Student ID Number: 816019371

Course: LEAD 2000 Fundamentals of Leadership

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Self-Reflective Essay

Introduction

There is a myriad of definitions for leadership, depending on whether the factors

being considered are individual traits and behaviours, power and authority, influence, or

otherwise. Gary Yukl (1989) posited that various conceptions of leadership could be thought

of as various perspectives of a “complex, multifaceted phenomenon”. It is my opinion,

however, that leadership is, fundamentally, centered upon employing or embodying the

‘right’ or ‘ideal’ behaviour (or set of behaviours) to influence others to commit to and

achieve an identified goal(s). But, to be perfectly clichéd, leadership is much easier spoken

about than engaged in.

What was evident from this micro-simulation is that leadership in theory and

leadership in practice are not necessarily identical. Instead, the exercise provided some

insight into how leadership is indeed a complex, layered field that demands leaders, or

persons who aspire to be leaders- like me, to carefully analyse any situation presented and

understand what impact any decision would have on the stakeholders. Leadership that gets

results is leadership that recognises that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to navigating

the web of influence, commitment, and goal attainment. Rather, it requires various styles and
 Student ID Number: 816019371
Course: LEAD 2000 Fundamentals of Leadership

approaches- some of which may be uncharacteristic of the leader- to successfully yield

favourable results.

1. Situation One (1): Line Cook Issue

When I was first presented with this situation, my first instinct was to try to be

empathetic towards the line cook, Travis, to encourage him to share what difficulties or

constraints he has been facing. Subsequently, I intended to engage him on how he could

improve his communication skills and behaviours, in the interest of maximising efficiency in

the kitchen. I utilised a more democratic style of leadership, which involves creating

consensus through participation (Goleman, 2000). This seemed practical since I was not

attempting to reprimand and potentially, demotivate Travis. Instead, I wanted his buy-in and I

wanted to empower him to explore how he could improve himself. I felt as though this

embodied some behaviours of an authentic leader, that is, engaging in balanced processing

and relational transparency.

Though that seemed ideal for Travis, I failed to recognise that this situation also

affects Sadie. I did not consider how I could coach, and hopefully, empower, Sadie to handle

similar issues in the future. After viewing the feedback and realising that it was parochial to

focus solely on the needs of Travis and not also on the opportunity to mentor Sadie, I realised

I did not make the best decision. A similar incident occurred several years ago when I was

participating in a computer literacy programme. Here, I was working along with one of my

church leaders to train persons how to navigate their computer systems and I recall one of my

peers indicating that she encountered a system error and did not know what to do to move

past that error and return to the lesson she was teaching a village member. Instead of sitting

down with her to show her how to fix the error and move past the issue, I took the laptop

from her, fixed the issue, and handed it back to her so that she could continue teaching the

lesson. I realise, now, that while I was very efficient in solving that immediate problem, I did
 Student ID Number: 816019371
Course: LEAD 2000 Fundamentals of Leadership

not consider how I could help develop my peer’s competencies by showing her how to

remove the error.

In retrospect, while I acknowledge that good leadership is used to ensure

organisational goals are achieved and a more cohesive organisational culture is fostered, I

also recognise that leadership extends to the impact or influence I can also have on other

persons, empowering them to take actions on their own without my micromanagement. This,

I believe calls for some amount of humility, providing direction and coaching, and being able

to predict future needs- which are some of the behaviours of a servant leader (Greenleaf,

1977). The democratic style is useful for consensus building, but there are instances where

integrating it with a coaching style may be more appropriate.

2. Situation Two (2): Move to Intern Position

It was evident that the coaching style of leadership was not habitual for me. Daniel

Goleman (2000) posited that coaching leaders are willing to sacrifice short-term success so

that long-term learning (or understanding the ‘big picture’) could be facilitated. Furthermore,

Yu (2007) contended that the coaching style of leadership allows for specific performance

deficiencies or gaps to be targeted. This embodies several servant leader behaviours

(Greenleaf, 1977). But this advantage is not readily discerned by me; instead, I seem to

gravitate towards employing a more democractic style, to establish a consensus or even an

affiliative style, to forge emotional bonds geared at addressing the immediate demands of the

issue faced.

While addressing Robert’s issue, my concern was to instantly try to de-escalate the

incident and prevent him from engaging a higher authority, which I thought would only

exacerbate the situation. I thought that if I could try to empathise with him, I could solve the

issue much faster. Again, while this may have helped to solve the immediate need, this

approach fails to address the employee’s inherent and intrinsic motivation and aspirations.
 Student ID Number: 816019371
Course: LEAD 2000 Fundamentals of Leadership

In my work as a senior journalist, I believe my shortcoming continued to be

neglecting the ‘bigger picture’ and focusing only on ‘putting out fires’ for immediate success.

I was tasked with mentoring a junior reporter so that he could manage the newspaper’s social

media accounts after I left Guyana to attend the University of the West Indies (UWI). The

young man was not eager to manage these accounts and instead wanted to engage our Editor-

In-Chief (EIC) about being an in-house researcher. Instead of trying to coach him on how to

engage the EIC, I opted to engage him on the importance of social media management and

why he was well-suited for the role. To this day, he still functions in this capacity but shows

little alacrity.

What I recognized from the feedback garnered from this scenario was that

empathising and openly communicating with Robert may have embedded an acceptance or

even, eagerness in his new position- which is great-but that did not uncover a nexus between

the organisation’s goals and his own goals. Coaching Robert and my colleague before their

meeting with the bosses would have also provided them with the opportunity to think about

how his ambitions align with those of the organisation, as they articulated their own ideas.

Nevertheless, I am still hesitant that using the coaching style alone may imply that I

am not interested in the concerns of Robert or my real colleague. Servant leadership may not

always be optimal, particularly when the situation or issue demands a firmer approach. The

affiliative and democratic styles provided some leeway to actively listen to them. But using

the coaching style alone, I believe, could demotivate them even further.

3. Situation Three (3): Concern with cashing

(Small note: In my response chosen it says explain to “Emmeline” instead of “Chantal”)

In response to Chantal's attitude towards the job and towards Emmeline, I thought it

would be best to use a more coercive style, which is generally used to demand immediate

compliance (Goleman, 2000) after the more democracticdemocratic approach of chatting

with her did not yield very favourable responses. In retrospect, it seems as though I may have

also employed a leadership style that employs a more hostile influence (suggesting that

Chantal uses a different type of nail, for example) which may be related to destructive

leadership, as identified by Krasikova, Green, and LeBreton (2013). I did not stop to consider

how trying to coerce Chantal into a job that she is not motivated for may affect both the

organisation’s overall efficiency and her personal goals.

In this scenario, I understand now that it may be more appropriate to employ a

democracticdemocratic style, which could allow me to garner valuable input from her on how

the restaurant’s marketing efforts can be boosted. Chantal just does not possess the intrinsic

motivation for the cashier job and instead of firing her or forcing her into a role she is not

committed to or interested in, it would be prudent to draw on her existing talents and skills.

She is already familiar with the operations of the restaurant and the kind of value the

restaurant hopes to deliver to its customers.

Currently, I am the President of a Regional Students’ Association at the UWI and I

believe I have encountered a similar incident with the student who was elected as the

association’s Treasurer for this academic year. He has not been able to perform his functions

effectively and constantly makes excuses about why he is unable to perform his functions.

Even though he is inefficient in his duties as a treasurer, he has been very active in our efforts

geared at engaging the other regional associations. After internalising the feedback from this

scenario, I’ve now thought about engaging him on reassigning him to the position of External

Affairs Coordinator. This way, I believe I can utilise his skills more efficiently without asking

him to resign (being wary that this might embarrass him and that is destructive).

While I think I may be a destructive leader if I try approaching situations in a more

coercive manner, I don’t believe that I will entirely avoid the use of the style. I believe there

are instances where the situation may demand the use of coercion. Though this style seems to
 Student ID Number: 816019371
Course: LEAD 2000 Fundamentals of Leadership

have an overall negative impact, I think I still may resort to coercion as more of an absolute

last resort or in times when the organisation genuinely demands immediate compliance.

4. Situation Four (4): Update on Restaurant Bar

I realised the bar was hemorrhaging money and I understood that urgent changes to

the menu were needed. Yet, wary of negatively impacting the organisational climate by

undermining the expertise and experience of Thomas and Donald, I chose to prolong the

financial loss by employing the democratic style of leadership. Though trying to evaluate the

options before making a decision, recognising that the men were probably more

knowledgeable in the field than I am, was a good approach, the feedback made me realise

that it was not necessarily the optimal decision given the urgency of the situation. What this

meant was that urgent action prompted by a clear vision was necessary. This epitomises the

initiating structure, which involves defining and structuring the roles of employees to attain a

goal (Judge, Piccolo and Illies, 2004). Truthfully, I did not believe that Thomas and Donald

would respond well to this, wary that they might feel embarrassed at this; thus, I opted for the

consideration approach, geared at forging job relationships (Judge, Piccolo and Illies, 2004).

Within my students’ association, I had a similar experience. A few months ago, we

were organising the repatriation flights to help ourselves and our colleagues get back home.

This was a rapidly evolving situation and we were constantly dealing with urgent issues such

as securing tests for several students and organising with our high commission and the

airlines. Our vision needed to be getting everyone home as soon as possible and as President,

I had to emphasise that and outline what we each needed to do to achieve that. Though we

were able to help our colleagues, I realised afterwards that my committee members were not

necessarily as enthusiastic as before and that may have been because I provided few

opportunities for them to offer insight or suggestions. After all, I was preoccupied with the

urgency of the situation. While the authoritative style of leadership showed its relevance here,
 Student ID Number: 816019371
Course: LEAD 2000 Fundamentals of Leadership

and it enabled us to be successful, I am mindful that solely using this style may prove

detrimental after the ‘urgent’ crisis is averted.

Similarly, while I needed to establish a clear vision for Thomas and Donald, I should

also consider providing some leeway for consensus and relationship-building to mitigate any

long term impact on their motivation towards the job. This emphasises that there not always

be one clear-cut style that should be employed to help remedy a situation, but rather that the

situation should be evaluated and the best decision should be made. Going forward, I think

I'm recognising that I should attempt to thoroughly think through situations, instead of just

responding to the immediate need.

5. Situation Five (5): New post advice

This situation was a particularly challenging one for me. The appropriate action

included the provision of necessary direction to Chantal, since there is no formal job

description as yet; and to motivate and possibly empower her for the idea she came up with. I

thought it would be best to employ the initiating structure since, admittedly, I let my personal

feelings influence my response to her. At the time of the decision, I thought her ideas seemed

too sexual and I was not comfortable with that. Given that it made me uncomfortable, I had a

parochial mindset and did not realise that it could be trendy and attract customers by

establishing that Caribbean atmosphere. I let my feelings about her unprofessional attitudes

towards the cashier job and Emmeline influence the decision I made not to trust her instincts.

My decision to micromanage and not trust her capabilities was guided by my desire to

establish some parameters in which she should work, or set high standards for performance as

Goleman (2000) articulates for the ‘pace-setting’ style. This, I later realised, was antithetical

to the very reason she was encouraged to work in marketing- that is, because it seemed as

though she was capable. And I could have damaged a job relationship by not trusting her and
 Student ID Number: 816019371
Course: LEAD 2000 Fundamentals of Leadership

respecting her feelings enough as articulated in the consideration theory (Judge, Piccolo and

Illies, 2004)

Four years ago, when I started as a journalist, I recall a superior trying to dictate what

angles I should follow and what stories I should write. He outlined a particular standard and

encouraged me to produce good results. It was not until a year later did I realise that I had

become very parochial, covering more of the government’s views than anyone else because

of how he influenced me. Ultimately, this influence was to my detriment because I was

unmotivated in my job, and I constantly felt as though I had to measure up to his standards. I

was not empowered to explore issues on my own, then. Had I been given the autonomy to

explore issues on my own, though cognisant that it must fundamentally align with the

organisation’s interests, I would have excelled much earlier.

Building on my personal experience, and recognising through this simulation that my

thoughts and feelings are valid, I believe that I would try to approach the situation differently

in the future. I do not wish to become a micromanager and undermine the autonomy of my

colleagues or employees. Instead, I would certainly like to empower individuals and allow

them to develop and grow. Thus, the consideration theory of leadership, in conjunction with

some amount of initiating structure, seems to be more applicable.

Conclusion

If nothing else, this simulation emphasised that there is no easy, clear-cut way of

determining what leadership style would be best suited to a particular scenario or issue.

Through careful reflection on the feedback garnered, it was discerned that leadership is

genuinely not the simple acts of exertion influence and making a decision. Instead, it requires

consideration of what impact these decisions might have on other individuals and the

organisation of itself. It also requires that individuals with the ability to influence others be

wary of both the positive and negative impact that influence may have on others.
 Student ID Number: 816019371
Course: LEAD 2000 Fundamentals of Leadership

For me personally, I am not able to posit that I have entirely understood my

shortcomings vis-a-vis my leadership approach to various circumstances. But, I do recognise

that more often than not, I rely on a democratic leadership style which, despite possessing its

merits, is not always the ideal style to use. Perhaps, this points to a deeper trait of mine to

foster an inclusive space or maybe even some obsequious behaviour. Moving forward, I think

I will ‘think twice’ before hastily employing this style. What I am certain of, however, is that

I have a greater understanding of how scenarios and issues should be assessed before

attempting to lead others. Most definitely, I recognise that leadership does not have a ‘one-

size-fits-all’ solution. I am also quite certain that these tenets will inform decisions I make in

whatever leadership capacities I function in.

References:

Goleman, D. (2000). Leadership that gets results. Harvard business review, 78(2), 4-17.

Greenleaf, R. K. (1977/2002). Servant-leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate

power and greatness. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press.

Judge, T. A., Piccolo, R. F., & Ilies, R. (2004). The forgotten ones? The validity of

consideration and initiating structure in leadership research. Journal of applied

psychology, 89(1), 36.

Krasikova, D. V., Green, S. G., & LeBreton, J. M. (2013). Destructive leadership: A

theoretical review, integration, and future research agenda. Journal of management,

39(5), 1308-1338.

Yu, L. (2007). The benefits of a coaching culture. MIT Sloan Management Review, 48(2), 6.

Yukl, G. (1989). Managerial leadership: A review of theory and research. Journal of

Management, 15, 251-289. doi:10.1177/014920638901500207