis, the Resolute leader is definitely questioning and skeptical of anything new. Resolute leaders also tend to be more objective, possess higher standards for self and others, and love to solve problems. The resolute leader is one who is willing to speak up, asking questions to gain a better understanding of anything new. This leader loves efficiency and tackles challenges directly (Sugarman et al., 2011). StrengthsCompetitive: A competitive streak allows the Resolute leader to accomplish tasks and goals because she always wants to be the best. A fear of being inadequate fuels this competitive spirit (Sugarman et al., 2011).Problem Solver: Problems are just another challenge or opportunity to fix something for this leadership type. Being results driven makes problem-solving fun for the Resolute leader (Sugarman et al., 2011).Ability to Identify Weaknesses: Because of natural skepticism a resolute leader has the ability to identify potential problem areas or faults with any plan or idea (Sugarman et al., 2011). Holds Others Accountable: Because of such high standards for oneself and others, Resolute leaders tend to hold people accountable for their actions, especially failure (Sugarman et al., 2011).High Standards: Resolute leaders, because of their location on the axis, maintain a balance between speed and quality. These leaders hold all things and people to a higher standard tending to find those incompetent who don’t meet these standards (Sugarman et al., 2011).Outspoken: These leaders often speak up when there is something they don’t understand or when they feel that tough questions need to be addressed. These leaders are very direct when giving feedback (Sugarman et al., 2011).Overcomes Obstacles: Resolute leaders love to tackle challenges head on and see them as a great way to push forward. Obstacles often drive a resolute leader to do her best job (Sugarman et al., 2011).Separates Emotions from Issues: These leaders often take out all feelings in a professional setting, and try to be more objective focusing on the issue at hand. Taking out emotions allows the Resolute leader to be more objective with decision making (Sugarman et al., 2011).WeaknessesSome of the Resolute leaders best qualities can also be negative. Some qualities can present some limitations on a Resolute leader which are examined below:High Standards: Since when is holding someone to a high standard a bad thing? Well when one feels that her standards are the only ones of importance. Resolute leaders hold others to standards and ideas of what a resolute leader thinks is right, easily labeling those who don’t meet standards as inadequate or incompetent. In fact, Resolute leaders have ideas about how things “should” be or how people “should” behave that are often unfairly projected onto others (Sugarman et al., 2011).Naturally Skeptical: Being naturally skeptical can cause a Resolute leader to shut out any new ideas or stifle the innovations or inputs of others in a setting. Resolute leaders must remember that at times there are several ways to get the job done, and must learn to choose battles when being picky about the process. Different strokes work for different folks (Sugarman et al., 2011).Separates Emotions from Issues: Resolute leaders don’t actually like displays of emotions in the professional setting. This can make a leader unapproachable. One has to remember that people are tied to issues and to try showing some compassion. This can also make a leader not be much of a cheerleader or enthusiastic when others do need this to continue in a professional setting (Sugarman et al., 2011).Fault: Judging from this paper, it is obvious that the Resolute leader loves to find fault in anything. (Hence the weaknesses being more in depth than the strengths). It can be difficult to find the good in something when one is predisposed to being disgusted or disappointed. Constantly brining out the negatives without acknowledging the positive gains can make poor morale in the work place (Sugarman et al., 2011).The Resolute Leader and MeAt first, when reading about the Resolute Leader, I could not help but laugh at some of the depictions of this leadership style. I kept asking myself,“Am I really that bad?” The word “bad” is used because I feel that in society, these attributes are not seen as negative for a male leader. Yet, for a woman to possess these same qualities, she can easily get the “Bitch” label. In fact, I’m not stranger to it. I know this is supposed to be my default style, something I go to most of the time. I could very well possess attributes from the other DiSC styles, but I just don’t see it. This was a 100% accurate depiction of my style. From the positives to the weaknesses, I definitely saw myself. The good news is that I knew my strengths and weaknesses before this assessment and has been working on them for years in the professional setting. I struggle the most with emotions and dismissing people as being incompetent. So I try to find ways to give people a small amount of praise every once in awhile or share some small talk. The problem is that I cannot find myself able to do this with people that I don’t like or consider incompetent. I’m still working on this. Usually on professional evaluations, I receive positive marks when it comes to achieving my goals and being professional. The problem is that usually I am seen as “unapproachable” or “too direct” which causes problems with other women in the workplace because I often offend the ones who don’t share my style, or I butt heads with women who share my leadership style in the work place. The Resolute Leader and My Career GoalsMy career goal is to obtain a management position with a non-profit or government agency that involves one of the areas of my interests: victim advocacy, foster care reform, or decreasing the local infant mortality rate. The specific position I am looking for is a program analyst or executive director. An executive director within thee non-profit world could definitely use the qualities of a Resolute Leader to be successful. Any of the strengths for a Resolute leader could make an agency a success. The problem areas are the weaknesses of a Resolute Leader. The non-profit world is more about relationships and collaborating than ever. In the South, I have found this to be especially true. Over the years, I have pushed myself to be more personable and have more tact when it comes to delivering feedback. I’ve had to take a personal interest and let in emotions when dealing with others in the non-profit world, which exhausts me at the end of the day. I have become better at “faking it” over the years. As for becoming a program analyst, my default style is more suited for this position. I would not have to be as tactful or personable with others when delivering feedback and evaluations. I can have standards for people, which are expected. Yet, I don’t want to ruin morale or have contributed to high turn over because of my weaknesses. So, still I would need to work on being a cheerleader and highlighting small achievements along the way to be successful in this position. Plans for DevelopmentGreatest WeaknessBased on my DiSC profile, the greatest weakness that I need to work on is my struggle with emotions; this impedes my ability to interact with colleagues and contributes the insensitivity that is commonly associated with the Resolute leader. As I mentioned previously, I struggle with displays of emotions from colleagues and myself often labeling displays of emotions as being unprofessional or unwarranted (Sugarman, Scullard, & Wilhelm, 2011). I often dismiss people based upon displays of emotions and label them as being incompetent. After much self-reflection, the DiSC assessment, and several evaluations at work, I know this is a major problem area for me, and is one that I struggle to overcome. The Affirming LeaderI am not the type of person who enjoys reading “self help” books. In fact, The 8 Dimensions of Leadership is about the only one that I’ve ever read and enjoyed. It all just seems so subjective, and I just don’t care too much for the opinions of others when it comes to the topic of me. Finding a book worth reading and that would help me work on my weakness was a difficult task. Most leadership and management books often encourage the Resolute leadership style while not focusing on the negative aspects of it. During my search I went back to The 8 Dimensions of Leadership and focused on my polar opposite-the Affirming Leader. Some of the Affirming leader’s strengths are optimism, giving praise, friendliness, being considerate of others’ emotions, being approachable, and the list goes on and on in the opposite direction of me (Sugarman et al., 2011).Lessons that can be learned from this Affirming Leader are as follows:Consider Others’ Emotions: It’s difficult to celebrate a victory if your morale is has been shredded during the process. Ignoring the emotions of others when delivering information or focusing on the negative aspects of what they do, doesn’t allow a person to appreciate the win (Sugarman et al., 2011).Rewards Aren’t Always Monetary: Not everyone comes to work because they are on a mission to defeat some challenge or overcome an obstacle. Some people don’t get satisfaction from just a paycheck. In order to be happy at work and do positive work, people have to feel appreciated. Let people know how much they are valued and explain the purpose of their work (Sugarman et al., 2011).Accept Limitations of Others: No one is the best at everything. Affirming leaders don’t have high expectations for everyone, nor do Affirming leaders expect everyone to do things the Affirming leader’s way. Affirming leaders accept what people can or can’t do, while encouraging them along the way (Sugarman et al., 2011).What lessons from the Affirming leader in mind, I decided to focus my attention on books that support the Affirming leadership style. Winning by Jack WelshMy search for books that support the Affirmative Leadership style resulted in me finding Winning by Jack Welsh. Jack Welsh is a successful, former CEO, and author. This book is all about- you guessed it, winning. This book really puts into perspective the importance of having positive relationships with people at work while still sticking to the plan of achieving a goal. This appeals to me because it is for the sake of being successful and helping the company, which in turn helps the world. Welsh explains that each company has a social responsibility to win and be profitable. This is achieved through happy people. Happy people allow a company to make profits, which in turn impacts the community in a positive way. People are what is important about a business and successful leaders recognize this. Some key characteristics of successful leaders are as follows:Engage Employees: Welsh explains that 20% of employees are the best and need to be told how valuable they are, and rewarded through various means. The bottom 10% of employees are not so good and cannot be helped, so these people need to know bluntly that they are not a good fit for the organization. The middle group of employees should be told where they stand, told how they can become part of the top 20%, and encouraged to achieve that goal. Leaders get this done by getting to know employees personally and through evaluations. Good leaders know their employees and have a relationship in which employees know exactly where they stand and should be able to tell leaders how they feel. The door for community should be open both ways. It is as simple as greeting someone or smiling down the hall (Welsh & Welsh, 2005).Energize Employees: Leaders should promote innovation and breed success in an organization. Leaders should carry around fertilizer and water to help people grow. Innovation cannot happen if a leader does not allow employees to come up with different ideas about how to get things done. If the strategy isn’t successful, people should not be punished for it. Instead there was probably something that went wrong with the execution. This gets people excited about work and makes them feel they are part of changes so that they can embrace change. Great leaders give employees a since of hope and opportunity which is good for the company as a whole. Celebrate small battles along the way to the big victory (Welsh & Welsh, 2005).Putting It Into PerspectiveI’ve always thought that showing emotions, offering praise along the way, etc. were all jus too unprofessional. I was not open to seeing things from another perspective. I did not want to cater to someone’s feelings, so I needed a perspective that would show me the importance of emotions and relationships from a viewpoint that I could understand. Welsh’s book showed me the importance of building relationships with employees in a way that does not seem unprofessional. His rationale showed me that reason behind showing emotion and drawing closer to employers for the sake of achievement. That appeals to the Resolute Leader in me without me having to completely comprise myself. Using that information coupled with knowing the strengths of the Affirming leader motivate me to actually make a change. The specific action steps I can take are:Identify strengths and weaknesses of each employee from my perspective and their own.Show people they are valued through praise and compliment them on their strengths.Show them ways they can build upon their weaknesses. Now that I have completed this DiSC assessment, I can actually be honest about my own weaknesses with employees to promote a verbal exchange. Encourage them to do better and grow. Also take into consideration suggestions or encouragement they may have for me. This creates an open exchange. ReflectionsI have had an opportunity recently at work to put some of these action steps into motion. I am on the planning committee for an event that my organization is having this fall. During committee meetings, I was very open to ideas from people on the committee. I encouraged everyone to identify their strengths and weaknesses, while group members agreed or disagreed with the results. Each member was able to see herself from another perspective, but also get some praise. Members let the other know how valuable they were through praise and recognition for strengths. We suggested people work in two areas: one that showcased their strengths, and other area was a weakness. This way each person was able to get some assistance from others and was allowed an opportunity for growth. We discussed the tried and true way of planning the event, and we opened the floor for new ideas from members. Meetings have been much more productive, short, and positive than last year during the planning process because of this change in the committee attitudes. I learned how to relax and try not to do everything. I feel more confident in the committee and have loosened my reins. SummaryThis entire final semester has been all about self-reflection. I have never really been interested in self-reflection or even talking about myself. I just don’t think it is in good taste; however, this semester has allowed me the opportunity to find fault with myself. This assessment was dead on when it identified my leadership style and weaknesses. By recognizing my faults and not focusing on the faults of others, I am able to improve myself. I am taking advantage of this opportunity to grow professionally and personally before I move forward with my post graduation career goals. Annotated BibliographySugarman, J., Scullard, M. and Wilhelm, E. (2011). The 8 dimensions of leadership. Inscape Publishing. Welch, J., and Welsh, S. (2005). Winning. New York, NY: Harper Business. ................
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