INTRODUCTION TO THE SECTION
David Foster Wallace (2007) describes a leader as someone who can help us overcome the limitations of our own individual laziness. He emphasises a leaders ability to "get us to do better things than we can get ourselves to do on our own".
But how do I become a successful manager in the future? What will my leadership style be? Not just as a manager of others, but a manager of myself.
FIGURE 11 - Uner, I. 2020. Team Role preferences diagram based on Myers-Briggs personality test provided by Potential.ly
My Myers-Briggs primary research also provided insight into my personality as a leader. According to the results, my personality type prefers the team roles of Collaborator or Finisher.
According to student development professionals Potential.ly (2020), a collaborator is someone at the heart of a team, who is able to adapt themselves to whatever situation the team requires and thrives when communication levels are high. However, they also present certain weaknesses I have as a collaborator, such as a desire to remain diplomatic, resulting in an adversity to conflict (ibid). This links completely with the results of my Johari Window, which highlighted a adverseness for conflict within the 'hidden self'.
Potential.ly also reflect on the role of a Finisher, who pays a high level of attention to detail and meeting high standards (ibid). Again, this proves to be true when we reflect on the results of my VARK test (see Appendix X), which identified a strong relationship between myself and highly detailed visual learning. However, they also describe the danger of finishers becoming overly critical of team member's efforts and contributions (ibid); this is a weaknesses reflected in me and supported again by my Johari Window, which highlights my controlling nature within the 'mystery self' section.
FIGURE 12 - Uner, I. 2020. Leadership Continuum adapted from Tannenbaum & Schmidt, 1958.
Tannenbaum and Schmidt (2009) present their model of work for people centered leadership, as interpreted above. Through this, I can analyse what type of leader I would prefer to work under and therefore become in the future; I explored each aspect of the continuum (Figure 13) and feel that leading with 'freedom for the team' in mind would be preferable, using elements of consulting and joining leadership styles to maintain aspects of control while allowing teams to be creative and involved.
These decision link closely to the results of my team role preference investigation; as a collaborator, I care deeply about the feelings of team members and want to do my best to involve and please everyone. The consulting continuum has a lot of emphasis on team member's feelings, encapsulating the benefits of workers feeling responsibility, passion and motivation through involvement. I feel these theories define my leadership style well, and are in keeping with my initial thoughts.
FIGURE 13 - Table analysing the key points raised in Tannenbaum & Schmidt's continuum
FIGURE 14 - Uner, I. 2020. Situational Leadership model adapted from
Hersey & Blanchard, 1979.
Hersey and Blanchard (1979) present four types of leadership, ranging from highly supportive to highly directive - having determined my leadership style through Tannenbaum and Schmidt, it is important to compare the results of another similar model to assess accuracy.
My initial reaction to this model is to place myself within the supporting region; this links well to my team role preferences as a collaborator, which highlights my desire to be a team player above all else. This leadership style is highly supportive and mildly directive, expressing comfort with my abilities and confidence to participate in activities, while taking on responsibility (Blanchard et al, 1985). However, it also presents an opportunity for improvement as mildly directive behaviour can sometimes result in weakness as a leader, especially when combined with my inability to handle conflict confidently.
Looking back at Tannenbaum and Schmidt, I can identify similarities; both models show I have an affinity to supporting behaviour, and problems with being overly directive. This links back to my Johari Window, showing that my avertness to conflict also affects my leadership qualities.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Developing and improving my leadership skills will be very important when thinking about my future, especially taking into consideration my potential positions as a lecturer or tutor. For this reason, my main recommendation would be to develop my leadership style in line with Hersey and Blanchard's model and work on my directive behaviour. As of now, my primary research shows I have highly supportive leadership qualities which need to be balanced out if I want to be effective in the future. To do this, I need to actively take on team leader roles to ensure I can get as much experience as I can in a variety of different projects, especially featuring conflict of ideas between team members and myself.
