Effective leadership is important for business success. Leaders make decisions, shape the company’s culture, retain personnel, and push businesses forward. Self-reflection helps leaders identify relevant observations and make necessary changes (Kiersch & Gullekson, 2021). Continuous process of self-reflection, fostering personal growth, and honing leadership skills. Leaders discover their weaknesses, and strengths, and even uncover those areas that may hinder the effectiveness of their performance. A rigorous self-reflection strategy is critical for leaders looking to understand the effect of their attitudes, beliefs, and experiences on their leadership style. The plan accelerates personal development and enhances interpersonal relationships within the professional landscape. This self-reflection plan will reflect on how my attitudes, beliefs, and experiences affect my leadership style and use effective methods to improve performance and relationships
Understanding personal influences on leadership style
Leadership style is intricately woven with personal attitudes, beliefs, and experiences which influence one’s unique approach to guiding and influencing others. Attitudes influence decision-making and communication within a leadership role. Beliefs influence ethical choices and define leadership values (Jankelová & Joniaková, 2021). Experiences contribute to the development of leadership strategies and resilience. Leaders’ past shapes their present responses and future decisions. Recognition of these impacts is essential for self-reflection, awareness, and intentional leadership style changes to match desired outcomes and organizational goals. For example, my transformational and transactional behaviors have been revealed by the MLQ scores I obtained. The scores indicate my strengths and improvement areas.
Application of self-reflection techniques
I will regularly repeat the MLQ and ask for comments from knowledgeable people to properly use self-reflection approaches. I may also hire a leadership coach to help me grow as a leader. I want to improve my performance, personal growth, and relationships by reflecting on my leadership style and exploring growth opportunities. I tend to grade myself well in transformational leadership behaviors, but others may see things differently. I will ask coworkers, team members, and supervisors for input to appropriately analyze my leadership style. The inquiries will help me understand how others see my behavior and identify development opportunities I may not realize. I will also constantly self-examine to appraise my performance, identify typical tendencies or conduct that might restrict me as a leader then find solutions. Keeping journals, meditating, and engaging can guide the self-reflection.
I will take courses on leadership or attend conferences, study books about leadership, and gain mentorship from experienced leaders to develop myself. I can become effective in my work and leadership by constantly developing my skills and knowledge (Willgerodt et al., 2020). Strong relationships are important in leading and I will focus on building them with my staff and colleagues. I will listen to their issues, assist them, and create a workplace that is inclusive and collaborative. Additionally, I will improve my communication by clarifying the expectations of my subordinates, delivering constructive feedback, and resolving conflicts.
Obtaining constructive feedback
Leadership development is highly influenced by constructive criticism. I will obtain feedback from a diverse source consisting of peers, subordinates, and supervisors to obtain a well-rounded perspective. As a leader, I will create conditions necessary for open and safe communication. Encouraging my team to share their views on aspects of leadership such as my strengths and areas for improvement through regular feedback sessions will be helpful. Applying 360-degree feedback instruments such as the MLQ 360 Leader’s report would give an overall understanding of people’s perceptions of my leadership. Feedback from various sources can help me identify blind spots and glimpses of my leadership that I may not have seen during self-reflection.
Conclusion
Self-reflection plans are important for the development of leadership. By understanding how personal attitudes, beliefs, and experiences influence a leader’s style, leaders can use self-reflection techniques to continuously improve themselves. It also adds objectivity in the process when an individual seeks constructive criticism from different quarters thereby ensuring a holistic view of the path to leadership. This self-reflection plan reinforces our promise to become better listeners, more compassionate, and more impactful leaders.
References
Jankelová, N., & Joniaková, Z. (2021). Communication skills and transformational leadership style of first-line nurse managers in relation to job satisfaction of nurses and moderators of this relationship. Healthcare, 9(3), 346. NCBI. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9030346
Kiersch, C., & Gullekson, N. (2021). Developing character-based leadership through guided self-reflection. The International Journal of Management Education, 19(3), 100573. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2021.100573
Willgerodt, M. A., Abu-Rish Blakeney, E., Summerside, N., Vogel, M. T., Liner, D. A., & Zierler, B. (2020). Impact of leadership development workshops in facilitating team-based practice transformation. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 34(1), 76–86. https://doi.org/10.1080/13561820.2019.1604496
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