nov 4

In my experience, I have learned that leadership is the key to success. Tuesday’s lecture was all about leadership and the various styles individuals might employ. I believe the styles that would work best if a manager wanted to motivate me would be a supportive and participative style. I suspect that these two are best suited for me because of all the traits and characteristics I have learned about myself throughout this course. For example I have a high EQ (emotional intelligence), and a supportive manager who is encouraging, highly approachable, shows concerns for my needs and well being fits in appropriately with my personality. In addition, when I am assigned to a team, I feel that it is necessary that I am included in the decision making process, as this makes me feel more needed, and important. A participative leader would encourage me to help make decisions, and will consult with me, as well as ask for my suggestions and opinions on certain topics. This will in turn motivate me to do a great job, as I will feel the obligation to prove to my manager that I value the organization as much as the organization values me.

My manager in the summer had a directive and participative style of leadership. She used a more directive style with the summer employees, as we were more inexperienced than the normal staff. This sometimes made me feel worthless and unmotivated, as she would only consult the permanent staff with decisions. A lot of times I would overhear her asking the staff for their input on certain ideas, and I would find myself interrupting the conversation because I had the answer to her questions and concerns. Sometimes I felt less motivated to complete tasks as I felt that she did not respect me because she was under the impression that I had no experience; I would have definitely preferred a more participative leader who would ask for my input, and value my opinions.

Presently, I feel that I am more of a task-oriented leader; I prefer to get things done, and I don’t care too much about other people’s feelings during the process. I realize that this is not the best style, and I need to have a balance of both worlds, as it will help me in future group work. Currently, my group members may find me demanding, and would therefore be less motivated to complete work, but maybe if I was a bit more people-oriented, they may be more inspired to complete tasks. In order to become more people-oriented, I will need to have trust and respect for my group members, have concern for their individual needs, listen to their suggestions and advice, and support their interests. I think the hardest part will be to ask my group members for advice, because at times I feel as though I have all the answers. I must admit that sometimes I have the attitude “it’s my way or the highway!”, and this obviously needs to change if I want to become an effective leader. I can definitely start by asking for more input and advice from my MGM300 career project group members.