Psychology of Leadership

1

3

5.3 Assignment-leader2leaderConversationReport

Delsa D. Christian

Indiana Wesleyan University

Developing the Self Leader

Dr. Michale Linville

September 27, 2021

In my Leader2Leader dialogue, I got a chance to engage Elder Joseph Jackson on matters of leadership. I narrowed my conversation with Elder Jackson into this week's material on character, virtues, and values. Elder Jackson is a restaurant manager and ministry leader. Elder Jackson has been managing the restaurant for over ten years, making him a suitable interviewee, managing hundreds of employees. Because of his busy schedule, the meeting was conducted via Zoom. During the dialogue, I engaged Elder Jackson with the following questions;

1. Do you consider character an essential aspect of leadership? If yes, explain further.

"Yes, a character is essential to effective leadership since good character builds trust. When I joined the corporate world, I thought leadership was all about desire, determination, and personality; I did not realize it was all about character. This has struck me more as I go along this management journey. Leaders who are respected and followed by people have good and admirable characters among themselves, which makes them exemplary people in the community."

2. What constitutes the character of an individual?

"An individual's character consists of patterns and traits that influence their thoughts, emotion, motivation, and behavior. Character drives one to consistently think, behave, and feel in a certain way. A person of character is self-conscious and expresses gratitude freely and regularly."

3. Mention three character strengths that define you

"The three character strengths that define me are wisdom and knowledge, courage and justice. As a leader, wisdom comes in handy when making decisions; I can assemble much-needed knowledge to understand situations before making the final decision. Having courage allows me to take risks, which has enabled me to make significant steps in life. Justice allows me to promote a culture that develops, empowers, and enriches my employees as a leader. It also allows me to ensure fairness in the workplace, especially when delegating duties."

4. How does character dictate your manner of leadership?

"Being a committed and productive leader, character allows me to dictate hard work and perseverance in the workplace. I rarely accept unrealistic excuses from my employees; I also make sure that employees take responsibility for their actions. My character allows me to build a reputation for myself, both as a man of God, professional and as an individual."

5. Which virtues and values do you find important in leadership?

"The virtues and values that I find important in leadership are decisiveness, courage, passion, and humility. Decisiveness is an important virtue for leaders since it allows them to make up their minds on certain issues that affect the organization. It also allows the leader to show consistency with their decisions. I also find courage important because it gives the leader the boldness and determination to pursue something that most may find difficult. On the other hand, passion gives the leader the inspiration and boundless energy to pursue certain tasks and responsibilities. The last virtue that I find important in leadership is humility. Great and successful leaders admit their mistakes when they are wrong; they also take criticism as an opportunity to grow."

6. How can leaders achieve virtue ethics?

According to Elder Jackson, leaders can achieve virtue ethics by practicing positive attributes such as being honest, generous, just, and brave. This way, they will drastically build a moral and honorable character. By honoring God and having good virtues and attributes in life, leaders will develop good characters to help them make the right choices when faced with specific ethical challenges. Achieving such virtues is essential for leaders as it allows them to lead ethically without bending to urges, desires, or impulses.

7. How can a leader instill good virtues and values in his followers?

"Positive leadership builds trust and loyalty. When an employee knows that their employer is ethical, they will also start practicing ethical attributes. For instance, if an employer is honest, humble, and hardworking, they will also start to absorb these virtues from their employer. Besides being exemplary, a leader can instill good virtues and values on his followers by addressing these attributes in the employee handout; this way, the employees will understand what is expected of them in the organization."

Conclusion

The above dialogue with Elder Joseph Jackson highlights essential insights about the significance of the character in leadership. Elder Jackson has highlighted the importance of virtues in leadership and how they impact the organization. The interviewee responses have also noted important insights that support what I have learned in this class, especially how to become an effective leader. From the dialogue, I have learned that character is essential to effective leadership since it builds trust, and without faith, one cannot be an effective leader.