Introduction
Striving for leadership is a sign of a socially prosperous, mentally full-fledged person. This is an attempt to take a worthy place in the group, team, and society as a whole. To my mind, being a leader is an expression of a person’s inner strength and self-confidence. Therefore, it is unnatural for a human not to strive for leadership. I have faced many life situations in which my managerial abilities have led to various results.
Main body
Throughout my personal and professional life, I have always believed that a leader is a person full of decisiveness, power, and creativity. One of the essential qualities that most figureheads have is openness. Every day they receive new information, communicate with people, and make decisions – transparency is necessary for effective implementation (Lussier and Achua 187). In addition, all leaders have to be an inspiration for the entire team because they pave the way for success.
I recall a situation in my high school when my physical education teacher appointed me as the basketball team’s head. My team had ten people, five of which were replacement players, and together we had to compete against first-year students. We only had several weeks to prepare for the game, and I tried my best to perform as a leader. First, I had to develop a strategy that my team had to adhere to. Secondly, my inner desire to unite the players was irresistible because I knew that only trusting relationships would help us win. I had never thought how important it was to establish an emotional connection with the team members until I became a leader. The game went smoothly, and I was attentive to each player even though we lost the third period. One of the girls had a knee dislocation during that round, and I have never felt such an urge to support her. My primary strategy was discussing the direction with my team instead of giving them on my own. Ultimately, we won the game and maintained a good relationship afterward.
The leadership style that I employed as a captain of a basketball team is affiliative. A such leader is focused on building solid relationships and maintaining the well-being of their followers (Lussier and Achua). I think this approach helped me concentrate on each team member’s motivation and let them decide the strategy. I used this style because I needed to build a strong team, boost morale, and improve communication.
However, I have not always been successful in managing people. Once I was assigned an ahead of the project at our science classes. I remember being reluctant about taking on this role as my team members were irresponsible people. I knew that even if I tried to motivate them, they would still neglect my opinion. Therefore, we simply decided to take a specific aspect of the project and submit it on time. As a result, our presentation was graded low because it was not properly structured. However, the outcomes could have been better if I had structured our report and given my subscribers instructions. In this case, I would use an autocratic leadership style, which involves giving instructions and expecting people to follow them.
Summary
In summation, leadership is about responsibility, about understanding what one’s actions mean to others. Everyone can be a leader; the main thing is to find an approach to themselves and develop new qualities. It is necessary to ensure that a person who wants to lead wants improvements and not power. Any leadership style has pros and cons, and I am assured that there should be intrinsic motivation to guide people.
Work Cited
Lussier, Robert N., and Christopher F Achua. Leadership: Theory, Application, & Skill Development. Cengage Learning, 2015.