Personal Leadership Action Plan- Abdul Majeed Mohammed

Introduction:

The following assessment is executed to present a critical self-reflection concerning the varying implications outlined in the Professional and Personal Skills Development unit. The report would be aimed at assessment of leadership competencies and skills concerning the various aspects related to personal development. The outcomes of this reflection would be productively helpful in formulating a personal action plan and structuring it for accomplishing the desired leadership abilities. The following section of the report emphasizes a brief illustration of my career path.

My career path:

I initiated my career with employment as a customer service executive in XXX after completing my certification as Master of Business Administration from the La Trobe Business School in Melbourne. My previous educational qualification before the Master’s program was a bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Osmania University, Hyderabad. My employment profile enabled me to obtain comprehensive awareness of the aspects such as information processing and backend operations related to customer transactions (Cashman, 2017).

Followed by a ten-year successful run as a customer service executive I ventured into my second professional role as the Assistant manager in the operations department of HSBC’s Hyderabad branch in India. My tenure at HSBC for one year was particularly helpful in ascertaining the professional implications of team management. I was able to refine my leadership capabilities with frequent participation in activities such as performance evaluation of the team.

I was exposed to my third career venture with another company in the position of General Marketing and Marketing Head. This job role allowed me to have comprehensive accountability for supply chain management alongside responsibilities for finance and accounting supervision as well as R&D. Development of marketing strategies was also included in my professional responsibilities that assisted in enhancing the experience as well as leadership competencies (Edie et al., 2016).

During my tenure as a customer service executive at HSBC, I was rewarded for my contributions to the community from a leader’s role with the HSBC Community Service Award. I was also recognized by HSBC for my leadership skills through the Certification of Call Coach.

Strategic Human Resource Management

Leadership crisis:

In my various professional roles during my career, I experienced setbacks concerning my leadership which was productive in the long run as they provided me with valuable insights into the scope of leadership. I was able to learn that leadership from the perspective of classical management theories associated with directive and authoritative leadership could not be implemented appropriately in a team environment that has various interpersonal conflicts (Lee, 2017). In my practical experience, I identified harassment and bullying as the two major interpersonal conflicts and was convinced that I could not be able to handle the interpersonal aspects of human resource management. Thus I was able to perceive a crisis scenario in the context of leadership which led me to focus on the need for personal evaluation and addressing the pertinent issues. I was able to address the crisis through counseling sessions and personal coaching on the topic of team management which was complemented by the motivation and support facilitated by the senior management executives in the organization.

Addressing the crisis scenario was particularly helpful in providing an opportunity for self-evaluation as a result of which I was able to identify my behavior and leadership style in the organization. I recognized that my behavioral style was innately associated with relaxed nature as well as aligned with the organizational behavior. In terms of leadership style, I recognized that I was following the Laissez-Faire style which was particularly efficient in my previous job roles owing to the commitment, motivation, and inspiring nature of human resources (Northouse, 2018). Furthermore, the clear illustration of job roles for every employee in my previous professional tenures at different organizations was responsible for the success of my leadership style. However, I concluded that to cope with changing job roles and nature of work I had to induce favorable changes in my behavior and leadership style. I was able to capitalize on the theoretical inferences related to connective and ethical leadership for developing capabilities to evolve and adapt to the changes during my tenure. The reflection on these theoretical aspects was also accountable as a support for my professional development as a leader in the organization as I was able to ascertain improved awareness regarding conflict resolution with ethical and rational strategic approaches.

International Development

Leadership development after the crisis:

The period following the crisis I encountered concerning my leadership skills was prominently characterized by the support from my coaches. They helped me to gain awareness regarding various leadership styles and the necessary skills required for exercising those styles in various scenarios (Edie et al., 2016). This enabled me to develop flexibility for changing my leadership style according to variations in the objectives of the business. Despite the initial setbacks in coping with human resource management strategies, I was able to leverage my capacities as a fast learner to learn strategic approaches and tactics required for managing a workforce characterized by distinct variations in behaviors and attitudes. I focused on the benefits of continuous practice to develop my skills and competencies as a leader thereby leading to improvement in performance and coordination in the context of the organization’s workforce. I was recognized for my initiatives for personal development as a leader through the Gold Duke of Edinburgh award from Prince Philip which contributed to my motivation for engaging in continuous professional development as a leader.

Sample – Sociology: Health and Illness

Prior views on leadership:

My initial perception of leadership was primarily shaped by the negative experiences in my previous professional tenures at different organizations which were acquired from training as well as practical involvement (Cashman, 2017). I was of the impression that critical leadership theory should not be implemented in practice owing to the opinion suggesting saturation of business organizations with increasing dynamics of power. I also believed that leadership control can be exerted by leaders only through the elements of coercion, manipulation, and domination. My pre-existing views on leadership also included explicit references to the influence of political, economical, technological, cultural, social, and contextual factors on the dynamics of contemporary leadership.

Personal perspective:

My personal opinion on leadership in the present time implies that an organization could not rely on a specific leadership style for dealing with any situation encountered by the business. Therefore the factors of the level of business followers and business requirements according to the scenario should be taken into account for framing a leadership style. Situational leadership could be applied in this context which suggests a change on behalf of the leaders who are expected to reform their behavior and followers who are expected to reform their commitment and capability according to the scenario (Northouse, 2018). I also found out that the effectiveness of a leader is also dependent on the individual’s credibility as followers are committed to leaders who depict traits of competence, dynamism, and trustworthiness. My transformation into an effective leader helped me in continuing with the job alongside helping me improve my competence and skills. Other changes which I have observed in my behavior include transformation from a pessimistic to an optimistic attitude and regard for other human resources of the organization. I was also able to improve my conceptual awareness through information on rationale approaches for business organization and management of human resources in every department of the organization.

Assessment insights:

The outcomes of self-reflection suggest that the changes in my leadership style were consistent and involved considerable efforts. The self-reflection is associated with an assessment of the process of self-evaluation and the approaches followed for personal transformation in terms of leadership competencies and skills (Cashman, 2017). The personal development process has been supported largely by the approaches of examination and evaluation of self. Frequent evaluation of my progress in the personal development process was responsible for the necessary motivation required for the continuous development of leadership abilities.

Organisational Behaviour

Conclusion:

The training process involved various conceptual paradigms and ideas. The most productive lesson for me that supported my personal growth in the role of a leader in a business organization was the concept of emotional intelligence. The conceptual underpinnings of emotional intelligence helped me to improve my acquaintance with self-management and empathy that can be applied in practical situations. The concept of emotional intelligence has been prolific in assisting in managing the workforce according to varying scenarios. I would also emphasize the feasibility of applying the concept in various business scenarios according to requirements.

Action Plan:

A major share of the description of the action plan adopted by me for personal development as a leader could be identified in the report presented above. To continue with professional development, I would focus on the execution of self-assessment from a critical perspective at regular intervals of my professional tenure. This objective could be facilitated flexibly through various plans and strategic approaches followed by me for the provision of a self-assessment report frequently. I intend to reflect prominently on the findings from feedback forms such as 360-degree feedback that would enable me to obtain insights into behavior appraisal from all sides of the organizational hierarchy. I would also conduct an evaluation of the behavior and personality appraisals from my previous professional tenures in the initial stages of my career. Furthermore, I would also focus on my inherent desire for identifying novel opportunities in the contemporary business market that is characterized by high levels of competitive intensity.