Leadership Reflection Paper 2wj4k

Running head: LEADERSHIP REFLECTION PAPER

Leadership Reflection Paper DOC/731R School of Advanced Studies, University of Phoenix William L Buckley Dr. Susan Ferebee February 26, 2014

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As a leader, I will empower others by encouragement, providing the right tools, cultivating a vision that includes everyone, individually and collectively to take ownership. I will it to my short comings when needed. I will inspire others to act through my actions and words, both oral and written. I will constantly seek to challenge myself and develop as a leader, at the same time, I will and mobilize others to do the same. In becoming a more proficient SPL, I have learned how to motivate others using examples and excitement. When applied to an older adult learner it is sometimes easier to have them see how something works rather than tell them to do it. The leadership theories that my plan are both Transformational and Transactional. In education they are not exclusive and to train future citizens, I use both. My leadership strengths and weaknesses are clear after taking the required assessments and they required me to become transparent. I am now a leader constantly learning and growing into the leader I envision in the future. My action plan for accomplishing my future leadership goals, are specific, realistic, and measureable. I will use my plan to accomplish my future goals as a leader and constantly assess my progress through a comprehensive plan as outlined here. Transformational leadership tends to focus on the culture and learning experiences of people. In addition, the goal of “transforming the values and priorities of followers and motivating them to perform beyond their expectations” (Avolio & Yammarino, p. 69) is a goal of all leaders. As a teacher I provide real life examples to what I am teaching in the classroom. By using these examples the material is brought to life for the student and gives them a connection to associate their learning with and perform better on assessments. In transactional leadership I focus on the “exchange of rewards for compliance” (Avolio & Yammarino, p. 69). Transactional leadership is task-oriented and requirement oriented with rewards that are

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anticipated for the performance of the individual or group. I expect the same outcome by the student in this case, the difference is the student receives a reward for success or a punishment if unsuccessful. Both of these leadership styles are effective in my profession and will continue to be of use as long as they are successful. Bass (1999) stated that transformational leaders seek new ways of working. Transformational leaders don’t react to the circumstances; they attempt to shape and create them. I may use transactional leadership strategies when appropriate to increase effort by raising mental awareness about the outcome. By increasing self- awareness and investing in the student, his or her success is heightened. My teacher student relationship allows both leadership styles to be of use. It is dependent on the student and the desired outcome. At times either transformational or transactional leadership styles are effective for multiple students concurrently. During these last five days I have strived to understand the goal of the scholarship, practitioner and leadership (SPL) Model as it focuses on our ability to lead. Our continued development in the field of education allows us to pursue lifelong learning, contribute effectively to our community and grow socially by working with our peers. In doing the exercises this week I can see the positive influence we were required to maintain while being pushed to the extreme. In working with the two different groups I learned that we must locate, evaluate, and use information to complete a respectable presentation of a topic for which we may know nothing about. Our ability to gather information about global problems allowed us to pull from the literacy. We also were required to collaborate and give feed forward to show the relationship to our SPL. Most of the I received was positive and not very constructive. The only person who felt a need to give constructive was Cheryl. She related it back to my

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ability to wait until the last minute to turn assignments in and how this may make others uncomfortable. In our future classes I will strive to put my best foot forward and turn in assignments earlier so that others may contribute or give relevant . The self-assessment of my conflict, power, and leadership styles display I am capable of effective collaboration that meet the goals necessary to accomplish the known mission and for the success of my class or team. I understand that communication, accommodation, and motivation are important for transformational leadership practices. My strengths lead to the intellectual nature of leadership and my concern for people indicates a strong transformational leadership style. In the transformational leadership model, the leader provides “influence (charisma), inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration” (Avolio & Yammarino, 2002, p. 111). When reviewing my leadership style in the past, I tended to avoid conflict by communicating with others for understanding of goals as a team member. I found this to be a problem. In avoiding conflict by accommodating and compromising, I sacrificed the task at hand and the mission. Since beginning of this program I have improved my ability to resolve conflict and not accommodate or compromise unless the situation warrants it. I have a stronger concern for people then for task, but have worked towards making it an equal balance between the two. My original observation was that I am ‘more effective” (Jui-Chen & Silverthorn, 2005, p. 280) in charismatic leadership. From the beginning to the end I have a balanced approach to taking care of people and taking care of the task. I am capable of convincing people to complete the task by motivating them through charisma and rapport. As a teacher I am an expert in a wide range of areas, I share this everyday with students, athletes, coaches, co-teachers and s. I understand that expertise and content sharing provides intellectual stimulation to others while motivating them to higher levels of achievement.

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In the military and in the education field every activity requires teams and team building. I strive to understand and build upon the ability to guide classes, teams, and individuals to a common goal of completing the task at hand. In the classroom the goal is to learn the material as is guided by the standards. I am required to manage my time and resources in a controlled environment to accomplish this goal. I can accomplish this by having the students understand and apply his or her effort to their education. As a coach I strives to bring the team together and make the team cohesive but still having the athlete striving for his or her personal goals. The success of the class and the team, are dependent on my ability to lead effectively. In order to do this effectively I must lead the group to the belief that they can focus, and have the desire to complete the same task as a team. To accomplish this, I must set the example by continually learning and growing myself. As a leader I am still struggling with a lack in confidence and organizational skills. My biggest problem is my daily plan which keeps me focused and on task. I take my time for granted, and do not have a set vision for my future, rather a wide range of things I want to do. In the past two years I have made great strides in becoming more organized and realizing my leadership style is of value. I may not think like others, but there is a place in the world for me. To continue my growth I will have the right mindset and teach the growth mindset principles to my students, athletes, and son. Heath and Heath stated (2007), “Your brain is like a muscle that can be developed with exercise everything is hard before it gets easy.” I will continue to pursue my education as long as I am capable of reading and writing. My plan is becoming a reality, I have made great strides in accomplishing it and staying focused through continued follow through. For example, I have used a weekly and class spreadsheet to track what I am doing on what day. This has allowed me to set aside time to spend

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with my family and understand when something must be completed. One of the biggest advantage to my time management is sleep. I now go to bed by 11 pm which is something I was not doing before my time management. I have set aside Sunday to complete the week’s assignments in advance in order to allow me to learn and engage with my fellow students. I still need to be more cognizant of the here and now, to keep my focus on the small things in life and not to focus on the bigger picture of tomorrow. The biggest thing I have learned is to focus on the present, do little things now that will lead the bigger thing later I believe that attending this doctorate program has given me enough time to nurture my plan. I have learned so much from the facilitators and other students. I have and will continue to develop relationships with mentors and experienced individuals over the course of my studies. The primary responsibility of an education leader is to put in place learning that engages students intellectually, socially, and emotionally. I will continue to work at my emotional intelligence striving to keep my intellectual, social, and emotional skills at the highest level by reading scholarly books and interacting with experts in my field. In my daily tasks, I will evaluate how I am leading my students, athletes, assistant coaches, and representing my fellow teachers. At the completion of every school year and every track season, I will continue to write down my reflection and action plan for the next year. I will reassess this plan at the beginning of the new school year and track season. As I progress through my education, I will continue to implement my learning in my daily activities. My dissertation directly relates to my professional goals and is a guide to my future leadership in the 21st century schools. As the schools grow and change, I will make every effort to stay ahead of the learning curve to ensure the success of my students and staff. My focus for the next year is to continue reading and writing until the completion of

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my dissertation. At this time I have a chair and will correspond with him in a timely manner as well as find the rest of my team. Leadership must know what it wants, be able to communicate it, and empower others while staying on the course (Wren, 1995). I have stayed the course with a few adjustments along the way. My strategy for maximizing my leadership effectiveness was outlined from the beginning and I have reiterated it in this paper. I have taken the I have received from this course and will apply it to my growth in the future. I have defined the theories I will use and maximized my leadership effectiveness. I have integrated transformational and transactional leadership where needed and in the appropriate situations, with the focus now shifted more towards a citizenship leadership model. I will continue to use the lessons learned in the last two years to grow my leadership and understand that it is never a completed process. My action plan has been realistic and achievable. The process of learning is never finished and as such I will always be relevant and cognizant of the fact that I must always strive to become a better scholar, practicionar, and leader.

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8 References

Avolio, B. J., & Yammarino, F. J. (2002). Transformational and Charismatic Leadership: The Road Ahead. San Diego, CA: Emerald. Bass, B. M. (1999). From Transactional to Transformational Leadership: Learning to share the vision.. Organizational Dynamics, Winter(4), 19-31. Heath, C., & Heath, D. (2007). Leadership is a Muscle. Fast Company, 1(117), 62-63. Jui-Chen, C., & Silverthorne, C. (2005). Leadership Effectiveness, Leadership Style and Employee Readiness. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 26(3), 280-288. Wren, J. T. (1995). The Leader’s Companion Insights on Leadership through the Ages.. New York, NY: The Free Press.