In the fictional movie “Twisted,” the fictional main character, “Alvaro,” was the manager of Classic Collections. This company had more than 50 employees who worked under the leadership of Alvaro. As a manager, he was in charge of all operations and the most critical decision-making processes in the company. Alvaro had a likeable character due to his excellent communication skills. This trait allowed the employees to be open with him, which enhanced openness within the company. In addition, his communication skills eased giving instructions within the company. Alvaro was caring and empathetic and always checked his employees’ well-being to ensure they were all in the right state to work and had a sense of belonging in the company.
Additionally, he was free-spirited and optimistic, which enabled him to be a good coach, and he always wanted his employees to sharpen their skills and be the best career people they could ever be. Alvaro introduced a “Skills Enhancement Program” program in the company for the employees to enhance their careers. As a coach, he prioritized getting the task done and ensuring the personal growth of the individuals he managed. Based on his character traits, Alvaro was a good manager of Classic Collections.
The importance of management in an organization’s culture and overall performance is shown by how businesses with excellent managers have higher levels of productivity and profitability and increased staff engagement ratings. Thus, Alvaro worked towards improving his management skills. First, Alvaro realized he needed to have an insightful grasp of how he expressed his workplace expertise to enhance his skill and needed to have that understanding to improve it (McGarr, 2021). Next, he determined his leadership style by examining his approach to directing his team, maintaining their motivation, and carrying out his ideas.
No two leaders have the same style and comprehension, and developing their own will need a significant degree of introspection and feedback from other people. People can acquire insight into their thoughts and behavior by self-introspection, often known as gazing inward at themselves, as it is an essential component of self-awareness. He needed to be aware of his regular manner at work, including the ratio of compliments to criticisms that he generally delivers, the degree to which he is transparent with his colleagues, and other aspects of his behavior (McGarr, 2021). Thus, doing so assisted him in determining and improving his areas of greatest strength and those in which he had the most room for growth.
After he understood his leadership style, the next step he took was to work on improving the flaws he discovered. For instance, he was very good at developing plans, but he struggled while managing the team to ensure that those plans were carried out effectively. In addition, he was good at public speaking yet suffered when written communication was involved. Additionally, he realized that even though he was good at communicating, he did not do it efficiently. Leadership is, in some senses, an ongoing series of talks between the leader and the team. He then realized that if he was unable to communicate effectively, there was no way that he would be able to lead his team in the direction that it needed to go in an efficient manner (McGarr, 2021). Thus, to polish his communication skills, he read beneficial information and took online courses in leadership.
Moreover, Alvaro learned that if he wanted to be a good leader, he needed to have a goal that had effectively orientated his team towards and achieved despite the challenges he faced. He selected a worthy objective for his group to work toward and then devised a sound strategy that his group would carry out to achieve the goal. Then, he established relevant benchmarks to constantly ensure that he was making appropriate progress and could remedy any faults that came along as fast as possible. This standard allowed him to stay on track with his work (McGarr, 2021). Next, he developed a strategy for tackling new issues where he was able to streamline his approach and turn it into a technique that could be replicated. Finally, he strived to attain significant objectives that offered him and his staff a feeling of pride. After accomplishing one of those goals, he immediately sharpened his decision-making skills.
Any group moving toward a common objective will always reach points along the path; essential choices must be taken. In most cases, people turn to the team leader for consultation (McGarr, 2021). Thus, Alvaro realized that making judgments was a responsibility that had to be handled correctly as a leader and that the penalty for making incorrect decisions was significant. The ability to make sound decisions is one tool that managers have to demonstrate to their workers that they respect the job they do and keep their welfare in mind. When a leader takes the time to assess, analyze, and explain choices, they demonstrate not just thoughtfulness but also trustworthiness. He learned that his capacity to come to sound judgments even when faced with challenging problems is a skill that must be honed continually to guide his team on the right path and head off potential disasters in the business world.
Lastly, he learned that a leader should admit his mistakes regardless of how experienced one is as a leader; one will never be immune to the possibility of making errors. On the other hand, a genuine leader is not someone who shies away from error. They are aware of their shortcomings and are honest about discussing them. They grow due to those errors and actively seek to avoid repeating them. He learned that leaders are not afraid to admit to the other team members, “I made this error, and it resulted in this impact.” It sends a strong message to one’s team when one can be transparent about their failures and learn from them. Additionally, it shows them that one is a leader who can continually grow, motivating them to do the same thing (McGarr, 2021). For Alvaro to admit that he had failed at anything, he first recognized the areas he lacked and needed development.
Alvaro had three major management traits: communication, caring, and a coach. A leader who can communicate effectively has the chance to share knowledge, exert influence over others, and motivate people to take action. If a leader does not possess this capacity, their total efficacy will be reduced. Alvaro communicated with his employees effectively and listened to them in this connection. Alvaro understands that the effectiveness of a team is directly proportional to the amount of listening that its leader does. There is a correlation between a boss who is authoritarian and judgmental and workers who are scared of them and unable to speak with them, resulting in dysfunction within the team and decreased production (Sainz et al., 2019). Thus, listening is an essential part of any successful communication. It is simple to misinterpret information when someone cannot listen attentively.
Besides, Alvaro was caring to his employees as caring is extreme, and by its very nature, it is reciprocal. When leaders demonstrate that they care about their employees and do so consistently, team members experience a sense of warmth and connection (Sainz et al., 2019). Employees appreciate caring managers as they feel belonging and essential in their workplaces. When employees feel noticed, they reciprocate by giving their best in their work. Because of this, Alvaro’s employees were able to buy into the organization’s mission, get involved in its activities, and contribute significantly to the results of those activities, increasing the company’s performance.
Collaboration, support, and being guided in the right direction were hallmarks of his coaching-style leadership. Coaching leaders are concerned with bringing out the best in their teams by directing them through the accomplishment of their objectives and the overcoming of whatever challenges they face (Sainz et al., 2019). This type of leadership is the antithesis of autocratic leadership, emphasizing decisions being handed down from high. A manager should be there to assist his employees in being better equipped to accomplish their jobs, according to the theory of servant leadership, which is a collection of leadership behaviors and a management philosophy. Alvaro’s coaching traits encourage the acquisition of new abilities, independent thought, and empowerment. It promotes a culture of confidence inside the firm and a review of the company’s goals. It is common practice to consider leaders who coach to be great mentors.
To acquire Alvaro’s leadership traits, I will enroll in online training to attain such skills. I should specifically select coaching, caring, and communication as significant learning attributes. I will train for three months part-time but continuously. I need to remember each characteristic for a month, and in three months, the training session will be over. The training is relevant to me as I need to acquire and sharpen my leadership skills. Since I have witnessed the positive impact that such leadership skills can yield to a company from Alvaro’s case, I would like to become a good and impactful leader. I will start the training in a week, which will go on for three consecutive months before its end.
However, such leadership traits do not always yield positive results. For instance, communication in leadership has disadvantages, such as employees taking advantage of their leader’s interactive nature, taking it as a weakness. Thus, employees can become less committed to their work, as they would start viewing their leaders as lenient and as of the same rank. Additionally, some employees can take advantage of their leaders’ caring traits (Sainz et al., 2019). For instance, some employees can come to work late with heart-touching excuses since they expect their manager to understand their situation.
Nevertheless, I have applied the leadership traits possessed by Alvaro in my life, which have helped me relate better with the people around me. For instance, being an excellent communicator has helped me speak up for the voiceless and those who have less confidence to do it in public. I believe that as a leader, one should seek to help those in tight situations by speaking up for them. Furthermore, being a caring person has helped me become responsible in everything I do to ensure nobody suffers for my mistakes. For example, I guarantee I do what is expected of me accurately and on time at work to avoid the business suffering due to my errors. In the case of writing a resume, the leadership traits that will be inclusive are:
- Excellent communication skills- Able to communicate verbally and in writing excellently.
- Caring- Empathetic and able to relate with colleagues and employees.
- Expert coaching skills- Able to coach employees to attain their higher potentials through applying servant leadership.
Unequivocally, Alvaro’s character fits one of the great leaders. For this reason, I would not mind him managing me since I am confident. He is a great and professional manager who knows what is expected of him and how-to guide and direct others. I know he has the best interest at heart as he will be seeking to improve the organization’s performance and polish my skills in my career. Additionally, Alvaro can individualize each employee’s need and customize every help to fit the staff’s potential. He is motivated to utilize the unique skills that the employees possess to ensure that the organization harnesses all human resources it has to increase productivity. With Alvaro, other workers and I will have an opportunity to align our performance with the organization, which will be an excellent chance to promote success and good performance in the firm.
References
McGarr, O. (2021). The use of virtual simulations in teacher education to develop pre-service teachers’ behavior and classroom management skills: implications for reflective practice. Journal of Education for Teaching, 47(2), 274-286.
Sainz, M. A., Ferrero, A. M., & Ugidos, A. (2019). Time management: skills to learn and put into practice. Education Training.