Personality Traits Promote And Inhibit My Potential Change Leader

Question: Discuss about the My Personality Traits That Promote And Inhibit My Potential As A Change Leader. Answer: Introduction Leaders are tasked with the role of giving inspiration to their team members to facilitate the attainment of the teams established targets (Yukl, 2010). To achieve this, leaders utilize different leadership styles and behaviour such as transactional, democracy, and transformational styles of leadership. The process of leadership is associated with instances of change, particularly in the current work environment that is impacted by globalization, technology, and changes in the taste and preferences of consumers. Managing change has become an integral part of leadership, and hence, leaders are required to possess appropriate qualities to be agents of change. As an aspiring organizational leader and manager, I am privy to the fact that I will play a significant role in managing change. To successfully execute the process of change, a leader should be aware of his strengths and weaknesses as an agent of change (Zaccaro, 2007). In line with these aspects, this paper is going to discuss t hree aspects of my personality and behavior that exhibit change leadership characteristics and three characteristics of my leadership that inhibits my potential as a change leader. Personality that exhibits change leadership characteristics: Communication The possession of effective communication skills is one of my personality traits that exhibit effective change leadership characteristic. As a change agent, the possession of effective communication skills enables me to institute a mutual understanding regarding the purpose of change and its effects on the team that I lead (Riaz Haider, 2010). As a leader, I can develop a message and convey it effectively to the target audience in a persuasive manner to drive the process of change. Resistance to change is a common scenario in organizations, and therefore, it is important that the leader should convince and persuade the followers to accept change. To ensure that the subordinates understand the need for change, it is important that the leader should create a clear picture of the change process and its objectives. I have the ability to develop a clear vision and articulate it in a clear and a detailed manner to my subordinates. The ability to communicate my vision clearly as a leader e nables me to win the trust and loyalty of my subordinates, and this is instrumental in getting the desired support from my followers while effecting change within my team. This is consistent with the transformation al leadership theory where a leader works together with the subordinates to identify the need for change, and then the leader develops a clear vision that will lead towards the achievement of the identified needs. Flexibility and adaptability As a leader, I very flexible and can adapt easily to new changes in my surrounding. These characteristics will enhance my effectiveness as a change agent in my leadership position. In the modern leadership environment, the occurrence of unexpected events requires that leaders should take appropriate measures to ensure smooth operations. This is in line with the contingency theory of leadership which argues that during the occurrence of unexpected events, leaders are required to adopt contingency measures to curb the negative impacts of the unexpected scenario (Roger, 2003). The success of a leader is dependent on the leader's ability match the existing characteristics regardless of whether the leader is relations-oriented or task-oriented (Winkler, 2010). A relations-oriented leader is one who utilizes the supportive leadership style while a task-oriented leader is one who uses directive leadership style. As a flexible and adaptable leader, I am able to make appropriate deviations to my styles of leadership to one that is suited to the situation at hand, and hence, I am an effective change agent (Peretomode, 2012). Equally, the attitudes influence the commitment of the subordinates towards new changes within the organization. When a leader has poor relationships with the subordinates, they are likely to resist changes. On the other hand, when the subordinates have a positive attitude towards the leader, they will readily accept the process of change. This can be explained using the personality trait theory which states that an individual personality influences the way he or responds to new things within his or her environment (Buchanan, 2008). This can also be understood through the leader-member exchange theory which examines the relationship between a leader and a follower within an organizational setting (Truss, Shantz, Soane, Alfes, Delbridge, 2013). The quality of the relationship that the one in the leadership position builds with individual team members has a significant effect on their behavior and attitudes towards organizational activities. Teamwork and collaboration The ability to elicit and promote participation of my followers in the decision-making process and collaboration during the completion of tasks is another leadership behavior that helps me to effect change. According to Fernandez and Hal (2006), an effective change leader should promote subordinate participation and engagement in organizational activities. As a leader who embraces collaboration and teamwork, the implementation of this practice will enable to overcome any potential resistance to change which has been a major barrier towards change in the recent decades. The practice of giving the subordinates the opportunity to have an influence on the direction and form that the organization takes creates a change that is participant-oriented and this allows my subordinates to own the process of change (Bazerman Chugh, 2006). Owning the process of change ensures trust among the participants, and this makes it easy to solve the problems that are affecting the team, and hence, enhanci ng the chances of achieving the goals and objectives of the change process. Personality traits that inhibits change leadership characteristics: Lack of patience One of the behaviors that inhibit my potential of becoming an effective change leader is the lack of patience. An effective leader should possess the virtue of patience particularly during the change process (Udo-Imeh, Awara, Essien, 2015). As a leader, my lack of patience exhibits itself in the manner through which I want tasks to be completed fast and in the shortest time possible. While time is of the essence in the completion of projects due to its association with reduced financial costs, this element is not vital in the process of effecting change within an organizational setting. Change does not take place overnight, and therefore, an individual in the leadership position should approach change as a process and not as an event that should take place instantly. This is a major inhibitor towards my potential as a change leader because I have failed to guide my subordinates effectively through every step of change. Low level of confidence One of the most important traits of effective leadership is confidence; however, as a leader, I often experience a lack of confidence while faced with new tasks. For a leader to win the trust and loyalty of his followers, he or she must demonstrate self-confidence in the things that he says and what he does (Turner Mller, 2010). The ability to demonstrate self-confidence is a major motivational factor to the followers. During a change process, a leader should be able to motivate his followers by giving them confidence in the possibility of a positive outcome. This is consistent with the expectancy theory which states that people are motivated to work when they expect something positive at the end. Besides, it is also in line with the three-dimensional theory of attribution which states that the outcomes of an event motivate or demotivates people. As a leader, I lack confidence especially when taking new steps because of the fear of uncertainty, and this has inhibited my potential as a change agent. Lack of emotional Stability Another behavior that inhibits my potential of becoming a change leader is the occasional emotional instability that I experience during my leadership process. A leader as an agent of change should have emotional stability to bring about change (Fossum, 1989,). This is because, during the change process, there emerge conflicts due to the emergence of diverse opinions regarding the process of change. As a leader, the lack of emotional stability prevents me from realizing that change is a process that entails the disengagement of people from a status quo, and hence, require a transition through a period that is normally considered to be very unstable. Conclusion In summary, besides inspiring the subordinates to achieve the set goals and objective, organizational and team leaders play a vital role in the successful execution of the process of change. As a leader, it is expected of me to lead the process of change within my team. A self-evaluation reveals that I possess characteristics and behavior that boost my potential of becoming an effective change leader. One of these effective traits is the possession of effective communication skills. As a leader, I able to develop and communicate clearly with my followers during the change process. Another trait that helps me to effect change is my adaptability and flexibility. These traits my potential of serving as a change leaders due to my ability to adapt to the emerging situations using the appropriate leadership style. Besides, my teamwork and collaborative behavior allow my followers to participate in the change process, and this enables me to overcome resistance to change. Despite this, I pos sess traits that inhibit my ability as a potential change leader. For example, as a leader, I suffer from the lack the required emotional stability, patience, and low level of confidence that emergence when I am faced with a new task. Bibliography Bazerman, M. H. Chugh, D., 2006, Decisions without blinders, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 84, no. 1, pp. 88-97. Buchanan, D. A., 2008, You stab my back and Ill stab yours:Management experience and perceptions of organizational political behaviour, British Journal of Management, Vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 49-64 Fernandez, S. Hal, G. 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