My Path to Developing the Skills and Qualities of an Effective Leader

My road map to success is characterized by my ability to lead. I realized my potential in leadership while participating in various clubs and sports in high school. It is my passion to always lead a team to achieving success. This gives me a sense of satisfaction. A leader uses knowledge, skills and resources to motivate and mentor others in achieving a common goal.

My leadership philosophy is founded upon a collection of my personal life experiences, observations, achievements and failures.

The test of a leader lies in the response and reaction of his followers. A leader must make his influence felt by example. His greatness is measured by the achievements of the led.

Great leaders establish a plan and map it out to help them adequately organize and ensure that they always have an appropriate and effective team in place. It is my desire to lead a socio-economic and vibrant company someday with a diversified market. I aspire to make my organization a national brand suited for all persons in different walks of life nationally. After successfully accomplishing national dominance, I intend to expand globally to reach to other people in the world. My interests lie greatly in the field of communication technology and I aspire to actualize this dream. A year after my graduation, I see myself being a team leader in the respective organizational position that I will be holding. Five years after my graduation, I want to rise to the position of executive manager in a competitive communications and technology organization.

I wish that a decade after my graduation, I will own my own company and have a well established base in my country.

In managing my own company, I want to be an effective leader. Effective leaders usually define and refine their missions consistently and they continuously communicate with their followers the objectives and milestones required to achieve success. This is essential for a team to understand where the organization is, where it needs to go and how to get there. My personal care and leadership values are essentially aligned to ensuring that I become an effective leader and I strive to use them as a directive in everything I do and say in my work.

These values represent my personal beliefs, and can be applied in all situations. They include integrity and trustworthiness, competence, respect, responsibility and accountability, community involvement and expansive gratitude. I intend to practically implement these values in my organization by listening to others and treating them with respect, finding value in their input, supporting and contributing into their welfare and working in a team to achieve common goals and build strong relationships with my group.

I intend to develop strength in action in my leadership capability through identify the requisite resources and personnel to complete any established mission. I know this will help me in develop not only my personal abut also my professional competency in whatever I do. As a guide to be reflected upon and emulated by my followers, I aim to take responsibility and accountability in my professionalism to enhance my leadership growth. I also aspire to advocate for minority groups to ensure their security, equal representation and treatment.

A leader also needs to exude self-confidence to build an adorable and reputable image that forms a marketable brand for the organization. For this reasons, I seek to follow in the footsteps of the current US President, Barrack Obama. I find him confident enough because when no one else believed that a black could rule the world's greatest super-power nation, he strongly believed in himself and created a motto 'Yes We Can' in line with his belief. Evidently, his race did not matter but the strength of his confidence and belief led him to attain presidency not just once but also for a second term. My plan in achieving personal and professional self-confidence will also integrate the reading of nurturing and inspirational books. At the moment, I always, seek to indulge in the right company of like minded individuals. This makes me grow stronger and acquaints me with new leadership skills. I realized that the wrong company could easily deter me from accomplishing my goals and having less self-confidence due to mortification of my deeds. I hope to carry this behavior on to keep up with my self-confidence.

Through my experience as a leader in the minimal capacities that I have held, I have realized that it is essential to balance power and authority especially when exercising judgment. I have realized the importance of being impartial and fair to everyone. This gives me credit of employing a transparent leadership characteristic. I also recognize that leaders do not let problems become a problem. Similarly, when my followers encounter impediments, I must not allow their failures to diminish my respect for them or my acknowledgment of their unique values. Less time should be dedicated to finding fault or blaming others for little failures, whether personal or organizational. This is because it is neither productive nor purposeful. Instead, I focus on the cause of the problem and corrective actions that enable the continuation of the journey. Nonetheless, I know that am imperfect and will occasionally veer off the path that I have established based upon my personal care and leadership values. For these reasons, I often seek advice from others. In my professional leadership capacity, I intend to use a performance review sheet to get feedback on my strengths and weaknesses and further advice on how we can achieve organizational goals and develop the company.

It is important for a leader to establish a cordial and dyadic relationship with followers. Consequently as a leader, it is my greatest aim to ensure that I consider my employees. I intend to dedicate my time into knowing and understanding them and helping them when faced with a challenge. It is also within my purpose to ensure that I give them room to develop their skills especially those that may turn out as beneficial not only to the individual, but also the company as a whole. I also purpose to recognize and award the efforts of my employees so as to motivate them to continue doing better.

As a leader, I know I am accountable to bring the team to success along with me; their success is my success and their failure is my failure. It is, therefore, imperative that I seek input from various sources through listening when others speak, and remembering that communication is a vital element in an organization. This will ensure cohesiveness within members of the organization and grow the team player capabilities among most of my employees.

Having observed all the leadership skills and qualities mentioned above, it is within my intent to ensure that I crown those traits with my charisma which I have realized that I am highly endowed with. This will serve to compel my employees to do as I say to meet organizational goals. In addition, I am sure that it will attract the public in buying my products hence boosting market sales. Finally, in culminating my leadership position, I intend to nurture other leaders to succeed in my footsteps.

I have a lifetime over which to develop my leadership. The main immediate action obligatory is an evaluation of my current position and the precise plan to where I want to be. It will be a progressive map on how to achieve my goals and acquiring insights on the leadership process. I am sure that incorporation of all these efforts will produce an esteem leader.

References

• The 9 Traits That Define Great Leadership
• 7 Skills That Make a Successful Entrepreneur