Leadership portofolio - Essay Example

Leadership Portfolio As the leader, many challenges were overcome in order to make the consultancy positively functional. Managinga group larger than three is no sail in the wind and thus proved to require hands-on leadership. The reasons I was chosen leader are as follows. My charismatic nature was cited by the group members even when interacting outside of work. This is a natural trait which most leaders lack and in most cases can hardly be taught. It has to be gradually developed through apprenticeship or life experiences (Wise, 2010, p. 65). The reason behind being chosen leader, was mostly attributed to fitting the business.

According to the group members, I best understood the business in question and was thus, thought of to be the most experienced in solving the problems. I was best experienced due to my knowledge in working complex leadership perspectives from a management perspective. Among all the members in the group, I was selected as one most open to learning. Members described me as always open to new ideas in instances when they were proposed. The last key trait was the fact that members stated that I was the most likely to be followed.

This means that I had been accepted by the members as a leader which most likely led to my appointment as group leader. What aspects of leadership were most prevalent in my group? The aspects which most resonated from the group were; delegation, strategic planning, assertiveness and time management. Delegation as an aspect since for the project, some research needed to be done and each of the group members had to contribute their part to the project. Each group member was then given research assignments, which they needed to bring back during group meetings.

Strategic planning was required in each phase of the assignment in order to complete the project on time as well as involve all the members of the group. Also, care needed to be exercised not to overburden any member of the group by allocating too much work. Planning to the detail, therefore, needed to be exercised. Assertiveness was mostly shown in group leadership in matters that were trivial to the overall project that threatened its completeness. Where members did not agree, assertiveness needed to be practiced to find a solution that would enable carrying out of the project to proceed as planned (Mannix and Sauer, pp. 56-57). Time management was salient to the project as each group member had to attend meetings and give results to assignments in a timely fashion.

What were the key challenges to leadership? The main challenges to leading the team to project success came in the form of making changes to the groups. When work needed to be reallocated, some of the members would clash which caused problems in terms of meeting deadlines we had set at the onset. Also, knowledge management proved to be quite daunting. All members had to have their contributions added to the overall project which proved to be challenging. The problems were managed through being assertive in the making of decisions.

Unquestionable leadership was portrayed which helped shelf problems that would arise. The background reading assigned was “Social Hierarchy: The Self-Reinforcing Nature of Power and Status”. The document defines the effects power and status in the hierarchy dynamics of an organization. In the group, sociological and psychological elements of hierarchy were outlined which would assist in differentiation of hierarchy in the context of Complex Engineering (CE). It guided the group in mapping their line of thought regarding hierarchy.

It showed problems that arise as a result of hierarchy in organizations providing counter solutions for the same. The document defines hierarchy, also, showing the aspects of social hierarchies that exist namely status and power (Kemper, 2011, p. 25). The document also shows the effect that low ranks and high ranks have on hierarchy reinforcement. It describes the forms and functions of social hierarchy outlining its sub types as formal and informal hierarchy. The document further establishes the role of social hierarchies in organizations in the process showing effects of social order and coordination.

It in effect, shows how the structure of hierarchy provides incentives and opportunities for individuals to achieve higher ranks. The document establishes the basis of social hierarchy as power and status. The document further shows the variations between the defined meaning of social hierarchy and the traditional approach and concept which existed. What did I personally learn from the article? I learnt that in any society or organization, social hierarchy exists since there always is differentiation among individuals and in groups (Mannix and Sauer, 2006, p. 78). I also learnt that for an organization to be effective, the pinnacle of an organization in terms of leadership needs to properly arrange the management echelon in an organization.

This, would go a long way in meticulously distributing power and reducing confusion and conflict within the organization. I also learnt that the proper usage of influence and power encourages the use of transactional leadership, an approach that encourages rewards to employees based on their performance (Pumain, 2006, pp.21-25). Cited sources Kemper, T.D. 2011. Status, Power and Ritual Interaction a Relational Reading of Durkheim, Goffman and Collins. Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate. P. 15. Mannix, E.A., & Sauer, S.J. 2006.

Status and power in organizational group research: Acknowledging the pervasiveness of hierarchy. In S.R. Thye & E.J. Lawler (Eds.), Advances in group processes (Vol. 23, pp. 149–182). New York: Elsevier. Pumain, D. 2006). Hierarchy in Natural and Social Sciences. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Springer. 65-85. Tracy, B. 2014. Leadership. New York: American Management Association, 85. Wise, P.S. 2010. Leadership. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders, pp. 23-31.