Introduction
The interview was conducted with local SPA business owner K. M., who shared valuable insights and lessons from years of successfully managing her business despite recent challenges. Coming from a working-class family, K.’s accomplishments as a leader are particularly remarkable. Her experience highlights that effective leadership is achieved by emphasizing strengths rather than focusing solely on weaknesses.
Leadership Identity and Core Strengths
At the beginning of the interview process, a question was asked about what makes Mrs. M. a great leader. The response was rather humble, as she does not perceive herself as such, but strives to become one. To do so, she actively works and develops her key strengths, which include communication skills, emotional intelligence, and conscientiousness.
Women’s Leadership: Influences and Barriers
She believes that determination and persistence impact a woman’s ability to lead because, in a patriarchal society, women can be perceived as inferior and non-authoritative. Therefore, K. believes that more confidence and dedication are necessary to be an effective leader. In the case of challenges, Mrs. M. stated that any leader would eventually face challenges and barriers that must be dealt with effectively and appropriately. In her opinion, the most significant barriers include organizational culture, employee dissatisfaction, and poor service quality (Edwards & Saltman, 2017). She noted that all three barriers are interconnected in some form because a dysfunctional organizational culture creates poor quality, which forces management to undertake stricter measures, leading to employee dissatisfaction.
Sources of Inspiration and Early Motivations
To strive for excellence, K. is heavily inspired by Margaret Thatcher because she was one of the first embodiments of strength expressed through womanhood. K. elaborated that each woman can be a strong leader, but leading on the national level in a highly patriarchal period was what terrified her adolescence. Mrs. M. is firmly convinced that conscientiousness is a vital and often overlooked quality needed to be a strong leader. She states that one needs to be caring, compassionate, and supportive of customers, employees, teammates, business partners, and other stakeholders if a person wants to lead within a long-term scope of pursuits.
Developing Leadership: Growth, Mindset, and Resilience
Mrs. M. continues to grow as a leader by focusing on the development, growth, and transformation of the people around her. She adheres to the transformational leadership model, where she is convinced that her success as a leader rests on her employees’ capabilities, competencies, and professional skills. K. explains that such an approach is especially critical in the SPA business since the competitive advantage is achieved through the personnel’s performance and ability to provide excellent service.
Hiring Practices and Criteria for Selecting the Best Candidate
Whenever Mrs. M. faces the selection of the best candidate during the hiring process, she looks for diligence and discipline as primary factors. She believes that many professional skills and competencies related to experience can be developed and improved. In other words, she prefers a mediocrely skilled and diligent worker, whom she can help become skilled, than an undisciplined skilled employee, whom she cannot change.
Career Beginnings and the Journey to Advancement
Mrs. M. became a leader by being a loyal follower of her mentor during her late 20s. She states that the best way to become a leader is by following someone you respect and admire, which reveals the best picture of leadership without any false assumptions. The mentor inspired her to become a leader after K. decided to open a SPA business in her own hometown. She stated that compassion motivated her to be a daily leader, as many people depend on her, including her employees and clients.
Staying Driven: Motivation, Persistence, and Positive Thinking
Mrs. M. began her career as an administrator at her mentor’s spa salon, where she worked for seven years. During this period, she quickly learned and grew as a professional, which ultimately led her to pursue a degree in spa management. After graduation, she decided to put her skills, knowledge, and competencies into practice by opening a spa salon in her home state.
Mrs. M. admits that she rose from a poor working family to the upper middle class through persistence and luck. She believes that being fortunate in life is critical. Still, she additionally states that one can increase the opportunities for luck to manifest by being consistent and dedicated in one’s efforts.
A significant source of her persistence was her children, who lost their father to cancer, and since then, she has been a single mother. When asked about giving up, she said that a woman in her position has no such option, but believes that praying daily helps to keep her faith and hope alive. Mrs. M. is convinced that being a caring and compassionate person removes negativity.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the interview with K. M. demonstrates that effective leadership is achieved by focusing on strengths rather than correcting weaknesses. She was always a conscientious person; thus, instead of trying to emulate others, she capitalized on what makes her unique. Thus, Mrs. M. revealed a range of critical insights and lessons from years of running a successful business despite the challenges of recent years.
Reference
Edwards, N., & Saltman, R. B. (2017). Re-thinking barriers to organizational change in public hospitals. Israel Journal of Health Policy Research, 6(8), 1-11. Web.