Leadership Communication
Communication is a key aspect that holds organizations together in a bid to achieve organizational goals and objectives. Communication is not a functional responsibility assigned to a particular department in an organization. Rather, it belongs to every individual in an organization and its effectiveness depends on how every member of the community appreciates it as a core responsibility. A key component of organizational communications is a leader’s messages that are directed to other subordinate employees. This type of communication is called leadership communication and plays a critical role in enhancing the flow of information for both internal and external stakeholders. Here are qualities that I appreciate from an organization team leader.
Qualities that I Appreciate in our Team Leader
As a follower, one of the qualities I admire in our team leader is leading by example. Leading by example is among the prominent leadership skills. If an organizational leader is demonstrating strong work ethics, the employees will emulate what they are observing from their team leader (Ruben & Gigliotti, 2016). Among the good qualities that i emulate from my team leader include being productive in my respective field and upholding a high standard of professionalism in my undertakings. This has bolstered my enthusiasm and interest in being better at whatever am doing.
Focusing on the big picture is another quality that I admire from my team leader. I have observed that every time a project is launched, there are always hitches that arise from time to time that was never foreseen during the planning stage. In case one does not focus on the results, its easy to get swayed and eventually fail to achieve the intended results. I have observed that my team leader is always ready to refocus any arising issue to align with the project objective. Through this tactic, we always achieve the intended results despite the hurdles.
Commitment to organizational goals is another quality that I admire in my team leader. Irrespective of how difficult work situation might be, the team leader I always committed to the organizational objectives and pursues every undertaking with passion and agility. this quality inspires every other employee which makes them enthusiastic about their role and contribution to the organization.
What I Have Learned from the Strengths and Weaknesses of my Team Leader that I can Apply as a Follower
Among the leadership strengths that I have learnt from my team leader is prioritization. Whenever we have several tasks that need to be accomplished, my team leader prioritizes those tasks that are most important and those that will ease the process of working on other tasks. As a follower, I can apply this tactic in my work because it will help me organize my work schedule and handle the most demanding tasks, this will help me create more time that would allow for creativity and efficiency.
Another strength that l learnt is giving credit where it’s due. Most team leaders are always tempted to take all the credit for achievements made by a particular member of their group or by the group as a whole. Although this behavior may improve their good standing with their superior, it demoralizes those who made an exceptional effort that made the results a success. However, my team leader ensures that credit is given to those who contributed to the success of any task or project. As a follower, this is something I will practice in my future endeavours to motivate my co-workers or those whom I might supervise in future.
Apart from the strengths, there are various weaknesses that I observed from our team leader that I learnt from and can apply as a follower. One of these weaknesses is micromanaging employees. My team leader is always interested in perfection and ensuring that the project does not sway from the intended objective. However, the behavior of checking on team members from time to time shows a lack of trust in them which eventually demoralizes even the most enthusiastic team member (Zulch, 2014). As a follower, I have learnt the importance of letting the team members know that I can trust in their ability to follow the laid down guidelines and achieve the intended results without my intervention.
Another weakness I leant is being over critical. Often, a team leader will observe that one or two members of their team have certain aspects that affect their performance. Although positive criticism is acceptable, being overcritical about certain aspects in employees may demoralize the team members and they may lack motivation for striving for a common organizational goal. As a follower, I will avoid being over critical in various aspects that may be affecting the productivity of my fellow team members. I will criticize them positively which may help them improve their performance.
Conclusions that I can Draw About Being an Effective Leader
As a follower, I have drawn several conclusions about being an effective leader. One is that a leader has to know their team. This means understanding their personality, their strengths and weaknesses in terms of proficiency and productivity (Men, 2014). This will help in assigning responsibilities which will ensure work harmony, fast delivery and continuous worker development, each in his/her capacity. Failure to understand team members result in chaos where members are discontented with how the group is being steered. The second conclusion that I have drawn is that a team leader should always keep their team members informed. This might be information from the management about certain issues that affect their department or information regarding how they are supposed to proceed in their respective undertakings. Ensuring that team members are well informed on time ensures that they do what is supposed to be done within the timeline given. This also gives them confidence in the leadership of the team since they feel that their contribution is valued by the organization. As a follower, these are aspects that I find most interesting because they are if not fully implemented, they are aspects that can affect team productivity and its usefulness in an organization.
References
Men, L. R. (2014). Strategic internal communication: Transformational leadership, communication channels, and employee satisfaction. Management Communication Quarterly, 28(2), 264-284.
Zulch, B. (2014). Leadership communication in project management. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 119, 172-181.
Ruben, B. D., & Gigliotti, R. A. (2016). Leadership as social influence: An expanded view of leadership communication theory and practice. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 23(4), 467-479.