Leadership: My Personal History and Journey

Brief Personal History

There are several ways in which leadership will apply to different people, and this difference is brought about by quite several aspects which are essential to understand. Different leaders have their ways in which they carry out their functions as leaders. Presented in this scope are the various ways and dimensions in which leadership applies and or has applied to me over the recent past. Regardless of the ways that one has been involved in leadership, one of the most important things that one should be able to understand is the way they have had experience in leadership.

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Throughout all these years when I have taken part in leadership, I have learned so many things that concern leadership and the first thing was to discover that leadership is not an easy thing that anyone can go through successfully. It demands a lot to be done to represent the will of the others well. However, despite all this, I have been able to effectively manage and wade from one leadership position to another in all the various institutions I have ever been to. Throughout the scope of the paper, a lot has been covered on leadership in multiple dimensions and its implications.

The Key Life/Behavior Influences

Leadership requires some proper incorporation and or integration of positive behaviors that touch and impact on the people being led. Therefore, in this regard, there are some specific life and behavioral influences that have helped me to get to the level of leadership I have come to in my history as a leader. One of the behaviors that I have at all times embraced in my leadership is charisma. This is in that I have been able and always desired to interact well and associate with the people I lead.

A good example is the way I have always interacted with the other students in the learning institutions. Listening to all the grievances of the people who are under the leadership and airing out their problems to the various authorities that will work them out in the expected way is charisma. This has helped me to create a useful link and bond between the people I lead and thus, an adequate representation of these people. The various authors who have had their publications about leadership have presented the issue of charisma as an essential way for leaders to relate well with their subordinates and help them get what they want instead of the leaders prioritizing their concerns at the expense of their people. My fellow students were able to attest to the fact that I was charismatic to them, and they liked the way I led them in the various positions I have been to as a leader.

Apart from charisma, other life influences have proved to be useful, and one of the most important among these is the life I have been brought up with. I was brought up in a setting where I was taught that it is vital to respect all the other people and their views on aspects that matter. Accommodation of what each one perceives in their mind as their ideas are helpful in any leadership. Growing up with this notion in mind that all people, regardless of their positions in the society command respect has helped me to become a great leader. This is because all the people under my leadership have always felt comfortable to bring their opinions regarding some particular issues. Through this freedom, therefore, great ideas which have so much impact on the issues affecting these people have helped to solve their problems in the right way. Understanding the democratic rights of the people under a particular leadership is also a critical aspect that has influenced me to be the best leader in the many places I have been to. Above all things, there was a time I was under a particular leader where I was a subordinate and did not get a chance to talk about some issues. This is because at some point the subordinates here were considered minor and that no good idea would have come from them. Out of this experience I have had under other people's leadership, I have been able to understand how people feel when they get no chance to give their opinions and thus in my direction planned to make sure that all people will be free to talk their mind. Some of the people have been able to come up with great and valuable ideas that have made this leadership great. Borrowing from the leadership theories, models and concepts that have been discussed by several authors in their publications, it is evident that my way of leadership and the motivating factors that have helped me to become such a leader, I have been able to incorporate the best models of leadership in this. These leadership models and styles count up to servant leadership, autocratic, and all the others.

Personal Mission/Vision

It is one thing to be a leader and yet another good idea to be that leader who has a vision and mission which they want to achieve in their leadership. Throughout my leadership, I have had a guiding vision and mission, which have always helped me remain focused. The idea I have had as my guide in leadership is that I want to make sure that in a couple of years to come, I will be that best leader in all the working areas or any other areas where I will get a leadership position. My leadership mission is to be able to represent the people in the way they need and make sure that their desires and preferences are fulfilled through my leadership.

My Personal View on Leadership

There is a sure way in which I perceive and view leadership. One crucial thing is that i take leadership as a service to the other people and not as a benefit to myself. Therefore, in everything that I do as a leader, I always prefer doing it for the common good of the people under me. Leadership is most important; the representation of the people and valuing what they prefer is of great importance. As a result of this view on leadership, I have managed to take care of the needs of all the people in my leadership, and this has yielded to my positive progression as a leader of the people.

How Others See Me

People see me as a successful team builder who can organize the people I lead to create cohesive and functioning teams for the attainment of goals. When it comes to interpersonal relationships, I can listen to all the people and give a valid response and or feedback to their ideas. The performance of others is crucial, and I have tried in my leadership made sure that I do all things possible to improve the performance of others through training and advising them. I value innovative ideas and always support them to enhance performance in teams.

I give a clear vision to my colleagues and encourage them to work towards the achievement of these visions and continuous improvement of the teams in the organization. I motivate the colleagues through gifts for their performances, and this fosters competitiveness and makes the colleagues showcase their ambitions. Customer relations are essential, and I ensure that I always encourage colleagues to handle the customers in the best way in organizations where we deal with customers. I make all the people aware of what they are expected to do so that the institution or organization can grow, and after that, I assess their performance to see how well they are doing in their field. The sharing of relevant information with other people in the organization is essential to ensure that there are transparency and coordination in everything that is done by all the members. All the above have been considered in my leadership and placed it at a high level as compared to that of several other leaders.

My Strengths and Weaknesses as a Leader

Each leader has got their weaknesses and strengths in their leadership. I have some specific inadequacies that seem to draw me back as a leader. My greatest weakness as a leader is the fact that as a leader, I always want to accommodate the views of all the people, whether they are positive or negative. In other words, I like looking more in-depth at the sense that is in every idea raised by the individuals and thus at times I find myself getting into other unhelpful considerations that draw me back as a leader.

My Action Plan for Improvement

To be one of the best leaders, one should be able to improve their ways of leadership from time to time. My Action Plan for improvement in leadership is to look into the methods used by the most influential leaders to carry out their daily duties and work on the desires of the people. At the same time, I plan always to make sure that any decision taken in leadership is in line and or rhymes with the existing situation/circumstance at the time. This is important to ensure that there are no invalid or unnecessary actions taken that will end up bringing adverse effects on the people. The other way I will use for improvement is to continue learning and applying the various leadership concepts and skills that have been used by some leaders in the recent past and worked out for them. A good example is benchmarking of the leadership that was applied by Barrack Obama in America, and I am sure with all these, my leadership will be of another unique level.

Conclusion

To conclude, it remains the responsibilities of leaders to understand that leadership requires a lot even beyond what they know and perceive in their minds. Therefore, dynamic improvement is the most important thing for the skills of a leader. All the models, styles, and concepts of leadership are essential to take one's leadership to a level which the people being led enjoy and the leader desires. Seeking the necessary advice is also another right way of realizing the potential that one has as a leader and using the right strategies to deal with issues one faces in their leadership path. My leadership experience, as presented in this scope, is suitable proof of all these.