ESSAY: Leadership

For this assignment, you are required to write a Leadership Research Essay.

Requirement: Using the terms, concepts, and theories learned in this course, write a 5 to 7 page (Times New Roman 12 font with double-spaced lines) leadership essay defining your leadership philosophy with one or more of the leadership theories we have studied. Each page should be approximately 350 words, so the total word count (not counting the reference page and the title page) should be at least 1750 words. Papers with fewer than 1750 words will have deductions for lack of content. Quotes should be limited and if necessary, cited appropriately. For this assignment, the use of first person is allowed.

No abstract is necessary. Include a clear and concise introductory and concluding paragraph.

Research: Additionally, using the APUS Online Library, conduct research and incorporate at least two (2) additional sources other than your textbook and course articles to support your essay. Use the APA Style to cite your “in-text” references and to list your references on a reference page.

Your essay will address these questions:

A. What leadership model, style, or theory best describes you as a leader? Why? Give examples using the terms and concepts in your textbook.

1) Skills Approach

2) Situational Approach

3) Behavioral Approach

4) Trait Approach

5) Path-Goal Approach

B. What are your most distinguishing leadership traits? What traits do you strive to learn to develop?

C. As a follower, what leadership approach do you prefer from your leader?

D. What leadership model or theory best describes how you influence others? Give examples.

E. Based on your self-assessments, your current leadership and motivational skills, and the knowledge you have gained from the course materials, what goals will you set and what plan of action will you implement to improve your (1) leadership and (2) motivation? Include the type of leadership theory or model you intend to implement to achieve your goals.

F. Explain the steps you need to take to complete each of these self-improvement goals?

Save your essay as Last Name_Leadership Research Essay_MGMT312.doc (e.g. Smith_Leadership Research Essay_MGMT312.doc).

When you are ready, upload your essay for grading.

Paper Format:

A. Title Page – Include a title page with your name, student number, title of your paper, course number, course name, and date.

B. Introductory Paragraph – Include an introductory paragraph that ends.

C. Font and Spacing – Use Times New Roman 12 font with double spaced lines.

D. Length – Write a 5 to 7 page essay not including the title page and citation page.

E. Reference Page – Include all sources including your textbook on a Reference page

ANSWER

Leadership

A personal leadership philosophy is a set of beliefs, concepts, ideas that one uses in order to assess the information and respond to people and circumstances (Lussier & Achua, 2015). Selecting a personal leadership philosophy is essential as it enables one to acquire knowledge regarding the priorities, approaches to decision making and the expectations one has from the self and others. Having a personal leadership philosophy means one has a plan of leading others at any given time. Leadership styles refer to the manner in which plans are implemented and the means for motivating people (Northouse, 2018). In this paper, I will perform an analysis of my leadership theory, areas for improvement and the steps to take to ensure that I meet the objectives for improving my leadership qualities.

Leadership Theories

Leadership theory has continued to evolve as a result of the changing expectations of the people at work, and the effects of the leadership styles on the followers. The main approaches include the skills approach, trait approach, behavioral approach, situational approach, and path-goal approach (Antonakis & Day, 2017). One of the leadership theories that can best describe my approach to leading is the skills approach. I believe that the abilities, knowledge, and skills I learn form a critical component of leading. The skills approach to leadership assumes that leader is not born, or do not have specific personal attributes, instead, they can be molded through the gaining of knowledge and the necessary attributes required to complete the leading activities (Northouse, 2018). The three primary leadership skills needed in this style are the human, technical and conceptual skills (Antonakis & Day, 2017).

Human skills refer to the ability to effectively work with people by assisting the subordinates to realize a common organizational goal. Possessing human skills indicates that the leader has the capacity to listen and motivate others (Northouse, 2018). I believe this is one of my strengths as I have shown in many ways that I tend to listen to my colleagues and friends’ problems and encourage them to continue believing in themselves. The technical skill involves having knowledge in a certain specific work and the ability to use the correct techniques. Technical skills are essential for the leaders as the followers tend to trust a leader with a proven ability to complete specific tasks (Antonakis, & Day, 2017).

Finally, the skills approach relies on the conceptual skills of a leader, meaning that the individual has the capacity to develop different ideas and utilize them in solving challenges at the workplace. I believe that I have the capacity to conceptualize challenges and form ideas on how they can be solved. The skills are very important as they help create a vision and good plan for an organization. For effective performance, a leader should possess; problem-solving skills, which refers to the ability to address new problems effectively. The leader should also have social judgment skills, which is the ability to interact and understand people and the social system, and finally the knowledge that helps a leader in defining the problems and making an effort to solve them (Northouse, 2018)….