A511.4.3.RB - Leadership Traits

A511.4.3.RB_Manglona, Matthew-Napu_Leadership Traits

To discuss the managerial types when it comes to motivation, traits, and effectiveness I have to discuss the traits portion first because I feel that is most important. The reason I feel that it is most important is because it is a tool that an individual can use and be effective in the workplace. Energy level and stress tolerance to be an effective leader or problem solver requires the ability to remain calm and stay focused at the issue at hand (Yukl, 2013). Self-confidence is also another trait I see as a key point for this discussion because having self-confidence allows leaders to take the initiative to delegate tasks, to resolve issues, and to present desirable and wanted change. Self-confidence is a strong asset to achieving influence within an organization. (Yukl, 2013).

Another attribute would be Emotional Stability and Maturity. These traits allow an individual to have self-awareness and the ability to work at self-improvement for themselves and acknowledging their weaknesses. Individuals possessing emotional stability portray self-control and the ability to check or stabilize their emotions.

Personal integrity is when an individual holds themselves accountable for their actions. To have the trait of being “honest and truthful rather than deceptive” (Yukl, 2013). This trait can be easily seen in the workplace amongst subordinates, peers, and leadership. Manager’s and leaders who demonstrate Personal integrity will be highly regarded by subordinates and will build trust among the employees to do the right thing.

In addition to Personal Integrity, there are also technical skills, interpersonal skills, and conceptual skills. Technical skills consist of knowledge about methods, procedures, and techniques. Interpersonal Skills have knowledge of human behavior and interpersonal processes, ability to understand feelings and attitudes of personnel and people. Lastly, there are Conceptual skills which is the ability to have logical thinking, have creativity in coming up with ideas, and problem solving. (Yukl, 2013).

If I assess my leadership traits and competencies, I would have to say that I strongly possess stress tolerance and energy level. When I was deployed to Afghanistan, I experienced situations where I had to remain calm and level headed to ensure the safety of my soldiers were met. They needed a leader with high energy because the situations were highly stressful and the soldiers needed to keep focused on the mission because lives were at stake.

At times, Emotional resilience as another trait I demonstrate at work. “Emotional resilience represents an individual’s flexibility in response to changing situational demands, or the ability to bounce back from negative emotional experiences”( Li, Y., Chun, H., Ashkanasy, N. M., & Ahlstrom, D.2012). In my line of work, I am continuously challenged with stressful situations that do not always have a pleasant outcome. However, I am constantly working at these traits to better myself as a leader. Because of these traits, I am considered an asset in my organization because I am always looking for ways to help improve the organization and ensuring that that team stays focused and grounded.

One difference I have observed with the management style of some of my peers is that they micro-manage their employees and fail to delegate appropriately. This impacts them negatively because when things do not go as planned, they easily stress and lash out at their employees, which demonstrates a lack of emotional stability on their part. Keeping level headed and dealing with stressful situations appropriately will aid in resolving situations, resulting in positive outcomes.

From the contingency theory aspect the Path-Goal Theory of my task oriented behavior and relations oriented behavior (Yukl,2013) go hand in hand. I always set standards for myself and I expect my subordinates to do the same. Whether it be physical, task oriented, technical, or the emotional aspect from my soldiers to emulate my leadership style, I ensure I give them clear guidance to the tasks needed to be done. I still incorporate my emotional and stress tolerance as an example for them to follow. I expect them to carry themselves in a proper manner both in and out of the uniform from taking care of their families, being good employees in their civilian occupations, and overall take care of themselves encouraging them in everything they do through my traits. “Subordinates will perform better when they have clear and accurate role expectations, they perceive that a high level of effort is necessary to attain task objectives, they are optimistic that it is possible to achieve the task objectives…” (Yukl, 2013).

The situational variables that assist will be task commitment. In the Army, we reward our soldiers through promotions, awards, training opportunities, and other forms of rewarding efforts because of their hard work, dedication, and commitment. I have seen the task commitment surge during deployment because everyone was focused on the same mission, to stay alive and return to their loved ones. There were incentives as well, such as re-enlistment bonuses and leave, which relates back to the path goal theory and task commitment, because it gave all of us the incentive to get our mission done and keep the organizations vision of evolving our soldiers for the Army’s future needs.

References:

Li, Y., Chun, H., Ashkanasy, N. M., & Ahlstrom, D. (2012). A multi-level study of emergent group 

leadership: Effects of emotional stability and group conflict. Asia Pacific Journal of Management,

29(2), 351-366. doi:10.1007/s10490-012-9298-4

Yukl, G. (2013). Leadership in organizations (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall