Introduction
Leadership is a multifaceted phenomenon that may be examined through various lenses. Power and influence are addressed in political science, business management describes leadership as effectiveness in outcomes or stresses supervisor-subordinate interactions, and history examines the impact of notable individuals during crucial times or while leading large social movements (Komives et al., 2007).
Leadership is a subject that plays a vital role in one’s life. Everyone is responsible as individuals and groups to contribute successfully as members of organizations, local communities, countries, and the global community. Today leaders are made rather than born, and leadership success begins with self-awareness and self-knowledge and progresses to an understanding of others. This reflection paper will define leadership, content for practicing leadership, and address leadership ninja skills.
Definition of Leadership
Leadership cannot be reduced to a series of simple steps. Nevertheless, it is possible to create a method of thinking—a personal leadership philosophy—and identify critical elements that might help one work with others toward change (Komives et al., 2007). When one recognizes the importance of relationships in leadership, one’s growth is considerably increased.
Elements of Leadership
My definition of leadership includes four key elements. For instance, there are three fundamental leadership elements: knowing, being, and doing (Komives et al., 2007). Firstly, a leader must understand oneself, how change occurs, and why others may see things differently than leaders do. Secondly, a leader should be ethical, principled, open, compassionate, and inclusive. Ultimately, a leader must act—socially, responsibly, consistently, and congruently as a community member and follow their values and passions. Nonetheless, I would add that the fourth key element is bringing positive change. Leaders should bring positive change to communities, organizations, teams, and the world. I believe that knowing, being, doing, and bringing positive change construct my definition of leadership.
Traits of Leaders
Although each field of study emphasizes various aspects of leadership, each field is interested in how people might work more successfully together toward a common goal. In my opinion, a good leader should not tell followers what to do or how to act but instead, set an example and guide them in the right direction. As a result, it is critical to understand followers’ interests, wants, and expectations, as well as to be knowledgeable about the area and continually develop one’s abilities.
A leader must be open to new ideas and initiatives, inclusive and ethical. Leadership is not about following one’s standards and regulations but listening to the team and working together to find the best possible solution. A leader is a facilitator whose primary purpose is to achieve goals and promote positive development for everyone.
The Context for Practicing Leadership
Thus far in my personal life, I have learned about leadership through being a football player all my life. I was the team’s quarterback and learned how to lead others in that position. In the future, I envision myself as a sales executive who will supervise sales teams. I would like to work for a global organization, such as Tesla.
The company’s goal is to hasten the global transition to sustainable energy. Climate change is reaching catastrophic proportions worldwide, owing primarily to emissions from the use of fossil fuels for electrical generation and transportation (Impact Report, 2020). The globe will be able to reduce CO2 emissions once energy consumption is tackled.
As a result, Tesla’s statement is to aid the worldwide transition to sustainable energy (About us, n.d.). To accomplish this mission, the company develops solutions that replace some of the world’s biggest polluters. Tesla substantially contributes to a world powered by solar energy and electric vehicles, and I would like to be a part of it.
Suppose I will be responsible for the U.S. market, and my sales team will include twenty professionals. Our culture would be to work together to sell mass-market battery electric vehicles (EVs) and differentiate ourselves in the automotive business by bringing about positive change. Thus, as a leader, I will emphasize that decisions should be made together, and the structure of a team will be agile and not hierarchical. From my perspective, each team member should contribute to the shared success.
Application of the Leadership Definition to the Workplace Context
My definition of leadership would be a good fit within this context because, like in football, every member plays a significant role in the sales department. The crucial elements of my definition – knowing, being, doing, and bringing positive change – will help me to lead the team efficiently.
Knowing
Firstly, I will investigate the market and current knowledge within the team because knowing the industry and our strengths are crucial to success. The challenges include fierce rivalry, the emergence of new EV companies, and various renewable energy sources and hybrid energy innovations. Competitors and new entrants are putting substantial pressure on the firm. My objective is to use the collective expertise of twenty team members to create a solution to the challenge.
Being
Secondly, genuine leaders are conscious of and disclose their views, values, reasons, and feelings, promote and welcome others’ involvement, and share decision-making resources (Luu, 2020). Therefore, I aim to be transparent, ethical, open to others’ feedback, ready to improve my knowledge and skills, and considerate of each team member’s interests.
Doing
Thirdly, doing or, in other words, acting socially responsibly is vital to the company’s and each member’s success, including mine. Luu (2020) emphasizes that telling the truth (relational orientation), admitting personal flaws (unbiased processing), recognizing what demotivates oneself (self-awareness), and acting following personal ideals are all examples of authentic functioning.
Bringing Positive Change
Finally, bringing positive change by focusing on teammates’ needs, organizational goals, and global issues, such as climate change, is vital to being a sales executive at a company such as Tesla.
Leadership Ninja Skills
Leadership may be learned and enhanced with time and experience. Leadership skills are life talents that may be used in both personal interactions and professional and organizational duties (Komives et al., 2007). Ninjas symbolize specific distinctive attributes relevant to leadership (Mazumbder, 2020). Nowadays, the word ninja is more commonly linked with someone who possesses a high degree of competence or talent and is an expert in their industry (Mazumbder, 2020). Each person has a unique ninja talent that allows them to be a more decisive leader in specific leadership circumstances and settings.
Knowledge
The ninja skills I already have that are relevant to the Sales Executive role include eagerness for knowledge, effective listening, emotional intelligence, problem-solving, and strategic thinking. I feel that genuine leaders should always study and improve their expertise daily. The eagerness for knowledge is strongly connected to one of the elements of my leadership definition: knowing.
Effective Listening
Consequently, a leader should be open to any discussion and feedback. Thus, listening skills and emotional intelligence are associated with the leadership’s element of being. Effective listening is critical for leaders because it allows them to challenge their preconceptions and become more aware and thoughtful (Baker et al., 2019). Therefore, the essential advantages of great listening are relationship development and increased trust.
Emotional Intelligence
The following skill needed for a great leader is emotional intelligence (EI), which includes a few components. Cui (2021) states that the EI incorporates social skills, self-awareness, self-management, motivation, and empathy. Emotional intelligence is an individual’s ability to detect and comprehend emotions and connect with others (Cui, 2021). Thus, in order to be able to manage a team and become a role model, one should constantly develop self-awareness and self-management. Additionally, it is critical for leaders to perceive and comprehend how others feel and to consider these sentiments before responding in social settings.
Problem-Solving And Strategic Thinking
Consequently, the following vital skills are problem-solving, which relates to the component of doing according to my leadership definition, and strategic thinking, which is linked with bringing positive change. I developed both as a football player because the game requires fast decision-making and strategic planning of future steps. The ability to recognize and solve difficulties creatively and effectively is called problem-solving.
For instance, if I want to work for an innovative firm like Tesla, I need to improve my problem-solving abilities to assess the scenario and provide the most suitable solution for my team and the company. The skill to think strategically and prepare for the future, considering long-term goals and future problems, is referred to as strategic thinking. I suppose this talent is required because, to produce a good change, a leader must examine the industry, team environment and capabilities, and corporate goals and establish a strategic plan.
Conclusion
To conclude, my concept of leadership consists of four fundamental components: knowing, being, doing, and bringing about positive change. Leadership is about listening to the team and collaborating to discover the optimal solution. A leader is a facilitator and role model whose primary goal is to achieve objectives and encourage good growth for everybody.
In the future, I see myself as a sales executive in charge of sales teams. I want to work for a multinational corporation like Tesla. My ninja skills include curiosity, listening, emotional intelligence, problem-solving, and strategic thinking. Nonetheless, the leader must continually learn, strengthen existing skills, and acquire new ones.
References
About us. (n.d.). Tesla. Web.
Baker, E. L., Dunne-Moses, A., Calarco, A. J., & Gilkey, R. (2019). Listening to understand: A core leadership skill. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 25(5), 508-510. Web.
Cui, Y. (2021). The role of emotional intelligence in workplace transparency and open communication. Aggression and Violent Behavior. Web.
Impact report. (2020). Tesla. Web.
Komives, S. R., Lucas, N., & McMahon, T. R. (2007). Exploring leadership: For college students who want to make a difference (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Luu, T. T. (2020). Linking authentic leadership to salespeople’s service performance: The roles of job crafting and human resource flexibility. Industrial Marketing Management, 84, 89-104. Web.
Mazumbder, S. (2020). 5 iconic leadership lessons inspired by ninjas. LinkedIn. Web.