My Strengths: Restorative, WOO, Analytical, Futuristic & Strategic - Research Paper

According to the Clifton

Strengths assessment, my top five signature themes restorative, woo, analytical, futuristic, and strategic. Being restorative mean that I have a knack for identifying problems or bottlenecks, as well as finding their solutions. I am not the kind of people who buy into the cliche that says if it is not broken, do not fix it. I am a firm believer that things can always get better, and I, therefore, make it my prerogative to find ways to optimize all my tasks or projects. The woo theme means that I have excellent interpersonal skills. I can establish and grow relationships quickly by choosing my words carefully and being keen not to overstep my boundaries. This theme is key in sales and presenting projects for funding. My being analytical means that I pay attention to every detail and that I am appreciative of the fact that for me to be certain that the final results will be exactly the same as I expect them to be, I cannot afford to overlook anything. I evaluate everything logically and with an open mind. This theme, coupled with the woo theme, ensure that even though logic should be the primary determinant of the final solution we come up with as a team, I do not step on the emotions of those with different opinions. Being futuristic means that I can see into the future and identify opportunities where others see obstacles. Most of the technological advances we enjoy today came from futuristic individuals. The Wright brothers must have seen beyond the challenge of traveling overseas using ships, which took weeks or months into the opportunity of flying there for within hours. Alexander Graham Bell must have thought of the opportunity that would be presented by inventing the telephone instead of looking at the challenge presented by having to travel long distances to deliver simple messages. The strategic theme implies that I can think a few moves ahead, look at the big picture, and anticipate potential roadblocks. This theme helps in making sure that there are not unanticipated unpleasant surprises down the road. A strategic leader is like a chess player who has to consider not only his own moves but also anticipate those of his opponent. In the business world, it means we have to be aware of the potential moves our competitors will make to counter our actions. Such anticipation is the reason companies like Mercedez Benz have stood the test of time because they are usually far ahead of their competitors in innovation. I once had a 2004 Mercedes Benz that had features that my next car, a 2011 Nissan Murano did not have. In seven years, Nissan had not yet caught up.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Servant Leadership Theory

My leadership effectiveness is necessary to ensure that it can guide me in significant ways through interaction well with other people. About my leadership style, servant leadership theory fits my personal life as a leader. Servant leadership theory expects that many leaders should act as servants to their people. According to my leadership traits, I can argue that I have been applying the servant leadership theory in real life. As a servant leader, I often serve the people wholeheartedly to get effective results in the long run. Adhering to the needs of my followers is often essential in my leadership style because they help me to know my weaknesses and strengths as a leader. Personal leadership effectiveness in this essay has been related to servant leadership theory while describing the failings and advantages of the method as well as actions needed to improve servant leadership.

Through servant leadership, I can put more emphasis on the issues of collaboration, ethics, empathy, and trust. The aspect of collaboration helps me to create a compelling leadership aspect as I interact with many people in the society. Adhering to societal ethics is essential because it helps to understand and appreciate the value and norms that the people under my leadership tend to belief (Van Dierendonck, 2017). According to servant leadership theory, I am expected to lead people well as a leader to make their lives better and improve their standards of living as opposed to fighting to acquire more power to dominate them. By focusing on the needs and desires of the followers in most cases, it has made it possible for them to reciprocate by showing more engagement, teamwork, and better performance in their activities.

There are significant characteristics of servant leadership theory that include empathy, trust, listening, foresight, persuasion, community building, and adherence to the growth of other people. The aspect of preparedness always ensures that leaders tend to think about how the future will be and hence address better ways to help the groups they are leading. The theory also gives me the ability to listen and support the people to heal their problems by addressing them adequately without expecting anything in return (Winston, 2015). Listening to what people tell me as a leader is very critical because it helps to reveal their support and the significant needs that need to be overlooked to thrive well in unison. As a Christian, I use the example of Jesus, who was a penultimate best practitioner of the servant leadership style, to guide me while serving the people in the community, whether in critical matters or in simple issues that may only require time.

According to Robert K, Greenleaf (2002), servant leadership theory often is attributed to the desire and belief that an individual wants to serve others willingly. A conscious choice is also associated with the method because an individual will have to accept the position of leadership without expecting to acquire anything such as material possession in the long run. In servant leadership, I have, therefore, been acting as a servant first before becoming a leader because there is a difference between as compared to becoming a leader first (Greenleaf, 2002). The first step of every servant leader is to make sure that the needs and expectations of the people are first addressed. Those being lead, in this case, will effectively work with a leader whom they see to be more focused on their desires and needs as opposed to those who seem to desire material power from them.

Through servant leadership, I am therefore expected as a leader to focus on the wellbeing and the growth of the people in my community. There is an aspect of power-sharing in servant leadership as opposed to other forms of leadership theories, and hence the needs of the population are the first to be addressed to help them to progress positively as a high as they expected (Yukl, 2018). There is no exercising of the power in this case by an individual at the top of the pyramid, as indicated in other leadership theories. Servant leadership makes sure that the people and the leader are in a collective agreement and ensure that activities are done per what was planned.

Taking care of the people who involve those who are able and those who are not is the basic tenet for the development of a better society. Servant leadership is meant to reduce any form of corrupt activities that most leaders have been associated with their leadership examples. It helps in uniting those who are involved, influential, competent people in society to develop a common union as a people. Servant leadership aims at creating a community that is more just and open and increases the ability to act as servants in the life of everybody (Northouse, 2018). Through servant leadership, it is easier to provide creative opportunities to the people being led through motivation and helping them to meet their needs. The capacity to serve as leaders and the performance of servant leadership is improved through the connection of people and their leader.

Principles of Servant Leadership

Listening is the first principle in servant leadership. As a leader, I am supposed to talk led and hear more, especially on people who are under the direction in the community. Listening to the ideas of the staff and acting concerning the plans is the primary principle that guides servant leadership activities. Empathy is another critical principle that is a prerequisite of servant leadership. As a leader, I am supposed to empathize with other people and genuinely try to understand their needs and desires. Healing is also necessary for this kind of leadership, which means that individuals can heal others via coaching, mentoring, and through best discussions that are productive. The need to have an awareness of oneself and others is also very critical in servant leadership. Through such a piece of knowledge, it will be possible to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the people being led as well as that of the leader himself. Persuasion is further necessary in servant leadership because, as a leader, I am expected to focus on the cooperation of the people as opposed to the case of delegation and authority. It is, therefore, essential to convince people to do a particular action rater tan coercing them to accept what they don't. Conceptualizing is also critical in this form of leadership; hence, as a leader, I am expected to think far and ahead of the actual activities that are happening day in day out. Balancing the conceptualizing concepts is critical because it helps to understand things that are happening now and the things that will probably arise in the future (Russell, 2016). Getting committed to the growth of the people in the community is another personal leadership effectiveness associated with servant leadership theory. The personal and professional growth of the people is, therefore, adhered to by leaders to support them to improve their standards of living. The people in this kind of leadership further mind the welfare of the staff and their wellbeing as they learn from the leaders. In addition to these, another fundamental principle of servant leadership is focused on community building. In this case, leaders tend to maintain and retain an active community through social and valuable ideals.

Strengths of Servant Leadership Theory

The decisions made in leadership are based on the benefit of all people. Servant leadership, in this case, includes the corporate and the whole organization in decision making. As a servant leader, in this case, it is expected that I will make effective decisions that are good and have the interests of all people. Secondly, servant leadership also encouraged the aspect of empathy, where leaders can make decisions while focusing on the shoes of those who are being led. In this case, it becomes essential for the leaders to deny specific requests that tend to benefit particular individuals and lack a general interest in the whole community (Winston, 2015). Thirdly, people can grow well when they are bred in servant leadership as compared to other forms of leadership techniques. The reason for the growth is that people will be working together efficiently for the benefit of them all. The diversity that is acquired in the workplace is critical as it helps all people to focus on the problems arising using various dimensions hence making it easier to help each other. Addressing an issue by using multiple lenses is necessary because arriving along a lasting solution will be inevitable.

Weaknesses of Servant Leadership Theory

The weakness of the argument is that the kind of leadership may be more focused on the needs and desires of the people to extend the needs of the organization will end up suffering as a result. The leaders are also, in most cases, likely to spend more time addressing the needs of the people and leave behind their activities undone only to make sure that the people are happy. Servant leadership also requires someone to be well prepared to deal with the needs of the people and not his or her own needs (Patterson, 2016). In this case, a pe...