Introduction
Self-assessment concerning the value systems and personal traits has provided me with multiple insights. First of all, it emphasized the importance and the meaning of self-awareness for a leader. Nahavandi (2014) maintains that self-awareness is the basis for such necessary skills of a leader as self-monitoring, the ability to mediate a conflict and provide timely feedback. The followers are as important for the leader and the leader for the followers. The leader in health care is not only to guide and unite the leaders by their passion but also to serve them (Zaleznick, 2004; Vroom & Jago, 2007; Koh, 2009). A leader good at self-monitoring reads the environments around them and makes conclusions which add to their charisma and ability to influence the followers, be a transformational authority figure, instead of a transactional manager relying on their Machiavellian personality (Changing Minds, 2011; Coach 4 Growth, 2011; Kotter, 1990; Nahavandi, 2014).
New Insights Gained Based on the Results of the “Value Systems” Assessment
The assessment results I obtained provided me with a more objective perspective of my leadership skills and abilities. For instance, I became aware that I am quite good at analyzing people’s behaviors and environments, which means that the level of my emotional maturity is high. Since emotional maturity and self-awareness are my strong sides, acting as a leader, I would rely on deeper communication with the followers, empowerment, and envision. At the same time, the self-assessment results made it clear to me that one of my weaknesses as a potential leader is my reluctance to delegate, which generally is a trait of a leader who is doomed to failure (Nahavandi, 2014). That way, for me it is extremely important to focus on the development of my ability to delegate and reduce my need for total control over projects assigned to me. As stated by Nahavandi (2014), poor delegation is one of the Type A behaviors that make an unsuccessful collaborator. Besides, in my opinion, delegation is one of the primary abilities required for systems thinking in healthcare, since systems thinking is interdisciplinary and deals with tasks that require interactions of multiple fields and groups of people (Leischow & Milstein, 2006; Trochim, Cabrera, Milstein, Gallagher, & Leischow, 2006;). A leader unable to delegate would not be good at systems thinking.
How These New Insights Might Impact Your Role or Future Role as a Public Health Leader
My self-assessment results demonstrated that my weak side is the desire to take over the control of all the projects since I feel more confident working alone. According to Murray’s (2011) description of the manager, as an individual focused on local maintenance of the structure and dealing with a lot of personal responsibilities, I would fit more into that role in terms of my current delegation skills. At the same time, my self-awareness and self-monitoring skills make me good at communicating with the followers and analysis of situations. This way, my future role as a public health leader might have to deal with empowerment and inspiration using my strong side (self-monitoring) to improve my weak side (lack of ability to delegate).
Conclusion
To sum up, the self-assessment results were extremely useful for me. They pointed out my main strengths and weaknesses and provided me with the future focus for self-improvement and the aspects to pay attention to to function as a leader.
Reference List
Changing Minds. (2011). Leadership vs. management. Web.
Coach 4 Growth. (2011). Leadership vs. management: What are the characteristics of a leader and a manager? Web.
Koh, H. K. (2009). Leadership in public health. Journal of Cancer Education, 24(Supp. 2), S11–S18.
Kotter, J. P. (1990). A force for change: How leadership differs from management. New York, NY: Free Press.
Leischow, S. J., & Milstein, B. (2006). Systems thinking and modeling for public health practice.American Journal of Public Health, 96(3), 403–405.
Murray, A. (2011). What is the difference between management and leadership? Web.
Nahavandi, A. (2014). The art and science of leadership (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Trochim, W. M., Cabrera, D.A., Milstein, B., Gallagher, R.S., & Leischow, S.J. (2006). Practical challenges of systems thinking and modeling in Public Health. American Journal of Public Health, 96(3), 538–546.
Vroom, V. H., & Jago, A.G. (2007). The role of the situation in leadership. American Psychologist, 62(1), 17–24.
Zaleznick, A. (2004). Managers and leaders: Are they different? Harvard Business Review, 82(1), 74–81.