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2/27/2019
Introduction
Any organization needs leaders at various levels to achieve their mandated objectives and this

holds good for organizations that work with a profit motive or otherwise. Leaders at the helm

of the organization give a clear sense of direction and purpose to the organization; whereas

other leaders within the organization do the same within their own level in the organization.

However, the purpose of the leader is to be able to lead others and these remains irrespective

of being at an overall leadership level or at a lower rung within the organization. As a student

with an eye for a leadership position in a career, it becomes important to acquire leadership

skills at a very early stage in the career. Leadership is a skill that needs to be acquired and

cannot be taught in the environs of a classroom,though leadership theories could be taught.

The skills that are required of a leader needs to be imbibed into the persona in such a way that

one can climb up the career ladder to reach the leadership position(Goleman, Boyatzis, &

McKee, 2013). A leadership position in an organization or in any other form of activity has to

be inculcated in such a way that there is a natural progression towards the leadership position,

an inorganic / un-natural progression towards a leadership position can always be a short-

lived one. This paper attempts to study about leadership quality using self-assessment

techniques thereby trying to understand the deficiencies in me which could help in taking

corrective actions if required.

Seven habits profile - Reflection


After completing the seven habits profile test, I could think of myself to become a

transformational leader; however, there are quite a few areas which require active attention.

The first segment of the test which had an overall score of 13 brought out the aspects of my

personality which I cherish as a person. As a person, I have been inculcated the habit of

showing kindness and consideration to others apart from keeping promises and honoring

commitments. This upbringing also shaped me into not speaking ill about others which helps
me to keep myself within positive thoughts along with a positive frame of mind. I have

always struggled with work-life balance and am sure to have a better-balancedwork-life

balance as I have realized the importance of the same recently. While working in a team I

have always realized the importance of keeping in mind the concerns of others within the

team at the same time do not overdo things to go into levels of creating a burnout in self. At

times I tend to lose control of my life and get a bit out of focus due and try to think about

things beyond my control. I would only gather that this is more due to the age factor and have

the resolve in me to take control of my life, however, I have the ability to take responsibility

for my moods and actions and would not prefer to blame others for the same. My lack of

clarity in what to accomplish in life is a matter of concern as I am yet to make a conclusion

among the various options available in front of me, but I still have the time to make the

choice. One major deficiency that I have observed in me is about not being organized and not

being a great planner, though I do try and ensure not to get into a crisis mode, the feeling of

not having a plan for all my chores and activities still haunts me. However, if I do have a plan

at all I would ensure in a disciplined fashion that the plan is well executed to the best of my

ability. As an individual, I do take care to see the success of others apart from own success

and I extend my full cooperation with all others around me. In the event of any conflict

resolution, I strive to find a solution that creates benefit for all. In person I have always given

thoughts to the feelings of others apart from seeking their viewpoint, as part of this I have

always tried to be a good listener and try to listen more than to hear. Being a good listener, it

enables me to seek the insights of others and helps me in being creative while searching for

new and better ideas for solutions apart from wanting to encourage others to express their

opinions. A major weakness in me is the fact that I have forgotten to take care of my physical

health and well being. I have always tried to build and improve upon relationships with
others, however, have lost myself in other pursuits thereby not being able to take time to find

the meaning and enjoyment in life.

Transformational Leadership
James Macgregor Burns who introduced the concept of transformational leadership was the

first to propose the term transformational leadership and was limited to political leadership

when it was first proposed(Burns, 1977). However, later academics and management gurus

used this term to give more connotations to it and increased the spectrum of transformational

leadership to other domains as well. It was in the year 1985 Bernard M Bass in his book

Leadership and Performance beyond expectations has given more dimensions to the concept

of transformational leadership(Bass, 1985). He brought put forth transformational leadership

as a model of integrity and fairness and one that sets clean and unambiguous goals. While

adding on he also explained how a transformational leader would keep high expectations and

would encourage others by providing support and recognition to his team members. He

further explains how transformation leaders would be able to kindle the emotions of people

which would prompt them to look beyond their self-interest to do things that they may not

probably dream to have achieved. It is noteworthy to note in this context that even after two

decades of publication of this concept of transformational leadership this concept remains

arguably one of the most important ideas in business leadership(Goleman et al., 2013).

Transformational leadership is a leadership style where the leader works with his team

members in identifying the required change in the organization, by creating a vision and

guiding the change by inspiring the team members(Holten & Brenner, 2015).

Transformational leaders are found to be working at all levels of any organization in different

departments and also in the organization as a whole. These leaders have a clear vision of

what they want to achieve and align the goals of the team members with this organizational
vision. They have an inspiring and charismatic appeal and they exhibit four characteristics

namely – inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration,and

idealized influence. By inspirational motivation, the transformational leader promotes a

consistent vision, mission,and values to the team members such that they know what they

would want from each interaction. These leaders provide meaning and challenges in the work

life which motivates the teamwork and commitment among the team members.

By intellectual stimulation, the transformational leaders encourage their team members to

become innovative and creative by encouraging new ideas from the team members. He gets

ideas and opinions from the team members and allows them to be part of the decision-making

process.

By idealized influence, the transformational leader often practices what he preaches. The

leaders often act as role models for their team members and such leaders always command

trust and respect of the team members by placing their needs in front of his/her own

needs(Northouse, 2015).

By individualized consideration, leaders act as mentors to their followers and often reward

them for their achievements, creative ideas,and innovations. The followers are empowered to

involve themselves in decisions and are provided with adequate support to implement their

ideas.

Three strengths
One of the major strengths in me, as I understand, is the ability to be a listener rather than just

hear out others. I have observed that good leaders would want to hear to listen and understand

others rather than just hear from others. While listening it becomes a process of
understanding others and trying to figure out what they intend to communicate as against

hearing which ends up being a physical process of hearing.

As a person sensitive the feelings of others, I engage myself in trying to seek the insights of

others and give due recognition and value to the same. A leader who recognizes the value of

his team members will always be remembered for being a good leader who lends a passionate

ear not just to listen to grievances but also to the thoughts of others(Mccleskey, 2014).

As already mentioned above and thanks to my upbringing, I have imbibed a habit of trying to

keep promises and honor commitments. This is more in the form of a habit and I strive and

also go the extra mile while trying to do even it does ruffle a few feathers in the process of

trying to keep a promise and honor commitments(Nahavandi, 2015).

As already put forth in the theory mentioned above by Bass a transformational leader needs

to kindle the emotions of people which I can by lending a passionate hear to my team

members apart from giving themproper recognition. I understand the value of each team

member and understand the importance of each and every member akin to the cog of a wheel

where each cog is equally important for the smooth functioning of the wheel.

Three weaknesses
While trying to be more compassionate and understanding about others at times I have found

to be wanting in knowing more about me and at times consider it immaterial which can be a

key weakness which I need to work upon. As a good leader to I need to know more about

myself in full before I can be fully qualified to lead a group of people. Having tried to spend

more time on others I often do not find the time to find the meaning and enjoyment in life.

These have also lead to an imbalance in the work-life balance and have lost out to friends

while trying to spend time with my teammates. As mentioned by Bass in his book a

transformational leader needs to inspire others and the above-mentioned areas need to be
worked upon by me to bring in the qualities and over the weaknesses, as mentioned above.

To quote Bass, “the transformational leader uses charisma, individual consideration, and

intellectual stimulation to inspire employees to make extraordinary efforts”(Bass, 1985). A

third weakness identified is the use of tobacco in the form of smoking as an habit which

needs to stopped. I have plans to undergo a detox program to help me come out of this habit.

A transformational leader has to be a person whose qualities can be worthy of being followed

by the members of the team, in the context of the having an imbalance when it comes to

work-life balance the same can set a bad precedent to the people who watch a leader with an

imbalanced work-life imbalance. Having such a weakness can be a major hurdle to being a

leader in the given scenario of having an imbalance in work-life balance.

Three changes recommended


One of the key recommendations based on the above is to master the art of creating a work-

life balance and this could be imbibed through conscious efforts towards the same. I am

trying to catch up with some good books on the subject and try to read whatever possible on

this subject. While trying to do so I have also started trying to spend time for myself and

undergo some personal pursuits to give more time to probe on my inner self. This has also

provided me with an opportunity to understand the meaning of life as well as how life needs

to be enjoyed. As a part of this pursuit, I have decided to take to art in the form of art from

scrap which gives me lot of ample opportunity apart from the time I have decided to dedicate

towards a reading of more books. The third recommendation is to identify a good detox

program at a good healthcare centre in a nearby place and to enroll for the same with

immediate effect.
SMART goal – 1
Specific – To read the book “Off Balance” by Matthew Kelly, this book is considered one

among the top of the charts and best sellers about the subject of work-life balance and I

propose to read this book to make an attempt of learning the art of work-life balance.

Measurable – I propose to use an app to keep track of the book reading which will help me in

keeping track through the app’s reading challenge.

Achievable – One book per month should be an achievable target to make a start.

Relevant – To become a transformational leader one needs to strike a right tone in work-life

balance for the other team members to follow.

Time - I shall finish reading the book within a 30 day period and shall allocate one hours time

on a daily basis towards reading this book and attempt to finish 12 books in a year.

SMART Goals – 2
Specific-1 – To join the local art club in our locality which promotes scrap art and has a good

fan following among the local art lovers and they have a wonderful gallery to display good

works of art.

Measurable – while joining the art club I would consider getting an annual membership.

Achievable = I shall visit the art club and spend time on creative work during the weekends.

Relevant – A good transformational leader should have the requisite soft skills that it takes to

inspire people around him and art can be a good platform for this(Podsakoff, MacKenzie, &

Moorman, 1990).

Time – I shall spend a minimum of three hours on Saturday and Sunday in the art club to

pursue my interests in art.


Two specific actions for achieving the above

I have purchased an Amazon Kindle reader which will allow me the flexibility to read during

all possible times during the course of day or night. Carrying of books while on the move

could be a bit cumbersome as compared to carrying a Kindle reader and this can also help in

buying more books at a time as the soft copies are less costly than the hard copies.

I have joined the local Picasso Art ClubLe in my locality and have started attending the

orientation sessions which are conducted by artists of international and national repute. This

has become another opportunity for allocating time on self which was not happening earlier.

It is also propose that I shall allocate 1% of my annual earnings to purchase scrap for use in

such art forms and dedicate a part of my backyard for storage of the same. As mentioned by

Bass in his book a transformational leader needs to be a role model to the team members and

create an aura thereby creating self-respect and admiration for such a leader. While such an

aura needs to be created using the qualities of one’s personality and or such an aura cannot be

created artificially. Once this aura sets in the leader automatically assume the role of a role

model for others to emulate and think in line with the leader's capabilities. A transformational

leader would be able to create leaders from within and would have a discerning eye to

identify future leaders by molding and or giving shape to their characters. In pursuit of

creating a work-life balance it is also proposed that I will work for five days in a week only

as against working for the six days in the present this will enable me to spend more time for

pursuits as mentioned above apart from devoting time with family and friends.

Conclusion
A transformational leader must give individual level consideration to each and every member

of his and move in a fashion where all members are given equal attention. Such a leader must

able to stimulate the intellect of the team members leading them to open up on ideas and give
more creative solutions during problem-solving. Lastly, a transformational leader must be

able to create an ideal influence on team members whereby the leader can become a role

model ethical behavior, instill pride and gain respect and trust of the team members. Though

these are very generic traits of a transformational leader to conclude this paper all other

qualities that are desired off a transformational leader are embedded in the same. As an

individual with dreams of leading large organizations I take pride in imbibing the best

qualities from international icons who have been leaders in their own spheres of activity such

as Steve Jobs, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi etc to name a few and have resolved to

read their inspiring stories to get inspired. In the course of my journey towards being a

transformational leader, I resolve to become a learner for life and maintain an open-ended

learning curve which will enable me to learn more things as I progress into my career towards

becoming a leader and maintain an insatiable thirst for knowledge.


References:

Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectations. Free Press. Retrieved

from http://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?recordID=US201300430719

Burns, J. M. (1977). Wellsprings of Political Leadership. American Political Science Review,

71(1), 266–275. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055400259455

Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A. (2013). Primal leadership: Unleashing the power of

emotional intelligence. Retrieved from

https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ibQTAAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR7

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change. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 36(1), 2–16.

https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-11-2012-0155

Mccleskey, J. A. (2014). Situational, Transformational, and Transactional Leadership and

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https://search.proquest.com/openview/e03631119c37d022b66d4ea5fe176e3f/1?pq-

origsite=gscholar&cbl=1056382

Nahavandi, A. (2015). THE ART AND SCIENCE OF LEADERSHIP (7th ed.). Pearson.

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https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=TuyeBgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT18

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Podsakoff, P., MacKenzie, S., & Moorman, R. (1990). Transformational leader behaviors and
their effects on followers’ trust in leader, satisfaction, and organizational citizenship

behaviors. The Leadership Quarterly. Retrieved from

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/1048984390900097

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