Introduction
It should be noted that such concepts as transformational leadership, diversity management, and levels of power have helped me understand the concept of leadership better, and they will enable me to become more effective and functional in my future work. In particular, transformational leadership encourages employees to employ positive changes and transformation. Besides the fact that such leaders are interested in their work, they also motivate and help their subordinates to succeed. The most significant aspect in this domain that I was able to learn is that a transformational leader is someone who knows the ways to outline the personal goals of employees with the company’s objectives and guides them to achieve corporate objectives in the first place. Moreover, during the discussions, I was able to conclude that a transformational leader can build a relationship of trust between employees and includes all individuals in the process of work. This is particularly important due to the growing diversity in the workplace (Coleman, Gulati, & Segovia, 2012). The study of this approach has revealed that such a leader will be able to achieve goals in a united team by reducing the fear of ambitious challenges in the workers. Thus, transformational leaders are the main agents of positive social changes.
One of the crucial conclusions that have come up from the course content is that effective followership is as important as leadership is. In my work, I would place an even greater emphasis on the efficiency of the staff. Some researchers claim that a strong team can achieve great results even if the management level is alienated (Coleman et al., 2012). Therefore, the skilled workforce is a valuable resource for any company and especially for those that are large-scale. Moreover, this realization has driven me to dwell upon the leadership approaches that ensure effective followership. In the process of learning, every concept has resonated with my experience, and one of the main goals that I have determined for myself is to learn to adapt to the changing employee needs and the growing diversity (Coleman et al., 2012). However, most importantly, both followership and leadership are significant in terms of affecting positive social change.
Action Plan
One of the main goals that I have set for myself is to learn the ways to establish a leadership-employee relationship, which will stimulate the workers to apply themselves to work while promoting a harmonious and respectful atmosphere. This goal is particularly important due to the growing diversity in the workplace, which requires the presence of concrete skills in leadership. In particular, it implies creating an inclusive environment that will positively influence employee dedication, decrease staff turnover, and burnout (Morriss, Ely, & Frei, 2011). This goal is also crucial in terms of implementing positive social change since lower levels of stress-related to duties and responsibilities will allow retaining staff and boosting their performance (Kaplan, 2008). The two objectives I intend to reach are to learn the ways to build employee dedication and to be able to build the leadership culture, which encourages effective followership. These objectives will help me to comprehend the ways to use the potential of employees and to stimulate effective followership. The measurable milestones to achieve in terms of this goal include the aim to investigate the theoretical basis of effective leadership approaches and the aim to interview successful leaders to be able to link the theory with practical implications.
The second goal, which I have set is to learn how to organize the work of employees in a way that will allow the organization to achieve its objectives effectively. This goal is also important in connection with the fact that staff is a critical corporate resource; accordingly, one of the main tasks of managers is to participate in shaping the company’s strategy based on the state of human resources (Morriss et al., 2011). Two objectives that have been identified within the goal are the need to determine the ways to manage staff as well as to determine the stimulation methods to encourage more active employee engagement. The first milestone within this goal is the need to identify ways to create a corporate culture, which will contribute to achieving organizational objectives. The second milestone is the development of a theoretical base for performance indicators and the establishment of a system of material and non-material motivation.
The third goal, which I have set for myself, is to acquire the skill to communicate effectively and learn how to build a dialogue with employees on various organizational levels. Because the incorrect or unclear comprehension of tasks and goals of the company might hinder the successful development of an organization, it is necessary to build a clear system of communication within teams and among employees (Kaplan, 2008). Moreover, I need to learn how to build a system of feedback between management and staff. It will help to learn indirectly their opinions about the management, as well as about the policy of the organization and will allow estimating the degree to which they share the strategic goals and objectives of the company (Bennis & Thomas, 2002).
Thus, one of my objectives is to learn the ways to establish contacts between the leadership and the staff. In that matter, I should be aware of the methods to receive both positive and negative views of employees on the company’s policies and practices. Also, providing feedback is an effective motivational tool; therefore, my second objective is to learn how to use this tool effectively. This aim is particularly important as the absence, or lack of information on the results of the work of subordinates is often the cause of their irritation and discontent (Bennis & Thomas, 2002). Almost every employee expects the evaluation of his or her work to understand his or her strengths and eliminate weaknesses. Moreover, the inefficient transmission of information from the lowest levels to the highest ones can adversely affect the company performance; therefore, the two milestones that I have identified are to explore methods of building horizontal communication (within the group, between employees) and to learn techniques to promote vertical communication (between levels). Thus, I would be able to influence organizational performance to a greater extent and learn about current issues to propose possible solutions to them.
Conclusion
It should be noted that the reasonable timeframe for reaching all the described milestones is one year. Even though each goal and milestone is complex and multifaceted, all the identified objectives should be achieved simultaneously because they are interconnected and can be mutually affected in the course of work. More importantly, by combining the information received during the learning process and the data received from my research, I would be able to analyze the leading domains to consider for my practice.
References
Bennis, W. G., & Thomas, R. J. (2002). Crucibles of leadership. Harvard Business Review, 80(9), 39-45.
Coleman, J., Gulati, D., & Segovia, W. O. (2012). Passion and purpose: Stories from the best and brightest young business leaders. Web.
Kaplan, R. S. (2008). Reaching your potential. Harvard Business Review, 86(7-8), 45-49.
Morriss, A., Ely, R. J., & Frei, F. X. (2011). Stop holding yourself back. Harvard Business Review, 89(1-2), 160-163.