While the proposition that leaders are born is believed by many, my journey, experiences, and challenges have influenced my leadership philosophy. It is now aligned with the stipulation that leaders are made. Without a doubt, education has been instrumental in molding my traits as a leader, for example, critical thinking and problem-solving. It has been vital in ensuring a logic rather than an intuitive approach to challenges. Even then, the environment has been an operant that has reinforced particular leadership habits, especially those related to being a visionary and agile leader who is ready to consider dynamic viewpoints in dealing with challenges related to influencing people to believe in a particular proposition. While I have achieved desirable milestones as a leader, the continuous shift in people’s mindsets and forces that influence my leadership environment are significant elements that affect my future leadership development needs. While I strategize on working on personal traits that are a hindrance to becoming a leader who influences positive change in spaces that my influence is felt, the Myers-Briggs (MBTI) personality inventory results are indispensable in informing my plans and strategies. Having an ISFJ personality trait has reinforced not only my leadership capabilities but also presented challenges that I have had to critically deal with in abid to prevent them from derailing my positive change related aspirations.
I am a dynamic, self-driven individual who is passionate about positively influencing communities. Although I am an introvert who does not prefer vocally challenging a given position, I am an action-oriented person who logically analyzes given situations and strategically plan on how to go around them. My leadership traits have been distinct since I was a child. As a child, I was not afraid of defending my position in a particular debate, regardless of the implications of such actions. Most importantly, I have been an individual who would instead pursue a problem with the intent of getting a solution other than solely depending on other people’s solutions to the problem. As an extremely loyal individual, I have been entrusted with small but significant responsibilities since I was a child. For example, I was entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing my younger siblings do their assignment and ensure they play responsibly. At school, I would take a lead role in games as well as spearheading group related undertakings. In college, specifically, I did not only focus on my studies but also participated in extra-curricular activities, especially those concerned with diversity and inclusion. As an individual who has witnessed the plight of marginalized individuals and those discriminated against based on their gender, race, disability or other personal characteristics, I became engaged with programs that ensure collaboration among students, faculty and other stakeholders. My main aim in spearheading activities in such spaces was to ensure positive cooperation and harnessing the advantages related to group diversity. In several occasions, I took a lead role in coming up with solutions to local problems in college, for example, ensuring student’s inclusivity and extensive representation of all scholars.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Evidenced by my previous and current undertakings, I believe I am a highly visionary leader. At the same time, greater results can be achieved through collaborative leadership ( Hsieh et al., 2018) . I have always engaged different individuals in my decision-making process. Regardless of my achievements and challenges as a leader, I believe the future belongs to those who dream about it and own it. I, therefore, want to be prepared about leading more dynamic teams in future. Besides, as technology and public relations significantly influence the world as a global village, I plan on scaling my leadership-related activities to influence matters of international importance. I, for example, plan on vehemently denouncing undertakings that exacerbate climate change and its effects. At the same time, I plan on being an ardent supporter of respect for human rights regardless of an individual’s economic or social status, gender or race. With this respect, advocacy is instrumental in ensuring respect for individual’s rights( Nelson et al.,2008). In the near future, I would want to seize more leadership opportunities by not only applying to various leadership related fellowships but also undertaking online leadership courses. As an introvert, I also want to invest in being able to be vocal about my stance, particularly leadership related issues. I believe it is not only important that I act but also powerfully voice my opinion. In relation to my administration at the workplace, I plan on being open to undertakings that will enrich me as a leader. In case of openings related to being an expatriate in other continents such as Europe, Asia or even Africa, I would take advantage of such opportunities. Most importantly, I plan on focusing on small things that are often forgotten or brushed aside by some leaders. Instead of delegating all responsibilities, I will take time to undertake a few of them, especially those related to analyzing and internalizing pertinent problems at the grassroots level. Where there is dissatisfaction by employees at the lower level, for example, I would in some cases not ask them to work on the issue. I would instead practice an open door communication policy and informal communication to ensure the employees present their concerns to me. Most importantly, I would ensure employee or stakeholders of the entity I lead are listened to, and their concerns taken care of.
My Myers-Briggs (MBTI) personality inventory revealed that I have an ISFJ personality. The acronym which stands for introverted, sensing, feeling and judging extensively explain some of the traits that have influenced my achievements as well as challenges as a leader. AN ISFJ os a defender with enthusiasm for different undertakings ( Jankowski, 2016). With such a trait, I have been an active observant of the problems in spaces that have worked in or in institutions that I have been to. I have also been able to win the loyalty of the individuals I have led because of being a loyal and hard-working leader. Moreover, being an altruist person who is concerned about getting to the root of different problems, it has been possible to collaborate with individuals that I have served. Collaborative leadership has been a central problem-solving approach in many of my undertakings. One of the biggest challenges that I have, however, experienced is the neglect of personal needs. I have often overloaded myself with leadership responsibilities that I was supposed to delegate. This has, in most cases, resulted in burnout. Besides this, in most cases, I have been over empathetic of the needs of the people I lead. One salient point from Myers-Briggs (MBTI) results is a significant overlap between the traits of an ISFJ and personal characteristics. An extensive analysis of personal developments and milestones achieved tally with the MBTI results. I am not only a hard-working person, but I also deeply care about the problems of those around me. This has, in most cases, influenced servant leadership in my undertakings. Another point that is worth to note is the results reflect weaknesses such as a dislike of abstract concepts, avoidance of confrontation and an aversion for change. I have, however, taken such weaknesses as a challenge to surmount difficulties that could negatively affect my achievements as a leader. I have, for example, been in the forefront of change implementation in different projects at the workplace. Besides, a logical approach to problems has been a priority, even in cases where I am not comfortable with them. One of the instrumental strategies that I have used to dampen weaknesses related to the traits is surrounding myself with people with the strengths that are my weaknesses.
One of my most significant leadership challenges is influencing individuals to undergo a positive cultural change, especially at the workplace. Change implementation is often hindered by environmental challenges such as lack of motivation to change, uncertainty about the future, capped potential and inability to identify with the change being sought( Anderson et al., 2010). Regardless of the challenges related to resistance to change, there is a need to circumvent them because change is inevitable. Furthermore, with a continually changing work environment, the need to embrace change is indispensable( Mansaray, 2019). Another major challenge is the application of agile management approach to different groups that I need. On the past, I have had difficulties dealing with excessive group differences, conflict and incompatibility among team members. While the need to leverage personal differences to ensure effective teams is a priority, in some cases, achieving cohesion among teams is a significant concern. Besides the above, I have also had challenges blending with people from different cultural backgrounds. While I am a leader who embraces diversity, in some cases, fully understanding the corporate culture of particular demographics is challenging. Furthermore, it is critical to influencing change in such demographics, even when understanding their culture is a slow and painstaking undertaking.
One of the strategies that I have employed to enhance my leadership skills is taking more dynamic projects. Such undertakings often expose me to challenges that enhance my critical thinking and decision making skills. At the same time, I have been keen to identify conflict among the people I lead and resolve them on time before they escalate. This has built my team management strategies. Furthermore, I have been keen to learn from mentors that either know about me or those that do not. Learning from other notable leaders experience has been a major approach in building my skills while avoiding significant leadership pitfalls. Most importantly, I plan on enhancing my interpersonal skills by ensuring a well-organized communication system between the people I serve and me. This is because extensive communication is instrumental in the achievement of organizational leadership goals( Anusiem, 2018). Moreover, I plan on giving the people I lead the capacity to lead in small or significant ways. Giving the opportunity to be part of my leadership will help in the solving of issues that might not be apparent in my leadership style. Such interactions can offer insight into how to improve interpersonal skills.
In conclusion, my leadership development has been a self-discovery journey. With strong leadership skills such as critical thinking and problem-solving, it has been possible to influence masses positively. My Myers-Briggs (MBTI) results extensively explain my leadership development. As a person with ISFJ personality traits, I have been a practical leader with a keen eye to detail. I am also a reliable leader who can be depended on by many. While my traits have reinforced my strength as a leader, I have also had a fair amount of challenges. Examples include solving team-related differences, leveraging dynamics and ensuring effective communication. Even with such challenges, I strategize on improving my leadership skills by pursuing leadership-related courses, learning from my mentors and also the people I lead. Regardless of the achievements that I have had as a leader, I plan on putting in place strategies that will enhance my leadership and interpersonal skills in future. I do this in the hope that I will positively influence not only those in my circle but also those that my leadership will positively impact directly and indirectly.
References
Anderson, D., & Anderson, L. A. (2010). Beyond change management: How to achieve breakthrough results through conscious change leadership (Vol. 36). John Wiley & Sons.
Anusiem, B. N. (2018). Followership Perception of Effective Leadership Communication.
Hsieh, J. Y., & Liou, K. T. (2018). Collaborative leadership and organizational performance: Assessing the structural relation in a public service agency. Review of Public Personnel Administration , 38 (1), 83-109.
Jankowski, J. (2016). The Protector: Your Guide to the ISFJ Personality Type . LOGOS MEDIA.
Mansaray, H. E. (2019). The Role of Leadership Style in Organisational Change Management: A Literature Review. Journal of Human Resource Management , 7 (1), 18-31.
Nelson, P. J., & Dorsey, E. (2008). New rights advocacy: changing strategies of development and human rights NGOs . Georgetown University Press.
