Leadership

This article have analyzed Normative Leadership theory, a theory that is theoretically elegant and characteristically practical. Even in today’s increasingly changing global business scenarios, this robust theory enables Leaders to select one of the five leadership styles namely decide, consult individually, consult group, facilitate and delegate by using the model’s time-driven and development-driven decision tree.

Trait and Behavioural Theory Timeline: In the 1930s leadership theories were based on leaders’ traits. Two-dimensional behavioral theory (autocratic versus democratic) was published at the University of Iowa in 1939. In the 1940s the University of Michigan published Job centered versus employee-centered theories and in mid-1950s University of Ohio published considerations versus structure theories. In 1960s Fredrick came out with two-factor theory maintenance or extrinsic factor versus motivators or intrinsic factors. In 1967 McGregor suggested leadership behaviors based on different assumptions on employee motivations in describing his “Theory X” and “Theory Y”.

Birth of Contingency Leadership Theory: In the 1970s, it became evident that no single leadership style is best for all situations; leaders need to change their leadership style to suit the situation.

Researchers then started working on situational and contingency factors which led to the development of contingency theories such as Fiedler theory (1967), Leadership continuum theory, Path goal theory, and Normative theory. While Fiedler’s theory recommends changing the situation rather than changing leadership style, the rest of the contingency theories recommend using the right style in the right situation to deliver effective leadership. Normative Leadership Theory: In 1973 Vroom and Yetton developed a contingency model based on the leader’s choice of autocratic versus participative responses to decision-making situations. Extensive validation research of the model resulted in the development of the Vroom-Jago model in 1988 (again updated in 1995). The research aimed to develop a taxonomy for describing leadership situations, which could be used in a normative model linking situations to the leadership styles. A set of seven situational variables were used to predict which among the five leadership styles would be the most effective to deal with the situation. Vroom conducted extensive empirical studies to investigate how a leader’s behavior is affected by the situation faced by the leader keep. The studies were conducted with a focus on the leadership role and on how differences in the challenges that leaders face would affect a leader’s behavior. The five leadership styles are (1).

Decide: The leader makes the decision and announces it or sells it to the followers. The leader may gather information from others within the group and outside the group without specifying the problem, (2).

Consult Individually: The leader explains the follower individually about the problem, gathers information and suggestions, and then makes the decision, (3).

Consult Group: The leader holds a group meeting, explains followers the problems, gathers information and suggestions, and then makes the decision, (4).

Facilitate: The leader holds a group meeting and acts as a facilitator to define the problem and the limits within which a decision must be made. The leader seeks participation and concurrence on the decision without pushing his or her ideas and (5).

Delegate: The leader lets the group diagnose the problem and make the decision within stated limits. The role of the leader is to answer questions, provide encouragement and resources. Originally seven situational variables were identified to answer the questions with a high (H) or low (L) scores.

During the year 2000, Vroom revised the model with eleven variables. Each of these eleven is a moderator variable linking leadership style with components of decision effectiveness. Most of these eleven variables have also been used in empirical studies to investigate how leader behavior is affected by the situation faced by the leader. Both Time-Driven Model and the development-driven Model using seven variables are presented in Appendix 1 along-with instructions on how to use the model. Vroom’s theory has also been criticized by many raising questions such as (1) whether a small set of seven or eleven factors really determines how one should use the answers (2) will answer depend on the quality of the person who is answering (3) will answer vary from person to person and time to time and (4) will use of tacit knowledge in evaluating a situation; weaken the outcome of the model? These criticisms have resulted in further research and deliberation on the model. All parties (both followers and critics) agreed on the importance of matching of personal qualities and situational requirements towards delivering effective leadership in an organization. They also agreed that leadership effectiveness will depend on the use of realistic scenarios describing actual situations confronting a leader in an organization. Conclusion: The powerful model which Vroom and his colleagues at Yale University developed after interacting with more than 100,000 managers making decisions has proved to be a robust and useful model even in today’s dynamic business context.

The model has identified the following three distinct roles that situational variables play in the leadership process.

1. Leadership effectiveness leading to Organizational effectiveness is affected by situational factors not under the leader’s control.
2. Situations shape how leaders behave.
3. Situations influence the consequences of leader behavior.

1. Understanding the links and differences between management and leadership 1. 1 Discuss the concept of leaders as effective managers Leadership and management go hand in hand but is not the same thing, but are linked and compliment each other. There has been debate about the difference between leadership and management. With some believing there is no distinction, while others that they should be separated in two defined roles. A common definition is: Management is about the day to day running of a function and getting the right people and resources in the right place with a focus upon implementation.

Leadership is about creating a vision for that function and gaining peoples commitment by strategic direction. (NHSBT 5013 Workshop booklet) Effective management deals with resources, finances, time management and the coordination and control over these elements. Managers set goals and focus on reaching their targets. Have good organizational skills and will place people in roles to get the job the task complete. Have detailed planning taking into account adverse events that could prevent them completing task or achieving target. If the outcome gives worse results than expected an effective manager will look to provide a solution.

Effective leadership deals with the people their opinions, behaviour and attitude. They will inspire and engage people to follow them and vision. Focus is on building relationships with people around them, can be an effective part of team and lead it at the same. Effective leaders teach others, learn themselves and are able to admit mistakes righting wrongs and apologising quickly. They can adapt to issues and problems if they arise, confronting reality and issues head on. Leaders will develop trust and subsequently is able to practise accountability, holding themselves and others accountable along with responsibility for results.

How managers and leaders motivate their people to work or follow them is one of the main differences. By definition managers have subordinates and have a transactional style. The manager telling them what to do and with reward staff will do as asked. Where as leaders have followers, and following is voluntary. Managers plan details, focus on objectives, targets and managing the work. Manager tells and looks for and wants results, leader sells the idea or vision looking for achievement. With managers result focused, short term results can be high.

However longer term, without development, motivated and inspired staff there will be a lack of innovation. Ultimately the team or organisation will be static and their performance will never excel. An example of this from NHSBT: 2008 new systems and processes were implemented with limited input from users (shop floor). Results improved for a short term. However there was no continuous improvement, development, innovation or feeling of ownership. Staff and donor (customer) satisfaction, motivation dropped with targets and objectives not reached.

Alternatively without a management style or focus, day to day performance and results can suffer with only longer term vision strategy focused upon. 1. 2 Discuss the concept of leaders as effective managers Leadership fundamentals: •Have a clear vision or purpose of the future •Lead through the change to reach that vision •Shows commitment, loyalty and enthusiasm for the organisation. And is able to generate these same qualities in their people. •Listens to their people •Empowers staff and creates confidence for them to perform their role but also for them to explore how to perform better.

Majority of leaders in organisations are also in managerial roles. Having an understanding and being able to perform aspects of both roles can be advantageous as managers and supervisors need leadership abilities. Managerial style is good for task achievement, setting goals, focusing on the processes. For this reason, managers to be successful leaders would have to develop a style that is not natural for them. Moving from transactional to situational style, using supportive behaviour, knowing the team and staff motivators.

If managers cannot adapt a leadership style when required then staff will become unengaged and have low morale. Not recognising their own role in the organisation or the vision of organisation and where it wants to be. Managers are often seen as risk-averse and opportunities can be missed. Leaders will not rule out opportunities because of barriers and will consider risks to overcome these barriers and get things done. It is seen as easier to acquire managerial skills as they are based on processes and real situations that can be seen. Leadership skills require development of personal qualities which can be hard to quantify.

An effective manager is respected for the role they play but an effective leader is often remembered long after they or their people are no longer in their roles. 1. 3 Evaluate the balance needed between the demands of management and the demands of leadership. Have a clear focus on vision and aims. Understand where the organisation/team is and wants to be. Evaluate what needs to change i. e. NHSBT efficiency with cost of blood unit to hospitals need to be reduced. Could the change be in the culture of the team or of the organisation? Analysis if the organisation, team or people are currently in the position to adapt to change.

Do they have the commitment, motivation and drive. PESTLE analysis is a tool that can be used to help evaluate the demands of management and leadership needed for the organisation. Help to make decisions and understand the wider environment in which they operate. By understanding these environments it is possible maximise opportunities and minimise risks. PESTLE stands for – Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, Legal, and Environmental. Using this tool as part of decision making process helps to evaluate styles required, for example: Persuasion – Tell or Sell Commitment or Control

Proactive or Reactive Approach – Sets direction or plans details Achievement or results Knowing yourself, people, organisation and factors that influence the task, team or individual will enable the correct balance to be made. An organisation requires both effective management and effective leadership to be successful, this can be difficult to find, but these attributes can sometimes be found in the same person. 2. Understand leadership principles that support organisational values. 2. 1Evaluate the role of the leader in contributing to the creation of the organisation’s vision, and in its communication to others.

A leader has a vision or has same beliefs in meeting the organisations vision. Has the drive and commitment to move their vision forward despite often encountering barriers. Has integrity and inspires trust in that their people follow as they believe it is the right thing to do. A leader innovates, develops, positively encouraging people to do it right and better. Leader will understand and be clear on the vision. Understands where organisation and people are. Considers capabilities and realism, especially with resources such as people time and finances.

Leader can use Situational Leadership style (Hersey and Blanchard Situational Leadership model), developing people or organisation through stages depending on starting point and maturity (S1 immature through to S4 maturity). (Hersey and Blanchard Situational Leadership model), S1 – Directing telling S2 – Selling S3 – Participating S4 – Delegating Communicating the vision, the leader will enthuse their people to work towards the goal. Will listen and consult, conveying their ideas, but also encouraging ideas and innovation. Review and revise if required on a regular basis to check understanding.

Will tailor communications and actions as they understand people and their motivators. Motivate all to contribute, encourage and support to achieve their best and deliver results with continuous improvement. 2. 2Evaluate how personal energy, self –belief and commitment impact on leadership styles Personal energy – Channelled correctly into motivating and being enthusiastic about the vision. Can lead by example with this positive energy. Energy helps with the inner drive to reach goals and a determination to overcome barriers. If not channelled correctly can be seen as stressful (nervous energy).

Balance required so the leader can be seen as driven but calm and considered, evaluating and listening to staff. Personal energy, commitment and self belief enable leaders to tackle issues that others may not see or want to tackle themselves. Self belief, commitment and inner drive gives and shows the strength and perseverance that they will and can move vision forward. Communicate this self belief so people follow because they believe it is the right thing to do and not ego driven. Self belief needs to show confidence in self and organisation but with humility so not seen as arrogance without chance of compromise or willingness to listen.

Self belief often shows an honesty, allowing people to see where the leaders stands. Commitment and resilience to persevere, commitment should be realistic but unrelenting. Keep commitments, say what you are are going to do, then do what you have said will be done. Self belief and commitment allows a leader to be own person and to do the right thing. A leader will also encourage their people to be their self, develop self and their ideas. 2. 3Identify how empowerment and trust through ethical leadership impact on organisational practice.

Ethical leadership – organisation to balance its vision/purpose with needs and feelings of staff, customers, suppliers, stakeholders and local communities. Responsibility for environment be it through sustainability, wildlife, natural resources, culture, heritage, fair trade. Acting with and showing integrity and transparency. Organisation needs to consult with these groups, giving them influence and empowerment in direction of organisation. Modern times, society and opinion has changed where public not only demand a high quality service but also ethical principles.

Leaders, along with traditional business aims, need to create a framework of trust to the general public. Organisations cannot be seen as disreputable (i. e. , banking crisis), unfair to suppliers, lack of care or responsibility to staff. Leaders need to understand altruistic reasons – we do good things, so to shop or use our services is a good thing. This understanding helps to shape policies and strategy. Leaders should demonstrate respect, care and show that they care for others (be they staff, customers, suppliers or other stakeholders). Showing dignity to people and all roles.

Ethical leadership can create transparency for an organisation, telling the truth in a way so people can easily understand and nurture a culture of being open and authentic. 3. Be able to understand and apply leadership styles to achieve organisational objectives. 3. 1 Distinguish between two different leadership styles The approach using Hersey and Blanchard (as seen in 2. 1) situational leadership styles model, is that there are four main leadership styles: •Directing •Coaching •Supporting •Delegating Situational leadership is choosing the right style for the right people.

Not just using one style but changing to suit maturity of people and team and the situation. Directing (Telling) Style This is generally one-way communication from the leader. Telling exactly what is to be done by individuals, how to do it , where to do it and why they should do it. This style centres on getting the task done. Delegating The leader is still involved with decisions, but responsibilities and processes are handed to team and individuals. The leader will monitor and evaluate progress. Style centres on the people/team and development to work independently.

Both styles are effective in used in the correct situation and with the right people: Directing style is often used with new staff or teams, they may lack all skills required and are unable to take responsibility for the task. However they are willing and enthusiastic to work at task. Delegating – As people or team become experienced and able to do the task. They become comfortable in their own ability to perform role well. They are then also able to take responsibility for this task. 3. 2 Assess the practical value of a leadership style to a manager in chieving organisational objectives Leadership style has a direct impact on organisation and its success. Leaders shape the culture, values and motivation within organisation. A leader does not have to be at the top of the organisation with leadership styles and qualities able to seen throughout. Successful leaders no matter what level all have one thing in common. They influence those around them to gain maximum benefits from their resources. Important not to limit or restrict leadership style, being able to adapt styles to where your staff, team, organisation are, is key. 60 feedback is an excellent tool to help understand where you are and any development needs they may want to strengthen. Strengthening links between leaders/managers and staff. Helping to improve understanding of staff/team needs and their perception of their leader/manager. A self awareness to understand yourself and how you react to people and how they react to you is required. Some individuals will thrive on being given targets and tasks, while others may require the metaphorical, arm around them to feel supported.

Developing self and people will give empowerment, higher motivation and innovation, creating engagement through listening and consultation. Questioning style allows staff to find and be guided to find own solutions. Play to strengths while looking to work on and improve weaknesses. A leader using a transformational style will look to change those they lead. This style does not simply use personality (charismatic) or reward and bargaining (transactional) to persuade people. Transformational style will use knowledge, expertise and a vision to engage with followers and gain buy in from followers that often remains long after the leader has left.

Transformational leadership style allows followers to develop, change and to adapt. This embeds a culture of staff looking to innovate and change, allowing the organisation to be prepared and unfazed to any future changes, adapting as the social environment changes. 3. 3 Discuss situational variables likely to influence the choice of a leadership style A leadership style required can be determined by variables other than the maturity of staff, team or organisation. PESTLE analysis (Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, Legal, Environmental) is often used to evaluate the organisation’s environmental influences.

It is then possible to audit the current environment and expected future changes, putting the organisation in a strong position to adapt to change or looking at taking advantages over competitors. To make decisions and plan for the future, organisations need to understand the environments in which they operate. By understanding these environments it is possible to maximise opportunities and minimise any threats to the organisation. Understanding the risks associated with the market they are operating in, its growth or decline and the need for the product or service.

Leaders can then evaluate potential and direction of organisation. An example recently of where leadership and not adapting or taking a leadership style within an organisation, has failed is Jessop’s. By not adapting (using a transformational or Situational style) and understanding changes in the differing environments and factors around them. They failed to change and develop, too many high street shops with overheads and failed to take advantage of on line services which its competitors had done (Technology).

Timescales in which task or objectives are required to be met will also impact on leadership a style. A quick implementation or turn around may generally require a more directing approach to meet a short term goal. Where as a long term strategic change will require an engaging leadership style. Inspiring others to follow and buy into the vision and making this a shared vision, supporting and developing individuals while also consulting and evaluating progress, moving forward together.

Leadership Characteristics Executive summary: Since early beginning of the last century, the leadership has emerged as an important issue in the business regard of the dramatic transformation in the world economy. Thus far, the following report represents an attempt to shed the light on the leadership issue. In order to provide a hint of the leadership meaning, the report will demonstrate brief idea about some of the leadership theories which perceive the leadership skills form different view.

The report then will identify certain characteristics that should be attained in the personality of the leader which ensure his successful. The requisite of the contemporary leadership skills has appeared at the latter part of twentieth century, regard of the globalisation phenomenon as well the rapid development in technology; which resulted in the increase of the competition. As the knowledge does not stop, leaders require training and development, thus, the report will also investigate the process of leadership development. 1Chapter One: Introduction: Throughout the last century and insofar the 21st century, the mankind has undergone dramatic transformation in the whole domains, and the individuals needs and requirements significantly expended, however, many people managed to maintain successfully their life and obtained the benefit of this change, while others could not cope with this change, which resulted with dissatisfaction and pessimistic view of the life.

Significant amount of researches and investigations have been done in order to identify such a pattern or a process that can raise the performance of human beings, thus the concept of leadership appeared as a critical requisite for any entity, including an individuals, family, organisations or even countries. In the early part of 20th century, ‘Freud (1927) in his famous book the

Civilisation and It Discontents, he approached the leadership issue when he said that groups of individuals need leaders to provide them with an identity and sense of purpose’ (Higgs, 2003) With the rapid transformation in the world, the competition has become more aggrieve, and organisations urged to deal with this rapid change and the continue development has become an urgent need for the company prosper and survive. Hence, Leadership issue was put under the limelight as an important process for the company sustainability.

Although there have been momentous efforts devoted to investigate the leadership issue including theories, definitions and identification for its characteristics, till now there is no complete agreement about the notion of leadership, since these different suggestions and concepts approached the leadership from different perspectives. The following report embodies an attempt to shed the light on the leadership issues, throughout quick review of the leadership theories, and examine the leadership characterises in both the 20th and the 21st century, before dissect the reflection of the personal-experience on the leadership characteristics Chapter Two: Leadership Theories: Due to the importance of the leadership issue, many theories have been emerged throughout the time, each theory tackles with the leadership from different perspectives and aspects, and one can not determine whether this theory right and others are wrong; however the main theories of the leadership are: •Trait Theory: this theory defines specific characteristics which are existed in the successful leadership such as attitudes, personality, intelligence and decisiveness, regardless of any consideration of other assisted factors such as team work and the internal and external work environment.

However, there are two criticisms for this theory. “The first, it doesn’t specify what the most important leadership characteristics are, and the second, it ignores the contribution of the others. ” (Dessler, 1976) •Behavioural Theory: it approaches the leadership from another perspectives, it dissects the achievement of leaders and the outcomes of their contributions within the organisations. The remarkable differences between the trait and behavioural theory are that the last one emphasises on oth the accomplishment of the task as the main indications for the leader success, and employees’ satisfaction, •Situational leadership: According to this theory, the effectiveness of the leader is significantly correlated with situational factors which restrict the performance of the leader positively or negatively. In other words, “the efficiency of leader’s skills or traits are determined by the situation in which leaders exercise leadership” (Dessler,1976), These factors are: -Follower’s contributions. The availability and the utilization of the resources. However, creating the harmonisation and the collaboration between the situational factors and the leader are essential to determine leader’s effectiveness. •Contingency Theories: basically, the assumption of this theory, that the behaviour of the leader can not be standardised, instead, the leader should consider situational factors. The success of the leader in this theory is measured by the ability of leader to adopt such a style to achieve certain task with a consideration to the followers.

This theory was the beginning of new view of leadership; based on this assumption other contingency theories were emerged such as, Fiedler’s concept of situational favourability (1967), which defined position power, task structure and leader-member relation, as the main factors that determine the effectiveness of the leader’s style. Path-goal is another theory (House and Mitchell 1974) which assumes that the leader has a significant contribution on the follower to enable them to achieve their objectives. Horner, 1997) •Transactional theories: it assumes that since the task and responsibilities have been identified, the leader has a full right to do whatever it requires to achieve this task. This theory depends on praise and rewards as motivation system for followers, meanwhile, punishment is used to ensure the abidance by the roles and the request of the task. However, this theory is criticised as it assumes the behaviour of a human being is predictable without any consideration of the reflection of the environment. Transformational theories: this theory depends on the development of the vision and convinces the follower, in other words, the leader adopts the visions and does whatever it requires to encourage followers. In this case the leader will become an inspiration for followers and they create their relationship with them depending on trust. As it is clearly perceived, those theories tackle with the leadership from different perspectives. Since there is no enough room, the report will investigate the transformational theory. Transformational Theory: This theory was generated under assumption of people follow a person who has vision and passion.

He or she will inspire them to achieve the goal. Transformational leadership is the modern view of leadership that seems to match with the style of business leader in 21st century since the business competition; turbulence, unforeseen contingencies, and rapid change in technologies create such a momentous stress. Under this stress, the need for transformational leaders who are proactive is emerged as an important requisite to help follower to cope with the dramatic change. (Bass, 1997) The characteristic of transformational leaders is mainly embodied by their charisma; they inspire followers by their innovation and ability to create change.

However, the success of charismatic leader is through a belief in themselves rather than others, while transformational leaders concern with other around them such as colleagues and employees. They are not narcissistic as charismatic. This style of leader will create an important transformation to both organisation and employees. Moreover, it may impact the strategy and the structure of the organisation. The power of transformational leader is not derived by the reward system or rules and regulation, yet it is obtained from an intangible value such as their visions and the relationship among others. Draft, 2002) According to Tichy and Devanna (Lussier, 1996), there are three main activities for transformational leadership. Recognition for the need of revitalisation: leaders should understand the urgent need of the organisation for transformation, in order to create such a sustainable resource of competitive advantage to maintain the company success in such a competitive environment. Creating a new vision: by having visualise in innovation and organisation changed, leader will be able to inspire and motivate others to reach the objectives.

Institutionalising change: it is essential for transformational leaders to put an effort to convince others. Leaders need to advise and create trust among employees in the organisation in order to let them understand the idea of vision and reach the goal. The style of transformational leadership tends to match with the business world today since it is flexible and innovator. In addition, there are many business articles mentioned that workforce is the most important resource for organisation. Thus, this type of leadership takes into consideration of both business activity and relationship within organisation.

These two factors pave the passage of the company success. There are several distinctions between those theories; nevertheless, they agree that there are certain characteristics should be attained in the leader to ensure the efficiency of his contribution. 3Chapter Three: Leadership Characteristics: 3. 1Leadership Definition: As there are many theories approached the leadership, there are also many definitions have been suggested for the leadership, some authors identify the leadership as a process to achieve groups/ organisations goals, others see the notion of leadership as trait, transformation or even as management.

However, the definition of leadership by Rost (1993) can be used to dissect this notion (8). He defines the leadership as an influence relationship among leader and followers who intend real changes that reflect their mutual purposes. According to Rost, leadership is: •Influence Relationship: the influence will be in both directions top-bottom and bottom-top. •Intend real changes: it means leadership includes substantial development in both leaders and followers. •Mutual purposes: both leader and followers agree about certain purposes which can be considered as missions or statements. . 2Leadership Characteristics: There is a view argues that leaders are born and other say it is a science can be taught, both of those views did not describe leadership accurately, “leadership is an art to be studied, practised, developed and lived. ” (Scott, 1996) There are certain characteristics that determine the effectiveness of leadership and shape the performance of leaders: 1. Communicative: the importance of this skill, that it provides the leader with an ability to deliver precisely the ideas, visions and objectives required to be achieved.

However, it is crucial to understand that the communications include the flow of data and information in two sides, top-bottom and bottom-top. Leaders have to consider sharing the ideas and unleash the contribution of employees, since occasionally, employees come up with innovative suggestions that might enhance or develop certain objectives. 2. Rewards and recognizes achievement: express the appreciation for others efforts, has a vital role as a motivation. Leaders could achieve that by financial rewards or even by praise the follower.

Sometime simple gestures such as approving nod, thumbs- up or even quick comment like ‘great job’, ‘you are doing well’ is enough to encourage followers to improve their performance and productivity. 3. Genuine interest in others: it is undeniable fact that financial rewards have a significant influence on followers; meanwhile, there are other motivations that should be attained. The leader should recognise the emotional support for followers since it creates loyalty.

Genuine interest does not require a lot of efforts; it might be expressed by asking about the personal health or family. For instance, in the company that I used to work, the owner asks employees about their general life before he asked about any other thing related to the work, this simple action was enough to motivate employees to work as they own the company. 4. Team orientation: the successful leader takes into account the importance of team-work; he gathers the followers and discusses with them the task or the missions.

The leader listens to their opinion, stimulates their innovation, and finally creates the harmony required to achieve the task. This gives employees more responsibility to improve their performance and productivity since they have significant role as decision- makers. 5. Visionary and idea-oriented: the long-term objectives are vital issue in the successful leadership agenda; he always seeks for new ideas and creativity. They consider the available competitive advantages and establish the stream of substantial competitive advantages.

When Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum (Dubai’s ruler) unveiled the growth strategy of 2015, it was unsurprising for many economists that the city had met its 2010 GDP target two years ago. Many people argue that Dubai is only a bubble and it would diminish after it consumes its oil. However, this completely untrue, nowadays, 74% of emirits GDP derives from real-estate, tourism and retail sectors (Kerr, 2007). The rapid strides of the development of Dubai is referred to the log-term successful visions of it rulers, and his ability to create new competitive advantages for the country instead of the oil.

Similar to that in the business world, “Henry Ford by his long term vision as well as rational risk calculated he managed to predict the market and customer trend and made Ford on of the most successful organisation. ” (Grint, 2000) 6. Decisiveness, responsibility and Integrity: although, it has been mentioned that followers should be involved in decision-making process, the leader is still the ultimate decision-maker depending on the ability to consider the right decision in the proper time.

Since a decision has been made, the leader is completely responsible for the consequences of any possible risk, even if the leader is involved directly in the execution. Integrity is also very important, “leaders do not use followers as means to achieve their purpose in satisfying the shareholder; instead, they understand that their contribution should consider the whole stakeholders. ” (Bowie et al, 2000) 7. Competence: the word of competence derives from innovation, training and development, accumulated experience, and the ability of the leader to learn.

Since the leadership is an art, leaders have to consider the importance of shaping and the development of their skills; this should be attained by substantial willing for knowledge and self-development. Those characteristics are very important to be attained by the leaders because they have crucial impact on the effectiveness of leadership, moreover, the effective leaders manage to create synergy between their followers, and loyalty required for achieving certain objectives and tasks. 4Chapter Four: Leadership in the 21st Century:

Since the latter part of twentieth century the world has witnessed dramatic change in the whole domains, “due to the rapid strides of technologies development, the spread of the globalisation phenomenon, demographic shifts, migration and the rapid degradation of social and natural capital – are creating opposing tensions. ” (Connor et al, 2003, P. 59). Taking into account those challenges, the demand of leadership has been increased noticeably with an urgent requisite of organisations for framework that tates the new criteria of leadership. Some of these are an expansion for the previous characteristics of leadership and others are new, however, those could be summarised as: •Understanding the Culture Diversity: although the geographical barriers have been eliminated, the cultural barriers are still an enormous challenge for businesses. Leaders should be aware that doing business is different from nation to nation, and it is completely restricted by the national traditions and habits.

For instant: In the USA, Innovations and achievements are considered as individual effort, hence, the influence of the individual recognition will be obvious in Human Resource Management of the American firms, individual reward system, appraisal and even in the job designed. While in China the individual efforts and innovations are referred to the founder of the firm. In Chinese tradition the achievement are always referred to the collective units such as families, organisations, and the country. (Tsang, 2007) The misunderstanding in the communication is another consequence of the lack of culture appreciation.

Many conflicts were occurred, contracts were rejected and negotiations failed at the last stage because of the lack of communication with other culture. Thus far, the comprehensive understanding for influence of the culture on business is vital, because the world has become more united under the umbrella of globalisation. •Strategic thinking: An organisation can not be considered as an individual entity, instead it is influenced by external factors, such as competitors, suppliers, customers, critical financers and fluctuation in the market demand.

From this view the needs of substantial change in the corporate strategy emerges as an important requisite to enable the company to cope with change of the business environment. However, “the ways-of-thinking of the leader have continues impact on corporate reorientation. ” (Hendry et al,1993). However, it is important to understand that strategic thinking is different from the strategic planning, “Mintzberg argues that strategic planning derives from strategic thinking” (Bonn, 2001, P63). The first aspect of the strategic thinking is observation and company knowledge.

The leader observes the company daily life with its complexity and understands the drivers of the organisation performance and the influence of the external factors on this performance. The second aspect of the strategic thinking is creativity; it is the core of strategic thinking. The leader seeks the substantial development for his organisation; he identifies solutions for the company problems and creates vision which will determine the future of firm. Thereafter, the strategic thinking of the leader establishes the implementation required to achieve the company vision.

Sharing vision with others is another significant element for the strategic thinking successful, since it generates loyalty and encourage them because they participate in decision-making process. Jeffery Bezos the founder of Amazon is considered as an important example of a successful leader, in such a high competitive business sector like the online, where other companies struggle to cope with the rapid stride of technology, Amazon imposes itself as the leader of the online industries and especially the e- retailers, there is no doubt that the strategic thinking of Bezos is an ultimate key of the Amazon success.

Bezos always has one eye on the future, in order to build the company long term objectives, however, his strategic thinking embodies by creating the Amazon vision and establishing the strategy needed to achieve the company objectives. Innovation is one of most important aspect of Bezos strategic thinking, since Amazon invests huge amount of money to provide the world with amazing technologies such as Elastic Compute Cloud (ECC) to ensure that the company is still the leader of the dot-com race. Hof, 2006) Whenever the world doubts, if Amazon can fulfil its promise to revolutionise retailing, Bezos wonders the people with such an innovative idea to reinforce Amazon position as being the e-retailer leader. With his strategic thinking as well as his creative working-team, Amazon never stops building its substantial competitive advantages. Humanistic awareness: as workforce constitutes the most value asset of the firm, the leader has significant responsibility to ensure their satisfaction; considerable motivation system, training and development, praise, empowerment, participation in decision-making process are samples to obtain employees satisfaction. Since they have impact on employees’ productivity and innovation. However, employees’ retention reflects the level of their satisfaction, and appreciation for company leader. Learning and self-awareness: the leader has to have a profound knowledge about his organisation to be able to recognise its capability in order to create the vision and framework and means needed to achieve this vision, moreover, the successful leader is knowledge seeker to cope with rapid change in the business world. Self-awareness is another issue that leaders should take into consideration; they distinguish their weaknesses and strengths, and use the last one to eliminate the weaknesses to improve the effectiveness of their leadership.

Hence, leaders empower their ability to inspire and unite employees around themselves to maintain the company performance. 5Chapter Five: Leadership Development: The increase of the competition in the business world urges organisations to search more for competitive advantages in order to be able to survive and conquer their competitors in such a hostile business environment. Nowadays organisations eventually start to concern about leadership development and devote tangible efforts to improve efficiencies of its individuals.

However, the leadership development program should be prepared comprehensively in order to attain its purpose. The 360 degree appraisal system is an important step to initiate this program, since it provides feedback about the employee performance from different resources which helps to determine the improvement required regard to his strengths and weaknesses. (Ladyshewsky, 2007). Thereafter, the priority of the leadership development will be for the higher level managers, regard to their expected contribution on their subordinates, yet the improvement of the subordinate should be in the leadership development agenda.

The leadership development program should cover the weakness of the employees that has listed in the 360 degree appraisal; meanwhile, it should depend on modern techniques and case studies from other companies, rather than depending on the literatures and theories only. The final step in the leadership development program is the evaluation which derived from many criteria, such as the feedback of the program, the examination of the participant’s understanding, and the tangible outcomes that the company will acquire which is the decisive for the program evaluation. Leskiw et al, 2007) However, there is another view should be deemed in the issue of leadership development, individuals perseverance is ultimate criteria for development, leader should have enough credibility to admit there weaknesses and finds the appropriate strategy to mitigate the impact of this weakness, moreover, the leader should be knowledge seeker to obtain the benefit of the others experience. 6Chapter Eight: Conclusion: The leadership an old requisite in the human beings life, nevertheless, it has become a considerable obsession for the organisations, regard to the substantial transformation in the world business.

Although the theories of the leadership are different, they agree that there are several characteristic that should be attain by a person in order to be such a successful leader. Most of the leadership theories concern about the characteristic needed to reinforce two main things, creating competitive advantages and the workforce. As the workforce is the most important asset for the firm, the leader should consider employee alignment around the company objectives throughout the leader humanistic consideration as followers need inspiration, different kind of motivation in order to enhance their performance.

Meanwhile, the leader should eventually find the resource of the competitive advantages. Due to the dissemination of the globalisation phenomenon as well as the rapid development in technology, organisations require new leadership characteristic to cope with change in the business environment. However, the new leadership characteristics have emerged from the need for crossing the culture barriers, since it is an enormous obstacle for organisation. Creating the long-term planning depends on the strategic thinking of the leader to identify new vision for the company.

The increase in the world competition is accomplished with raise of the leadership demand, thus far organisations should invest considerably in improving their leadership capability, since the world development will never stop. References Bass, B. M. , (1998), Stress and Transactional-Transformational Leadership, Transformational Leadership: Industrial, Military, and Educational Impact, London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Bonn, I. , (2001) Developing Strategic Thinking as a Core Competency, Management Decision, Vol. 39, No. , pp. 63-71 Bowie, N and Elmer, L. , (2000), Kantian Theory of Leadership, Leadership & organisation Development Journal, Vol. 21 No. 4, pp. 185-193 Connor, R. and Mackenzie-Smith, P. (2003), The Leadership Jigsaw -finding the Missing Piece, Business Strategy Review, Vol. 14, Issue 1, pp 59-66 Dessler, G. , (1976) Leadership and Supervision, Organisation and Management: Contingency Approach, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Publication. Draft, R. L. , (2002), Management, 6th Ed. Mason, OH: South-Western Publication. Grint, K. (2000), Henry Ford: The Blind Business Visionary, The Arts of Leadership, Oxford: Oxford University Press Hendry, J (ed) and Johnson, G (ed) with Newton, J (1993), Strategic Thinking: Leadership and the Management of Change, England: John Wiley Publication Higgs, M. , (2003) How can we make sense of leadership in the 21st century? , Leadership & organisation Development Journal, Vol. 24 No. 5, pp. 273-284 Hof, R. D. , (13/10/2006), Jeff Bezos’ Risky Bet, Business week magazine [Online]. Available from Business week: http://www. businessweek. com/magazine/content/06_46/b4009001. tm Accessed (20/04/2007)) Horner, M. , (1997) Leadership Theory: Past, Present and Future, Team Performance Management, Vol. 3 No. 4, pp. 270-287 Kerr, S. , (24/07/2007), Emirate Sets its Sights on Trebled GDP by 2015, The Financial Times. Economy, pp. 2 Ladyshewsky, K. R, () A Strategic Approach for Integrating Theory to Practice in Leadership Development, Leadership & Organisation Development Journal, Vol. 28, No. 5, pp. 426-443 Leskiw, S and Singh, P. , (2007), Leadedrship Development: Learning from Best Practices, Leadership & Organisation Development Journal, Vol. 8, No. 5, pp. 444-464 Lussier, R. N. , (1996), Human relations in organizations: A skill-building approach. 2nd Ed. Chicago, IL: Irwin, Inc Rost, J. C, (1993), Leadership definition, Leadership for the Twenty-First Century, London: Praeger Publication. Scott , E. D. and Kleiner, B. H, (1996), Good? Leadership, Management Development Review, Vol. 9, No. 5, pp. 30-33 Tsang, D. , (2007), Leadership, National Culture and Performance Management in The Chinese Software Industry, International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Vol. 56, No. 4, pp. 270-284

Consistently Developing Knowledge, Skills and Values An integral part of human is his continual development and his productivity towards excellence. It is said that knowledge is power. Yes, it is; but it should go along with one’s abilities and attitude in his life-long endeavour. Each of us should be honed to become a better citizen of our society—a true asset and a good leader who contributes to the betterment of our nation, but how?

The big question lies on how we could open our eyes to the big changing world as we advance ourselves in every aspect of our lives. We have to be aware of the call for self-sustainability that will bring about mutual benefits to others. Let us take the influence of our good leaders like Mahatma Ghandi and Jawaharlal Neru as peace leaders. How about Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln as America’s pride towards unification? Here, our national hero Dr. Jose Rizal exerted a lot of influence to us and they left an unwavering legacy. All these were a product of their consistent productivity that touched the lives of our people. Now you, as an ordinary citizen of our nation, could make a difference by stepping out to become a part of a successful country and by keeping yourself well directed and focused on your perceived goals towards continuous development for you and of what you could do to others.

Remember that the hunger to learn, in varied levels, has always been part of your existence. The questions you encounter spring out from your intention and motivation to learn. With positive regard on every challenge thrown along your way, you must muster a needed degree of expertise and fuse it with an ample amount of experience to have the edge in acquiring and consistently developing knowledge, skills and values essential to progress in a rate that will quantify a person’s development.

Therefore, whether you are teachers or students at schools, doctors or nurses in hospitals, and even organizers or judges in this oratorical competition,

• develop knowledge by welcoming and adding new pieces of information from all possible resources. Let it grow with an open yet analytical mind synthesizing old and new data along with current trends not allowing any room for stagnation.
• Develop skills through constant practice aiming at accomplishing significant levels of precision and excellence.
• Align these ripening knowledge and advancing skills with values essential to the realities in life while keeping motivated. This is the very core of this subject. Without motivation that steers a person to achieve greater knowledge, information and ideas are insignificant. Guidance will point an individual to the right information, hence, feeding the soul strive to search for something of great essence to the society. His passion to learn and to grow makes him invest in developing knowledge, skills and values while harnessing his understanding on a culture that tends to evolve for greater good.

One’s thought process is the key factor followed by his interest in the subject on why and how he would retain information. An individual gathers ideas and confines the relevant and the ones with utmost value to their development. Once ideas have been proven effective in ways, he will deduct or resort to other processes in addressing future conflicts while tuning ways to consistently develop knowledge, skills and values.

Every leader must master three aspects of visionary sight – 1. Hindsight: The ability to reflect and learn from the past 2. Insight: The ability to interpret and respond to the present 3. Foresight: The ability to predict and prepare for the future But while every leader must operate in all three aspects of vision, which focus they rely on most will have far-reaching implications for their lives and organisations they build. Which focus do you favour? Hindsight Leadership: Tends to emphasise the value of experience and evidence.

They look at the future through the eyes of the past. Like a lawyer they tend to look for a precedent for every decision. They’re hoping it’s true that “history repeats itself”. Although we absolutely must reflect on the past and learn the lessons it offers us, we cannot afford to become overly focused on the past in our leadership any more than we can afford to drive whilst staring in the rear vision mirror. Insight Leadership: Tends to emphasise the value of tactics and reality. They look at the future as an extrapolation of current events and trends.

Finely tuned to what is happening around them, they hope that by responding correctly now they will experience success in the future. Although they’re not spending a lot of time looking backwards, they’re also not spending much time looking ahead. The focus becomes about where we are now and what step we could take next. For this leader the old adage not to “climb the ladder only to find it’s leaning across the wrong wall” contains an important warning. Foresight Leadership: Tends to emphasise possibilities and innovation.

They look at the future as uncharted territory or a clean slate. Although they reflect on the past and respond to the present, they are much more concerned with preparing for the future. They drive their organisations with glances in the rear vision mirror and awareness of their surroundings but more than anything else they have clear focus on where they are going and what’s coming up on the road ahead. I often advocate insight which is the moment, that is the balancing or transformation point between hindsight and foresight.

Insight is neither hindsight nor foresight. This point is also the birthplace of the two endpoints because what you do at this point of insight becomes your past and determines your future. The problem we so often experience is that we give our attention to the past or the future, at the expense of attending the all-important present moment. We worry about our past or fret about our future and in that process we give up our opportunity to exercise any influence we have in our lives, which can only happen in the here and now

There are a couple of people in my life today I could relate as having an influence on my life. My Grandparents, my mother and certain friends I have known a while and only seen now that some attributes I have, are because of them. Most times we as people try to think we have built ourselves up in a certain way without realizing that we are a certain way or choose not to do certain things because the people in our lives have had an influence on us. It has taken me twenty years to appreciate what an amazing influence my mother has been on my life.

I didn’t know my mother well until I was 15 years old. She left when I was five to pursue her bachelor’s degree and masters in pharmacy in Bulgaria. She would come eventually for holidays when she could but all her visits seem very vague to me. Her being away for such a long time had in some way caused the divorce to happen between her and my father. I could tell it was a very hard time for her but gradually she began to support herself and got back on her feet. My mother has had an incredible influence on making me the person that I am today.

Because of her, I am very hard working, I stay motivated and determined and I am a go getter. My mother showed me her enthusiasm through her hard work. I was ten years old when my I made my first decision about what I wanted to study in college. I had looked forward to going to study law and become an attorney. Slowly, that image started to fade out. By the time I was a teenager, I realized just how much I wanted to work hard and become a lawyer. I began to notice the hard work my mother put into her job and how enthusiastic she was.

She had such a strong work ethic and kept going no matter what came her way. My mother is a pharmacist and has five jobs. I do not know where she gets the energy from but she manages , teaching part-time pharmacy classes, sitting on the Board of Directors for the Ministry of Health, working part time in a private hospital and working part time in a pharmacy. I vividly remember listening to one of my mother’s conversations especially so because I never wanted to listen to what she had to say to I most time.

She told me how she felt suppressed in her marriage before her divorce. She began to realize the only way to make it and reach the top is to work hard in school and at the workplace and be the best you can be. She has clearly demonstrated this to me over the past couple of years and because of that I continue to work hard not only in school but at work as well. I can now definitely notice how people appreciate my good work ethics and instructors tell me how I wrote a good essay for instance or commend me on my work in class. And all this is attributed to my mother and how hard working she is.

I treasure the various worlds my mother has opened to me because she has time and time again shown me how to stay motivated. I remember when she returned from Europe and she and my father explained how they would no longer be together. That crushed my world but more than anything I know how it crushed my mother. However, despite all that, she continued to strive and stay motivated and she has achieved so much more now because of that. My life has been equally transformed by what she has shown me. When it comes to be being motivated, I am forever grateful to my mum because I learned how to keep trying even when I failed.

I now know I can achieve what I hope to be if I stay motivated and optimistic in life. There is a famous saying that life is short, I believe life is what you make out of it and staying motivated does add value to accomplishing great things. I still find it fascinating how my mother can get what she wants because she always determined. She influenced me to know that if I am motivated and determined, I can achieve what I set my goals to be in life. Now I realize the importance of being focused in life, being humble and respectful and taking every opportunity I can because it could lead to something great.

She says having a good family and home is a privilege but placing me in line to achieve great things is having the mind of a go-getter. In conclusion, I know many of the attributes, attitudes and skills are largely influenced by my mother. She has shown me how to be a hard worker because it really does pay off in the long run. She also had shown me that being determined and motivated can take me to faraway places than I could ever imagine and that having the mind of a Go-getter allows me to push myself and will benefit me with time to come.

The Business Milieu

Skin Solutions is a clinic that offers medical esthetic services to treat various skin imperfections other than providing remedies for skin diseases. It employs 6 licensed medical estheticians and one doctor of dermatology to look after patients who come for consultation and treatment. Facilities include a spa, and three spacious rooms for performing extractions, facials, and treatments for skin nourishment.

To meet the needs and the demand of clients who come to the clinic, investments in the latest technologies for improving and treating skin imperfections have been made. Tools of the trade consisted of state-of-the art equipment and lasers, and computerized analysis of skin imperfections among others to boast of. This was therefore one of the reasons why customers were satisfied that they always came back to avail of other services and even brought with them a friend or two to promote what the clinic could also do for them.

The skin clinic has always been full of customers that keeping the clinic open from 9am to 8pm was not enough to accommodate all the patients that wanted to be checked in a day. Some patients would have themselves enlisted at the front desk first and then either wait outside the clinic or just check back a few hours after strolling around the mall. Some patients would also call in and make appointments for the following day so they could be sure that they wouldn’t have to wait in line when they come for consultation and treatment in the coming day.

I was a medical intern in dermatology when all this was happening. I observed that many attempts to compete with the style and service of the clinic have been made by others to no avail. They often wondered about what business secret was held by the clinic that allows them to click with the public.

My mentor was not only a cousin. She is the clinic’s owner and dermatologist; considered a prime mover in modern medical and cosmetic esthetics in our area. She was an inspiration to others in the same field as well as for others who were not into the esthetics business but who were like her, an entrepreneur who had a vision for her enterprise.

What did you learn about yourself: Lessons on maturity?

I somewhat felt anxious and uncomfortable by being a protégé of a cousin. Having a relative for a coach was sometimes embarrassing for we’ve known each other far deeper than anybody else did in the clinic and so, it was easy for the coach to point out my mistakes and weaknesses. I on the other hand would sometimes be too proud to admit them but knew deep inside that the coach was right and that I had to lower my pride and accept her corrections for it was, after all, for my own good.

What I admire about my cousin was that she would raise the level of our relationship at work to one that is strictly professional. With this, I learned that her goal was always of maturity – of following a purpose and not the personality who runs with that purpose. This valuable character I have learned to accept for myself as I observed her ways in leadership.

In my case, it seemed that I had the tendency to follow a person for their personality as though I were a teenager. This, I felt was a mark of immaturity that had to be changed. But when one sees a personality’s purpose and follows that purpose, then he or she is likely to succeed. I realized then that being mature entails adopting marks of maturity, one of which is having a sense of purpose for it is this purpose that causes one to act and move a certain way and make decisions that will lead to success.

What did you learn about yourself: Lessons on Determination

Another key lesson learned was that we don’t just have to be in the business. Rather, we should be in the business in such a way that we want to succeed and win. A winning attitude is what makes businesses flourish and sustain competence in a domain where there seems to be many competitors. I have learned to adopt that attitude and be determined to be and do the best, not settling for the mediocre.

What did you learn about yourself: Lessons on Direction

Another message that proved significant to me was a lesson involving direction. One may be determined to be the best in business but this determination is nothing if one does not have a direction for the business. Two things I realized that will set a person’s direction in life and business are purpose and focus.

Purpose gives meaning to one’s life and trade. For the business to grow, advance, and prosper, purpose is an essential ingredient. Focus on the other hand leads the direction towards a goal. Running aimlessly will amount to nothing. Doing many things for the business without focus will not accomplish something laudable. But when one has purpose and focus in pursuing dreams, goals, and visions for the business, then a direction is charted, a course is followed, and a heritage is handed down.

What did you learn about yourself: Lessons on Heritage

Learning secrets of the trade is a privilege that ought to be cherished. Those closest to my cousin in the business besides me, were the six medical estheticians who have grown to love their work at the clinic. They have become skilled at customer relations, medical dealings, and the dos and don’ts of the industry. The good thing about our mentor is that she was a constant source of business knowledge. She shares with us a knowledge that is not temporary but one that will last. She expects that this knowledge will bear fruit and help establish businesses in the future that will hold the same philosophies.

Prerequisites of heritage I then realized while receiving training include focus and the heart to communicate one’s vision. This vision includes making partisans and training them to become future leaders in their desired trade. The goal was to make replicas of one’s self or people who may be better than the mentor. With this, the idea is to focus by fervently believing in the vision and forgetting about things that does not run with this vision of success.

I realized that in order for a heritage to be built, a leader must have conviction and learn to communicate something that he or she lives for, and then her protégé will follow. The second prerequisite was building the right foundation. Mentors are pillars of foundation who are present to support their charges. The values they treasure are priceless, indispensable and effective. Investing these in trainees will be beneficial for the success of the company.

What did you learn about yourself: Lessons on Discipline

In all these things, I also learned the value of discipline. There’s a cost for success. Strict training in all aspects of running the business is important to maintain business and financial health. What we want is to please both our human resources and then of course, our clientele. To achieve this, therefore, is to sacrifice time to learn about proper ethics of the trade, people skills and influence, the latest technology involved, and also learn about the rates for effectiveness of each technology and treatment.

Mastering the treatment strategies, these tools, and providing customers with quality service is essential in making them come back to avail of more services. The quality of care rendered includes properly informing clients about their skin problems and providing them with treatment options to choose from. Educating them about what is best for their skin, and what alternatives they can do to maintain its health is also crucial for multiplying customers who will come for consultation in the future.

What did you learn about yourself: Personal Discoveries

I thought I knew what it took to run a successful business. I always thought that having the latest technology was enough to draw clients into the clinic. I realized later that this was not enough. Personal qualities also needed polishing and development. Professionalism is first and foremost an aspect that needs to be learned, developed, and practiced. Without this, one’s business values will be poor and will cause the business to suffer.

How did this activity strengthen your self leadership skills?

The activity has allowed introspection to be done. As I examined myself regarding my feelings, thoughts, and motives about management and leadership, I found myself dealing with bad habits and replacing them with the principles I gained from training. I’ve learned to be more mature in dealing with people and in running a business. To chart the course of the business and believe that it can be achieved.

I’ve learned how to develop and polish a vision with which I can run with and communicate to others so that they may be partners in making the business progress. I also learned the value of discipline and what needs to be done to keep a healthy and happy enterprise. I adopted all these and noticed changes in the way I conducted business deals. Thus far, the feedbacks I’ve obtained were all positive. I am grateful for the lessons and insights I gained from the activity for it has made me a better person and now I swell with pride and would like to share these with others also.

How did this activity improve your communication/interpersonal skills?

People are important for it is they who can make or break a business. People skills need to be developed to help the business grow. With the strategies I gained from the activity, I was able to expand my people-making skills and increase my influence by maintaining rapport with clients. Being able to inform the clients properly and educating them about dos and don’ts in skin care helped enhance my skills in interpersonal communication. Keeping a smile, greeting customers, providing suggestions, and exchanging ideas with people around me proved a big help for enriching my communication skills.

Rough roads, detours or roadblocks

Thus far, no hindrances or barriers have been experienced. The only thing I remember was that uncomfortable feeling on having a cousin for a trainer. But when this feeling is eliminated and pride is lowered to welcome corrections and good instruction, then everything will go well.

Comments on personal effectiveness

I’ve adopted the principles myself and utilized these every time I go to the clinic. Other than that, I also use the principles of people and influence to my advantage to polish my interpersonal communication skills. Feedbacks have been very positive and I use this as my yardstick for effectiveness.

Was this a valuable experience for you? Importance of the Activity

On the job training is an effective tool in developing a person’s character, business knowledge, and skills. The activity for me was a very valuable experience because I learned first hand what it takes to own and manage a business, be an effective and efficient business leader, and be an exemplary figure for others to follow. It helps if one works side by side with a leader. The leader’s character, life principles, philosophies, and strategies are learned immediately. Other than this, being with such people is encouraging because one gets stimulated to do the same things they do, think the same way they do, and compose one’s self as they do.

Leaders are catalysts for improvement. Living by their example will make persons significant in their chosen field of activity in the future.